Boumba Bek National Park
Encyclopedia
Boumba Bek National Park is a national park in extreme southeastern Cameroon
, located in its East Province
.
is the biggest threat to Boumba Bek." This is a result of the late 1980s economic depression in Cameroon. The indigenous people followed the poachers, attracted by the financial opportunities. They would sell their product through "intermediaries" for money and more hunting supplies.
In 1995, the park was named an Essential Protection Zone, its first official status. It was not formally established as a national park, however, until the Cameroonian government decreed the creation of Boumba Bek and Nki National Park
s on 17 October 2005. Its establishment is a result of a summit held by seven central African leaders in Brazzaville
, Republic of Congo, in February 2005.
Cameroon and Gabon are currently working on the TRIDOM project, a conservation initiative leading to a land management plan which will oversee access to and use of forests. It will create a tri-national "interzone" bordered by the Minkebe
, Boumba-Bek, Nki, and Odzala National Park
s and the Dja Wildlife Reserve. This project is part of a conservation movement toward the zoning and designation of new protected areas.
and several hunting trails. It is sandwiched between the towns of Yokadouma
and Moloundou
in the Boumba et Ngoko department in Cameroon's East Province
. The park is situated from latitude 2˚09 to 2˚20 N and longitude 15˚35 to 15˚50 E.
Sixteen bais, or forest clearings, have been discovered in Boumba Bek National Park. Of these, four are currently being monitored for large mammalian activities.
The park has a tropical climate
with temperature ranging from 23.1 to 25˚C with an average annual temperature of 24˚C. Its relative humidity varies between 60 to 90% while annual rainfall is 1500 mm per year. According to the Cameroon Ministry of Agriculture, Moloundou has a rainy season from September to November, a dry season from November to March, a rainy season from March to June, and a dry season from July to August.
Pygmies. These include the Kounabembe, Bangando, Bakwele, Mbomam, Essel, Mbimo, and Mpong-Mpong tribes. Non-indigenous employees of logging companies and Muslim merchants from northern Cameroon make up a sizeable amount of the total population.
s, forest antelope
, Nile crocodile
s and bongos
are all found in Boumba Bek National Park. In addition, roughly 300 fish species, three of which are not named, swim in the park's rivers.
The forests of Cameroon contain some of the highest population density of forest elephants of any nation, and Boumba Bek is no different, with an elephant density of roughly 2.5 for Boumba Bek and Nki combined.
Boumba Bek was designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International
.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, located in its East Province
East Province (Cameroon)
The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions...
.
History
The park was never logged; according to the World Wildlife Fund's scientific advisor in the region, Paul Robinson Ngnegueu, "poachingPoaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
is the biggest threat to Boumba Bek." This is a result of the late 1980s economic depression in Cameroon. The indigenous people followed the poachers, attracted by the financial opportunities. They would sell their product through "intermediaries" for money and more hunting supplies.
In 1995, the park was named an Essential Protection Zone, its first official status. It was not formally established as a national park, however, until the Cameroonian government decreed the creation of Boumba Bek and Nki National Park
Nki National Park
Nki National Park is a national park in southeastern Cameroon, located in its East Province. The closest towns to Nki are Yokadouma, Moloundou and Lomie, beyond which are rural lands...
s on 17 October 2005. Its establishment is a result of a summit held by seven central African leaders in Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, Republic of Congo, in February 2005.
Cameroon and Gabon are currently working on the TRIDOM project, a conservation initiative leading to a land management plan which will oversee access to and use of forests. It will create a tri-national "interzone" bordered by the Minkebe
Minkébé National Park
Minkébé National Park is a national park in the extreme northeast of Gabon. It covers an area of 7,570 km². The WWF recognized it as an area needing protection as early as 1989 and has been actively working towards protecting the forest since 1997...
, Boumba-Bek, Nki, and Odzala National Park
Odzala National Park
Odzala National Park is a national park in the Cuvette-Ouest Region of Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1935, the park now covers 13,600 km2...
s and the Dja Wildlife Reserve. This project is part of a conservation movement toward the zoning and designation of new protected areas.
Geography and climate
Boumba Bek is located between the Boumba and Bek Rivers in southeast Cameroon, from which it derives its name. The site is accessible only by piroguePirogue
A pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. In West Africa they were used as traditional fishing boats. These boats are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land...
and several hunting trails. It is sandwiched between the towns of Yokadouma
Yokadouma
Yokadouma is a town in south eastern Cameroon, lying near the border with the Central African Republic. It is popular as a base for visiting the local rainforest....
and Moloundou
Moloundou
Moloundou is an arrondissement in the Boumba et Ngoko Division of southeastern Cameroon's East Province. Mouloundou is close to Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks on the Dja River...
in the Boumba et Ngoko department in Cameroon's East Province
East Province (Cameroon)
The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions...
. The park is situated from latitude 2˚09 to 2˚20 N and longitude 15˚35 to 15˚50 E.
Sixteen bais, or forest clearings, have been discovered in Boumba Bek National Park. Of these, four are currently being monitored for large mammalian activities.
The park has a tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
with temperature ranging from 23.1 to 25˚C with an average annual temperature of 24˚C. Its relative humidity varies between 60 to 90% while annual rainfall is 1500 mm per year. According to the Cameroon Ministry of Agriculture, Moloundou has a rainy season from September to November, a dry season from November to March, a rainy season from March to June, and a dry season from July to August.
Demographics
The area around the park, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, has a population of 33,169 people, mostly comprising ethnic Bantus and, despite being named a minority in Cameroon's constitution of 18 January 1996, BakaBaka (Cameroon and Gabon)
The Baka, known in the Congo as Bayaka , are an ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rainforests of Cameroon, northern Republic of Congo, northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They are sometimes called a subgroup of the Twa, but the two peoples are not closely related...
Pygmies. These include the Kounabembe, Bangando, Bakwele, Mbomam, Essel, Mbimo, and Mpong-Mpong tribes. Non-indigenous employees of logging companies and Muslim merchants from northern Cameroon make up a sizeable amount of the total population.
Flora
A majority of the park is semi-evergreen lowland rainforest, along with several patches of closed-canopy evergreen forest. Small areas of seasonally flooded forest, swamp-forest, and grassy savannas ealsoxist within its boundaries.Fauna
Boumba Bek, according to the Environmental News Service, "encompass[es] a biodiverse group of plants and animals." ChimpanzeeChimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s, forest antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
, Nile crocodile
Nile crocodile
The Nile crocodile or Common crocodile is an African crocodile which is common in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, South Africa, Malawi, Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon...
s and bongos
Bongo (antelope)
The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
are all found in Boumba Bek National Park. In addition, roughly 300 fish species, three of which are not named, swim in the park's rivers.
The forests of Cameroon contain some of the highest population density of forest elephants of any nation, and Boumba Bek is no different, with an elephant density of roughly 2.5 for Boumba Bek and Nki combined.
Boumba Bek was designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
.