Gashaka Gumti National Park has some of the highest rates of biodiversity and endemism on the continent, and is a stronghold for many threatened West African species. However, the park's ecosystems have become very degraded in places and wildlife populations have declined dramatically. While poaching remains a serious threat to wildlife, other threats illegal logging, artisanal mining, illegal cattle grazing and associated forest fires. ANI is working to protect Gashaka Gumti's stunning natural heritage and aims to rewild the park, re-establishing resilient, intact, functioning ecosystems.
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Landscape Management
ANI aims to improve the management of the park's landscapes, including developing and implementing a grazing and fire management plan in partnership with local cattle grazing communities that will include establishing alternative grazing reserves to reduce the number of cattle in the park. By managing fire and grazing in the park, we aim to promote the regeneration of the trees and animals of the park's lowland rainforest, dry wooded savanna, cloud forests and montane grasslands.
Species Reintroduction
Unfortunately, several large charismatic species in Gashaka Gumti have become extinct in the last 30 years including elephant, lion, giraffe, eland and African wild dog. Once adequate protection is in place and other conditions are right, ANI plans to reintroduce some of these key species in order to restore the ecological integrity of the park. This rewilding of the park, bringing back key species to their native environments will strengthen the landscape's resilience and its local communities to climate change, increase carbon stocks and the park's attractiveness for eco-tourism.
Invasive Species Management
Non-native species can negatively impact indigenous ones while degrading habitats. Gashaka Gumti contains several invasive species that have thrived in overgrazed and heavily-impacted ecosystems, including Gmelina arborea and Chromolaena odorata in the south of the park and Calopogonium mucunoides in the north. Targeted research will determine how damaging these species are and inform strategies for elimination of these species from the park.
Transboundary Conservation
Wildlife moves across international boundaries. Gashaka Gumti is located along the international boundary with Cameroon. It shares a boundary with the proposed Tchabal Mbabo National Park and is almost contiguous with Faro National Park, both of which are in Cameroon. We hope to work with partners in Cameroon towards the gazettement of Tchabal Mbabo as a national park and to establish a wildlife corridor connecting Faro with Gashaka Gumti. Ultimately our vision is for transboundary protected area management enabling wildlife to move freely and be protected across all three areas.
St Nicholas House (10th Floor)
Catholic Mission Street, Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +234 810 120 4379
E-mail: info@ani-nigeria.org