U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Equatorial Guinea Home to the fourth highest species richness of primates in Africa including many endemic subspecies.

Unsustainable hunting is the single greatest threat to the majority of wildlife in Equatorial Guinea’s forests.

Equatorial Guinea’s national development plan, Horizonte 2020, has led to rapid infrastructure development which also represents a severe threat to the country’s wildlife and their habitat. New road network exacerbate commercial bushmeat hunting and trade by increasing access to forests and urban bushmeat markets. Higher income among the urban elite and a lack of suitable alternative protein options and jobs in rural areas is leading to an increase in bushmeat demand. The lack of wildlife law enforcement exacerbates the bushmeat The frog species Afrixalus paradorsalis sits on a leaf in a forest in Equatorial Guinea. trade. Credit: Matt Muir/USFWS. Marine Turtle Mortality Equatorial Guinea while waters off the coast of the The intentional or incidental capture of (EG), the only mainland are particularly important as marine turtles and the raiding of nests Spanish-speaking feeding sites. The dense forests on for eggs constitute the greatest threats country in Africa, is Equatorial Guinea’s mainland contain to marine turtles in Equatorial Guinea. home to an the endangered forest elephant and Poachers often target nesting females. incredibly diverse central chimpanzee, and the critically In urban areas on Bioko Island and on range of species. In endangered western lowland gorilla. the mainland, turtle meat sells for as addition to a mainland, it stretches much as $10 per kilogram and a live across an archipelago of islands in the Given its small size, Equatorial adult turtle for more than $500. Logs Gulf of Guinea. The largest is Bioko Guinea has remarkable biodiversity. on beaches are also a major threat; logs Island, which hosts the country’s Following the discovery of large originate from logging concessions near capital, Malabo. Equatorial Guinea has offshore oil reserves in the 1990s, beaches and result in nest flooding or more than 700,000 inhabitants, most of this small country is now the third- disorientation for hatchlings. In more whom live in rural villages and towns. largest oil producer in sub-Saharan developed areas, garbage, pollution Slightly smaller than the state of Africa. Between 2002 and 2011, from light, noise and water traffic are Maryland, Equatorial Guinea is the Equatorial Guinea experienced the additional threats. Nest predation by smallest country in the Congo Basin. fastest economic growth per capita domestic dogs and other species are Despite its small size, Equatorial in the world. This economic growth is also detrimental to the turtles. Guinea has the fourth highest species exerting amplified pressure on natural richness of primates in Africa. In resources. Extractive Industries addition to 19 primate species on the Extractive industries – including mainland, there are 11 on Bioko Island. Current Threats to Biodiversity in logging, mining and oil exploration Of these, eight are endemic subspecies, Equatorial Guinea – threaten EG’s wildlife directly making Bioko Island a particularly by destroying or degrading habitat important area for primate Commercial bushmeat trade and indirectly by establishing road conservation. Equatorial Guinea’s vast The commercial bushmeat trade refers access to poachers and the bushmeat beaches and coastal waters are visited to the over-hunting of wildlife for its market. The camps bring new human by four species of threatened marine meat and income. In 2007, Equatorial settlements who have agricultural turtle (green, leatherback, olive ridley, Guinea’s President Obiang issued and protein needs. Oil exploration and and hawksbill). Bioko Island’s southern a decree banning the hunting and resource extraction in EG’s waters are black sand beaches represent consumption of all primates, but the also a significant disturbance to marine important marine turtle nesting sites, ban was only effective for a short time. turtles in EG. Since 2006, USFWS has supported conservation in Equatorial Guinea (EG) through 13 grants, totaling nearly $573,500. These USFWS funds were leveraged with more than $500,800 matching donations.

Mammalian Survey of EG (mainland) to bushmeat, ZSL conducted Between 2010 and 2011, USFWS participatory research in communities supported Conservation International, around protected areas of particular in collaboration with the Max importance to apes. In collaboration Planck Institute for Evolutionary with the National University of Anthropology and Equatorial Guinea’s Equatorial Guinea (UNGE), ZSL National Institute for Forestry conducted value chain analyses to Development and Protected Area identify market, distribution and Management, Instituto Nacional supply opportunities for domestic meat de Desarrollo Forestal y Gestión and fish production. With support from del Sistema de Áreas Protegidas this project and from Conservation (INDEFOR-AP), with a grant of International, the Ministry of Fisheries $170,000, to conduct the first-ever and Environment successfully widescale biological survey across confiscated three live primates from a Equatorial Guinea’s mainland. popular expatriate beach restaurant Focusing on apes and elephants, the in July 2012. The Ministry then led a survey built the capacity of national tour to raise awareness, distributing partners and provided comprehensive leaflets about wildlife laws and publicly baseline data on ape and elephant burning confiscated primate carcasses. populations and threats. The survey results estimated 884 (437–1,789) Bioko Biodiversity Protection elephants and 11,097 (8,719–13,592) Program (BBPP) Bushmeat sold on the side of the road in chimpanzees and gorillas remaining Bioko Island lies adjacent to Cameroon mainland Equatorial Guinea. in Equatorial Guinea’s mainland. and Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea. It Credit: Matt Muir/USFWS The results confirmed strong local represents one of the world’s original and commercial hunting pressure, 25 “Biodiversity Hotspots”. Although and continued patrols of marine turtle while roads show a negative impact the government established two beaches along Bioko’s southern coast. on elephants and mammalian body protected areas on Bioko, comprising mass. Significant signs of hunting were approximately 40% of the land area, Marine Turtle Conservation found within protected areas, which enforcement of wildlife laws in these Since 2007, USFWS supports illustrated a lack of law enforcement. areas is severely lacking. Bushmeat is INDEFOR-AP, in collaboration with the main threat to terrestrial wildlife the Wildlife Conservation Society and Bushmeat alternatives project on Bioko and the demand is high. BBPP, to protect marine turtles in Between 2010 and 2012, USFWS Since 2011, USFWS has supported the Equatorial Guinea. Activities include supported the Zoological Society of Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program night patrols targeting important London (ZSL) to launch a bushmeat (BBPP), an academic partnership marine turtle nesting beaches, alternative pilot project in mainland between Drexel University and UNGE, protection of nests, environmental Equatorial Guinea to prevent the to protect Bioko’s wildlife against education and outreach, economic hunting, sale, consumption, and threats including the bushmeat trade. alternatives, and law enforcment possession of great apes and other BBPP’s work, focusing on endangered efforts. Increased awareness on the threatened species. In order to primates, amphibians, marine turtles, mainland recently resulted in the evaluate culturally acceptable and and forest biodiversity on Bioko, confiscation and release of several economically feasible alternatives received nearly $70,000 from USFWS, marine turtles by government officials. which was leveraged by $60,000 These releases were broadcast on U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in matching funds. With USFWS national television. Since 2007, USFWS International Affairs support, BBPP conducted surveys of awarded $170,000 to INDEFOR-AP to Division of International Conservation the endemic and critically endangered support this project, which leveraged 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: IA Pennant’s red colobus and two species an additional $144,000 in matching Falls Church, VA 22041 of critically endangered amphibians, funds. 703-358-1754 703-358-2115/fax USFWS Support to Equatorial Guinea, FY2006-FY2013 [email protected] http://www.fws.gov/international Grants Awarded 13 twitter.com/USFWSInternatl Amount Awarded $573,489 Facebook: USFWSinternationalaffairs Amount Leveraged $500,845 September 2014 Total Investment $1,074,334