- Client
- Forest Lab (University of Stirling and ACDG)
- Sector
- Research & natural capital investment
- Location
- Grand Mayumba, Gabon
- Year
- 2024
A landscape-scale biodiversity baseline to guide natural capital investment in Gabon
We surveyed 730,000 hectares of forest and savanna for Forest Lab, giving it the evidence it needs to plan land use and attract investment.
Setting a camera trap in the Grand Mayumba landscape. © Okala
730,000 ha
landscape surveyed
175
camera traps deployed
33
mammal species recorded on camera
The challenge
Forest Lab, a partnership between the University of Stirling and the African Conservation Development Group, needed reliable data on the state and distribution of biodiversity across the Grand Mayumba concession. The landscape is vast, remote and a mix of forest and savanna. The data had to guide sustainable land management and future natural capital investment.
What we did
Between October 2023 and March 2024 we deployed 175 camera traps, 20 acoustic recorders and 46 eDNA kits across the landscape. Our AI and bioinformatics pipelines processed the data, and our scientists modelled where species richness is highest.
The outcome
Cameras recorded 33 mammal species and eDNA identified 143 species, including 50 fish. Forest Lab now has a landscape-wide picture of biodiversity across forest, savanna and rivers, with maps showing where protection should be focused. This gives it a solid evidence base for land-use planning and for conversations with natural capital investors. All data are held in NatureCube, so Forest Lab and its partners can explore results across the whole landscape and build on them with future surveys.
