Okapi Wildlife Reserve
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The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the
Ituri Forest The Ituri Rainforest is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the rainforest, connecting firstly to the Aruwimi Rive ...
in the north-east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, near the borders with
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
and
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
. At approximately 14,000 km2, it covers approximately one-fifth of the area of the forest. In 1996, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve was designated a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, due to its large population of endangered
okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...
s and its high overall biodiversity.


Ecology

The wildlife reserve makes up roughly one-fifth of the total area of the
Ituri Forest The Ituri Rainforest is a rainforest located in the Ituri Province of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The forest's name derives from the nearby Ituri River which flows through the rainforest, connecting firstly to the Aruwimi Rive ...
. As a
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
refugium, the forest contains dense evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, dominated by ''Mbau'' trees (''
Gilbertiodendron dewevrei ''Gilbertiodendron dewevrei'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical rain forests in Central Africa. It is often the dominant tree species of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest. The timber is traded as ''limbali'', and is us ...
''). The Nepoko,
Ituri Ituri is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri wa ...
, and Epulu rivers flow through the reserve, surrounded by swamp forests. The granite outcrops in the north of the reserve protect critical habitat for '' Encephalartos ituriensis'', a threatened species of
cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
. Because of its relatively stable climate during the repeated
ice ages An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, the wildlife reserve, and the Ituri Forest as a whole, protects a unique biological community. As its name implies, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve is home to many
okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...
s. As of 1996, the number was estimated at 3900–6350, out of a global population of around 10,000–20,000. In 1996, there were roughly 7,500 elephants and 7,500 chimpanzees within the reserve, although those numbers have likely declined significantly in recent years due to poaching and political instability. Other mammals identified within the reserve include the leopard,
forest buffalo The African forest buffalo (''Syncerus caffer nanus''), also known as the dwarf buffalo or the Congo buffalo, is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo. It is related to the Cape buffalo (''Syncerus caffer caffer''), the Sudan buffalo ('' ...
, water chevrotain, bongo, Bates's pygmy antelope, and
giant forest hog The giant forest hog (''Hylochoerus meinertzhageni''), the only member of its genus (''Hylochoerus''), is native to wooded habitats in Africa and is generally considered the largest wild member of the pig family, Suidae; however, a few subspecie ...
. The Ituri Forests is home to 17 primate species have been observed within the reserve, have the highest primate species richness of any African forest. The reserve has over 370 species of bird, and is one of the most important sites for bird conservation in mainland Africa. Many of the bird species found in the reserve are
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the Congo Basin, including the endangered
Congo peafowl The Congo peafowl (''Afropavo congensis''), also known as the African peafowl or ''mbulu'' by the Bakôngo, is a species of peafowl native to the Congo Basin. It is one of three peafowl species and the only member of the subfamily Pavoninae nat ...
. The imposing Mbiya Mountain overlooks the Epulu village, and nomadic
Mbuti The Mbuti people, or Bambuti, are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages are Central Sudanic languages and Bantu languages. Subgroups Bambuti are pygmy hunter-gatherers, and are one of the old ...
pygmies and Bantu farmers also live within the reserve.


History

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was created with the help of the
Okapi Conservation Project The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) was founded in 1987 for the protection of the okapis (''Okapia johnstoni'') and their habitat. Okapis are found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are seen as the major flagship species of the Ituri ...
in 1992. The project continues to support the reserve by training and equipping wildlife guards and by providing assistance to improve the lives of neighboring communities. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in danger in 1997. The main threats to the reserve are
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
, primarily caused by
slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
agriculture, and commercial hunting for the sale of bushmeat.
Gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...
has also been problematic to the Reserve. As of 2005, the fighting in the eastern part of the country moved within the boundaries of the Reserve, causing its staff to flee or be evacuated. Lack of funding due to the poor political and economic conditions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has also been problematic. It is hoped that
eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...
to the area can be developed, leading to both increased funding and improved public awareness.


Conservation

The wildlife reserve the location of the Epulu Conservation and Research Center, on the Epulu River. This facility dates back to 1928 when the camp was founded by American anthropologist Patrick Putnam as a capture station, where wild okapis were captured and sent to American and European
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
s. Until 2012 it still served that function, albeit with very different methodology, as the okapis remained in Congo. In 2012 a rebel attack left the center's captive okapis dead and it was decided to focus exclusively (at least as long as there were security concerns) on preserving the wild okapis in the reserve. The center also carries out much important research and conservation work.


Gold mining

As of 2015 there was a gold
artisanal mining An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as su ...
camp at Muchacha within the reserve employing about 8,000 people. The mine was run by a loosely organized rebel faction,
Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
Simba, who aimed to liberate the local population from the reserve's land use restrictions. The warden of the reserve, Colonel Lucien Gedeon Lokumu announced operation to clear the reserve of rebel forces and mining operations. A June 2021 report from the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo raised concerns about the presence of semi-industrialized dredging operations 12 kilometers south of Bandegaido, within the Okapi Wildlife reserve. Mining took place within the ''Muchacha Ming Complex'' (MMC) which is covered by a permit from the official DRC Mining Cadastre, held by the Chinese businessman Kong Maohuai's ''MCC Resources''. The company ''Kimia Mining Investment sarl'' was operating at the mine. Mining is illegal in the reserve, and
FARDC The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt pat ...
troops were guarding the mining site, also in violation of Congolese law. Later that month, the Congolese authorities announced the seizure of 31 kg of gold (about $1.9 million worth) from this Muchaha mine. As of 2022, non-governmental organizations such as the ''Council for Environmental Defense through Legality and Traceability'' (CODELT) and ''Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme'' (ACEDH) blame mining operations for destroying pristine rainforest within the reserve.


Rebel attacks

On 24 June 2012, the Epulu Conservation and Research Center was attacked, looted and burned by a group of
Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
rebels, led by Paul Sadala (alias ''Morgan'') and consisting of
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
poachers and illegal miners.Okapi Conservation Project (28 June 2012).
Okapi Conservation Project, Epulu Update – June 28, 2012
.'' Retrieved 15 September 2012
During the attack, 13 of the 14 okapis at the center were killed (the last died later of injuries sustained during the attack) and six people, including two wildlife rangers, were also killed. Many other locals, some minors, were abducted, but all were released later.Mongobay (9 September 2013).
A year after devastating attack, security returns to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (photos)
'' Retrieved 16 July 2017.
In early August, the security situation had improved due to Congolese army troops and guards from the Congolese Wildlife Authority, and preparations for repairs of the center had begun. Following donations from around the world, it had been rebuilt a year after the attack. On 14 July 2017, there was an attack in the section of the reserve near Mambasa, likely by Mai-Mai rebels. Foreign journalists (two British and an American) and several local park rangers escaped unharmed, but five local reserve employees (four wardens and a tracker) were killed.New York Times (16 July 2017).
U.S. journalist found alive in Congo, 5 others are killed
'' Retrieved 16 July 2017.
France24 (16 July 2017).
Kidnapped US journalist in DR Congo found safe, five wardens killed
.'' Retrieved 16 July 2017.
Several of the attackers were also killed.


See also

* Centre National d'Appui au Développement et à la Participation populaire * Corneille Ewango *
Okapi Conservation Project The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) was founded in 1987 for the protection of the okapis (''Okapia johnstoni'') and their habitat. Okapis are found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are seen as the major flagship species of the Ituri ...


References


Further reading

*Susan Lyndaker Lindsey; Mary Neel Green; Cynthia L. Bennett (1999). ''The Okapi''. University of Texas Press.


External links


Government website: l'Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)

UNESCO Okapi Wildlife Reserve Site



Blogs from the Rangers of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve


{{authority control World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Protected areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Protected areas established in 1992 Faunal reserves 1992 establishments in Zaire Northeastern Congolian lowland forests