The Okapi Reserve

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