Cameroon reserve gives Cross River gorilla habitat new recognition
A June 2026 biosphere designation connects rainforest conservation with community knowledge near the Nigeria border.
News report
Cameroon’s Takamanda–Cross River Gorilla landscape became a UNESCO biosphere reserve on June 5, 2026. The designation recognizes habitat for a critically endangered great ape while including communities whose land-use traditions form part of the area’s conservation history.
The reserve is situated in the Guinean Forests of West Africa near the Cameroon–Nigeria border. Its habitats range from lowland rainforest to montane cloud forest and riverside corridors. UNESCO’s profile puts its area at 307,115 hectares.
UNESCO estimates that the landscape shelters roughly a third of the global Cross River gorilla population. It also identifies drill monkeys, Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees, forest elephants and more than 950 plant species. The designation itself does not demonstrate a new increase in gorilla numbers; it recognizes the ecological importance of the habitat that supports them.
The profile describes community practices such as protecting sacred groves, observing species taboos and using customary land systems. Women’s cooperatives collect forest products including bush mango, njangsang and honey, while young people participate in conservation and guiding. These are existing elements of the landscape, not benefits guaranteed by the new status.
The biosphere framework offers a way to connect those activities with research and habitat management. Its practical contribution will depend on continued participation and protection of the forest connections on which wildlife relies. The June decision is a conservation milestone for a living landscape, with future results still to be assessed.