COUNTRY Cote d'Ivoire/Guinea

NAME Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve

IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY
Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
Biosphere Reserve
Natural World Heritage Site - Criteria ii, iv

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE
3.01.01 (Guinean Rain Forest)
3.04.04 (West African Woodland Savanna)

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION The massif of Nimba is situated on the border between Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, some 20km from the town of Lola and 62km from N'Zérékoré. The boundary follows the international border between Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, such that the Liberian portion of the massif is excluded from the World Heritage site. 7°18'N, 10°35'W

DATE AND HISTORY ESTABLISHMENT Strict nature reserve established by Order No. 4190 SE/F, 1943, in Côte d'Ivoire and by decree in 1944 in Guinea. Côte d'Ivoire nature reserve is a 'forêt classée' under national ownership. Contiguous nature reserve proposed in Liberian section. Guinean sector internationally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCOs Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1980. Both reserves were inscribed on the World Heritage List, the Guinean sector in 1981 and the Côte d'Ivoire sector in 1982.

AREA Nature reserve (Guinea) 13,000ha; nature reserve (Côte d'Ivoire) 5,000ha; biosphere reserve (Guinea) 17,130ha. Contiguous to a proposed nature reserve in Liberia.

LAND TENURE Government

ALTITUDE 450m to 1,752m (Mont Richard Molard)

CLIMATE The following account relies on data from Liberian Nimba. Mean minimum and maximum temperatures recorded on Mount Nimba are 14°C and 30°C, respectively. Mean annual rainfall is about 3000mm, but varies with elevation from 3825mm and 1818mm per annum. The wettest months are usually May to October on the mountain and April to October at its base, but there is a pronounced variation within these periods, although the maxima normally falls in August-September. January is the driest month with a mean rainfall of 20mm. Relative humidity in the mornings is generally 94% to 99%, dropping in theafternoon to between 18% and 93%. The mean minimum of 18% is only recorded during January and February when dry, frequently heavily dust-laden 'Harmattan' winds blow from the desert. A dense cloud cover hangs over Mount Nimba above 850m for much of the year, but less so during the dry season (Colston and Curry-Lindahl, 1986). Detailed accounts of the climate are given by Schnell (1952), Adam (1971) and Coe (1975).

PHYSICAL FEATURES Mount Nimba is part of the 'Guinean Backbone', rising 1,000m above the even, almost flat, surrounding glacis. It forms an immense barrier, lying along a south-west to the north-east axis. This area is unequalled as an illustration of the theory of erosion levels. The sharp relief and striking topography of the mountains, with their grass-covered summits and precipitous slopes, is due to a bar of ore-containing quartzites. Since the end of the Primary Era, erosion through weathering has caused a gigantic sheet of this quartzite to jut out of the softer schists and granitogneiss, which form the piedmont. The softer rocks have been gradually weathered and removed. These hard iron-quartzite crusts cover the vast sub-horizontal glacis of the eastern and northern parts of the piedmont and create very poor soils, which are usually skeletal or non-existent. The soil conditions explain the belt of savanna vegetation at 500-550m around the mountains. The Nimba Mountains contain the sources of the rivers Cavally and Ya (which forms the Mami River of Liberia) and are cut up by deep, richly forested valleys. There is great topographical diversity, with valleys, plateaux, rounded hilltops, rocky peaks, abrupt cliffs and bare granitic blocks, and the whole area constitutes a vast water catchment. It is also of archaeological interest.

VEGETATION There are three major vegetation types: 1) High altitude grassland with Loudetia kagerensis near the summit and endemics including Blaeria nimbana and Dolichos nimbaensis and woody plants such as Protea angolensis on the slopes, which are absent from the ridges. Remnants of forest at high altitudes are likely to be dominated by Mytaceae species and the ravines by tree fern Cyathula cylindrica var. mannii. 2) Plains savanna varying according to the hardness of the soil and supporting numerous herbaceous plant communities. The savanna is broken by gallery forests which grow between 1,000m-1,600m. Parinari excelsa is dominant above 1,000m, and there are abundant epiphytes. 3) Predominantly primary forest, located mainly on the foothills and in the valleys, with dominant species including Triplochiton scleroxylon, Chlorophora regia, Morus mesozygia, Terminalia ivorensis, Lophira procera, Tarrietia utilis, and Mapania spp. Drier, mid-altitude forests with trees such as Triplochiton scleroxylon, Piptadeniastrum africanum, and Parkia bicolor are found at the northern end of the Mount Nimba chain. Dry forests are rarer than rainforests because of agricultural pressures, and some of the dry forest species have disappeared from many areas. More than 2,000 plant species have been described from the area, and about 16 are thought to be endemic (Adam, 1971-83). Montane endemics include a pteridophyte, Asplenium schnellii (I), two phanerogams, Osbeckia porteresii (I) and Blaeria nimbana. The area has been identified as a centre of plant diversity under the IUCN-WWF Plants Conservation Programme (IUCN/WWF, 1988).

FAUNA More than 500 new species of fauna have been discovered in Mount Nimba Reserve and there are more than 200 endemic species (Curry-Lindahl, pers. comm., 1987). Species diversity is exceptionally rich because of the variety of ecotones created by the presence of grasslands laced with forest. Mammals include bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, Maxwell's duiker Cephalophus maxwelli and particularly black duiker Cephalophus niger, bay duiker C. dorsalis and forest buffalo Syncerus caffer nanus, bush pig Potamochoerus porcus, warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus, scaly anteaters such as white-bellied pangolinManis tricuspis, pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis, leopard Panthera pardus, lion P. leo, golden cat Felis aurata, two-spotted palm civet Nandinia binotata, African civet Civettictis civetta, forest genet Genetta maculata, servaline genet Genetta servalina, Johnston's genet Genetta johnstoni, cane rat Thryonomys swinderianus, African clawless otter Aonyx capensis, lesser otter shrew Micropotamogale lamottei (a new genus discovered on Mount Nimba), potto Perodicticus potto, western black and white colobus Colobus polykomos, red colobus Colobus badius, diana monkey Cercopithecus diana, chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (V), and lesser bushbaby Galago senegalensis. Information relating to the distribution, feeding and breeding of fifty-five mammal species is given in Coe (1975). One of the most noteworthy species is the viviparous toad Nectophrynoides occidentalis (V), which occurs in montane grasslands at 1,200-1,600m and is one of few tailless amphibians in the world that are totally viviparous. N. liberiensis, also found on Nimba, shares this characteristic. There are a number of rare and endemic bird species and a detailed account of birds in Liberian Nimba is given in Coston and Curry-Lindahl (1986). Upland invertebrate species include gastropod molluscs and various types of insects belonging to the Carabidae, Gryllidae, Acrididae and the Forciculidae (beetle, grasshopper, cricket and earwig) families, of which more than 20 are endemic to Mount Nimba. The forests contain numerous reptile and amphibian species including West African toad Bufo superciliaris and frog Cassina lamottei.

CULTURAL HERITAGE Hewn stone tools and chippings have been discovered in a rock shelter at Blandé at the northern end of the mountain.

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION There has probably never been any village on the actual mountains, but there are ten villages in the immediate vicinity of Nimba with several thousand inhabitants, mainly growing crops. Since 1991, population pressure has been increasing following the arrival of refugees from Liberia (Direction National de la Recherche Scientific et Technique, pers. comm., 1995).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES Tourism is prohibited within the strict nature reserves, but is permitted within the biosphere reserve in organised groups (Direction National de la Recherche Scientific et Technique, pers. comm., 1995).

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES Botanical, zoological, and geological inventories have been completed. More than 500 new species have been described or reported, including several mammals (a new genus of otter shrew), more than ten amphibians and reptiles, several fish and arthropods (notably centipedes and harvestmen), and molluscs. Research includes phytosociological studies of high altitude grasslands, primate studies, and the collection of meteorological data. Several international research workers in the fields of biology, ecology, geography, primatology and meteorology are interested in this area and with appropriate facilities, scientific research in Nimba could form the basis of a tropical ecology station of international importance. There are six patrol stations in the reserve which are used to monitor various environmental parameters. The IFAN (French Instute Français pour l'Afrique Noire) research station is at the northern tip of the mountain chain. The Nimba Research Laboratory in Liberia has been in operation since 1963, under the aegis of the IUCN Nimba Research Committee and is partly funded by LAMCO (Liberian-American-Swedish Minerals Company). Descriptions of early work on Liberian Nimba are given in Coe and Curry-Lindahyl (1965) and Curry-Lindahl (1965, 1968 and 1969). The single most important work is probably that of Adam (1971-1983) whilst abibliography and other studies are given in Colston and Curry-Lindahl (1986). The Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire parts of Nimba are well known through a number of publications. The major works are by Schnell (1952), Angel et al. (1954a; 1954b), Leclerc et al. (1955), Heim de Balsac (1958), Heim de Balsac and Lamotte (1958). Guibe and Lamotte (1958, 1963), Laurent (1958), Lamotte (1959), Aellen (1963) and Lamottoe and Xavier (1972). A summarised account of the natural history of the Nimba Range in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia is given by Curry-Lindahl and Harroy (1972). The government has organised various missions and training conferences together with UNESCO in order to redefine the problems of ecosystem protection (Lamotte, 1983; Pascual, Soumah, Coumbassa, Traore and Kabala, 1988; Pascual, Soumah, Coumbassa and Kabala, 1989). These missions have added to scientific knowledge of various fauna (Lamotte 1982, 1983) and flora (Fournier, 1987; Schnell, 1987) species, and soils. During the same period chimpanzees at Bossou were studied by the Institute of Primatology, University of Kyoto (Sugiyama, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1989; Sugiyama and Koman, 1979, 1987; Sugiyama, Koman and Sow, 1988).

CONSERVATION VALUE This area of dense forest harbours an especially rich flora and fauna, with endemic species such as the viviparous toad and chimpanzees.

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT The reserve does not have a management plan. Awareness of the value of the area and a better degree of protection seems possible following designation of the reserve as a World Heritage site. On 28 January 1989 a convention was signed by UNDP, UNESCO and the Government to initiate a two-year project to study the impact of traditional agricultural methods and iron ore extraction etc. on the natural values of the site. The project covers scientific studies to complete knowledge of the reserves's extremely rich ecosystems, as well as technical measures for monitoring and protection, and should provide the basis for an integral management plan for the transition zone which corresponds to the entire Guinean part of the high basin of Cavally (called Diougou in Guinea), or 160,000ha (half of the Lola prefecture).

MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS Habitat destruction constitutes the major threat, principally through slash and burn agriculture. Another threat is from the massive iron-ore mining activities in the southern part of the chain in Liberia. About 6,000ha are in danger. Roads, wells and mineshafts have been built and workshops and townships established in what has been a strict nature reserve since 1944. Hundreds of square metres of soil have been removed over large areas and, as a result, many streams for miles around are fouled with heavy metal run-off, particularly ferruginous rock debris. The area designated as a World Heritage site excludes both the Liberian sector, already badly degraded by mining and intensive poaching, and the northern Guinean part, already disturbed by mining activities and threatened by more. But these two areas could serve as a buffer zone for the World Heritage site if hunting were strictly controlled. It is proposed to study the best way of rehabilitating this zone as an artificial park after exploitation. By 1989, iron ore deposits in the Liberian part of Mount Nimba had been effectively exhausted. However, there is a proposal to exploit iron ore deposits in the central part of the Guinean Mount Nimba, starting in 1990. Deposits are found in the final 300m of the hills and cover an area (in plan) of some 197ha. There are an estimated 300 million tonnes of iron ore and an annual production of 12 million tonnes is envisaged. It is hoped that environmental impacts will be reduced by using infrastructure already in place in Liberia, such as the railway to the deep-water port at Buchanan.

The site has also been threatened with the arrival of a large number of refugees from Liberia to areas in and around the Guinean part of the World Heritage site. This, together with the threat of agricultural encroachment and mining led to the site being added to the World Heritage in Danger list in 1992.

STAFF Total of 17, with two researchers (undated information).

BUDGET No information

LOCAL ADDRESSES

In Guinea, Station Biologique des Monts Nimba, S/C INRDG, BP 561, Conakry

REFERENCES

Adam, J.G. (1971-1983). Flore descriptive des Monts Nimba. Vols.1-6. Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle B.20: 1-527; 22: 529-908.

Adam J.G. (1981). Flore descriptive des Monts Nimba (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée, Libéria). Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris.

Aellen, V. (1963). La Réserve Intégrale du Mont Nimba. 29. Chiroptères. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 66: 629-638.

Angel, F., Guibé, J. and Lamotte, M. (1954a). La Reserve Integrale du Mont Nimba. 31. Lézards. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 40: 371-380.

Angel, F., Guibé, J. and Lamotte, M. (1954a). La Reserve Integrale du Mont Nimba. 32. Serpents. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 40: 381-402.

Anon. (1952). La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mont Nimba. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 19.

Anon. (1958). La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mont Nimba. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 53.

Anon. (1963). La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mont Nimba. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 66. Biosphere Reserve Nomination submitted to Unesco.

Coe, M.J. (1975). Mammalian ecological studies on Mount Nimba, Liberia. Mammalia 39: 523-587.

Coe, M.J. and Curry-Lindahl, K. (1965). Ecology of a mountain: first report on Liberian Nimba. Oryx 8: 177-184.

Colston, P.R. and Curry-Lindahl, K. (1986). The birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. British Museum (Natural History), London. Publication No. 982. London. 129 pp.

Curry-Lindahl, K. (1965). Biological investigations of the Nimba Range, Liberia. IUCN Bulletin. New Series 17: 7.

Curry-Lindahl, K. (1968). Activities of the Nimba Research Committee. IUCN Bulletin 2:1.

Curry-Lindahl, K. (1969). Research and conservation of wildlife in Liberia. LAMCO News 3: 5-8.

Curry-Lindahl, K. and Harroy, J.P. (1972). National Parks of the World. Vol. 2. New York. 241 pp.

Fournier, A. (1987). Quelques données quantitatives sur les formations herbacées d'altitude des monts Nimba (Ouest africain). Bulletin du Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, 4e série 9, section B, Adansonia 2: 153-166.

Guibé, J. and Lamotte, M. (1958). La Réserve Intégrale du Mont Nimba. 12. Batraciens. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 53: 241-273.

Guibé, J. and Lamotte, M. (1963). La Réserve Intégrale du Mont Nimba. 27. Batraciens du genre Phrynobatrachus. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 66: 601-627.

Heim de Balsac, H. (1958). La Réserve Intégrale du Mont Nimba. 14. Mammiferes Insectivores. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 53: 301-337.

Heim de Balsac, H. and Lamotte, M. (1958). La Réserve Integrale du Mont Nimba. 15. Mammiferes rongeurs (Muscardinides et Murides). Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 53: 339-357.

IUCN/WWF (1988). Centres of Plant Diversity: a guide and strategy for their conservation. IUCN-WWF Plants Conservation Programme/IUCN Threatened Plants Unit. 40 pp.

Lamotte, M. (1959). Observations écologiques sur les populations naturelles de Nectophrynoides occidentalis (Fam. Bufonidés). Bull. Biol. Fr. Belg. 93: 355-413.

Lamotte, M. (1983). The undermining of Mount Nimba. Ambio 12: 174-179.

Lamotte, M. (1983). Problèmes de la protection et de la gestion de la réserve du Nimba. Rapport de mission, Division des sciences écologiques, Unesco.

Lamotte, M. and Xavier, F. (1972). Recherches sur le développement embryonnaire de Nectophrynoides occidentalis Angel, amphibian anoure vivipare. 1. Anns. Embryol. Morphogen 5: 315-340.

Laurent, R. (1958). La Réserve Intégrale du Mont Nimba. 13. Les rainettes du genre Hyperolius. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 53: 275-299.

Leclerc, J.C., Lamotte, M., Richard-Molard, J., Rougerie, G. and Porteres, P. (1955). La Réserve Naturelle Intégrale du Mont Nimba. La chaine du Nimba: essai géographique. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 43: 1-256.

Pascual, J.F. (1984). Rapport de la mission menée en Guinée aux monts Nimba (1e partie) et en Côte d'Ivoire (2e partie) du 26 novembre au 28 décembre 1983. CEGET-CNRS 117.

Pascual, J.F. (1987). Les caractéristiques physiques, chimiques et minéralogiques des formations superficielles des crêtes NE des monts Nimba. CEGET-CNRS 109.

Pascual, J.F. (in press). Les sols actuels et les formations superficielles des crêtes Nord-Est du Nimba (Guinée). Contribution à l'étude géomorphologique du quaternaire de la chaîne. Cahiers ORSTOM, série pédo.

Pascual, J.F., Soumah, F., Coumbassa, S.A., Traore, I.S. and Kabala, D.M. (1988). Rapport de la mission menée en République de Guinée du 20 octobre au 17 novembre 1988. Division des sciences écologiques, Unesco. 37 pp.

Pascual, J.F., Soumah, F., Coumbassa, A.S., and Kabala, D.M. (1989). Rapport de la mission menée en Guinée du 19 janvier au 3 février. Division des sciences écologiques, Unesco. 16 pp.

Schnell, R. (1952). Vegétation et flore de la région montagneuse du Nimba. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 22 1-604.

Schnell, R. (1987). Les formations herbeuses montagnardes des monts Nimba (Ouest africain). Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 4e série, 9 section B, Adansonia 2: 137-151.

Sugiyama, Y. (1981). Tool-using and -making behaviour in wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Primates 20: 513-524.

Sugiyama, Y. (1984). Population dynamics of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea, between 1976 and 1983. Primates 25: 391-400.

Sugiyama, Y. (in press). A ten-year summary of population dynamics for chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. In: Heltne, P.G., Marquardt, L.G. (eds) Understanding chimpanzees. Chicago Academy of Science.

Sugiyama, Y. and Koman, J. (1979). Social structure and dynamics of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Primates 20: 323-339.

Sugiyama, Y. and Koman, J. (1987). A preliminary list of chimpanzees alimentation at Bossou, Guinea. Primates 28: 391-400.

Sugiyama, Y., Koman, J. and Sow, M.B. (1988). Ant-catching wands of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Folia Primatol. 51: 56-60.

UNDP (1989). Projet pilote des Monts Nimba. Gui/89/004/01/13. United Nation Development Programme. Unpublished. 19 pp.

World Heritage Nomination submitted to Unesco.

DATE 1983, reviewed May 1989, updated September 1989, March 1990