JoTT COMMUNI C ATION 4(8): 2745–2752 Key Biodiversity Area Special Series Key Biodiversity Areas identification in the Upper Guinea forest biodiversity hotspot O.M.L. Kouame 1, N. Jengre 2, M. Kobele 3, D. Knox 4, D.B. Ahon 5, J. Gbondo 6, J. Gamys 7, W. Egnankou 8, D. Siaffa 9, A. Okoni-Williams 10 & M. Saliou 11 1 4744 Kenmore ave # 202, Alexandria, VA, 22304, USA 2 Hse No. 36 Abotsi Street, East Legon P. O. Box KA 9714, Airport Accra 3,11 Guinee Ecologie, 210 DI 501 Dixinn, PoB:3266 Conakry, Guinea 4 The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 5 22 BP 918 Abidjan 22 Côte d’Ivoire 6 150 Princeton Arms South II, East Windsor, N.J 08512, USA 7 Conservation International-Liberia, Back Road, Congo Town, Monrovia, Liberia 8 SOS-FORETS, 22 BP 918 Abidjan 22 Côte d’Ivoire 9 11B Becklyn Drive, Off Main Motor Road, Congo Cross, Freetown, Sierra Leone 10 Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone PMB Freetown, Sierra Leone Email: 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected], 6 [email protected], 7 [email protected], 8 [email protected], 9 [email protected], 10 [email protected], 11 [email protected] Date of publication (online): 06 August 2012 Abstract: Priority-setting approaches and tools are commons ways to support the Date of publication (print): 06 August 2012 rapid extinction of species and their habitats and the effective allocation of resources ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) for their conservation. The Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) approach is a method for the Manuscript details: identification of fine-scale priority areas for conservation. This process led bottom-up Ms # o2717 has been used in the Upper Guinea Forest Ecosystem of West Africa where human- Received 23 February 2011 induced changes have increased the extinction risk of several endemic and threatened Final revised received 23 May 2012 species. The irreplaceability and vulnerability criteria commonly used in conservation Finally accepted 05 June 2012 planning have been used to identify key biodiversity areas in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Citation: Kouame, O.M.L., N. Jengre, M. Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Point locality data were compiled from scientific Kobele, D. Knox, D.B. Ahon, J. Gbondo, J. reports, papers published in scientific journals and museum records. The delineation Gamys, W. Egnankou, D. Siaffa, A. Okoni- was conducted following a series of decision rules. In most cases existing IBA polygons Williams & M. Saliou (2012). Key Biodiversity and protected areas boundaries were used. For the new sites, temporary boundaries Areas identification in the Upper Guinea forest have been drawn and will be confirmed with land-use data. Preliminary KBA data were biodiversity hotspot. Journal of Threatened reviewed by specialists during formal workshops. One hundred and fifty four KBA have Taxa 4(8): 2745–2752. been identified in the five countries with 202 globally threatened species. Currently Copyright: © O.M.L. Kouame, N. Jengre, 63% of the KBA are protected. Two AZE sites still exist in the region. This assessment M. Kobele, D. Knox, D.B. Ahon, J. Gbondo, is a first step and is driven from the best available data at the time. There is a need J. Gamys, W. Egnankou, D. Siaffa, A. Okoni- to refine it with recent biodiversity surveys to assist decision-makers in achieving their Williams & M. Saliou 2012. Creative Commons conservation management goals. Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and Keywords: AZE, biodiversity, conservation planning, IUCN, Key Biodiversity Area, distribution by providing adequate credit to the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa. authors and the source of publication. For Author Details, Author Contribution and Acknowledgements see end of this article. The Key Biodiversity Area series documents the application of the concept and showcases the results from various parts of the world. The series is edited under the auspices of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas/Species Survival Commission Joint Task Force on ‘Biodiversity and Protected Areas’, with the editors supported by BirdLife International, Conservation International, IUCN, National Fish OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD & Wildlife Foundation, NatureServe, Parks Canada, and Plantlife International. Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | August 2012 | 4(8): 2745–2752 2745 KBAs—Upper Guinea O.M.L. Kouame et al. INTRODUCTION summarizes the results of applying the KBA process in the region. The Upper Guinea Forest Ecosystem of West Africa extends from Guinea into eastern Sierra Leone, and eastward through Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana METHODS into western Togo. The overall forest ecosystem of the region historically covered approximately 420,000km2 KBAs identification in Upper Guinea forest builds but estimates of existing forest suggest a loss of nearly upon the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) identified for 80% (CEPF 2000). It contains exceptionally diverse those five countries by the BirdLife International ecological communities of forest habitat, providing partnership (Fishpool & Evans 2001). In this refuge to numerous endemic species. assessment, we have documented the presence of The region has been the subject of several species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, conservation assessments and priority-setting crustaceans, butterflies and plants that trigger KBA initiatives. At the global level, the Upper Guinea criteria in the existing IBAs, and identify new sites forest ecosystem region is considered one of the triggered by species in these taxa. world’s top priority regions for conservation because KBAs are generally identified based on the of its high endemism of flora and fauna (Bakarr et al. confirmed presence of: (i) globally threatened species, 2004). Another global analysis conducted on centers classified as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered of plant diversity and endemism has identified 14 (EN), or Vulnerable (VU) according to IUCN Red List centers of plant endemism within the Guinean Forest (IUCN 2007); and (ii) restricted-range species, using a Hotspot. Those coarse-scale conservation priorities threshold population of 5% or more of the population do not give information on the precise locations where of species with range-sizes of 50,000km2 or less (Eken conservation resources should be focused. In this et al. 2004). In addition, for IBAs, criteria had been biologically rich and highly fragmented landscape, used to identify sites based on; (iii) congregations conservation planning and implementation stand to of species that concentrate at particular sites during benefit greatly from high resolution biodiversity data some stage in their life cycle; and (iv) biome- (Brooks et al. 2004). restricted species assemblages (Eken et al. 2004). The key biodiversity areas (KBAs) approach is The first of these four criteria addresses vulnerability, a method for the identification of fine-scale priority while the latter three cover different components of areas for conservation. KBAs are sites of global irreplaceability (Margules & Pressey 2000). Although significance for biodiversity conservation that are a threshold of 10 pairs or 30 individuals is suggested large enough or sufficiently interconnected to support when applying the vulnerability criteria for vertebrate populations of the globally threatened species for which species classified as VU (Langhammer et al. 2007), due they are important (Eken et al. 2004). Conservation to the lack of information on species abundance, we International and several partners in the Upper considered the confirmed occurrence of a threatened Guinea region have undertaken the identification and species as sufficient to trigger KBA identification. delineation of KBAs in five countries (Guinea, Ghana, Species occurrence data were compiled from Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone). This paper scientific reports, papers published in scientific Table 1. Summary data for KBA networks for each country included within the analysis. Area of KBAs % of land surface # KBAs % KBAs Country Area (km2) # KBAs (km2) included in KBAs protected protected Côte d’Ivoire 322,462 34 30,460 9% 30 88% Ghana 238,535 54 18,344 8% 51 94% Guinea 245,857 27 13,014 5% 6 22% Liberia 111,369 25 59,654 54% 2 8% Sierra Leone 71,740 15 11635 16% 9 60% 2746 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | August 2012 | 4(8): 2745–2752 KBAs—Upper Guinea O.M.L. Kouame et al. Figure 1. Map of protected and unprotected KBAs in Upper Guinea Forest region. Table 2. Numbers of species triggering each of the KBA criteria for each higher taxonomic group. Vulnerability Irreplaceability Higher taxon CR EN VU Restricted-range Mammals 2 9 190 27 2008). Most of the plant data came from the Oxford Birds 1 2 9 15 University Herbaria online database (OUH 2011). Reptiles 2 3 3 4 Butterfly data came from Larsen (2006). For the Amphibians 5 9 6 26 reptiles, occurrence data were extracted mainly from Actinopterygii 0 1 1 5 Okoni-Williams et al. (2005). Fish data were compiled Chondrichthyes 4 3 3 0 from Dankwa et al. (1999), Ofori-Danson et al. (2003) Crustaceans 0 1 0 0 and Ofori-Danson & Kumi (2006). Additional sources Butterflies 0 0 0 88 are listed in Appendix I. Plants 4 24 91 498 Spatial data used to delineate the KBAs boundaries included available point localities and distribution information for species, IBA polygons, and protected journals and museum records. Mammal data were areas (PA) boundaries. In some cases, existing IBA or obtained from primary surveys and Rapid Assessment PA boundaries were modified as needed to incorporate Program (RAP) reports. The majority of amphibian nearby habitat for target species. For the new sites, data were provided by Rödel et al. (2005) and by the temporary boundaries have been drawn and will IUCN Global Amphibian Assessment (Stuart et al.