Management and Conservation of Large Carnivores in West And
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Management and conservation of large carnivores in West and Central Africa To het memory of Jean Paul Kwabong 1952 - April 4th 2007 Management and conservation of large carnivores in West and Central Africa Proceedings of an international seminar on the conservation of small and hidden species CML/CEDC, 15 and 16 November 2006, Maroua, Cameroon Editors Barbara Croes Ralph Buij Hans de Iongh Hans Bauer January 2008 Conservation of large carnivores in West and Central Africa. Proceedings of an International Seminar, CML/CEDC, 15 and 16 November 2006, Maroua, Cameroon Editors: Barbara Croes, Ralph Buij, Hans de Iongh & Hans Bauer Lay out and cover design: Sjoukje Rienks, Amsterdam Photo front cover: Chris Geerling Photo’s back cover: Ralph Buij, Barbara Croes, Monique Jager, Iris Kristen and Hans de Iongh isbn 978 90 5191 157 2 Organised by: Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, The Netherlands; Centre d’Etude de l’Environnement et du développement (CEDC), Cameroon; Regional Lion Network for West and Central Africa; African lion Working Group Sponsored by: Netherlands Committee for IUCN, Prins Bernhard Natuurfonds, Van Tienhoven Foundation, Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund, World Wide Fund for Nature-Cameroon, Regional Network Synergy CCD and CBD/CEDC Address corresponding editor: Hans H. de Iongh Institute of Environmental Sciences POB 9518 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands Tel +31 (0)71 5277431 e-mail: [email protected] Editorial note The conservation of large carnivore populations can only be accom- plished successfully if conservationists throughout the continent work closely together and exchange information on all aspects of large car- nivore conservation. In order to provide conservationists from West-, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa with exactly such an opportunity, the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University in collaboration with the Centre d’Etude de l’Envrionnement et du Dével- oppement au Cameroun (CEDC) initiated the organization of a Large Carnivore Seminar in Maroua, Cameroon. The event was organized at the Centre d’Etude de l’Environnement et du Développement au Camer- oun (CEDC) under the umbrella of the Regional Network for the Syner- gy between the CCD and CBD (RNSCC), the Regional Network for Lion Conservation in West and Central Africa (RoCAL) and the African Lion Working Group (ALWG). The CEDC was established as the result of a cooperative agreement between the ex-Ministry of Higher Education, Computer Science and Scientific Research (ex-MESIRES) in Cameroon and the Rector of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Financial support for the seminar was received from the Netherlands Committee for IUCN, the Dutch Zoo Conservation Fund, Van Tienhoven Founda- tion and Prins Bernhard Natuurfonds, a follow-up programme on wild dog conservation is financed by WWF Cameroon and supported by the Painted Dog Conservation Foundation. Researchers from nine countries (The Netherlands, Benin, Chad, Ni- ger, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Af- rica) were invited to present scientific papers and to discuss various aspects of large carnivore conservation during a 2-day seminar in Ma- roua. Many participants are members of RoCAL, the network for lion conservation in West en Central Africa. The current proceedings in- clude most contributions. The subjects addressed during the seminar were diverse, ranging from carnivore-livestock conflicts (considered to be of the highest conserva- tion priority for lions), to large carnivore conservation management and hunting quota. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, human settlements and associated agriculture and livestock systems are increasingly expanding into natural savanna regions. Livestock owners may lose part of their stock to carnivores around national parks in the region, although surveys indi- cate that losses through disease are often more significant. Poaching and poisoning in retaliation to livestock loss has resulted in a significant re- duction and fragmentation of large carnivore populations, together with other threats such as a decrease in prey numbers and habitat destruction. The presentations illustrate that large carnivore conservation should not only incorporate aspects of carnivore ecology but should equally involve local communities, especially where improvement of mitigation mea- sures are a necessity to limit livestock predation. In this context, the Lion Conservation Strategy for West and Central Africa was presented to His Excellency, the Governor of the Far North Province in the presence of His Excellency the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Cameroon, and all par- ticipants. The aim of the strategy is to assure the sustainable conserva- tion and management of the lion in West and Central Africa. In addition, the Regional Lycaon Initiative for West and Central Africa was launched during this seminar, which aims to establish a regional network focusing on the conservation of the painted dog population in the region. The editors, Barbara Croes Ralph Buij Hans de Iongh Hans Bauer Table of Contents Welcome speech 9 Hans de Iongh 1 Synthesis of threats, distribution and status of the Lion from the two Lion Conservation Strategies 13 Hans Bauer 2 Livestock-carnivore conflicts: results of an inventory around Bénoué National Park, Cameroon 29 Barbara Croes, Ralph Buij, Jasper van Dalen & Hans de Iongh 3 Review of more than ten years research on lion ecology and lion livestock conflicts in the Waza Logone region, North Cameroon 41 Hans de Iongh, Hans Bauer, Paul Funston & Peter Hamling 4 Report of the DAS/ROCAL pilot project in Zakouma National Park, Chad 53 Nathalie VanHerle 5 Research on lions in Benin: Review and Perspectives 73 Etotépé A. Sogbohossou 6 Lions, Conflict and Conservation 81 Laurence Frank, Graham Hemson, Hadas Kushnir, Craig Packer & Séamus Maclennan 7 Status, trends and threats for lion populations in the Republic of Guinea 99 Aboubacar Oulare 8 Hunting of large carnivores in Cameroon over the past 20 years 103 Jean Paul Kwabong 9 Conservation and management of lions in Southern Africa: Status, threats, utilization and the restoration option 109 Paul J. Funston 10 Conflicts between large carnivores and domestic livestock in the peripheral zone of the Regional Park ‘W’ in Niger 133 Hamissou H. Malam Garba & Ilaria Di Silvestre 11 Current status of wild dog Lycaon pictus in West Africa: the case of Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in the Republic of Benin 145 Aristide C. Tehou List of authors 153 Welcome speech Hans de Iongh His Excellence the Governor of the Northern province, His Excellence, the Ambassador of The Netherlands in Cameroon, Mr. Chairman of ROCAL, Distinguished members of ROCAL, Distuinguished speakers Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great pleasure, on behalf of the director of the Institute of Envi- ronmental Sciences of Leiden University, to welcome you at the occa- sion of the international seminar on Large Carnivores at CEDC in Mar- oua. This seminar marks a period of about 15 years that the Institute of Environmental Sciences Leiden (CML), jointly with its partner institute the Centre of Environment and Development studies (CEDC) of the University of Dschang, have been involved in research and training on the conservation and management of large carnivores and in West and Central Africa. This research programme had a main focus on lion conservation and lion-livestock conflicts in the region (partly through the work of dr.Hans Bauer), but also focused attention on interactions with other large carnivores, like hyena and the impact of smaller carnivores on live stock and poultry. Since the signing of a convention between the Minis- ter of Higher Education and Research and the Rector of Leiden univer- sity in 1990, the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Leiden univer- sity has collaborated with the University of Dschang to develop a joint programme of academic research and education through the CEDC in Maroua. The academic results of this programme are outstanding. Since its establishment this programme has resulted in 12 successful Cameroonian PhD students and some 10 Dutch PhD students, some 250 Dutch Master students and more than 300 UDs Master and B.Sc. students doing research at CEDC on different topics. Some 8 PhD stud- ies are still ongoing. Of these studies, around half has a focus on hu- man-wildlife conflicts. CML also contributed to the development of an environmental science curriculum at UDs. The joint programme has also had a spin off in terms of public services in the region. 10 STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF LARGE CARNIVORES IN AFRICA CML and CEDC contributed jointly to the establishment of the Region- al Network for the Conservation of Lions in West and Central Africa (ROCAL), which has been established in 2001, with financial support of the Netherlands Zoos Nature Conservation Fund and the Van Tien- hoven Foundation. The ROCAL network has been able to translate the results of research on human-lion conflicts into a number of very concrete actions in the field to prevent and mitigate the impact of lion predation on livestock and some of the results of these actions will be presented during the second half of this seminar. CML and CEDC have also contributed to developing short courses as part of the ‘training the trainers programme’ for the Garoua Wildlife school, with support of the Netherlands government. In this pro- gramme ample attention has been given to large predator conservation and the management of conflicts between large carnivores and