The Okapi Reserve

Category: Epulu, Ranger Patrols, Rangers | Date: Mar 22 2007 | By: admin

Rangers in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve are focusing today on protection operations in order to close and prevent any new illegal mining.

As Senior Warden I am dedicated to plan continuous operations in order to secure the biodiversity against any damage caused by illegal gold exploitation. Since continuous patrols are launched, vegetation in all the closed mining has soared.

Rangers patrol an old disused mine to ensure that there are no signs of human activity.

Every day,operations conducted in the southern sectors of the Okapi Wildlife reserve end by arresting some illegal miners who are transferred to Epulu for prosecution.

The illegal miners are being escorted to Epulu park station.

The strategic approach which is implemented to stop illegal mining includes: setting rotative bases where rangers are posted for at least 3 weeks and using Thuraya communication system (a satellite phone) to report back to the Headquater regarding any incident .

The Section Commander, Aussu Sukari, is pictured in the middle with Rangers around him. Sukari and his men were responsible for catching the illegal miners.

We are facing various dificulties to monitor disused mining in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.Crossing some very huge rivers to reach a permanent base takes many days due to the fact we have to wait 2 or 3days until the river level drops. You can see this below in the photo which shows Rangers from the Penge patrol post with me (second in line) crossing the Ituri River.

Daily morning we are organising muster parade at the Headquarter to keep Ranger morale up. It plays a key role to maintain motivation and discipline among Ranger personnel. This is Somba, the Assistant Warden, addressing the Rangers.

JJ Mapilanga,co

Senior Warden of Okapi Wildlife Reserve/Ituri DRC

One response so far

Category: Epulu, Okapi, Rangers | Date: Mar 21 2007 | By: admin

I am Ghislain SOMBA BYOMBO, 36 years old, married to KAVIRA Madeleine and father of 6 kids. In 1994 I joined the ICCN which means Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature in DRCongo. After spending 3 years in teaching in a Primary School; I started working as a field Ranger ten years ago in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, but after my graduation at Southern African Wildlife College in 2004, I was promoted to Deputy Warden .

My only reason to join conservation efforts is to protect the Natural Resources of DRCongo, and in particular the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Congo is the only place where you find Okapi in the world.

Let me tell you that this species is endemic to DRCongo, and is my favourite animal for many reasons. When I was young , my grandfather told me many stories about this animal which has many traditional values.

In fact , I can realise that the task I was given is not easy, but I am fighting to promote conservation by sensitizing people inside and around the Reserve to understand the importance of a protected area in the big picture. We are protecting the Reserve for future generations.

A good relationship with the local community is a good way to solve conservation problems, and once you are working hand in hand you have the opportunity to be invited to their party, and a conservation message can be transmitted.

Here is the Traditional Chief of Epulu, Ramazan (on the left in grey), during a party with me (in brown shirt) in Epulu in March.

Thanks a lot for your comments.

Somba

3 responses so far

Category: General, Okapi, Rangers | Date: Mar 20 2007 | By: admin

Welcome to Epulu and the Okapi Wildife Reserve!

I am Mapilanga (on the left) and I am the Senior Warden of Epulu in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in northeastern Congo. I have been a Ranger for 20 years, and lived in Epulu for 12 of those.

My Assistant Warden is Somba, standing next to me. He has been a Ranger with the ICCN, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, since 1994. He has always worked in Epulu.

Epulu is the main station in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and this is where we are based. The reserve is 13,700 square kilometers of rainforest, and home to over 5,000 okapis (see below) which is an endemic species to DR Congo. We have lots of fresh air here, and it is a calm area. We have no traffic and we are in the middle of the forest. It is a secure place, and there are lots of beautiful places to visit.

The most beautiful place for me is Mbiya Mountain - which is at the edge of Epulu and overlooks the village. Here it is below.

We want to start this blog so we can communicate to the world what we are doing here - our conservation activities. We want to let people know about the reserve. We would also like to obtain support from the outside world, because we have felt isolated here for many years. Welcome to Epulu!

Technorati : congo, epulu, okapi, wildlifedirect

4 responses so far