The Okapi Reserve

Category: Community Work, Epulu, Okapi, Rangers | Date: Apr 19 2007 | By: admin

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve which is situated in Northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo and covers 14,000 square kilometers of tropical rainforest remains the habitat of the endemic specie ” okapi ” (okapia johnstonie ) which interacts with other animals such us forest buffalo, leopard, forest elephant, bongo antilope, duikers, monkeys, and so on. It overlaps 2 Districts namely Ituri and Haut - Uele .

The TransAfrican road which connects Nairobi-Kampala-DR Congo to Matadi port crosses the Reserve for almost 117km. Could you imagine how much importance this has in the region? Every 2 months, a hired truck brings patrol food, ICCN materials from Butembo-Beni via Mambasa. In the rainy season it can take a week to cover a distance of 212km because of the state of the road.

Ranger Nzoigba on the bike crossing a traditional bridge inside the reserve.

Since October 2006, The Chinese company SINOHYDRO started fixing the road inside the Reserve, so it allows us to quickly reach Beni-Butembo (6 hours by car), rather than the 2 days that it used to take.

Ranger Claude BAKIAKA travels on the new road

As a conservationist, the road is a good thing for the country - both for the economy and development. But I can image it also provides an easier opportunity to have poachers, illegal loggers, illegal miners and the migration movement in the Reserve. So we are supposed to intensify operation inside the protected area and also to reinforce the intelligence network in the villages. In this matter, a 6 week training course was planned and executed.

Paul Naish from South Africa was the lecturer. 11 Rangers were selected to attend teh course. So far the results on the ground are good. The course consisted to establish a kind of intelligence network around the Reserve, the manner of reporting, how to recruit an informer? How to search a car once in the reserve? Finger prints?

illegal miners detected and arrested during a patrol

As I mentioned earlier, the timber exploitation is growing in the surrounding region of the Reserve, and this moment trucks from Nairobi often load 15 to 20 tons of wood in a bad road, but nowadays with a good fixed road the truck owners exaggerate and load over 60 tons.

The Ituri river is one of the natural resource of the Reserve which takes its source from Bunia and crosses the reserve by South . It has a bridge built during the colonial period, and we cross on it when going from Mambasa to Komanda , Bunia or Beni .

Actually, we are facing a critical situation. An overloaded truck broke the Ituri bridge recently that was newly maintained by the Chinese, who warned people not take more than 25 tons. Unfortunately it does not make sense for timber traders. The truck is still in the water. 3 people died and the driver himself lost one of his arms.

Bridge Ituri broken by an overloaded truck

In this stage, the negative side is that we are now completely blocked in Epulu and the reserve in terms of quickly providing patrol rations and equipment. The big questions is WHO or WHAT organization could come in and help repair this bridge???

You should see the difficulties we have in DR Congo! Especially in Conservation!

Somba

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