25/08/2026
ERuDeF's Great Apes Programme
Cameroon's Great Apes in the east and southwest regions are facing growing threats from human activities and habitat loss.
These regions are home to very important great ape species, the western lowland gorilla classified as Critically Endangered, and the central chimpanzee classified as Endangered.
Eastern Cameroon and the Southwest remains a major biodiversity hotspot and hosts some of the last significant populations of these great apes in Equatorial Africa.
However, increasing pressures on their habitats are putting their populations at risk. Key threats include poaching, habitat fragmentation, agricultural expansion, and industrial logging, among other human activities.
Some areas of particular conservation importance are the Deng Deng–Dja landscape in the East region and the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in the Southwest where forest habitats and wildlife corridors are increasingly fragmented.
Maintaining connectivity between these habitats is important for the movement, survival, and long-term conservation of great ape populations.
Protecting these species requires a combination of habitat protection, corridor management, wildlife monitoring, and community-based conservation.
Conservation measures include strengthening the management and protection of wildlife corridors, conducting regular surveys of threatened species, reducing hunting pressure, and supporting communities with sustainable alternatives to activities that threaten wildlife.
At ERuDeF, we believe that community involvement is central to conservation efforts which can help reduce pressure on natural resources while creating stronger incentives for sustainable management.
Through strengthening connectivity corridors, monitoring threatened species, reducing poaching, and working closely with communities, conservation actors can help safeguard the great apes and the wider biodiversity of Cameroon .
Conservation International Green Times Africa
