Peri-Urban Conservation in the Mondah Forest of Libreville, Gabon: Red List Assessments of Endemic Plant Species, and Avoiding Protected Area Downsizing

Peri-urban conservation in the Mondah forest of Libreville, Gabon: Red List assessments of endemic plant species, and avoiding protected area downsizing

G. WALTERS,E.NGAGNIA N DJABOUNDA,D.IKABANGA,J.P.BITEAU,O.HYMAS L. J. T. WHITE,A.-M.NDONG O BIANG,P.NDONG O NDO,K.J.JEFFERY O. LACHENAUD and T . S TÉVART

Abstract Urban development is an increasing threat to the Botanical field work, including ex situ conservation mea- integrity of formerly remote protected areas, in some cases sures and participant observation in nearby forest commu- resulting in their downgrading, downsizing or degazetting. nities, was conducted;  endemic species, all threatened by One-quarter of previously remote protected areas are now urbanization, were evaluated using the criteria for the IUCN within  km of a city and thus face the threat of urbaniza- Red List of Threatened Species. The borders of the protected tion. Here we describe a case of avoided downgrading, area were maintained because of its role in maintaining ir- downsizing and degazetting of a protected area in the replaceable habitat for threatened species. The area was re- Mondah forest of Gabon, north of Libreville. Since its cre- named Raponda Walker Arboretum in . ation in  the Forêt Classée de la Mondah has been Keywords Degazettement, downsizing, endemic species, downsized regularly, losing % of its area over  years. Gabon, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, protected During this time the forest surrounding the Forêt Classée area, urbanization was subject to usage for urban and peri-urban needs, including agriculture, sand extraction, collection of medicinal plants, ceremonies, and housing construction. In  the area was threatened with further downsizing. The presence of narrowly endemic plant species in the area was suspected, Introduction and mapping and evaluation of these species was proposed rotected areas are considered to be the most effective in an effort to maintain the protected area boundaries. Pstrategy for protecting biodiversity (Chape et al., ), yet in many places urban development is an increas-

†‡ ‡ ing threat to many formerly remote protected areas G. WALTERS* (Corresponding author) and T. STÉVART § Institut de  Pharmacopée et de Médecine Traditionnelle, Herbier National du Gabon, B.P. (Margules & Pressey, ), and conservation planning 1135 Libreville, Gabon. E-mail [email protected] must now take into account trends in human settlement

E. NGAGNIA NDJABOUNDA and D. IKABANGA Département de Biologie, Université (Theobald et al., ). Urban space may compete simul- des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Franceville, Gabon taneously with biodiversity, forest cover, protected areas, J. P. BITEAU Jardi-Gab, Libreville, Gabon agricultural space and food security (Ahrends et al., ; O. HYMAS Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower DeFries et al., ; Smith et al., ; Gordon et al., ), Street, London, UK, and Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, UK with % of the human population now living in urban areas L. J. T. WHITE¶**, A.-M. NDONG OBIANG,P.NDONG ONDO and K. J. JEFFERY¶** (United Nations, ), and this may have a negative impact Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Libreville, Gabon on protected areas. O. LACHENAUD National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Meise, Belgium, and Service Downgrading, downsizing and degazetting of protected d’Evolution, Biologie et Ecologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium areas is an increasing concern (downgrading is an increase *Current address: Global Forest and Climate Change Programme, IUCN, 28 rue in use of an existing protected area, downsizing a reduction Mauverney, 1156 Gland, Switzerland in territory, and degazetting the complete elimination of the † Also at: Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower area’s protected status; Mascia & Pailler, ). Five hundred Street, London, UK ‡Also at: Central African Red List Authority, Species Survival Commission, such cases have been recorded in  countries, with the main IUCN causes being attributed to industrial-scale resource extrac- §Also at: Africa and Madagascar Department, Missouri Botanical Garden,  St. Louis, USA, Herbarium et Bibliothèque de Botanique Africaine, Faculté tion and development (Mascia et al., ), often linked in- des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, and National extricably to the presence or development of urban areas. Botanic Garden of Belgium, Meise, Belgium One-quarter of protected areas are within  km of a city, ¶Also at: School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK  **Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale, Libreville, Gabon and this distance is decreasing. An estimated % of species Received  January . Revision requested  January . categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List are threat- Accepted  January . First published online  August . ened by urbanization (McDonald et al., ), which is

Oryx, 2016, 50(3), 419–430 © 2015 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605315000204 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.126, on 27 Sep 2021 at 00:39:29, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605315000204 420 G. Walters et al.

FIG. 1 The Raponda Walker Aboretum on the Libreville peninsula, Gabon. Numbers denote important sites for conservation (Table ).

likely to have a greater negative effect on native species of threats to habitat; evaluation of the species, using the cri- (Aronson et al., ), and range-restricted species are teria for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; identifi- more vulnerable when urban areas comprise part of their cation of key conservation sites; delimitation of a new range (McDonald et al., ). Furthermore, urban areas protected area using these datasets; and application of ex are growing faster in biodiverse coastal zones and hotspots situ conservation techniques. (Elmqvist et al., ). Maintaining effective protection, es- pecially for threatened species, is best done through pro- Study area and conservation context tected areas (Joppa & Pfaff, ), the main role of which is to separate biological resources from their threats Coastal Gabon is part of the Guineo–Congolian centre of (Margules & Pressey, ). Few studies have focused on endemism for plants (White, ). The rate of plant en- the impacts of urbanization on protected areas in Africa, demism in Gabon is –% (Sosef et al., ), higher Asia and Latin America (Magle et al., ), or on the per- than in neighbouring countries (Lachenaud, ; Onana, manence of protected areas under increasing pressure from ). Floristic richness has been underestimated for coastal urbanization. areas (Dauby et al., ; Harris et al., ), where the flora In Gabon % of land is protected by a network of is distinct from that of the adjacent mountainous areas National Parks (République Gabonaise, ), and in  (Dauby et al., ). there was a governmental commitment to protect marine Urban coastal areas are subject to intense migration, with areas. With a low human population density (. people Gabon’s rate of urbanization at %, the highest in Africa  per km ), urbanization presents a low level of threat to the (United Nations, ). In Central Africa rural residents mi- overall protected area network. It is a growing concern in grate to peri-urban and urban areas to find employment, areas of urban development, however, such as the capital while also maintaining subsistence activities (Trefon, ; city, Libreville, where peri-urban expansion is encroaching East et al., ; Omasombo, ; Socpa, ). upon two nearby National Parks and a Forest Reserve. Here, The Mondah forest is on the Libreville peninsula, c.  a rare case of protected area downgrading, downsizing and km north of the centre of Libreville (Fig. ). The Mondah degazetting has been observed (sensu Mascia et al., ): a area receives ,–, mm of rainfall per year, with a Forest Reserve was downsized gradually over a period of mean temperature of °C and a dry season during June–  years, and by  its future was under threat. Several September (Vande Weghe, ). The area is characterized strictly endemic plant species were thought to be present by valleys and rivers, often creating hyper humid climates in the area but there was a lack of information about their and diverse vegetation types. This ecosystem extends be- conservation status and distribution. Here we describe tween the Libreville peninsula and across the Corisco Bay how the assessment of endemic species was used to improve into Equatorial Guinea’s Rio Muni. The Mondah forest the delimitation of a protected area and prevent further has been inhabited at least since  BP (Clist, ) and downgrading, downsizing and degazetting, using the follow- commercially exploited for forest resources (dyewoods ing steps: refinement of the endemic species list; assessment and salt) at least since the s (Patterson, ); timber

exploitation began in the late s (Quilliard, ; Meye, was becoming increasingly degraded. At this time the ). In the s six ethnic groups resided there National Parks Agency put forward a proposal to take (Deschamps, ) but as a result of recent immigration over management of the forest under newly defined limits. the forest now supports  ethnic groups (Ikabanga, ). A draft decree proposed the creation of a National Park People use this peri-urban forest for subsistence farming, comprising a terrestrial zone (henceforth the Centre; , charcoal production, artisanal logging, sand extraction ha) and marine zones (, ha) surrounded by a buffer (Trefon, ) and traditional medicine (Delhotal, ; zone (, ha). The proposed limits were based on earlier Koumba-Madingou, ), with a noticeable difference in plans to target protection efforts on a core area of intact for- the resource usage of rural and urban people. The Forêt est, allowing controlled development in the degraded sur- Classée de la Mondah was created in  by the colonial rounding areas, under buffer zone management policies French administration as a timber production forest and re- (Wilks, ). However, it was not clear how the buffer search area (including for establishing plantations of zone would be managed or if there were endemic plant spe- Aucoumea klaineana, a subendemic timber species), and cies in the forest outside the Centre. The National Parks from  was managed by the National Forestry School. Agency was willing to extend the boundaries of the pro- The management objectives for the forest were based on posed protected area if evidence of threatened or endemic production of A. klaineana, and research into the species. species was provided. Later, the forest was used by the National Forestry School Although originally the Mondah forest was considered to for educational purposes. Only in the s was the role be of local interest only (Doumenge et al., ), it was sus- of the area in protecting biodiversity highlighted pected to contain c.  restricted-range plant species endem- (Wilks, ). Until the start of this study the forest had ic to the Libreville Peninsula, some of them extending to the been under the jurisdiction of the National Forestry adjacent Corsico Bay area in Equatorial Guinea, and some of School but in  there was a proposed change in admin- which were in the process of being described (Kenfack, ; istration, giving management responsibility to Gabon’s Breteler, ; Lachenaud et al., b). Only two species had National Parks Agency, and downsizing of the protected been evaluated using the IUCN Red List criteria (IUCN, area was proposed. ) and thus the conservation status of most of the species Originally the protected area comprised , ha was unknown. To inform the process of boundary delimita- (Ministère des Eaux et Forêts, ) but a series of legislative tion for the new protected area, evidence of subpopulations changes during – successively reduced it to , , of restricted-range species needed to be provided to the ha by  (Figs  & ). There were various reasons for the National Parks Agency, along with an assessment of their downsizing, including the according of private inholdings irreplaceability (i.e. whether the habitat is conserved else- and construction of public utilities; however, the  where) and vulnerability (i.e. the risk of the area being trans- downsizing, which four of the authors observed, was pre- formed to other land uses; Margules & Pressey, ). dominantly to convert land for housing in the southern por- Given the risk of extinction of endemic species, ex situ tion (where , ha were lost; Table ). Degradation of the conservation was considered as a solution in the event of forest has been noted since , when it was attributed to downsizing, if endemic species were found outside the re- sand extraction, agricultural activities and the creation of duced protected area. Ex situ conservation techniques, or villages near forestry camps (Ministère des Eaux et Forêts, cultivation of species outside their native habitats, can ). Although in the past the Forêt Classée de la help to ensure that threatened species are maintained Mondah had been subject to disturbance through resource (Müller & Eriksson, ), particularly when the habitats extraction and plantation establishment, some forest recov- are so threatened that the species are at risk of extinction. ery seemed likely. However, during – %ofthe forest was transformed into secondary forest (Nziengui et al., ), making the Mondah likely to be an Methods Endangered ecosystem according to IUCN criteria for the Red List of Ecosystems (Keith et al., ). Although the rate of deforestation in Gabon is low overall (, %per Refinement of the list of endemic plant species Alistof year; COMIFAC, ), mapping shows the highest level of endemic plant species in the Libreville area was compiled deforestation occurs in the Mondah area (Hansen et al., ). through searches of herbarium records, botanical literature By  the situation was critical. Not only had most of (e.g. Sosef et al., ) and the database of Naturalis the previously downsized forest been cleared for peri-urban Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. For each species, land use, but increasing human activity was encroaching information on family, habitat, collection dates and localities, upon the remaining protected area, and management cap- distinctive identification criteria, and phenology was compiled acity was inadequate. The city had expanded such that its from botanical journals and type specimens. Many specimens outer edge was within  km of the forest, and the forest had imprecise records of localities, making relocation difficult.

FIG. 2 The boundaries of Forêt Classée de la Mondah in  (a),  (b),  (c),  (d),  (e), and  (f), when the protected area was renamed the Raponda Walker Arboretum.

informants that were particularly knowledgeable about forest use, to inquire if they knew the species. The results of this ethnobotanical study are reported in detail in Ikabanga ().

Assessing the species using IUCN Red List criteria Species were evaluated using the IUCN categories and criteria (IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee, ). Maps, produced in ArcView v. . (ESRI, Redlands, USA), were plotted to calculate the Area of Occurrence and Extent of Occurrence for all endemic plant species in the Mondah forest, and the number of localities was determined. Species FIG. 3 History of downsizing of Forêt Classée de la Mondah in were then evaluated, and assessments were submitted to Gabon (Fig. ) during –. The protected area originally    IUCN using the Species Information System tool (IUCN covered , ha (Ministère des Eaux et Forêt, ) but was    reduced by successive declassifications in  (Afrique Species Information Service . , ). Equatoriale Française, ),  (République Gabonaise, ),    and (which were reversed in ; République Ex situ conservation When subpopulations were discovered Gabonaise, ),  (République Gabonaise, ) and  the area was revisited to procure samples for ex situ (République Gabonaise, ). In  the area was increased to , ha; the dashed line indicates the proposed reduction to conservation trials in Sibang Arboretum and at Jardi-Gab, , ha. Libreville. Soil was transported from the sample sites for all trials, and seeds, cuttings and direct transplants were used when possible. During January–April  fieldwork was conducted at known species localities and in areas or habitats where endemic species were thought to occur. Four of the authors (GW, Delimiting the new protected area Species distributions OH,DI,ENN)werelivingonsiteandworkedintheforest were mapped and threats were categorized based on daily. Others (OL, TS) specialized in Rubiaceae and field observations, interviews and literature. Using the Orchidaceae visited the site occasionally, and thus the principles of irreplaceability and vulnerability, species knowledge of these species and associated success in finding conservation priorities were assessed based on the overlap subpopulations was increased. When new subpopulations between the proposed protected area and the distributions were discovered, herbarium collections were made and of the endemic species. Recommendations and data were locations were recorded using a global positioning system. provided to the National Parks Agency and contributed to the definition of the new boundary of the protected area.

Species threat assessment The study focused on two villages at the southern boundary of the Mondah forest: Santa Clara Results and Malibé II. These villages are situated between the Mondah forest and Libreville and have been subject to urbanization, Endemic species, mapping distributions, and evaluations migration and development. To understand the threats to habitat and species use, participant observation (residing in Of the  species that were hypothesized as endemic to the the communities) and interviews were conducted in Santa Libreville peninsula,  were verified (Lachenaud et al., Clara during –, with follow-up visits during – b), the others being rejected because records were . Interviews were conducted in c.  randomly chosen found outside the study area, or because of revised taxonomy households in each village during January–April  to or uncertain identification. Additional subpopulations of understand the presence and use of both endemic and nine of these  species were identified during fieldwork. non-endemic plants in terms of species, category of usage, Six sites of conservation importance (e.g. sites containing and utilization of forest space. The questionnaire, which was important subpopulations of endemic species) were found. inspired by other methodologies (e.g. McClatchey et al., The majority were located in the Mondah forest but were ), was tested for clarity in a nearby village. After each not restricted to the Centre (Table , Fig. ). The site in the interview the informant showed the interviewer the plants Akanda National Park buffer zone is noteworthy because of that had been discussed, and these were collected as the unique presence of Aristogeitonia gabonica. Of the  en- herbarium specimens. The specimens were identified, demic species, seven were not evaluated using the IUCN cat- and uses of endemic species were noted. A portable egories and criteria (undescribed species were not evaluated, herbarium of the endemic species was presented to as recommended in the Red Listing standards, and the other

TABLE 1 History of downsizing of the Mondah forest, Gabon (Fig. ), as reported in government decrees.

Year Description Reason for downsizing, as noted in decree 1951 Change in status from production forest Some private inholdings maintained; some concessions given deadlines for ending ac- to classified forest tivities; Benga (the main ethnic group at the time) customary usage recognized; exist- ence of villages & their cultivation rights recognized; agricultural activities of other villages ended 1967 Downsizing Three private properties recognized 1977 Downsizing Private properties recognized 1980 Downsizing Private properties recognized 1983 1977 & 1980 decrees cancelled No reasons given 2001 Downsizing Land required for public utilities along road from Libreville to Cap Esterias 2004 Downsizing Two areas removed (for housing construction; authors, pers. obs.); three plots given to Ministry of Forests

TABLE 2 Important sites for conservation in and around the Mondah forest, Gabon (Fig. ), with endemic species present, and habitat type.

Site Species Habitat type Mondah forest 1. Parcelle des conservateurs Gaertnera spicata, Palisota sp. nov.*, Hyper-humid forest; humid lowlands; P. bracteosa (0.57506 N, 9.33011 E) Psychotria bracteosa, Psychotria klainei, & U. niangadoumae occurring in wet bottomlands Strephonema sp. nov., Uapaca niangadoumae 2. Ferme aux crocodiles Psychotria wieringae (largest subpopulation), Drier forest (0.54831 N, 9.31033 E) P. klainei 3. N of Santa Clara Acridocarpus vestitus Disturbance-loving species, preferring roadsides (0.53333 N, 9.33333 E) 4. Plaine de Combat 2 Combretum esteriense, Simirestis klaineana, Drier forest, also in Pongara National Park (0.58731 N, 9.35644 E) P. wieringae, U. niangadoumae 5. Swamp NE of savannah P. bracteosa Degraded swamp forest; P. bracteosa occurring in a (0.59133 N, 9.36286 E) stream bed Akanda National Park buffer zone 6. Oveng (0.48333 N, Carapa mangarevensis, Aristogeitonia Calcareous outcrops adjacent to mangroves 9.51667 E) gabonica*, Dinklageella villiersi

*Species occurs uniquely at this site

species were added after the fieldwork concluded, and there- Dinklageella villiersii. This is unsurprising because tropical fore data were too limited for their assessment), three were seeds are typically difficult to germinate and often are only vi- categorized as Data Deficient, two as Vulnerable, six as able for a few days (Baskin & Baskin, ). Increased success Critically Endangered, and six as Endangered; three of the with cuttings could be possible with the use of a growth Critically Endangered species may be extinct (Table ). hormone. Two species that were categorized as Vulnerable in the late s(Dactyladenia laevis and Jollydora pierrei) were again categorized as Vulnerable in the reassessments. Historical in- Threats to habitat and species formation on former distributions was difficult to ascertain because localities recorded for older botanical specimens In the  herbarium specimens collected for the ethno- were imprecise. If historic localities had been more precise, botanical study  species were identified; none were en- demonstrating the reduction of species distribution over demic. No informants, including traditional healers who time would have been used as part of the evaluation criteria use the forest flora in their pharmacopeia, were able to indi- selected from the IUCN standards. cate additional subpopulations when presented with specimens of endemic plants. Ex situ conservation trials Most habitat uses, such as charcoal production, agriculture, sand production, and traditional medicine, occurred In the ex situ conservation trials, all attempts to cultivate on the forest border and not within the protected area. using seeds and cuttings failed. Only transplants were suc- Most of these activities were using habitat that could have cessful, and these only in the cases of Psychotria bracteosa, been occupied by endemic species and had previously Psychotria klainei, Psychotria wieringae, A. gabonica and been part of the protected area.

TABLE 3 Red List categories of  endemic species in the Mondah forest, Gabon (Fig. ), evaluated using IUCN criteria, with the number of locations where each species has been found, and the species’ distribution.

Red List No. of Species category1 Red List criteria & comments locations Distribution2 Apocynaceae Hunteria hexaloba CR(PE) Possibly extinct; not collected since 1902 0 Libreville peninsula (Omino, 1996). Not found during searches of likely localities in the Gabon Estuary in 2007 & 2011. Celastraceae S. klaineana CR B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv) + 2ab(i,ii,iii,iv); D ,5 Libreville peninsula Salacia villiersii DD Chrysobalanaceae Dactyladenia laevis EN A2c #5 Rio Muni Commelinaceae Palisota sp. nov. NE Mondah forest Combretaceae C. esteriense EN B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv) + 2ab(i,ii,iii,iv); D Libreville peninsula Strephonema sp. nov. NE Libreville peninsula Connaraceae Jollydora pierrei VU D2 #5 Rio Muni

Convolvulaceae Calycobolus heineanus NE Libreville peninsula Euphorbiaceae A. gabonica CR B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv) 1 Mondah forest U. niangadoumae EN B1ab(iii) + 2ab(iii) ,5 Mondah forest Malpighiaceae A. vestitus ined. NE #5 Mondah forest Melastomataceae Tristemma vestitum NE Unkno- Libreville peninsula wn Meliaceae C. mangarevensis NE 1 Mondah forest Myrsinaceae Ardisia pierreana CR(PE) Possibly extinct; not found during searches 0 Libreville peninsula of likely localities in 2007 & 2011. For more details see Taton (1979). Myrtaceae Eugenia librevillensis DD Unkno- Libreville peninsula wn Octoknemaceae Octoknema klaineana DD Libreville peninsula Orchidaceae Dinklageella villiersii CR B1a 1 Mondah forest Rubiaceae G. spicata EN D 6 Mondah forest, Rio Muni P. bracteosa EN B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) + 2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v) 5 Mondah forest, Rio Muni Psychotria gaboonensis CR(PE) Possibly extinct; discovered in 1861 but not 0 Libreville peninsula collected since, despite fieldwork. The lo- cality (Gabon River) is not precise but the species should be easily recognizable. P. klainei VU B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv) + 2ab(i,ii,iii,iv) 6 Libreville peninsula P. wieringae EN B2ab(ii,iii,iv) 8 Mondah forest Violaceae Rinorea soyauxii NE Libreville peninsula

 CR(PE), Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct); CR, Critically Endangered; DD, Data Deficient; EN, Endangered; NE, Not Evaluated; VU, Vulnerable  Libreville peninsula includes Parc National de Pongara; Mondah forest includes the western buffer zone of Parc National d’Akanda; Rio Muni is in Equatorial Guinea

The following IUCN threat categories were identified: and leisure (République Gabonaise, ). The area was re- residential & commercial development, agriculture & aqua- named the Raponda Walker Arboretum, after the Gabonese culture, energy production and mining, and biological re- ethnobotanist André Raponda Walker, who documented source use. Urbanization was identified as a threat to all ethnobotany, linguistics and ceremonial rites throughout the species evaluated, and swidden agriculture, sand exploit- Gabon (Raponda Walker & Sillans, , ). ation and artisanal logging were identified as threats in % of cases. The main exceptions were the three species (Carapa mangarevensis, D. villiersi, A. gabonica) in the ad- Discussion jacent mangrove habitat characterized by calcareous outcrops, where agriculture, charcoal production and sand Evaluating endemic species in the context of the protected exploitation were not evident. area boundaries facilitated an assessment of irreplaceability. Many informants discussed their use of the forest for The threat assessment revealed that the plant populations ceremonies, and we encountered several ceremonial sites were vulnerable to land conversion, and without this infor- during the study. Some traditional healers regretted the mation there would have been little justification to avoid re- loss of sites as a result of past declassification of the pro- ducing the protected area. Given the uniqueness of the tected area, and noted that the forest was an important cul- endemic flora of the Libreville peninsula, even when com- tural resource for them and their clients. pared to adjacent areas (Dauby et al., ), and the current rate of land conversion, without a protected area there would be little chance for the survival of this ecosystem. Delimiting the new boundaries The transition in management of the area to the National Parks Agency suggests that the area will be managed effect- Species distributions were mapped over the proposed  ively, including ensuring protection of species. Management protected area boundaries. The  endemic species assessed plans are under development and include work related to were represented in the Mondah forest or in its environs. the threatened flora. For  strictly endemic species, the global distributions Protected area downgrading, downsizing and degazet- were largely limited to the Mondah forest but not restricted ting is rare in Gabon but it is difficult to avoid completely to the Centre. For these species the  proposal would in urban contexts. Here, the demonstrated presence of en- have provided insufficient protection for the majority of demic species motivated the government to maintain the their range, and therefore the habitat in the wider limits of the protected area, but this is not always the case, Mondah forest was considered to be irreplaceable. All of even in non-urban situations. In Australia, despite scientific the species were threatened by urbanization and many evidence of the presence of endemic species, the govern- were categorized as Endangered or Critically Endangered. ment intends to authorize logging in reserves in Victoria As such, these species and their habitats fulfilled both the (Lindenmayer & Possingham, ). In other cases agribusi- irreplaceability and vulnerability criteria to be considered ness development takes priority, as in the case of the dega- a conservation priority (Margules & Pressey, ). zettement of forest reserves in Uganda (Mwavu & Based on the distribution of the endemic species it was re- Witkowski, ) or the proposed degazettement of commended to the National Parks Agency that they maintain Gambella National Park in Ethiopia, despite the presence the original protected area boundaries rather than the pro- of endemic fauna (Pearce, ). In yet other cases, even posed, reduced boundaries, to facilitate conservation of all where endemics are known to occur and are under pressure threatened species. After the mapping of the endemic species from urbanization, there are no protected areas, as is the was completed we provided data to the National Parks case near Yaoundé, Cameroon (Simo et al., ; Agency, and assisted in mapping the limits to ensure that Lachenaud et al., a); development in and around pro- the maximum area was protected around endemic subpopu- tected areas along the coast of Cameroon is having a nega- lations. The Centre was delimited as the core area, sur- tive impact on the endemic flora (Tchouto et al., ). rounded by a zone where limited development could occur. Many cases of protected area downgrading, downsizing Additionally, a habitat corridor was created to Akanda and degazetting are unrecorded (Mascia & Pailler, ), National Park. Had the  proposal been accepted the pro- and although urbanization does not appear to be a major tected area would have been downsized, but instead the area threat, recent cases have involved the degradation of forest re- was increased to , ha. Although the protected area is serves outside Dar es Salaam as a result of charcoal produc- smaller than the , ha declared in ,the adjust- tion (Ahrends et al., ) and deforestation in Freetown’s ment succeeded in reversing a trend of continual downsizing. peri-urban Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve (Munro, The declaration was signed into law in October , ). Some urban protected areas threatened by develop- with the protected area intended to serve the purposes of ment have been saved as a result of activism, such as biodiversity protection, tourism, environmental education, Nairobi’s Uhuru Park (Maathai & Antinori, ). In other

cases, more land is needed to save endemic species or ecosys- those that were Not Evaluated. More work is needed to ex- tems, and agreements with existing landowners are required, pand ex situ conservation, such as disseminating propagules as in Capetown (Rebelo et al., ). of these rare species in public gardens as part of an environ- Many protected area systems were not created originally mental education programme, contributing to efforts under- for biodiversity conservation (Joppa & Pfaff, ) but there way in the Raponda Walker Arboretum. Two species in is a trend towards systematic conservation planning particular (A. vestitus and G. spicata) have high ornamental and cost and management efficiency (Fuller et al., ). value. Analyses of species and habitat protection are now used to Protected areas, particularly in urban areas, supply a range set conservation priorities for the creation of protected areas of human needs. The Raponda Walker Arboretum is simul- (Callmander et al., ; Gereau et al., ; Clausnitzer taneously a critical habitat for endemic species and a reli- et al., ; Holland et al., ), using a variety of ap- gious–cultural space, the Mondah being one of the closest proaches such as key biodiversity area assessments, and forests to Libreville and one of the most accessible. The cre- Red List assessment of threatened species (Schatz, ) ation of the Arboretum is an exemplary step in protecting ir- and ecosystems. However, few of the recommendations replaceable habitats of rare species while providing forest for from these studies seem to be put into practice by state ad- cultural activities, environmental education, and leisure. ministrations (Brooks et al., ). Conservation analyses sometimes reveal that existing protected areas harbour threatened species (e.g. Safi et al., ); however, using spe- Acknowledgements cies distributions to inform the delimitation of new protected area boundaries is rare. There is a significant We thank John Mitchell and the Beneficia Foundation for difference between the processes used in the prescription believing in this project. This project supported two MSc and application of conservation proposals (Margules & theses at the Université des Sciences et Techniques de Pressey, ). Here we report on the implementation of Masuku. All researchers were hosted by IPHAMETRA one such proposal, which led to the avoidance of downgrad- (the Institute of Pharmacopeia and of Traditional ing, downsizing and degazetting of a protected area. Medicine). Administrative assistance was provided by the – Although the reasons for downsizing the protected area Wildlife Conservation Society Gabon. Research permission in the Mondah forest varied over the years, the downsizing was obtained from the Centre National de la Recherché in  was a response to changes in land use. Whereas pro- Scientifique et Technique, École Nationale des Eaux et tected area downgrading, downsizing and degazetting may Forêts and the Gabon National Parks Agency. Field assist- accelerate deforestation (Forrest et al., ), the effects of ance was provided by E. Augowet Bonguno, S. Dessein, historical downsizing are less clear. The  downsizing P. Christy, J-N. Boussiengui, L. Moungoudy, P. Koumba event was a result of urbanization, and the threat of urban- Ipandi, J.R. Ondzaghe and B. Bouligui. P. Christy found ization to all the species assessed shows how downsizing can the decrees for the declassification. The residents of Santa threaten biodiversity. Clara and Malibé II welcomed us warmly and granted ac- The survival of endemic plant species in the Mondah forest cess. The following herbaria gave us access to their collec- despite modern habitat reduction and historical forest use is tions: LBV, BR, BRLU and WAG. OL was a research striking. Gaertnera spicata was first collected in the sin fellow of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique. present-day Sibang Arboretum,  km east of Libreville and This paper benefited from comments by N. Burgess, now part of the city; today, the species remains only in the S. Regnaut, R. Gereau, M. Lee and an anonymous reviewer. Centre, in a rare micro-habitat. Although none of the endem- We are grateful to Martin Fisher for his work in finalizing  ic species were used directly by people, all were threatened in- the maps for Figure . directly by habitat conversion. In areas where habitat diversity is high, it appears threatened species may persist in microha- bitats under conditions of rapid land conversion. 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VANDE WEGHE, J.P. () Les parcs nationaux du Gabon. Akanda et genetics of tropical trees. J EAN-PHILLIPE B ITEAU focuses on culti- Pongara: plages et mangroves. Wildlife Conservation Society, vating native species from Gabon. O LIVIER H YMAS works on the Libreville, Gabon. human dimension of conservation in light of environmental history. WHITE,F.() The Vegetation of Africa: A Descriptive Memoir to L.J.T. WHITE directs Gabon’s National Parks and focuses on bio- Accompany the UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO Vegetation Map of diversity conservation. A NNE-MARIE N DONG O BIANG is the Africa. UNESCO, Paris, France. Conservator of the Raponda Walker Arboretum. P ARFAIT N DONG WILKS,C.() La conservation des écosystemes forestiers du Gabon. O NDO is the National Parks Agency’s geographical information sys- IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. tem specialist. K ATHRYN J EFFERY works on primates, fire and management and is the Scientific Advisor to the National Parks Agency. Biographical sketches O LIVIER L ACHENAUD studies plant diversity in the tropics, focusing on the Rubiaceae. T ARIQ S TÉVART studies plant diversity and conser- G RETCHEN WALTERS works in Central Africa on plant diversity, fire vation in Africa, focusing on orchids. management, and human dimensions of conservation. E DDY N GAGNIA works on floristics. D AVY I KABANGA researches the