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Ituri Forest Conservation
HIGHLIGHTS
Total area
· 13,726 km2
Habitat Types
· Monodominant forest with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei
· Mixed forest dominated by Julbernardia seretii and Cynometra alexandri
· Inselberg forests
· Swamp forests
Wildlife Present
The project area is home to more than 350 bird species including the endemic golden-naped weaver
Mammals (flagship species only)
Okapi, African forest elephant, 2 species of forest hog, forest buffalo, 13 diurnal primates species including three colobus species and the rare cercopithecines: C. l'hoesti, C. hamlyni.
Partners
Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), Gilman International Conservation (GIC), local villagers and officials, Province Orientale, DR Congo
Contacts
Corneille Ewango
WCS Site Manager
ewango_corneille@yahoo.com
1725 Ave Col. Mondjiba
Chanic Bldg
PO Box 240
Ngaelima, Kinshasa I
For more information, see www.wcs.org/drcongo
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WCS first came to the Ituri Forest in 1986 to study the little known rain forest giraffe, the okapi, with the aid of Mbuti Pygmies. Impressed by the wild, unexplored richness of this northeastern forest zone of the DRC, WCS helped create the Okapi Faunal Reserve (OFR) in 1992 and raised it to the level of a World Heritage Site. Recognizing the urgent need to discover the forest and the unique opportunity to work both with knowledgeable forest-dwelling pygmy groups and Congolese college students, WCS helped found and now manages a research and training center, CEFRECOF, at the heart of the Reserve, which has facilitated the work of international researchers and Congolese students. Of the latter, seven have continued to study at international institutions for masters degrees and one PhD. By 1996, the beginning of the Congolese civil war, CEFRECOF staff and collaborators had completed a human census around the OFR, a thorough botanical census of 40ha of forest containing 700 species of trees and liana, and a large mammal inventory spanning the entire Reserve. In the midst of recent national civil strife, CEFRECOF staff remarkably completed a second, more thorough human survey and to re-census the 40 ha botanical plots. A second Reserve-wide inventory of mammals and poaching activities is currently underway.
The Human Aspect
Immigration into the Ituri has been increasing rapid over the past two decades by people seeking access to forest resources, especially arable land, bush meat, gold, coltan, and other minerals. Since 2000, WCS has been developing a zoning system in collaboration with local communities. The major objective is to help ICCN formulate clear directives regarding access to and use of the natural resources of the OFR. Expected results include the collaborative regulation of immigration by local people and ICCN via a system of permits and controlled land distribution. The zoning system will result in redefinition of the Reserve’s protected status to be recognized at all levels (local, provincial, and national), with areas for agriculture, hunting, and strict protection.
Threats
The most outstanding threats to the OFR result from illegal immigration of farmers into the Reserve, illegal mining, and uncontrolled hunting (poaching).
WCS Activities
After years of civil unrest, urgent project priorities are to:
• Complete a systematic large mammal inventory of the entire Okapi Faunal Reserve to learn where armed bands are actively poaching and where elephants and other key animals are concentrated.
• Finish construction of a patrol post on the western limit of the reserve where control is weak and there are constant trespasses from both miners and poachers. Support ICCN in the closure of illegal mining camps and in the control of other illegal activities.
• Zoning of the reserve in order to create areas for agriculture, hunting/gathering, and strict protection that are managed collaboratively with local communities.
• Continue with botanical inventories in the heart of the reserve.
• Undertake studies of the bushmeat trade to better understand how these networks operate, in order to develop strategies to control unsustainable hunting practices.
• Management of CEFRECOF to continue with research and training activities for young Congolese scientists.
Important Next Steps
We are also actively working toward our long-term goals:
• To increase CEFRECOF’s capacity to function fully in post-conflict DRC such that it :
o Provides excellent research facilities for international scientists interested in rain
forest questions;
o Provides excellent herbarium facilities pertinent to the entire Congo;
o Promotes the dissemination of scientific results locally and internationally.
• To gain accord from the village level to the national government for legal redefinition of the OFR, and simultaneously to develop the zoning project into a nationally recognized model program for resolving local community/protected area conflict.
• To assure the integrity of the RFO, its habitat, and its fauna through a constructive working relationship between the national parks institute, ICCN, and all legitimate stakeholders.
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