Action Plan for African Primate Conservation identified this area as a priority for study and conservation. The regional ecosystem is relatively rich in species diversity. Within the LWRP area mature, undisturbed forest is the predominant vegetation cover although fields and clearings of secondary forest, narrow strips of riparian forest on moist soil shouldering streams, and large blocks of perennially dry grassland occur. Field data have been collected since 1994 which challenge the established image of bonobos as specialized arboreal apes restricted to living exclusively in lowland moist forest. Although it is clear that bonobos require access to forest, LWRP findings conclude that bonobos also occupy and utilize a drier and more open habitat.
Observations confirm that grassland fruits are consumed by resident bonobos.
Other completed LWRP work includes initial studies of the vegetation cover, bonobo food choices, estimates of the presence, abundance and distribution of ground-level plant foods used by the local bonobos, and population estimates based on repeated night nest censuses within a defined sample area and encounters with bonobos. Findings to date extend our knowledge of the adaptability of the bonobo. These findings change the perception of the species' ecological limits and subsequently the potential survivability of the wild population in times of changing global climate. LWRP activities will continue with emphasis on habituating resident bonobos, conducting regional expeditions to survey for the presence and abundance of bonobo concentrations, meeting with local officials to involve them in LWRP status, and conducting educational campaign meetings locally and throughout distant villages within the Project area. Bonobos are the rarest great ape species.