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The
Proposed Mefou National Park,
Central Province, Cameroon
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The
proposed Mefou National Park lies
near the capital city, Yaoundé. It
is largely lowland forest below 600
m alt. with several hills and
rivers. Parts in the south around
the village of Ndanan I, where CWAF's
base camp is placed, are used to
rehabilitate gorillas, chimpanzees
and other primates captured from
poachers by officers of the Ministry
of the Environment & Forests (MINEF).
No previous botanical inventory work
had been conducted in the area, so
far as is known. The first
expedition into this area took place
in October 2002.
Dave Kruger (Earthwatch
volunteer) at the gorilla
enclosures, Mefou.
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The forest at Mefou,
along the track from Ndanan I
to II. |
Although a relatively small area,
a number of different vegetation
type occur at Mefou. Most of the
proposed park area that was seen
comprises of farmland/farmbush.
These areas are believed to have
been logged and then to have been
converted to Cocoa and Cassava farms
which are still very much apparent.
On the route due south of Ndanan I,
open Raphia swamp and
cyperaceae meadows are encountered.
However, north of this village is
semi-deciduous forest, rich in
timber species. Near the village of
Ndanan II there is inundated fresh
water swamp forest dominated by Gilbertiodendron
dewevrei and Nauclea amongst
others. In the lower lying areas is
evergreen forest, a habitat that is
probably the most species diverse in
the park.
| Kew projects
Working together with the Herbier
National Camerounais (HNC-IRAD)
and CWAF
(Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund,
supported by Bristol
zoo), and in part
sponsored by Earthwatch,
the objectives of the project
are:
- To begin to discover all
vascular plant species
present by collecting
specimens for future
identification, to record
local names and use where
available.
- To investigate which of
these if any are
threatened with extinction
(Red Data Species), to
assess their conservation
status and to document
them in detail so as to
facilitate their mapping;
and their identification
for protection by those
managing the park in
future.
- To characterise the main
vegetation types present
within the park boundary
so as to aid
interpretation for
visitors and to assess
their value for
conservation.
- To make a Conservation
Checklist of the flora in
the proposed National
Park.
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Edmondo Njume, Equipment
Manager on the Cameroon Rainforest
Earthwatch expeditions,
demonstrating plant pressing
techniques to the Earthwatch
volunteers. |
| New
discoveries
Two rare, and very
distinctive species were
identified; both are potential
Red Data Species and therefore
are potential priorities for
conservation. Neither of these
species had been seen alive by
any of the botanists
concerned, causing
considerable interest:
- Cola letouzeyana
Nkongm. (Sterculiaceae).
It is known from only c. 6
sites in the Yaounde –
Edea – Kribi – Esaka
polygon with an outlier at
Mt. Cameroon. Only two
plants were found at Mefou
despite much searching.
Evidently even where it
occurs it is rare.
- Tricalysia
amplexicaule Robbr. (Rubiaceae).
Initially this was
suspected of being a new
species to science. Follow
up work at the National
Herbarium of Cameroon soon
showed it to have been
named 15 years ago. Known
also from c. 6 sites in
the same polygon as C.
letouzeyana, T.
amplexicaule is also a Red
data Candidate.
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| Brillantasia
owariensis (Acanthaceae)
growing along the track from
Ndanan I to II, Mefou |
Collecting
a specimen of Cucurbitaceae
near abandoned chimpanzee
enclosure, Mefou |
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Bibliography
Carroll, J. B., Gage, M., Hurst,
L. & Maddison, N. (2003).
Bristol Zoo Gardens supporting
primates in Cameroon: a partnership
with Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund.
International Zoo News 50(1): 21-26.
Wortley, A. (2003). Hunting Thomandersia:
observations of an apprentice plant
collector. Oxford Plant Systematics
10: 8-9. |
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