Kambui Hills Forest Reserve (6838)
Sierra Leone, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2015

National site name: Kambui Hills Forest Reserve

Central coordinates: Latitude: 7.9167, Longitude: -11.2833

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 100 to 645

Area of KBA (km²): 234.45572

Protected area coverage (%): 99.97

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Located in the south-east of the country, Kambui Hills Forest Reserve comprises two major blocks, Kambui North (20,348 ha) and Kambui South (880 ha). The two areas are divided by the main road linking Kenema, 10 km to the east, with the town of Bo. The Forest Reserve occurs on steep slopes, reaching 645 m in Kambui North. The reserve acts as a catchment area for a number of reservoirs that supply Kenema and surrounding communities. The vegetation is predominantly mature secondary moist forest with semi-deciduous forest on the slopes, and farmbush and thicket on the lower plains and the fringes of the reserve.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Guinea Forests of West Africa Hotspot (2015). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Over 200 species of bird have been recorded, including five species of global conservation concern. Non-bird biodiversity: The following primates occur: Pan troglodytes verus (EN), Procolobus badius (LR/nt), Colobus polykomus (LR/nt), Cercocebus atys (LR/nt) and Cercopithecus diana (VU). Other threatened mammals known include Loxodonta africana cyclotis (EN) and the duikers Cephalophus jentinki (VU), C. niger (LR/nt) and C. maxwelli (LR/nt).

Habitats

Land use: forestry | hunting | nature conservation and research | water management

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	60
Wetlands(Inland)	5
Artificial - Terrestrial	15
Savanna	20

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Kambui North was officially designated a Forest Reserve in 1920, Kambui South in 1932. The reserve is primarily managed as a national production forest, i.e. is exploited commercially for timber, and acts as a buffer against the exploitation of the Gola Forest Reserve (IBA SL010), about 40 km to the east. The main threat to the reserve is illegal, unsustainable timber exploitation. Subsistence hunting of bush-meat is intensive and occurs in all areas. All primates, other large mammals and some bird species, including hornbills, are hunted. The rough nature of the terrain is the only factor impeding exploitation. A number of farms exist around the fringes of the reserve, especially in those areas closest to Kenema, but these currently pose little threat. A management plan was developed by one of the logging companies, mainly relating to purported sustainable logging operations.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Only in the future
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing

Additional information