Assessing Threats to Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, Togo, Using Birds as Indicators of Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

Protected areas are crucial for the conservation of West Africa’s increasingly imperiled wildlife, but are under unprecedented pressure associated with exponential human population growth in the region. Using birds as biodiversity indicators, we investigated the conservation status of Togo’s Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, which was managed by a private foundation from 1990 to 2015, and since 2015 has been managed by the state. Between 2022 and 2024, we conducted 90 days of bird surveys in the park and documented a total of 240 bird species. Our findings include 34 species new to the park, including the first record of Emin’s Shrike (Lanius gubernator) in Togo, the first sightings of the Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) since 1990, and first observations of the Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus) since 2019. Many such species survive in Togo only in Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, but its exceptional biodiversity has come under increasing assault from illegal activities, including poaching, logging, road construction, charcoal production, cattle grazing, and land clearance to establish agricultural plantations. We were unable to document 91 bird species previously reported for the park during our surveys, suggesting a possible ~31% decline in avian species richness in the park compared to historical records. Apparent extirpations of globally-threatened raptors such as the Critically Endangered White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) and Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), and declines of the Endangered Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) further indicate that current conservation strategies are failing to adequately protect wildlife in the park. Togo’s two other historical national parks have already been almost entirely destroyed by human activities, and unless urgent conservation action is taken, there is a high risk that Fazao-Malfakassa National Park will share the same fate. We urgently recommend improving support for law enforcement capacity and park staff, conducting community conservation outreach, and ongoing monitoring of wildlife in the park to assess its conservation success.

1. Introduction

Biodiversity is declining worldwide under the pressure of increasing human populations and associated exploitation of plants and animals [1,2]. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, together with unsustainable hunting and other forms of overexploitation threaten tens of thousands of species worldwide with extinction [1]. Protected areas are a key tool for mitigating these threats, by conserving natural areas together with their wildlife, ecosystem services, and cultural values [3,4]. Large and well-managed protected areas are not only fundamental for biodiversity conservation, but can provide major economic benefits to local communities [5]. However, the vulnerability of protected areas to anthropogenic threats can pose a major threat to their conservation effectiveness [6,7,8]. The human population of West Africa has quintupled since 1950, a change associated with declining natural areas and wildlife as human activities have increasingly dominated the region’s landscapes [9]. One of the smallest countries in West Africa, Togo has one of tropical Africa’s highest human population densities and fastest-growing populations [10], which has increased from approximately one million at the beginning of the 20th century to nearly 10 million today [11].

Although 14% of Togo’s land area has been designated as nature or wildlife reserves, domestic political conflicts in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the total or near-total destruction of much of Togo’s wildlife and many of its protected areas [12]. For example, uncontrolled poaching, habitat conversion, and human encroachment in Kéran National Park and Oti Wildlife Reserve led to devastating losses of biodiversity in Togo, including extirpations of many mammal and bird populations [10,12]. Togo also incurred significant economic losses due to the elimination of revenues from ecotourism including ~USD1.2–1.4 million annually prior to 1990, as protected areas and wildlife were deliberately targeted for destruction by groups hostile to Togo’s central government and conservation strategies [10,12,13,14,15,16]. Although Togo’s northern protected areas bore the brunt of these conflicts, the destruction of an estimated ~15% of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (FMNP) in central Togo also ensued due to the subsequent introduction of permanent settlements by groups of people displaced by these conflicts [12].

Beginning in 1990, the Togolese government contracted the Swiss Franz Weber Foundation to manage FMNP for a renewable period of 25 years [12], making this the only protected area in the country under private, rather than state, management. At the same time that state-managed protected areas in Togo were being destroyed by human activities, management by the Franz Weber Foundation enabled FMNP to conserve much of its biological diversity, habitats, and species. Prior to 1990, the park was uninhabited and had ~14 villages in the vicinity of its boundaries [17]. However, since 1990, immigration into the southeast region of the park and the subsequent proliferation of settlements inside and around the park boundaries resulted in the number of villages surrounding the park more than tripling to ~50 within two decades [18]. This rapid and ongoing human population growth and expansion has meant that biodiversity in FMNP has come under intense and increasing pressure associated with human activities, including road building, poaching, illegal logging and charcoal production, the establishment of commercial crop plantations using chemical herbicides and pesticides, livestock grazing, and the widespread destruction of trees to harvest honey [10,12,18]. Accelerating interest in exploiting natural resources in the park for economic gain apparently contributed to the failure to renew Togo’s contract with the Franz Weber Foundation when it expired in 2015 [19].

As the largest remaining area of natural habitat in the country, FMNP represents a biodiversity reservoir of national and international importance, yet the park has been the subject of surprisingly few published studies of its ecology and wildlife [10,12,20,21]. Bird surveys conducted in 2005 in the park documented 199 species in 48 days of fieldwork, including one new species for Togo, the White-browed Forest Flycatcher (Fraseria cinerascens) [22]. Further bird surveys carried out in 2015, 2016, and 2019 documented 236 species, bringing the total number of bird species documented in and around the park to 295 [12]. Most bird records in FMNP were documented before and during its management by the Franz Weber Foundation, up through its initial period of transition from private to state management in 2015–2016 [10,12,22]. During and following FMNP’s transition from private to state management mandate, a surge in poaching and other illegal activities such as logging and agricultural encroachment inside the park occurred [12,19], in a somewhat similar manner to the events that led to the destruction of Togo’s other state-management protected areas decades earlier [13,14,15]. Due to the paucity of studies, however, the impacts of these changes on wildlife communities and populations within the park have remained largely undocumented.

Widespread and diverse, birds may serve as ideal biodiversity indicators because they are relatively easy to detect and identify, and sensitive to environmental change [23]. Large birds at the top of the food chain, such as raptors, may be particularly sensitive to ecosystem changes such as wildlife and habitat declines [23]. Largely as a result of uncontrolled human activities, FMNP has lost >40% of closed-canopy forest and >20% of savanna-woodland habitats [20]. Remaining habitat has become severely fragmented due to increasing human exploitation of the park’s natural resources in the absence of effective deterrents [20]. The human population around and inside FMNP had increased to ~120,000 in ~56 villages by 2018 [20,24], and continues to grow, raising the question of how ongoing and increasing human activities in the park have affected its biodiversity. Here, we conducted surveys for birds as biodiversity indicators in FMNP, with four main objectives: (1) to update knowledge of bird diversity, distribution, and conservation status in the park; (2) to compare our findings with previously collected data on birds in the park and assess any apparent differences in bird species occurrence and distribution over time; (3) to evaluate threats posed to biodiversity in the park by illegal activities; and (4) to use our findings as a basis for management recommendations.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Site

We carried out bird surveys in FMNP (Figure 1), located in central Togo (between 8°19′–9°11′ N and 0°36′–1°27′ E). Covering an area of 1920 km², it is the largest protected area in Togo and the country’s largest remaining area of natural vegetation [12,20]. The undulating terrain of the park includes some of Togo’s most important geographical features [10,12]. The climate is humid tropical in the highlands and tropical savanna (Sudanese region) in the lowlands, with a rainy season from April to October and a dry season from November to March; the average annual temperature is about 25 °C, and the total annual rainfall varies between 800 and 1500 mm [25]. Biogeographically, the park lies at the northern edge of the transition zone between the tropical rainforests of the Guineo-Congolese region and the savannas of the Sudanese region [12]. The vegetation of the park consists mainly of wooded savanna and open forest, with riparian forest (denser and more extensive along the Kamassi River than along the Loukoulou River) and dense semi-deciduous forest, particularly in the southern part of the park and west of the village of Fazao [26].

The Fazao Mountains, culminating at an elevation of 813 m, border the park to the west, forming spectacular cliffs near the villages of Boulohou and Souroukou (Figure 2a), and the Malfakassa Mountains lie to the north–east, rising to a maximum height of 713 m. The highest point (Pic Mazala, 861 m) is south of the village of Fazao, while Mont Kpéya (841 m) is located in the center of the park. FMNP is characterized by a relatively dense hydrographic network: the northern half of the park is crossed by the Loukoulou and Kamassi Rivers (Figure 2b), which flow from south to north and both empty into the Mô River; in the south, the Kpaza River originates west of the village of Fazao, and the Koué River forms the border with Ghana [27]. According to Togolese government data, the population density in this area more than doubled between 1981 and 2010, from 21 inhabitants/km² to 47 inhabitants/km² [28]. By 2010, the population living within a 5 km radius of FMNP was estimated at ~60,000 people, a number which appears to have doubled to 120,000 people within the next eight years, by 2018 [20,28], apparently due in part to immigration. The present population is made of multiple ethnic groups, including the Kotokoli, Agnanga, Adélé, Bassar, Fulani, and Kabyè [18,24].

2.2. Bird Surveys

We carried out fieldwork for a total of 90 days in 2022, 2023, and 2024, conducting bird surveys during both the dry and rainy seasons in an effort to maximize the number of species we could identify [29,30]. Survey periods in 2022 and 2023 corresponded to the breeding season for many resident species, and to the wintering and pre-breeding migration period of Palearctic wintering species and intra-African migratory species nesting in the Sahel [10,12]. In 2022, the park was surveyed over 34 days, between 1 and 13 March, 4 and 12 May, and September 2022. The locations surveyed, in chronological order, included Kalaré (Figure 2c), Cabane, and Point de Vue; Binako (alternatively spelled Bounako) (Figure 2b); Boulohou–Souroukou (Figure 2a), the Koué Valley, and the Kamassi Valley (Figure 1). In 2023, we conducted 39 days of surveys, from 6 February to 26 March; locations explored were the same as in 2022, with the exception of Binako, plus the additional areas of Mont Kpéya (Figure 2d), west of Fazao village, the Kpaza Valley, and Hézoudè (Figure 1). In 2024, we conducted 17 days of surveys, between 15 November and 3 December, including multiple locations in the vicinity of the Fazao-Tassi track, the road north of Fazao village to Mare aux Crocodiles and Point de Vue, as well as Binako and Kalaré (Figure 1).

We conducted surveys either directly from the ranger stations located inside or on the edge of the park (Kalaré, Point de Vue, Binako), or by setting up temporary camps for several days, always in the company of one or two park rangers. We reached more remote areas either by vehicle (Kalaré, Cabane, Point de Vue, Fazao, and Hézoudè areas) or on foot, following existing tracks, paths, and riverbeds, and focusing on areas of high bird activity. In addition to the savanna and open forest that cover most of the park, we paid particular attention to the riparian vegetation, as these environments attract a high diversity of bird species, particularly in the dry season, linked to the presence of large trees and waterholes. Wherever possible, we also investigated denser forest areas in the western and southern parts of the park, which are home to a diverse avifauna, and to habitats associated with specialist species assemblages, such as the rocky outcrops of Mont Kpéya and the Souroukou cliffs. We identified and recorded all species detected visually or aurally, documenting nocturnal species mainly on the basis of their vocalizations.

We used the point-listening method to collect bird data due to the rugged terrain of the study area [31]. Survey locations were selected >1.5 km apart from each other to reduce the chance of double counting the same individuals. At each location, over a 20 min period, all species observed or heard within a 150 m radius were recorded, together with the number of individuals, habitat, GPS coordinates, and the time of day. Before recording, each observer remained motionless for 5 min so as to mitigate any disturbance effects. Surveys were carried out in the mornings from 06:00 to 10:00 and in the afternoons from 16:00 to 18:30, which corresponds to a period of sufficiently heterogeneous activity in diurnal birds [31].

2.3. Anthropogenic Threats and Park Management

During our bird surveys, we noted and documented anthropogenic threats, including direct (e.g., poachers, charcoal burning, cattle herds, bush fires set by poachers, road building) or indirect (e.g., shotgun cartridges, poached animal remains, poachers’ camps, charcoal operation remains, cut trees, cattle tracks) evidence. On the basis of these field counts, we estimated the intensity of each threat, ranging from low (one sign per survey day), moderate (two signs per survey day), or high (three or more signs per survey day). We also held informal discussions regarding anthropogenic threats and current and past park management with park rangers (many of whom had previously worked with the Franz Weber Foundation), as well as other people we encountered in the park, including charcoal operators and cattle herders.

3. Results

3.1. Bird Diversity

We identified a total of 240 bird species in the park between 2022 and 2024, encompassing 69 families, and including 34 new species to the park and one new to Togo (Appendix A). Among the most represented orders were Passeriformes (54% of species), Coraciiformes (8%), and Accipitriformes (7%); other orders were represented by less than 5% of the observed species. The most represented families included Accipitridae (7% of species), Muscicapidae (6%), Estrildidae (5%), and Nectariniidae (5%), while others amounted to less than 5%. Excluding the 34 new species to the park, 77% of the observed species were resident, 12% were intra-Africa migratory species and intra-Africa migratory/resident, and 7% were Palearctic migratory species and Palearctic migratory/resident. Furthermore, 21 of the recorded species are endemic to the Sudanese savanna biome, and 19 are endemic to the Guineo-Congolese forest region. Our record of the Emin’s Shrike (Lanius gubernator) was a first for Togo. We observed this on 20 February 2023 at ~09:00, about 3 km from our campsite near Mont Kpéya (8°51′23.8′′ N 0°48′17.5′′ E), on the Point de Vue-Cabane track to the northeast of Mont Kpéya and about 1.5 km from the Loukoulou River on the way to Cabane. We observed a single individual on a bright, sunny morning, perched atop a dry tree in a shrubby burnt savanna, as it flew short distances to different perches several times during a ~20 min period.

One of our most important additional findings was the rediscovery of the Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata; Figure 3a) in Togo. We observed two individuals of this species in 2023, and in 2024, we again heard at least two individuals of this species vocalizing in the vicinity of our sightings the previous year. Another extremely encouraging finding included several observations of the Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus; Figure 3b), which is designated as Vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [32] and had been feared extinct in Togo. We made multiple sightings of a trio of birds in newly burned woodland-savanna in November 2024, including an adult male and female, and a third individual whose sex and age could not be determined. Other noteworthy species included the Yellow-throated Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx flavigularis), which was documented for the fourth time in the country since 1900; the White-throated Francolin (Campocolinus albogularis), which represented the fourth record and third recorded location in Togo, representing an extension of its range by 90 km to the south; and the Black Bee-eater (Merops gularis; Figure 3c), which was the fifth record for this species (the first since 1990) and the third known locality in the country. The park also provides a refuge for newly discovered species in the park including the Sharpe’s Apalis (Apalis sharpii; Figure 3d), which is designated by the IUCN as Near-Threatened with extinction [32].

3.2. Illegal Human Activities Threatening the Park

We witnessed numerous illegal activities during our fieldwork at all locations we visited, some of them affecting all surveyed areas, although there was considerable spatial variation (

Table 1. Observed intensities * of illegal activities threatening biodiversity in Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, categorized by area.

Activity	Kalaré	Cabane	Point de Vue/Mare Crocodiles	Mt. Kpéya	Fazao-Tassi	Hézoudè	Binako	Boulohou Souroukou	Kamassi	Kpaza	Koué
Poaching	Medium	High	High	-	High	Medium	Medium	High	High	Medium	Medium
Burning by poachers	-	-	High	-	High	-	-	-	-	-	-
Honey collection	Medium	-	Medium	Medium	High	High	Low	High	Medium	High	Medium
Charcoal production	High	-	-	-	-	High	-	-	-	-	-
Timber cutting	High	-	-	-	-	High	-	-	-	-	-
Cattle grazing	High	Medium	-	-	High	High	Medium	Medium	-	High	-
Plantation agriculture	-	-	-	-	High	-	-	Medium	-	High	High
Harvesting Khaya senegalensis bark	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	High	High
Harvesting Detarium fruit	-	-	-	-	Medium	Medium	-	-	-	-	-

* Categories: High = 3 or more indications of activity observed/day (i.e., cut trees, charcoal operations, shotgun shells, cattle tracks); Medium = 2 indications/day; Low = 1 indication/day; “-” = Not observed during our visits.

; Figure 4). Poaching is the most direct threat to wildlife, and we observed evidence of poaching in almost every location we visited, including the most remote locations we visited in the interior that are only accessible on foot (e.g., Cabane, Kamassi) (Table 1). For example, we encountered a group of six poachers in 2023 between the Boulohou and Kamassi Rivers. As demonstrated by the abundance of shots, shotgun shells, and poacher camps, poaching appeared to be particularly intense in the vicinity of the Fazao-Tassi track and along the track from Loukoulou to Cabane. At poacher camps (Figure 4a), we observed meat smoking tables and remains of butchered animals, including feathers from a dead Great Blue Turaco (Figure 4b). Along with poaching, felling trees to harvest wild honey is among the most ubiquitous threats to the park (Figure 4c). This activity is intense and pervasive, resulting in the destruction of many large trees and usually killing all the bees whose honey is taken; we counted hundreds of cut trees for honey and did not observe any active hives or living bees in the park.

In 2022, we found an active charcoal production area 2–3 km southeast of the Kalaré ranger station in a riparian forest near the eastern edge of the park (Figure 4d,e), with dozens of cut trees along the river and several charcoal mounds still smoking. Although we reported this illegal activity in 2022, in 2023, we found that these charcoal operations had further expanded into the open forest along the access track to Kalaré, coming within 1.5 km of the newly renovated ranger station, yet unimpeded by law enforcement. We found other large areas charcoal production sites in the Kalaré area and also observed charcoal production in the Hézoudè area. Although we made reports on these and other illegal activities again in 2023, when we returned in 2024, we found that illegal activities, including charcoal operations, had continued to expand farther into the park, despite being easily visible from the entrance road and the ongoing production of heavy smoke. In 2024, we encountered two active charcoal operations near the ranger station and counted hundreds of trees that were destroyed south and east of the ranger station. We also encountered an active illegal operation in the process of converting 10 Erythrophleum (rosewood) trees to charcoal. The ranger identified the charcoal operator as someone whom he had previously arrested for the same activities. The charcoal operator reported traveling ~15 km to enter the park and that as a charcoal producer, he expected to earn ~$60 for two weeks of labor, or ~$4/day, which is approximately double the daily earnings of the park rangers. The charcoal operator also stated that he was producing charcoal in the park as part of his agreement to work for a charcoal distributor connected with park officials through corrupt practices and organized crime.

Grazing cattle is a widespread illegal activity in FMNP, despite being highly visible, as herds can number several hundred animals (Figure 4f). Almost all areas are affected, even in the heart of the park, although the wide valleys of the Kpaza and Bouzè (Hézoudè area) are particularly impacted because they are very easy to access. We also encountered several Fulani herders with herds of cattle in the park and observed hundreds of cattle tracks and piles of cattle dung in the park, indicating their regular presence inside the park. Herders are not deterred by law enforcement and may return with their herds to the same place a day or two after being arrested. One herder who was arrested in our presence told us he had come from Benin to work for a wealthy cattle owner in the area who had connections to park staff, and paid him $40/month to graze the cattle in the park, suggesting that high-level corruption allowed him to continue returning to the park without fear of negative consequences. Many rangers observed that after they arrested illegal actors, they frequently learned that those they had arrested were released within days, after arrangements were made on their behalf, including financial transactions. In turn, many illegal actors we witnessed being arrested were identified as repeat offenders who returned and continue conducting illegal activities in the park.

Agricultural plantations now encircle the park (e.g., yam, cassava, cashew, tobacco; Figure 4g) and have expanded into the park around places such as Fazao village, where woodland has been continuously cleared for several kilometers inside the park boundaries. For example, on the track south from Fazao towards Pic Mazala, the area around the clearly marked park boundary had been converted into a soybean field and where commercial plantations had been established for several kilometers further into the park by the time of our first visit in 2022. We found numerous agricultural pesticide and herbicide containers discarded in and along streams in this area, and encountered numerous farmers traveling to and from Fazao village by motorcycle, including one carrying a load of charcoal from inside the park. The track between Fazao and Tassi is also used by farmers on motorcycles, as well as herders and poachers; we counted vehicles numbering between 10 and 20 per day on this track during our visit in 2024. In addition, in the Kouidah area (Koué Valley), the agricultural encroaching advancing. We observed intense harvesting of Khaya senegalensis bark in the Kpaza and Koué Valleys; bark is removed up to a height of about 3 m from the ground, around the entire circumference of the tree (Figure 4h), commonly killing the tree (F. Dowsett-Lemaire, pers. comm.). Less detrimental human activities in the park may include harvesting of Detarium fruit (Figure 4i) and other forest products, but most human activities in the park carry negative consequences for biodiversity and conservation.

Many illegal activities we found were associated with one or more other illegal activities in the park, intensifying their negative impacts. For example, tree cutting to take honey appears to be a regular activity of poachers, and poaching appears to be a regular activity of charcoal operators. At one active charcoal camp, we found the remains of a Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis), which a charcoal operator told us he had killed and eaten, and at a nearby active charcoal camp, rangers confiscated a catapult (powerful slingshot), the most common method of hunting and killing birds. Cattle herders appear to follow charcoal operations, which open and fragment the forest, making the landscape more suitable for grazing, which further degrades the habitat and inhibits shrub and tree regeneration. Rangers also reported that poachers also often cut trees with beehives to supplement their income from poaching. Between 2022 and 2024, we found that the Fazao-Tassi track had been considerably widened and expanded, and increasingly featured vehicles, including migrants traveling to and from Ghana and Benin. Several people we encountered on this road were carrying quantities of illegal drugs and alcohol intended for sale, apparently in an effort to avoid the military checkpoints on the main roads. The fact that this road does not officially exist appears to make it attractive to migrants and smugglers wishing to evade scrutiny, in addition to the many people entering the park to conduct illegal activities such as poaching, logging, burning, and farming.

3.3. Impacts of Illegal Human Activities on Birds as Biodiversity Indicators in the Park

Many areas where we made sightings of rare wildlife, such as the Great Blue Turaco and Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, were unfortunately subject to intensive poaching and extensive burning by poachers to clear vegetation. Poaching and burning by poachers was particularly prevalent in the center of the park along the Fazao-Tassi track and along the Fazao-Point de Vue track, and in many days of surveys in these areas we noted the near-absence of any large raptors. In particular, we failed to observe any avian scavengers previously resident in the park, including the globally Critically Endangered White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) and Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), which now appear to have been extirpated (Figure 5a,b). The lowest intensity of poaching we observed was in the north of the park, both between Point de Vue and Binako, where the remaining elephant (Loxodonta spp.) appear to spend much of their time; here we made multiple sightings of raptor species that survive in the park, including the globally Endangered Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus; Figure 5c,d). Although large raptors appear to have largely disappeared from other areas of the park, we also observed the Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) in the northern part of the park, which appears to be less targeted by poachers and where more wildlife may survive as prey.

4. Discussion

4.1. Diversity and Conservation Status of the Park’s Birds and Other Biodiversity

The previously known 295 species (prior studies) [33] and discovery of 34 new species (this study) bring the total bird species documented in FMNP to 329. The true bird species richness of the park is probably even greater, with more species yet to be discovered. This is suggested in part by the fact that several Guineo-Congolese-region species found in the adjacent Kyabobo National Park in Ghana have not yet been recorded in the FMNP [34]. The particularly high diversity of birds present in the park can be explained by its geographical location in the transition zone between the Guineo-Congolese and Sudanese regions, which, combined with the persistence of dense forests, leads to the coexistence of many forest and savanna species. For instance, the Great Blue Turaco, the Yellow-throated Cuckoo, and the Black Bee-eater are tropical rainforest species more associated with the Congo Basin or the forests of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, and in the park, they can be found just a few kilometers from savanna species, such as the White-throated Francolin and Emin’s Shrike.

The total 329 bird species documented in FMNP can be compared to the 360 species recorded in Ghana’s Mole National Park (4840 km²) [34], despite Mole National Park being 2.5 times larger than FMNP. Other major protected areas in the region include W National Park (5630 km²) and Pendjari National Park (2750 km²), which are home to 313 [35] and 363 bird species [36,37], respectively. All of these national parks are much larger than FMNP but are located entirely in the Sudanese zone, which means that far fewer forest species are likely to be found there. Parks that are located in or near the transition zone, such as Ghana’s Digya National Park (3478 km²) and Kyabobo National Park (218 km²), adjacent to FMNP on the other side of the Koué River, have 300 and 240 species, respectively [34]. FMNP is also comparable to the largest and most important national parks in the region in terms of mammal biodiversity [21]. The park is home to the Critically Endangered African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), Endangered African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), and Critically Endangered Ursine colobus (Colobus vellerosus) [32], which we observed during our fieldwork.

Historically, a total of 52 terrestrial mammal species were reported as occurring within the FMNP [21]. However, a 2019 mammal study using camera traps and opportunistic observations found only 27 of these, suggesting a possible loss of ~48% of mammal species that previously occurred in the park [21], including African lions (Panthera leo) and leopards (Panthera pardus) [21]. On the other hand, the same study identified five terrestrial mammal species were for the first time in the park, including the African palm civet (Nandinia binotata) [21]. Likewise, the park hosts avian species that are increasingly rare in West Africa, such as the Great Blue Turaco, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, and Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), together with globally Endangered species, such as the Martial Eagle and Bateleur. In addition, the park hosts many wintering and migratory bird species from Europe and elsewhere in Africa, further indicating that the park has not just national, but international, importance.

4.2. Impacts of Illegal Activities Within the Park

According to many rangers, wildlife populations in the park have collapsed since 2015, and areas where tourist safaris took place are now virtually or totally empty of large mammals. A wide range of ongoing illegal activities have caused significant destruction to the wildlife and landscapes of FMNP, and these activities are ongoing, such that if they continue unchecked, they will lead to the destruction of FMNP in the foreseeable future. Poaching and habitat destruction are directly reducing and eliminating wildlife populations from the park. Of the total 295 bird species documented FMNP prior to our study [33], we were able to document only 204 of these species, suggesting a possible reduction by ~31% of bird species richness that previously occurred in the park. While these figures remain rough estimates due to the paucity of data and need for further study, they suggest wildlife species richness is declining in the park as a result of the impacts of unmitigated anthropogenic pressure. These findings, taken together with the discovery of 34 bird species new to the park, indicate both worrying declines in biodiversity as well as abundant evidence that biodiversity in the park has not yet been fully revealed and very much merits effective protection.

Unfortunately, no baseline data on bird abundance were available for us to measure changes in bird populations over time, but recent declines and apparent extirpations of several internationally threatened raptors from the park provide some indication of the decline of the park’s conservation status (Figure 5). For example, we made very few sightings of the Endangered Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and no Critically Endangered White-backed Vultures nor Hooded Vultures, all of which were previously resident in FMNP and most of which depend on protected areas for survival [11]. The White-backed Vulture was already considered rare in FMNP by 2005 [22], and had already been extirpated from Kéran National Park in northern Togo, where it was previously an abundant breeding species, following the destruction of almost all of the park’s wildlife and habitat [12]. Considered “almost extinct” in Togo by 2019, the White-backed Vulture’s last refuge in Togo was FMNP, where the last sighting of a single individual occurred in 2019 [12]. Although we hope that some individuals of this species may survive undetected in FMNP, the future survival of any remaining individuals would be severely threatened the lack of food resources due to poaching and wildlife declines as well as the persecution for use in wildlife trade across West Africa [38,39,40]. Hooded Vultures tend to be more human commensal, and while small populations survive elsewhere in Togo [12], they appear to have been extirpated from FMNP. The apparent extirpations of these apex scavengers is likely due in part to the elimination of much of the park’s mammalian wildlife [19,21], together with habitat destruction and degradation [12,20].

Widespread and intense poaching in the park may have further impacts at the ecosystem level: for instance, intense hunting of fruit-eating species (e.g., monkeys, hornbills, turacos) will limit seed dispersal and have consequences for tree regeneration [41]. Tree felling, grazing by livestock, and agricultural encroachment directly lead to habitat degradation. Illegal logging, charcoal production, and land clearance for agriculture reduces food resources (fruit, leaves, etc.), as well as the number of potential roosting or nesting sites. A single pair of this species was recorded in 2005 in FMNP [21], and a single individual sighted in 2019 [11] before our sightings in 2024. According to a ranger with many years of experience in the park, several Abyssinian Ground-Hornbills were regularly seen at locations near the center of the park in 2015, but have since disappeared; their large size and terrestrial habits make them particularly vulnerable to poachers. For instance, raptors, vultures, and other large birds such as the Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill need large trees to be able to nest [12].

Like many other large birds in Togo, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills have been extirpated from most of their former range, and many prior observations of this species in Togo were made in areas where natural habitats have been converted to human-dominated environments [10,12]. The sharp decline in this species’ abundance in FMNP can be inferred from the abundance of sightings in past decades, including large groups of five or more individuals [11,20], implying that these birds are highly vulnerable to extirpation from Togo. In the same vein, our records of only a few individuals of Great Blue Turaco in FMNP in 2023 and 2024 are another indication both of the decline of the conservation status of the park, and well as the urgency of implementing effective conservation measures. This species of large fruit-eating tree-dwelling bird is characteristic of the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, where it disperses seeds and contributes to forest regeneration [42], but it is highly threatened in West Africa [12].

Another indication of biodiversity changes in FMNP are new records of savanna birds that appear to be extending their range from the north as the park loses increasing areas of forests and woodlands [20]. For example, Preuss’s swallow (Petrochelidon preussi), Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser superciliosus), and Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) were all recorded as new species to the park although they are typical of the savanna and the Sahel. As a consequence of the reduction in canopy cover following tree loss, ground temperature and evaporation increases, while reduced root networks leads to decreased soil water retention and erosion [43]. This may have consequences for the water supply of the villages surrounding the park, as many rivers originate in the park or its immediate vicinity. Considering that conversion of Togo’s other large protected areas to human-dominated landscapes through poaching, charcoal production, grazing, and farming [12,13,14,15], there is an imminent risk that FMNP could share a similar fate in the absence of decisive conservation action.

4.3. Park Management

FMNP currently suffers from a critical lack of human, material, and financial resources, which undermines capacity for successful law enforcement and contributes to perverse incentives to various actors to destroy park resources for financial gain. As a result, the abundance and scale of the illegal activities in the park threaten its survival [12,18,19]. Notably, the vast majority (89%) of local residents interviewed in a 2017 study reported experiencing benefits from living close to the park, and 84% wanted the park to be maintained, while at the same time, most (58%) reported they felt they should have access to the park [24]. This apparent contradiction highlights the ongoing conflicts of interest between the protection and exploitation of the park that have posed challenges for decades, but have accelerated with the area’s fast-growing human population [18,20], and particularly since the park’s transition from private to state management [12,19]. Indeed, many people we encountered in the park during this study did not appear to recognize its boundaries or protected status, and instead appeared to consider that its protection effectively ended with the 2015 end of the mandate of the Franz Weber Foundation to manage the park.

People we encountered during our fieldwork who were conducting illegal activities reported doing so with the understanding that they are permitted to do so by powerful local actors, such as charcoal distributors and cattle owners, and with the complicity of government officials collectively profiting from this quasi-covert exploitation of the park’s natural resources. The park is easily and regularly accessed by the surrounding populations, such as in the vicinities of the villages of Fazao, Kouidah, and Tchatchako. Local inhabitants thus take advantage of their proximity and lax surveillance to extend their farmland inside the park, as well as by traveling herders, who regularly graze large herds of cattle throughout the park, depleting its resources for wildlife. Multiple studies have recommended addressing such challenges through improved community engagement and community-based natural resource management [14,15,24]. In fact, the Franz Weber Foundation engaged in community education and community-based management with local communities as part of its management approach from 1990–2015 [16,18]. However, these efforts were increasingly challenged over time by fast-multiplying numbers of people, communities, and expectations, coupled with the severe financial constraints inherent in monitoring, managing, and patrolling a large, remote protected area [18]. Moreover, community-based management programs often require significant, ongoing financial subsidies that may be captured by elites, and unfortunately do not necessarily deter illegal activities in the absence of effective law enforcement [41].

At the time of our surveys, most park rangers did not appear to have access to a patrol vehicle or fuel during the time of our surveys, in contrast to their situation at the time of the Franz Weber Foundation, when ranger stations had all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and monthly fuel allotments. As a result, most areas in the park are no longer patrolled and are left to the mercy of poachers, illegal charcoal producers, herders, and farmers who are collectively destroying the park. Areas under tremendous pressure include the Cabane area (Loukoulou Valley) and the Kamassi Valley, which are among the richest in the park in terms of birds and mammals. In addition, most of the rangers did not have uniforms or adequate footwear, and may also have old weapons of inferior quality to those used by poachers, few handcuffs, and no means of communication to request help or reinforcements, which puts them at risk if they try to apprehend offenders. Rangers may therefore encounter offenders far from the ranger station, without handcuffs or means of communication at their disposal, which makes attempts at law enforcement much more dangerous to rangers than necessary. Moreover, attempts at law enforcement by rangers may be undermined by powerful actors acting on offenders’ behalf through corrupt means [19].

Rangers thus appear to be effectively discouraged from patrolling or protecting the park, despite grants supporting park management totaling millions of USD from donors including the European Union, Global Environment Program, and United Nations Development Program [13,44]. Ranger stations appear to be chronically understaffed, and many rangers thus do not appear to be in or near the park on a regular basis. For example, the Point de Vue ranger station was recently renovated and provided with a water pump and solar panels, thanks to a grant from the European Union, but when we visited in 2022 and 2023, we found it empty on both occasions; in 2024, rangers arrived at station to receive us, arriving just before we did, after receiving advance notice of our arrival. The Kalaré ranger station was likewise renovated and provided with clean running water and solar panels thanks to funding from the European Union, which supported the construction of 11 buildings with ranger accommodations, office space, and bathrooms that were completed in 2021. However, by 2023, the water pump had broken and had not been repaired at the time of our last visit in 2024, so that this ranger station had been abandoned. Instead of manning the ranger station, rangers were provided with rented accommodations 16 km away from the park along the national highway, without regular access to a vehicle. Between the Kalaré ranger station and the location where the rangers are now based near the national highway is the Kalaré Community Forest, which features a sign indicating the receipt of European Union funding; however, in 2024, we found that a portion of the forest had been leased by the community for ~USD1000/yr to a non-resident who bulldozed the land, destroying all the trees, which were left discarded by the road, to establish a corn field. This action apparently took place without the knowledge of the government conservation advisor, due to the village leadership’s hiding the agreement until after the the forest had been destroyed.

The reported ranger salaries of ~USD70/month appeared to be lower than Togo’s standard minimum wage (~USD100/month), and rangers also reported that they sometimes went unpaid for months at a time. This means that illegal actors such as poachers and charcoal operators in organized-crime networks may earn significantly more money than rangers. These conditions stand in contrast to those during the management period of the Franz Weber Foundation, when rangers were reportedly paid a minimum of ~USD120/month and provided with bonuses for successful arrests related to poaching and other illegal activities in the park. Rangers also reported that they were not covered by any health insurance if they were injured or killed in the course of their duties. In addition, the fact that most of the ranger stations are located inside villages poses a conflict of interest for rangers if they are put in a position where they would have to arrest neighbors or other people they know personally, including family members.

4.4. Recommendations

We recommend a number of actions to improve park management, many of which include activities conducted by the Franz Weber Foundation in the past [18]. First, ranger stations should be staffed with multiple rangers at all times and anti-poaching patrols should take place regularly. As it stands currently, some ranger stations had few or no staff, and few or no patrols appeared to take place in the park. Ideally, groups of at least two to five rangers should be on patrol or in the field at all times. Areas with higher apparent biodiversity as indicated by bird diversity should be a priority, such as the areas around the Loukoulou and Kamassi Rivers and the track between Fazao and Tassi. Second, range equipment should be upgraded: provide uniforms, footwear, weapons, handcuffs, at least one motorcycle per ranger station, fuel, and communications equipment. Third, salaries should be increased, and bonuses given for successful arrests as a motivational incentive, as was done by the Franz Weber Foundation. Fourth, conflicts of interest between rangers and their acquaintances or relatives should be prevented by assigning ranger to other areas than their village of origin, as is carried out in other national parks (e.g., in Mole National Park, Ghana).

All rangers with whom we discussed this topic recommended that a private foundation, such as the Franz Weber Foundation or Africa Parks, take over the management of the park. Those rangers who have been working there since prior to 2015 recall the park’s time under private management as one when the wildlife populations were abundant and visible, they had the resources to do their jobs properly, the protection of the park was effective, and the park attracted tourists from around the world. The organization of community outreach campaigns in the villages around the park would help educate local people about its uniqueness and importance for Togo and engage residents in the vicinity in conservation. Information about the enforcement of laws prohibiting ongoing habitat loss in the park (e.g., new agricultural plantations) should also be a part of community education campaigns. Providing training and beehives in the outlying villages to provide a source of income should accompany information on prohibitions of the collection of wild honey in the park. Encouraging a revival ecotourism by making the park accessible to tourists again would represent a source of income for the state and the surrounding communities and, in turn, would provide stronger economic incentives to protect the park rather than unsustainably exploit its resources for short-term economic gain.

5. Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate both that the avifauna of FMNP is richer than previously realized, with a total of 329 bird species documented for the park, but also in decline, as demonstrated by the possible loss of ~31% of bird species historically reported in the park and apparent extirpations and declines of large raptors from many areas. As apex predators and scavengers, raptors are sentinels of environmental change, and their declines are correlated with ongoing poaching and habitat destruction, including many large trees important for nesting birds. On the other hand, the survival of increasingly rare and threatened species including the Great Blue Turaco and Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill, and the discovery of Emin’s Shrike and 33 other bird species new to the park, provide ample evidence of FMNP’s significant and unique value as a refuge for biodiversity in the region. Urgent conservation action should be taken to protect remaining wildlife and habitat in the park, which is home to a high bird diversity as well as Togo’s last surviving populations of many Critically Endangered mammals. The presence of many globally threatened species further highlights the park’s national and international importance. It is therefore imperative to enforce protection of the park from illegal activities that are putting its flora and fauna at risk of disappearing. Ideally, these recommendations would be accomplished by transferring management of the park to a private partner, such as the Franz Weber Foundation or African Parks, which manages Pendjari National Park in neighboring Benin. Management by a private partner would ease the burden on the state, improve the situation of the rangers, and improve the prospects of survival of Togo’s magnificent natural heritage in the form of FMNP.