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afrol.com, 15 December - The Republic of Congo announced today the expansion of Odzala National Park to 1.3 million hectares, more than four times its original size. The action will secure the habitat of the world's highest concentration of western lowland gorillas. - The expansion of Odzala means that a large area of productive forests previously set aside for timber exploitation is now protected. The park will be a pioneer in conservation in central Africa and one of the main tourism resources in our country, said the Republic of Congo's Minister of Forestry, Henri Djombo. Located in the Congo Basin, the second largest tropical wilderness area after Amazonia, Odzala encompasses savannahs, marshes, forests and several hundred natural clearings known as bais. Ranging in size from less than half a hectare to 15 hectares, bais contain rich mineral deposits that attract many species, particularly large mammals such as elephants, water buffalo and gorillas. - I have been studying primates for more than 30 years, and Odzala is the only place I know of where you can watch gorillas from as close as 15 meters, feeding peacefully on grasses in the open pasture, said Dr. Russell A. Mittermeier, primatologist and president of Conservation International, after a recent visit to the park. "Considering the challenges in this region, the expansion of the park was a courageous and visionary move on the part of the Congolese government." The Odzala National Park was initially created in 1935 and declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977. It claims exceptionally high levels of species diversity, with 444 of the Congo's 626 identified bird species, one of the largest populations of forest elephants and forest buffalos, as well as the only lions surviving in central Africa. However, regional conflicts and poverty left the park insufficiently funded and largely unprotected. Although isolated and remote from human settlements, commercial logging in the region introduced roads that provided access to the deep forest. The result is that bushmeat hunting, as well as poaching for the ivory trade, have become serious threats. To address these threats, the Congolese Government is working with a European Commission-funded program called Conservation and Rational Use of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa, known as ECOFAC. ECOFAC has been managing the park since 1992 and is active in five other countries in the region. In January 2000, Conservation International (CI) partnered with Agreco, a European consulting group, which gives technical assistance to ECOFAC. In association with Agreco, within the framework of the ECOFAC program, CI is providing technical support for the creation of a trust fund, for park management, and for public awareness.
Human population in the region is relatively low with less that 5,000 people living around the park. Their main activities are slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture and traditional hunting. However, as CI Vice President for Africa, Olivier Langrand, points out, "for the first time in the history of Odzala, local populations are discovering the value of the National Park and its ecotourism potential as an alternative for their economic development. With their participation and involvement, the existing wildlife can be better protected, ensuring new economic benefits that will make Odzala a real social achievement." The European Commission-funded program called Conservation and Rational Use of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa, known as ECOFAC, is present in six countries in the region: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and São Tomé e Príncipe. The main objectives of ECOFAC's involvement in Odzala National Park are to conserve its unique biological and aesthetic values, to develop economic opportunities for local populations, and to secure the financial sustainability of the park. Conservation International, founded in 1987, believes that the Earth's natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally and economically. Our mission is to conserve Earth's living natural heritage - our global biodiversity - and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. CI works in 32 countries on four continents, drawing upon a unique array of scientific, economic, awareness building and policy tools to help people improve the quality of their lives without depleting natural resources. Source: Conservation International
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