Description

Congo is home to one of the richest, most biologically important and intact-forest ecosystems on the planet. These areas are home to a diverse range of rare and endangered mammals, insects and plants – forest elephants, chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, leopards, bongo antelope and others. The Congolese area within the Minkébé-Odzala-Dja Inter-zone in Gabon, Congo, and Cameroon, also known as the Tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkebe transboundary area, is a key IWT hub. This area and its biodiversity are threatened by IWT, especially by bush meat and ivory poaching. Its forests are target for poachers and its roads and towns constitute a transit route for trafficked wildlife from Central African Republic (CAR), Congo Republic and Gabon. Local people accrue little of the benefits, watch their natural resources being depleted, and they face compromised security in their daily lives. They feel disempowered in the face of criminal elites leading IWT. The long-term solution proposed by the project aims to protect unique biodiversity of Congo and the Tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkebe transboundary area in particular via i) a strategy for strengthening the PA network through expansion of protected areas, effective functional zoning to incorporate sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, and integrative management planning; ii) strengthening capacity for effective PA and Illegal Wildlife Trade governance in Congo; and iii) reducing poaching and illegal trade on threatened species via CBWM, CBNRM and sustainable livelihood.