OVERVIEW: East Nimba Nature Reserve
Located at the tri-border of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Liberia, the Nimba Mountains have a long-standing reputation as a globally significant biodiversity hotspot and center of endemism. The East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR) has a long history of biological research that stretches back nearly 60 years. Ecological research was undertaken at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Nimba Research Laboratory in Grassfield between 1963 and 1982, when research was suspended due to civil unrest. With peace restored, our program seeks to rebuild a modern research station at Grassfield and re-establish ENNR as a regionally important research site.
sENNR lies within a transboundary matrix of mixed land uses. The principal land use pressure is from small-scale shifting agriculture. Local food insecurity is compounded by increasing populations and reduced fallow times to meet immediate needs at the cost of longer-term yields. Wild meat harvest is assumed to be a significant pressure for many mammalian species. However, there is an urgent need for a greater understanding of the dynamics linking the integrity of ENNR and the provision of ecosystem services for communities highly dependent on natural resources.
The reserve is characterized primarily by montane tropical forests. However, the original vegetation on the summits of Mt. Nimba was seriously depleted by mining activities in the 1960s-70s. The wider area within which ENNR is located has a wealth of mineral resources. As a result, mining activities have led to a depletion of the ecosystem and natural resources in several protected areas and community forests. While mining within ENNR concluded in the 1980s, mining activities have continued in the surrounding landscape, including significant iron ore extraction by ArcelorMittal on peaks in West Nimba.
Across all taxa, ENNR supports a globally significant but understudied assemblage of species, including Africa's largest butterfly, the African Giant Swallowtail, the Nimba Otter Shrew, the Viviparous Nimba Toad, and the Western Chimpanzee. There are notable opportunities for a greater understanding of the conservation status of the reserve's unique species assemblages. Mineral extraction in the region has produced some useful baseline surveys and identified unique facets of the reserve's species compositions on which future research can build.
The reserve is characterized primarily by montane tropical forests. However, the original vegetation on the summits of Mt. Nimba was seriously depleted by mining activities in the 1960s-70s. The wider area within which ENNR is located has a wealth of mineral resources. As a result, mining activities have led to a depletion of the ecosystem and natural resources in several protected areas and community forests. While mining within ENNR concluded in the 1980s, mining activities have continued in the surrounding landscape, including significant iron ore extraction by ArcelorMittal on peaks in West Nimba.
Across all taxa, ENNR supports a globally significant but understudied assemblage of species, including Africa's largest butterfly, the African Giant Swallowtail, the Nimba Otter Shrew, the Viviparous Nimba Toad, and the Western Chimpanzee. There are notable opportunities for a greater understanding of the conservation status of the reserve's unique species assemblages. Mineral extraction in the region has produced some useful baseline surveys and identified unique facets of the reserve's species compositions on which future research can build.
Local Partners
- Fauna & Flora (FF) has a history of working within the landscape, including supporting the development of the ENNR Management Plan.
- Nimba Nature and Environment Initiative is a local conservation NGO led by entomologist Szabolcs Sáfián (Safi).
- The ENNR Co-Management Committee was established in 2010 by a Co-Management Agreement between the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and local communities.
Research OPPORTUNITIES: EAST NIMBA NATURE RESERVE
The unique history, geography, and conservation contexts offered by ENNR provide a scenario that supports compelling and groundbreaking research. There also remains a wealth of foundational research and targeted studies necessary to support the achievement of applied conservation goals, which can be leveraged to provide teaching opportunities and foster collaboration between international and local experts.
- Protected area management, including:
- Benefits and challenges of co-management
- Community forest resilience in the face of food insecurity and mineral extraction
- Biomonitoring methods in low-capacity landscapes
- Anti-poaching approaches
- Tourism development and benefit sharing
- “One health” concepts in practice, including:
- Zoonotic diseases and wildlife health
- The sustainability of ecosystem service use under climate and development scenarios
- Ethnobotany
- Human-wildlife conflicts: foundational studies into human-primate conflicts and co-existence strategies
- Development and conservation trade-offs and opportunities
- Wild meat, food security, and alternative protein sources
- Commercialization of natural resources, including:
- Extractive industries, biodiversity, and demographic changes
- Landscape restoration in areas of historic mineral extraction
- Wildlife trade, including across international borders
- Ecological studies within a unique species assemblage
- Population genetics, including isolated populations and endemic species
- The ecology of range-restricted species
- Ecology across altitude gradients
- Entomology (613 butterfly species alone and more discovered during each new survey)
- A unique opportunity to undertake pioneering studies into the lifecycle of the African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus)
- What works in conservation, assessments of intervention effectiveness
Stay informed
ENNR is a diverse landscape with a fascinating history and geography. To stay informed about the development of our research station, research opportunities, funding announcements, teaching opportunities and exciting collaborations with local and international organisations then please email or join our mailing list using the button below.