The Lomako Conservation Science Center
With generous support from AWF major donor Barron Wall and the Arcus Foundation, and after years of careful planning, AWF opened the Lomako Conservation Science Center (LCSC) in the Congo Heartland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Inaugurated in April 2009, the LCSC is designed to support AWF's work to protect the bonobo, a species of endangered great ape found only in the DRC.
The LCSC builds upon another conservation which AWF helped bring about two years earlier -– establishment of the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve. Spanning 3,600 square kilometers (22,000 square miles), the reserve is the DRC’s first to formally involve the local community in the development of its management plan.
The one-of-a-kind conservation and research center is situated in the heart of the rainforest of the DRC’s Équateur Province. Located 350 kilometers (25 hours by boat) upriver from civilization, the LCSC is fully connected via satellite Internet and surrounded by the unique biodiversity of the Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve. The new science center is a valuable tool to expand scientific knowledge of bonobos and forest ecology in the DRC. Fully staffed with full-time cooks and guides, and boasting its own edible landscape, as well as a wealth of endemic species of birds, mammals, insects and other animals, the LCSC is a veritable paradise for biological researchers and wilderness-loving visitors alike.
The research station lies in a small clearing 2 km from the Lomako River. There are three wood cabins for visitors. The main building has a screened-in dining area and an open-walled sitting area. There is also an office flexibly equipped to house laboratory materials, computers, scientific equipment and other sensitive gear. Solar panels provide electricity throughout the camp, and satellite Internet enables researchers to stay connected to the world from this remote section of the DRC.
The LCSC is a superb place for scientists and conservationists to examine a rich, undisturbed rainforest in one of the least accessible parts of central Africa. Likewise, adventurous tourists can come to see Lomako and the area's bonobos, bringing much needed revenue to local people while gaining a one-of-a-kind experience that can't be found anywhere else in the world.
