Mount Oku (6115)
Cameroon, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Mount Oku
Central coordinates: Latitude: 6.1956, Longitude: 10.5075
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Area of KBA (km2): 163.53369
Protected area coverage (%): 5.38
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: At 3,011 m Oku is, after Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in West Africa. The site, also contains the Kilum Ijim, Mont Oku Flora Sanctuary (WDPAID: 555697861), the boundaries of which were largely agreed in 1988 and mostly follow the 2,200 m contour, but come down to 1,600 m at their lowest point. They enclose an area of c.20,000 ha, about half of which is montane forest, now the only extensive area of forest left anywhere in the Bamenda highlands. Important trees throughout include Carapa procera, Schefflera abyssinica, S. mannii and Syzygium guineense bamendae; Podocarpus latifolius is locally dominant at high altitudes and there is extensive Arundinaria bamboo forest above 2,600 m. The canopy of the forest is usually rather open and there are extensive shrubberies of Acanthaceae in the understorey. Habitats also include montane Sporobolus grassland, Gnidia woodland and montane Hypericum–Adenocarpus shrubland together with a few swamps (the main one is Afua at 2,100 m); Lake Oku (at 2,200 m and with a diameter of c.2,000 m) is in a cuvette entirely surrounded by forest. Average annual rainfall is over 2,000 mm. The slopes below the reserve (which were also forested in the past) are now almost entirely under cultivation. The Kilum–Ijim Forest Project has been operated by BirdLife International since 1987; a major achievement has been to get the local communities to agree on a limit beyond which no more forest is going to be cut down for cultivation. This largely follows the 2,200 m contour and the boundary has been clearly delineated, with some local tree species planted along it. The project now gives technical support to local communities to develop Community Forests, surrounding a Plant Life Sanctuary of about 500 ha around the crater lake. The forest is utilized in various ways, including trapping of small rodents for food and collection of honey from bee-hives; the latter is actively encouraged by the project. People do not hunt Tauraco bannermani as a rule, but the larger Corythaeola cristata was hunted to extinction in the 1980s. One of the main threats remains forest clearance for agriculture, should the community management system, currently being set up, not last. The plateau grasslands are at times grazed by large flocks of sheep and goats with resulting erosion and damage to the forest understorey; fires that get out of control in the dry season can also damage portions of the forest. Dead wood (standing or otherwise) is collected on a large scale for fuel; the gradual disappearance of standing dead trees is likely to affect populations of hole-nesting birds. This represents another major threat to the forest today, and as dead wood is not in sufficient supply live trees are also taken. More than 200,000 people depend on the forest for fuel and at the present rate of utilization the forest has probably no long-term future if an alternative source of fuel cannot be found. Other threats include over-harvesting of particular tree species for specific uses—Prunus africana, Podocarpus, etc.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site contains the entire known populations of the amphibians Crotaphatrema lamottei, Phrynobatrachus chukuchuku, Phrynobatrachus njiomock, Wolterstorffina chirioi, and Xenopus longipes and the mammals Hylomyscus grandis, Lamottemys okuensis, and Lophuromys dieterleni. Five species of birds meet B2 and an additional 27 species of birds and four mammals meet legacy KBA criteria and are in need of reassessment.
Manageability of the site: Site was identified as a KBA in 2001 and as an AZE during the 2015-2018 AZE project. A portion of the site is covered by Kilum Ijim, Mont Oku Flora Sanctuary (WDPAID: 555697861).
Delineation rationale: This site was identified as an IBA/KBA in 2001. An original delineation rationale is not available.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Savanna | 25 | |
| Forest | 25 | |
| Shrubland | 25 | |
| Grassland | 25 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Fire & fire suppression | Increase in fire frequency/intensity | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Shifting agriculture | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Livestock farming & ranching | Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Herbicides and pesticides | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Only in the future |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing |