A Faunal Reserve for Bonobos and People

One of the greatest threats to wildlife in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is loss of habitat – habitat lost to land conversion, human encroachment and logging. Establishing protected areas like national parks and reserves is one important step in helping to reverse this trend.

In 2004, AWF initiated the Maringa Lopori Wamba landscape project, financed by USAID through the Central African Regional Program for Environment (CARPE). The strategic objective of this project is to reduce the destruction of habitat and loss of biodiversity through better governance of natural resources on a local, regional and national level across the entire landscape. AWF operates in close partnership with MECNEF, the Ministry for Rural Development and the Ministry of Agriculture, and supports ICCN, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation, to implement a program for nature conservation.

After a 15 year effort, AWF helped establish the Faunal Reserve of Lomako-Yokokala – a reserve of more than 3,600 square kilometers - with ICCN. This was a landmark achievement as it is the DRC’s first reserve that formally recognizes the local community in the development of its management plan.

The forest, which can only be accessed by boat, is an asset for conservation because its isolation improves the fight against poaching, which threatens the forest and the bonobos. To ensure the most effective outcome possible, AWF involved the local communities when proposing boundaries for the new wildlife reserve. AWF also financed workshops and key meetings that helped make Lomako-Yokokala a reality.

As part of the process to identify an appropriate protected area, AWF conducted biological surveys. The surveys confirmed rich biodiversity, including endangered bonobos. The data collected helped AWF to develop a map with proposed boundaries that would ensure the adequate protection of bonobos.

The established 3,625 square kilometer Faunal Reserve not only offers protection for the bonobos, but it also harbors critical populations of the endemic Congo peacock, golden cat, giant pangolin, ten species of primates and other key species.

Though gazetting this protected area was a huge accomplishment, AWF believes it was only the beginning. AWF is committed to helping implement a management plan that involves local people. AWF has already trained local research assistants and team leaders to help with biological surveys, detailed mapping, and recording human activity and bushmeat hunting.

With the creation of the wildlife reserve and the opening of a research site at Ndele, it became possible to gather data on the social ecology of wild bonobos. At the scientific research site in Ndele, AWF and ICCN work closely with local people to protect wildlife and the bonobos. A study detailed the interactions between food availability and social structure. This information - on food resources in the bonobos' natural habitat - provides a powerful basis for future discussions on actions to protect the species.

AWF is making the new reserve at Lomako-Yokokala a viable conservation enterprise that allows for the continued study of bonobos - to identify current threats to bonobos and other key species in the Maringa Lopori Wamba landscape - and simultaneously builds the professional and educational capacity of Congolese conservationists that will lead to improved conservation measures for the critically endangered great ape and the forests in which they live.