Palisota ebo

This species, endemic to Ebo forest, is threatened by logging, agro-industrial plantations, slash and burn agriculture, and open cast mining (Cheek et al. 2018). Ebo forest is highly threatened by logging and this species has been collected within a logging concession operating within the proposed national park (Onana and Cheek 2011, Abwe et al. 2019, Global Forest Watch 2020). The park is also currently bordered by logging concessions, the proximity of which means they may threaten the forest's biodiversity (Mahmoud et al. 2019, Global Forest Watch 2020), and illegal logging activities occur within the forest (Casey and Elias 2015). Furthermore, in March 2020, the Cameroon government moved to convert the Ebo forest area into logging concessions (M Cheek pers. comm. 2020). Secondly, an oil palm company has begun to develop a plantation on the western boundary of the proposed Ebo National Park, in what is the biggest source of oil palm-driven deforestation in the region (Mowbray 2017, IDM 2018, Orozco and Salber 2019). This has caused the clearing of land close to the border of the proposed Ebo national park, representing a significant threat to the forest (Mowbray 2017, IDM 2018, Orozco and Salber 2019). It was reported that 1,749 hectares had been cleared by March 2017, and by 2018, the clearance of land had already reached within 5 km of the proposed reserve boundary (IDM 2018, Orozco and Salber 2019). Loggers are continuing to fell trees for the plantation and it is estimated that six football pitches worth of forest are now being cleared every day (Mowbray 2017, Orozco and Salber 2019). However, the specific plans for the plantation are not publicly available, with the total area controlled by the company unknown and no map of the planned plantation available (IDM 2018, Orozco and Salber 2019). Current reports suggest that the plantation could cover anywhere between 30,000 and 123,000 hectares (Mowbray 2017, IDM 2018). A buffer zone of 182 m was recommended for the plantation, however, this has not been respected and boundary pillars have been found both within the buffer zone and within the proposed national park (Orozco and Salber 2019).

As roads have been developed, human dwellings have been expanding around Ebo and they are now present within 10 km of the forest (Mahmoud et al. 2019). Additionally, many sites within Ebo were formerly inhabited by humans and there are extensive amounts of secondary forest, including in areas previously heavily modified by small stakeholder agriculture (Morgan et al. 2011, Abwe et al. 2019). Slash and burn agriculture remains prevalent in the area and represents a threat to this species, with the income of the villages surrounding Ebo heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture (Onana and Cheek 2011, Abwe 2013, Cheek et al. 2018). Open-cast mining also poses a threat to this species, and the species has been collected within (or very near to) an iron mining concession (Cheek et al. 2018, Global Forest Watch 2020). 
Although proposed as a National Park prior to 2010, the park's gazetting has been stalled and Ebo is currently unprotected, leaving it vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures (Nana 2010, Mowbray 2017, Mahmoud et al. 2019). Mahmoud et al. (2019) report that the current rate of land conversion in close proximity to Ebo forest, alongside its lack of protection, render it highly threatened. Even if the national park is officially designated, the forest is likely to face continued threats, such as from illegal logging (Mowbray 2017). Additionally, there are fears that even if the proposed National Park is gazetted, the oil palm plantation will have attracted labourers who may exploit the forests for further income, thereby increasing the challenges of protecting the area (Mowbray 2017, Orozco and Salber 2019).