The southern segment of the buffer zone of the TNS World Heritage site was selected as one of the landscapes where the ACL approach is being implemented. The study area covers approximately 506,256 hectares and is contiguous to the Lobéké and Nouabale-Ndoki National Parks. From an administrative standpoint, the site falls in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The human population density in the study site is very low, with estimates of ca. 9,000 inhabitants, made up of ca. 84% Bantu and immigrants and ca. 16% semi-nomads (Baka and Ba’aka). Most of the populations are concentrated in five localities: Kabo, Kika and Ndoki II, which are industrial logging operating sites, Bomassa, which is the headquarters of the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, and Socambo, a border village between Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The remaining population is distributed on the outskirts of the Sangha river in about thirty small villages and indigineous camps.
The study site plays an important role for the movement of wildlife in the landscape, and especially for elephant populations, along corridors between Lobéké National Park (Cameroon) and the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park (Republic of Congo). The study area encompasses a forestry concession in Congo as well as three concessions in Cameroon (two of which are also designated as hunting zones) and a small community forest.
The main threats affecting the conservation of forests and wildlife species – including elephants, great apes, duiker and bongo, among others – include poaching for ivory and bushmeat, mineral exploration, unsustainable industrial logging and illegal artisanal mining. Existing infrastructure in the area include roads suitable for motor vehicles, setup and maintained mainly by forest concessionaires, two airfields (one in Kika, Cameroon, and another in Kabo, Republic of Congo) and an international airport (in the periphery of the study site in the city of Ouesso).
