22. Ituri-Epulu-Aru Landscape

Figure 22.1. Map of Ituri-Epulu-Aru Landscape (Sources: CARPE, JRC, SRTM, SYGIAP).

origin of the most important demographic and Th e Landscape in brief economic developments aff ecting the Landscape.

Coordinates: 2°40’37’’N – 0°57’4’’N; 27°41’41’’E – 30°1’38’’E Physical environment Area: 33,188 km2 Elevation: 700–1,300 m Relief and altitude Terrestrial ecoregions: Northeast Congolese forest Northeast forest-savannah mosaic Most of the Landscape consists of a slightly Aquatic ecoregions: Central basin undulating peneplain at an altitude of 700 to Uélé 900 m, but rising up to 1,000 m in the east. Th e Protected areas: Okapi Wildlife Reserve, 1,370,000 ha, 1992 mostly gentle relief is punctuated by low mas- sifs covering 20 km² or more and rising to 50 to 300 m above the peneplain along old fracture lines in the Gondwanian shield. Th ese massifs Location and area join to form a spectacular chain of granite insel- bergs exposing large stretches of naked rock. Th is he Landscape covers the upper basin of the extends for over 100 km from east to west along TIturi River and thus the most northern part the Ituri and Nepoko watershed in the north of of the Congolese forest with its adjacent forest-sa- the Landscape and small isolated massifs extend- vannah mosaic (Figure 22.1). It is mostly situated ing over 50 km in the central part of the forest. in the administrative territory of Mambasa (Ituri province). A strip of the Landscape is included in the territories of Irumu and Djugu in the Ituri province and the territories of Wamba and Watsa in the Haut-Uélé province. Th e Landscape touch- es on the province of Nord-Kivu, which is the

205 Geology and soils Climate

Th e soils of the Landscape are mostly de- Th e average daily temperature varies between rived from degraded granite and quartzite of the 23°C and 25.5°C. Rainfall is bimodal, with rainy Gondwanian shield. Th e soils range from red ox- seasons centered on the equinoxes and dry peri- ysol, fi ne and highly degraded, to yellow or brown ods centered on the solstices. Inter-annual vari- sandy clay. Alluvium deposits occupy the banks of ations can be considerable and are partly linked the watercourses and poorly drained basins of the to the variability of the passing of the intertropi- heads of numerous rivers. Th e soils are generally cal convergence. Rains often beat down during very acidic1 and this acidity is associated with low storms and are mainly caused by the climatic sys- fertility, as well as a shortage of available nitrogen tem of the Congo Basin. Th e monsoon eff ects of and phosphorus. More fertile areas exist, particu- the Indian Ocean are not known2, but it seems larly in association with red oxysol. A systematic that the region’s climate is infl uenced by dynamics evaluation of the agricultural potential in the outside the Congo Basin, leading one to suppose Landscape remains to be carried out. that it could undergo rapid changes. Th e average annual rainfall in the Landscape is Hydrology 1,600 to 2,000 mm. Th e driest month is January, the only time when the average rainfall dips below Almost all the Landscape belongs to the 50 mm in some parts of the Landscape. During Congo Basin and is covered with a dense network the dry season, the sky is completely cloudless, of permanent watercourses which fl ow into the humidity is low and evaporation very high. Even Upper Ituri and its main tributaries: the Epulu, in dense forest, water losses are substantial. Some Nepoko, Nduye, Lenda, Ebiena and Ngayu riv- years, these dry periods are particularly long. In ers. A small part of the Landscape belongs to the Epulu, in the center of the forest, during the span Kibali-Bomokandi Basin, which constitutes the of the last 20 years, at least fi ve years have had a head of the Uélé-Oubangui system. suffi ciently long dry period for forest fi res to de- Th e region’s rivers have moderate high waters velop. As it is situated on the edge of the forest with the maximum reached between September block and human impacts are increasing, the Ituri and November. After heavy rains, the small wa- Landscape is very vulnerable to degradation and tercourses undergo brief high waters which dis- changes in its fl ora, even during relatively short turb their beds and take away debris. Flood plains periods of drought. are rare in the Landscape and are limited to the largest rivers in the west, especially the Ituri, the Vegetation Lower Ngayu and the Lower Lenda. Th e heads of numerous streams have poorly drained areas Most of the Landscape is covered with dense that create dendriform networks of marshy envi- evergreen terra fi rma forests with a closed canopy ronments. So far, the heads of most of the basins (Figure 22.2). Th ey comprise forests with a mono- draining the Landscape have been very little af- dominance of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (mbau), fected by human activities, unlike the case with which forms both the canopy and the under- rivers originating outside the Landscape. Th e lat- growth, and mixed forests in which no species is ter often have more turbid waters associated with predominant, but where other Caesalpinioideae, deforestation and other changes. Th e alluvium such as Julbernardia seretii and Cynometra alex- load in the Ebiena River, which has its sources in andri, are abundant. In the north and the east the denuded regions of Kivu, can be very high. of the Landscape, and on the dry slopes, there Th e alluvium load of the Ituri River, which has its are semi-deciduous forests whose canopies con- 1 Th e average pH values are around 4 origin in the extensively logged areas in the east of tain more light-demanding species, such as in the Epulu area, where measurements the Landscape, has increased appreciably over the Entandrophragma spp., Khaya anthotheca, Albizia were taken recently. last ten years spp. and Canarium schweinfurthii, and a grow- 2 At the end of the dry season, black Th ere is still no hydroelectric development in ing proportion of dendritic Euphorbiaceae and rain fell on the Ituri forests during the the Landscape. With its extremely high gradients Rubiaceae. At the northern and eastern ends of fi rst Gulf War in 1990-1991. Large and vast volumes of water, the Upper Ituri and its the forests, the dense forests turn into a mosaic of fi res in the oilfi elds caused enormous main tributaries represent a substantial potential dry forests, evergreen forest galleries and wooded black clouds over the Persian Gulf in this fi eld. savannahs. Swamp forests grow along watercours- and the northern Indian Ocean. es or in poorly drained areas. Th ey are character- Th ese observations suggest an eastern ized by the presence of Hallea stipulosa, Uapaca infl uence on the Ituri climatic system.

206 Fauna Mammals ■ Dense forest 0-1000 m (70.7%) Th e Ituri forests are exceptionally rich in ■ Dense forest 1000-1600 m (24.2%) mammals and a total of 90 species have been ■ Forest-cultivation mosaic (4.8%) found in the central sector. Th ese forests are home ■ Water (0.3%) to thirteen species of diurnal primates—the high- est number for an African forest—and six species of duiker. Th e Landscape contains populations of world importance for several species with a Figure 22.2. Main vegetation types limited distribution, endemic or almost endemic (Source: JRC). guineensis, and a local dominance of Raphia sp.. to the DRC: the okapi Okapia johnstoni (Figure Lianas are abundant. 22.3), the aquatic genet Osbornictis piscivora, the On the shallow and rocky soils on the granite giant genet Genetta victoriae and Hamlyn’s mon- inselbergs are highly specialized xerophile plant key Cercopithecus hamlyni. It also has large popu- formations comprising many species of plants lations of globally threatened species, such as the that have a limited distribution and are of global forest elephant Loxodonta africana cyclotis and importance for conservation. the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes. Other important Th roughout the Landscape there are also species are L’Hoest’s monkey Cercopithecus lhoe- clearings, called edo locally, which are maintained sti, the leopard Panthera pardus, the Cape buf- by elephants, but used by a wide variety of fauna. falo Syncerus caff er nanus, the bongo Tragelaphus Th e size of clearings varies from less than a hec- euryceros, the sitatunga Tragelaphus spekei, the tare to several hectares. Th ey are recolonized by African golden cat Felis aurata, the giant forest the forest when the infl uence of elephants disap- hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni, the red river pears. hog Potamochoerus porcus, the water chevrotain Secondary forests of varying ages cover large Hyemoschus aquaticus and the forest aardvark parts of the Landscape, partly as a result of natural Orycteropus afer eriksonni. causes. Violent storms eff ectively tear large holes Th e forest-savannah ecotone has not yet been in the forest and a mosaic of primary and second- systematically inventoried, but reports by mis- ary forest develops. Th ese mosaics can cover an sionaries before the recent civil war mention the area of more than 10,000 ha3. Over the last 25 lion Panthera leo, the spotted hyena Crocuta cro- years, three violent storms that aff ected the canopy cuta, the hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius, over an area of more than 1,000 ha were recorded the East African Defassa waterbuck Kobus ellip- within an area of 500 km² around the Epulu sta- siprymmus defassa, the bongo Tragelaphus euryc- tion. Secondary forests are also the result of hu- eros, the bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus, the bohor man activities: shifting agriculture and, to a lesser reedbuck Redunca redunca and the vervet mon- extent, small-scale logging. Around 2% of land in key Cercopithecus aethiopicus. Th e skin of a little the reserve, as well as land outside, is covered with known meerkat, Dyboswki’s meerkat Dologale anthropogenic environments of diff erent ages. dybowski, a species which lives at the edge of for- Th is area of old agricultural land is limited to a 6- ests, was collected recently. Th is suggests that the 3 In these areas, the undergrowth, km wide strip along the road that passes through forest-savannah mosaic could contain specialized including advanced regrowth of canopy the Landscape. In the southeast of the Landscape, fauna that is rare or absent in other parts of the species, is not destroyed by storms degradation of the forests and deforestation have Congo Basin and absent from the more arid re- and is ‘liberated’ by the opening-up increased over recent decades, causing the forma- gions to the east and the north. of the canopy, which allows rapid tion of vast areas covered with a mosaic of de- regeneration. graded forest and cultivated land. Th e extension Birds 4 Th e botanical inventories carried out of this area is a threat to the Landscape. by the Centre de formation et de recherche From a fl oristic point of view, the Ituri forest Ornithological inventories have only covered en conservation forestière (CEFRECOF) is very diverse. CEFRECOF data and additional small portions of the Landscape, but at least 333 since 1994 in the Epulu sector of the collections reveal the presence of 1,190 species of species have been observed in the central sector Landscape have revealed the presence of plants in the dense forests around the Epulu sta- of the reserve. Systematic observations in the 700 woody plants with a stem diameter tion4. Collections in other areas of the Landscape Epulu area have revealed a rich avifauna and a of over 1 cm in four parcels of 10 ha, could raise this number to 1,500 and perhaps even large number of specialized forest species, par- including 460 species of trees and 243 2,500 if the forest-savannah mosaic is included. ticularly among the ground thrushes Zoothera sp., species of lianas. Timalidae and Accipitridae. Th e golden-naped

207 the 6,251 specimens collected belong to 116 gen- era and 487 species. Th ey include the most east- ern collections for fi ve species previously known only in West or Central-West Africa. Th ese spe- cies are absent at the collection spots in the east of the Landscape, where the altitude exceeds 900 m and where there are species linked to the higher altitudes of the Albertine Rift (Ducarme, pers. comm.). Th ese results confi rm the importance of the Ituri forests as areas where species from sepa- rate biogeographical regions come together. Figure 22.3. Th e Okapi Okapia johnstoni. Humans in the Landscape weaver Ploceus aureonucha is endemic to the Ituri Density and distribution forest. Until recently, the Ituri forest was one of the Herpetofauna least populated areas in the northeast of the DRC, despite a very long history of human occupation. Th ere are no recent inventories and re- Cut stone tools found at the eastern edge of the search will be necessary before the value of the Landscape indicate human presence in the Middle Landscape for this group of animals can be esti- Stone Age. However, it is not certain if the region mated. However, collections in museums suggest was covered in forests at that time. Recent excava- that the Ituri forests are rich in reptiles, with three tions in sheltered areas under rocks in the north of species of crocodiles, but that they do not consti- the Landscape show that a few millennia ago the tute a ‘hot spot’ in this fi eld. Very little is known forest was inhabited, but played only a minor role of the amphibians. in the development of human cultures, particu- larly in the expansion of iron-working. Ichthyofauna When the fi rst Europeans arrived at the end of the 19th century and the fi rst documents were Th e Ituri River and its tributaries contain an written, the forests of Upper Ituri contained only ichthyofauna that is still largely unknown. It is small scattered villages and vast areas were not in- fi shed locally, although not intensively at present. habited on a permanent basis5. Given the fact that the Ituri Basin is well upstream Th e human populations in the Landscape in- in the Congo Basin, its fauna is not as rich as in creased during the colonial period, following the the central basin. Furthermore, some major rap- opening-up of the fi rst roads and the development ids on the middle course of the Ituri create a bio- of mining and agricultural plantations in the re- geographical barrier which isolates this river from gion. Over the last 60 years, and most notably the Congo River. Preliminary inventories carried in the last 30, considerable migratory movements out at the beginning of the 1980s showed that have invaded large portions of the Landscape. the ichthyofauna consisted primarily of general- Th is immigration continued even during the lat- ist species that were usually widely distributed; it est confl icts between 1996 and 2003 and in spite also included some species that have not yet been of the clashes between rival militias who were found elsewhere and specialist species such as rock present throughout the Landscape. Some immi- 5 Th e members of the fi rst expedition, browsers, which live in torrents and are probably grants were fl eeing insecurity in their home re- which visited the region around the end endemic to the Ituri Basin. Some of these species gion; however, even during the periods of con- of the 1880s and had to obtain supplies were unknown to local fi shermen whose methods fl ict most of them were motivated by economic from the local inhabitants, found so are inappropriate for catching these specialist spe- opportunities. Th ese opportunities included easy few villages that they nearly starved cies. access to cultivable land, jobs in mining or small- to death. Th e Arab slave trade and scale forestry and the small businesses that these clashes between Westerners and Arabs Invertebrates activities generated. in this region had perhaps reduced even Most recent immigrants in the Landscape further the already sparse populations. Diurnal butterfl ies are the only invertebrates come from the densely populated heights of the Whatever the case may be, the Ituri that have been the subject of systematic inven- Albertine Rift, where the population density is forests were less inhabited than the tories in the Landscape. Collections have been over 100 inhabitants/km² and accessing new ag- forests situated just to the west or the made in three places. In Epulu (altitude 750 m), ricultural land is becoming diffi cult. Th e popula- forest-savannah ecotone to the north.

208 tions of Beni, Butembo and Bunia, the major ur- the Nande, from the mountains to the east of the ban centers on the eastern edge of the Landscape, landscape, and the Budu, from densely populated are increasing at the rate of 4.2% a year. In the regions to the north and west. Many of the new- northwest, the populations of the Isiro region are comers came to rejoin members of their family or also growing quickly. An analysis of satellite im- clan. Today, all the centers where several families ages taken over the last 20 years shows that the live contain several ethnic groups. Th e population regions adjacent to the Ituri Landscape are under- of Epulu, with 2,000 inhabitants, comprises over going the most substantial deforestation in DRC. 30 diff erent ethnic groups. Two vast blocks of the Landscape still have a low human population density: Activities • Th e wildlife reserve (around 1,400,000 ha), where a census in 2003, at the beginning of Subsistence agriculture the CARPE-CBFP program, revealed that Manioc, banana-plantain, rainfed rice, taro, there were 17,000 people in the reserve (1.2/ yams and groundnuts are the main crops in the km²) and 37,000 people within 15 km of the Landscape. Maize is used for the local produc- limits. tion of alcohol. Th e agriculture practiced by the • Immediately to the east of the reserve, the groups who traditionally live in the forest is based Mai-Tatu block (1,200,000 ha) has not yet on a rotation system of two years of crops and ten been the subject of censuses, but is constantly years of fallow. Fields are small, generally less than occupied by military poachers, which suggests 2 ha, and represent only a small proportion of the that it still contains sizeable animal popula- agricultural mosaic. Th e long periods of fallow al- tions. low the soil to regain its fertility and provide good habitats for fauna. Th e populations of certain ani- Th e total human population of the Landscape mal species are denser in these secondary environ- is unknown. Mambasa and Nia-Nia, the two ma- ments than in the adjacent forests. In areas where jor centers, have fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, fallow periods are still long, clearing of the prima- but are growing rapidly. Very roughly, the total ry forest is very limited. Th e mosaic of secondary population of the Landscape and its immediate forests is rich in palm trees Elaeis guineensis and periphery can be estimated at 300,000. Th e pop- Raphia sp., which are rare in dense forests. ulation of the Beni and Butembo region is about Th e recent immigrants practice a more inten- 1.5 million and has a growth rate of 2.5-2.8% a sive agriculture, with larger fi elds, shorter fallow year. periods and more extensive clearing of the pri- mary forest. Although more research is necessary, Ethnic groups studies show that fallow periods of fi ve years or less lead to the soil becoming depleted, regenera- Th e semi-nomadic Mbuti and Efe (Figure tion of forest coming to a halt and the forest be- 22.4) were probably the fi rst inhabitants of the ing replaced by prairies of Imperata or thickets of region, but when they arrived is unknown. While bushes and lianas. their way of life today is similar to what it was originally, these Pygmies have not been able to Cash-crop agriculture live inside the forest independently of other eth- During the late colonial period and up to the nic groups and had to colonize the forest at the 1970s, there was substantial production in the same time as groups practicing shifting agricul- Landscape of products for marketing: rainfed rice ture. Th e latter are believed to have come to the and palm oil were intended for the urban and region 2,000-3,000 years ago. At present, the mining centers and coff ee for export. Th e tradi- number of Pygmies in the Landscape is estimated tional forest populations had very few cash crops. at 30,000. Th ey continue to lead a semi-nomadic Coff ee was produced by small family businesses, lifestyle, but still depend heavily on the Bantu generally belonging to recent immigrants, or vast populations. plantations typically owned by Europeans. In the Among the forest farmers, the main eth- 1970s, the expatriates’ companies were national- nic groups are the Bila, Ndaka, Lese, Mbo and ized and, subsequently, quickly abandoned. By Mamvu. Th ey depend on shifting agriculture, sup- the end of the 1970s, the road network began to plemented by fi shing and hunting. Th e Ngwana deteriorate, access to markets became diffi cult, arrived in the Landscape with the Arab slave trade prices fell and crops were gradually abandoned. in the 19th century. During the colonial era, new Today, production is minimal and there are no populations were added. Th e most numerous are longer any coff ee plantations. Th ese plantations

209 Figure 22.4. Semi-nomadic hunters. have been converted into land for subsistence ag- tivity is carried out full-time by a few specialized riculture or have been invaded by the forest. individuals. Village hunters primarily use snares, which ensure a degree of success even when the Fishing animal populations are low. Budu hunters re- Small-scale fi shing using nets, traps, lines and cently extended hunting with snares deep into the hooks is the most important activity after agri- Landscape from the west. Few recent immigrants culture. In some communities near watercourses, from Kivu are specialized hunters. fi shing is the main activity. Immigrants from low- Th e use of fi rearms was not common until er down the hydrological basin bring new meth- the civil war, when rival militia, joined by the na- ods and fi sh more intensively. An inventory of the tional police, set themselves up in the Landscape ichthyofauna and its productivity is an essential to control access to gold and timber or to organize priority in the Landscape. commercial and ivory hunting. At present, mili- tary arms are still circulating in the Landscape. Hunting Hunting is practiced throughout the Landscape Incomes and is the primary activity of the Mbuti and Efe, Very few inhabitants of the Landscape have who generally practice hunting by tracking. Th e regular wages. Most of those with wages are em- use of nets and rounding-up methods is practiced ployed through churches or international NGOs, in the center and south of the Landscape, while including conservation NGOs. hunting with bows and arrows is dominant in the 6 Preliminary mapping of these hunting north and the east. Eight species of small ungu- Th e collapse of the road network in the 1970s areas has been undertaken around lates are the main targets of this hunting. Hunters has limited both access to markets and develop- Epulu and it remains to be seen whether using dogs also catch several species of primates ment possibilities. At present, bicycles are the this type of demarcation is as extensive and small animals such as meerkats or rodents. main means of transport on what is left of the in other sections of the Landscape. When hunting with nets or bows and arrows, roads7. Th e economic context of the Landscape 7 On the road that used to be trans- many animals manage to escape. Th is reduces the will probably change quickly when the roads African, over 250 tons of goods were impact of hunting and makes it profi table only are rebuilt. Repairs to the trans-African highway carried to Epulu on bicycles over a when there are large numbers of animals. between Kisangani and Bunia are already under four-month period in 2002. Mostly, Mbuti hunters have hunting territories with way. Th is road will facilitate immigration and im- it consisted of cheap foodstuff s. Th ere more or less fi xed camp locations, which are used proved access to markets will encourage the ex- was no bushmeat and none of the on a periodic basis by clan or family groups6. Th e traction of forest resources. In the absence of any agricultural products came from the villagers hunt as well, but in their case this ac- controls, mitigation measures and management, Landscape.

210 the Landscape will come under unprecedented the very bad state of the roads. Th is illegal small- threats8. scale logging and agriculture are major threats for the ENRA concession. Mining Ituri is rich in minerals: gold, coltan and dia- Reasons for the identifi cation of monds. Gold mining dates back to the colonial the Landscape period. Kilo-Moto was one of the main compa- nies at that time, located near the eastern edge of (1) Th e Landscape is one of the main reservoirs the Landscape. Access to mining resources was a of biodiversity on the continent. major issue in the civil war and is still at the heart (2) Th e Landscape is one of the last refuges for of the present confl icts. Hundreds of small per- large fauna in DRC, especially for okapi, the manent or semi-permanent mines have become last large populations of chimpanzees and active since the legalization of small-scale mining forest elephants10. in the 1980s. No Landscape-wide survey exists, (3) BirdLife International has included the but at least 25 camps are operational in the wild- Ituri forest among its Important Bird Areas life reserve. Today, all mining operations are on (IBA). a small scale, even in the Kilo-Moto concession (4) Th e Landscape has the last large forests where where miners work under contract. Most opera- populations of semi-nomadic hunter-gather- tions are concerned with alluvial gold, but a grow- ers continue to live and the Okapi Wildlife ing number of miners are trying to extract gold Reserve constitutes a unique opportunity to from the parent rock after grinding and washing develop participatory wildlife management it with mercury. Th is trend will increase as the with these populations, who represent 18% price of gold increases. of the human population in the reserve. Without a legal defi nition of land uses, con- Land use trols on immigration and regulations pro- 8 At the moment and for the foreseeable tecting traditional hunting, the Mbuti and future, the populations of the Most of the Landscape is not managed or le- the Efe will quickly become a minority on Landscape have no means of generating gally allocated (Figure 22.5). Th e largest legal area their own lands11. income other than by intensifying and is the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. As concerns extrac- marketing the products of subsistence tive areas, there is an ENRA concession. Conservation activities, especially agriculture, hunting, fi shing, crafts, small-scale Logging History logging, mineral extraction or small businesses. All of these activities are Logging is concentrated in semi-deciduous Th e exceptionality of the Ituri forest was rec- going to have to be managed to prevent forests, near the transitional area between the ognized as soon as the fi rst biological explorations degradation of the Landscape. dense forests and the wooded savannahs in the of the region were carried out at the beginning of 9 Th ese small-scale loggers work in little east, where valuable species such as Milicia excel- the 20th century. Active conservation began with associations using chainsaws to produce sa, Entandrophragma sp. and Khaya anthotheca are the installation of the station at Epulu, with a view rough-sawn timber on the felling site more abundant. to catching live okapis for zoos around the world. and use modifi ed bicycles to carry the Th ere were no concessions in the ini- To this eff ect, the station set up a system of zones wood as far as the road, where it is tial Landscape, but in 2004 the limits of the for catching the animals along the road running loaded onto vehicles for export to East Landscape were extended to encompass the only from the east of Nia-Nia to the west of Mambasa. Africa. About 150 loggers were active in legally registered logging area in eastern DRC. It In these zones, the okapis’ habitat was left intact the southeast of the Landscape, most of covers about 52,000 ha and has been allocated and those inside the zones were protected by the them without legal permits. to ENRA, which has its base in Beni. Th is small local populations, who were the fi rst to be hired 10 Recent studies over 5,500 km² in the company produces 5,000-7,000 m³ of sawn tim- during the capturing campaigns. central part of the reserve showed that ber a year. Another company, Dara Forest, was Management of the station was taken over 3,000 elephants have survived the war. active during the period of the rebellion, but it by ICCN, which continued the tradition of pro- Elephants also exist in another area of was unable to legalize its activities, most likely due tected capture areas. During the 1980s, it became 3,000 km² and in an unknown portion to the fact that it was involved in illegal exploita- clear that the traditional authority was not going of the Mai-Tatu block, where surveys tion of the country’s resources during the war. It to be able to keep up this protection when faced are planned. is continuing with its illegal activities. with the level of immigration into the forest. 11 Th is tendency is already clearly Most logging in the Landscape is in the form Consequently, in 1992, the wildlife reserve was visible with the Pygmies living in of small-scale activities stretching from the south created and placed under the authority of ICCN. the immigration areas or outside the and east right across the Landscape9. Th ere is vir- Th e legal text creating this protected area men- Landscape. tually no logging in the north or west, because of tions conservation as a priority, but also allows for

211 a lot of freedom in the management of the reserve to accommodate access by the local populations and traditional non-destructive hunting. Th e re- serve covers 1,370,000 ha, which represents over a third of the Landscape. In 1996, it became a ■ Faunal reserve (41.5%) World Heritage Site, on the basis of its faunal ■ Logging concessions (1.5%) richness and its importance for the traditional ■ Other (57%) peoples of the forest. A coalition comprising ICCN and some in- ternational NGOs (WCS, WWF and GIC) has worked on conservation of the reserve since the mid-1980s, particularly through the creation of Figure 22.5. Main land uses. a research and training center (CEFRECOF). At the beginning of the civil war, ICCN, WCS management unit based in the reserve, which and GIC, with the support of the United Nations is linked to ICCN through UNESCO, formed a partnership en- • ENRA, the private logging company which suring the permanent presence of conservation wants to improve the management of its re- personnel in the reserve throughout most of the sources troubles. Th is presence continues to supply infor- • the association of small-scale loggers mation which has allowed the reserve to be sup- ported at the international diplomatic level and Direct threats has protected its headquarters and at least some of its resources. (1) Small-scale logging and agriculture Since the mid-1990s, in accordance with the Th ese two activities fragment the forest. Th is ICCN mandate to manage the reserve, the origi- process is well advanced at the southeastern edge nal capture areas have been consolidated to serve of the Landscape, demonstrating what must abso- as the basis for a formal zoning plan, which con- lutely be avoided if the Landscape is to retain its tinued to be developed during the confl icts and biological value and its importance for the tradi- still constitutes a priority management objective. tional peoples of the forest12. New access to mar- Th is zoning provides for the creation of 22 ag- kets and the rise in prices could set cash-crop agri- ricultural areas—six already existed—linked to culture in motion. Without sound management, well-established communities living on the edge this could open up the forest to major clearing of or in the reserve. Clearing of land inside the re- and the arrival of new populations. serve will be limited to these areas and demarcated according to the present and future needs of the (2) Ivory hunting populations. Two additional areas have been pro- Elephant hunting and the illegal ivory trade posed, but their limits and management method started in 1996 with the beginning of the civil are still to be defi ned. Th e fi rst is a traditional war. Th ey expanded in 2002-2004 when rival hunting area which will cover most of the reserve militia, joined by the national police, established 12 Th e increase in the settlement of and will be used exclusively by the Mbuti and the hunting camps in the Landscape, recruited and populations begins with the creation Efe. Th e second will be an integrated protection armed professional hunters and signed contracts of small isolated hamlets and the area intended to protect large animal populations with local dealers to sell the meat and ivory13. introduction of small-scale logging from from any form of exploitation. ICCN drew up a report on these massacres, existing roads. Th ese gaps grow and which perhaps had the eff ect of the military and increase in number, forming a mosaic Players poaching camps being removed in 2004 and of secondary vegetation and fi elds. In 2005. Elephant poaching has now been reduced the more advanced stages, the forest is Th e players active at present are: considerably, but there are far fewer elephants to severely fragmented and/or reduced and • ICCN hunt and the animals that survived are harder to new villages spring up, connected by • the local populations involved in the zoning fi nd. An unknown number of hunting units are trails and footpaths. program for the reserve still active in the Mai-Tatu block, where poaching 13 Over a 12-month period from 2002 • the territorial administration, comprising continues. ICCN has found that the number of to 2003, ICCN information gathering group leaders, three sector leaders and the ad- military arms in circulation has fallen, but they services identifi ed 17 tons of ivory ministrator of the territory of Mambasa are still present in the reserve. crossing the Landscape. Th ey were • international NGOs: WCS and Gilman unable to do anything about it due to International Conservation (GIC) the high-level of political protection • UNESCO in support of the information enjoyed by some poachers.

212 (3) Hunting for meat can be temporary, but it is clear that the overall Hunting is very widespread and its impact on population of the Landscape has risen consider- the fauna varies according to the methods used. ably over the last 50 years. Hunting with snares, which is very destructive, has grown considerably over the course of the (2) Lack of management capacity last decade and has now reached remote regions Th e weakness of the local government author- of the Landscape. Th e trade in bushmeat has also ities, including a lack of funds, weak institutions, increased signifi cantly in the reserve and the Mai incompetence and corruption, means that the Tatu block. Animal populations in the southern State agencies responsible for the monitoring and part of the Landscape and the areas around large management of natural resources are unable to villages have been reduced to the point where carry out their tasks. Th e development of any new meat consumption in these areas is virtually institutional platform for the implementation of nonexistent. Th e trading network involves deal- management in the Landscape is also handicapped ers and buyers in the regions of Beni, Butembo, by the lack of a mandate. Th is compromises ef- Kisangani and Isiro, but there is also considerable forts to resolve confl icts concerning the use of re- meat consumption in Mambasa and Epulu, the sources and weakens the ability to control abuses. headquarters of the reserve. Without a clear mandate, local management pro- grams can be wiped out or brushed aside by exter- (4) Small-scale mining nal forces that are more politically powerful. Even Th is is a localized threat, but it can have major when such a mandate exists, implementing it can repercussions due to the fact that it is accompanied be compromised: ENRA, for example, has log- by uncontrolled population movements and an in- ging rights on its concession, but cannot prevent crease in the trade in bushmeat. Many small mines either illegal logging or illegal installations. are characterized by signifi cant variations in the Th e problem of a lack of mandates is one of level of activities; however, when mines are eventu- the reasons why conservation activities are focused ally abandoned the populations do not always leave on the reserve. Within its limits, ICCN exercises the invaded areas. In this way, mining contributes a mandate that covers a large number of man- towards the establishment of permanent commu- agement activities and, although some of these nities. A recent census conducted in the reserve, activities still have to be legally and administra- where mining is illegal, reveals that many new tively confi rmed, its authority is clear. Th is is not immigrants are former miners who came from far the case outside the reserve or in the Landscape. away and have decided to become farmers. Establishing mandates for these areas remains a major challenge. (5) Commercial fi shing Recent observations suggest that small-scale Financing and conservation fi shing is growing in the Landscape, but it does not constitute a threat at the moment. With road Most of the fi nancing for the Landscape repairs, this growth will continue and fi sh stocks comes from CARPE. Additional funds from WCS will drop in the areas where fi shing is heaviest. and GIC are primarily devoted to the reserve. Anticipated fi nance includes 3 million euros for Indirect threats the reserve from the German development bank (KFW) between 2007 and 2012 and US $100,000 (1) Increase in human populations from UNESCO’s emergency fund for 2007-2009. A considerable increase in the populations, es- Outside the reserve, ENRA should be investing pecially through immigration, has been observed funds in the management of its concession, but in several places in the Landscape. Th e recent as long as the limits are not respected and illegal confl icts have not changed this trend and this in- logging continues, this company will not con- crease will probably accelerate with improved ac- tinue to make investments in sustainable forestry. cess and the return of a certain level of security. In Th e Catholic church of Mambasa and several hu- the reserve, censuses carried out by WCS between manitarian NGOs based in the Landscape are also 1994 and 2003 reveal an increase of 6-16% in injecting funds into development. Coordination the major centers. Sometimes, this growth can among these players is only in its infancy. As for be rapid: in 2004, the population of Epulu rose ICCN, the organization provides little fi nancing from 1,570 to 2,265 in six months when security for the reserve and the Ministries in charge of the returned and the NGOs supporting the reserve environment and mines make even fewer funds resumed their activities. Some of these increases available for the Landscape.

213 Environmental education and capacity Only the members of ethnic groups who tra- building ditionally used to live in the reserve and whose home villages were in the reserve can obtain the Environmental education programs were fi rst status of returning resident. Th e zoning program, initiated by GIC in the reserve 15 years ago. Since including controls on immigration, has incorpo- the end of the civil war, these have been renewed rated several administrative levels. Legalization of and extended beyond the reserve. Th ese programs these activities must be pursued. are increasingly seen not only as a way of making the values of the reserve known, but also as a basis (3) In the extraction areas for a dialogue and exchange of information that Th e CARPE program for the Landscape is can facilitate the development and implementa- working with ENRA in an eff ort to establish a tion of the zoning of the reserve. plan for the sustainable management of the con- cession. Th is plan will serve as a model for an- Management in the fi eld of renewable other proposed concession to be set up beyond natural resources the small-scale logging and agriculture front, so as to form a buff er zone at the edge of the reserve. (1) At the Landscape level Th ere is no zoning or other activity in the (4) In the rural areas pipeline at the Landscape level. For zoning to be successful, shifting agri- culture must be slowed down and agricultural (2) In the reserve production increased through improved meth- Conservation-related activities are based in ods. Towards this end, WCS and GIC have un- the reserve and focus on two crucial activities: dertaken several assistance projects for farmers, • anti-poaching patrols carried out by ICCN which include technical support, the distribution • zoning of the diff erent forms of land use un- of selected seeds and tools and the introduction dertaken by ICCN and its NGO partners of new crops, agro-forestry methods, compost- Th e reserve is to be split up into three types of ing and fi sh farming. Th ese promising initiatives areas: must now be assessed. • agricultural areas Human-animal confl icts must be controlled, • small areas where human settlements and land especially as the animal populations around crops clearing will be permitted will increase. • hunting areas, covering most of the reserve, Hunting must be managed. Th e present ap- where only traditional methods (nets, bows proach involves studying how traditional hunters and arrows) will be allowed use and manage access to their forests. Th e infor- • total protection areas for the conservation of mation collected will be used to develop cultur- key species ally acceptable recommendations for controlling access and preventing the most intensive forms of Th ese activities require improved governance, commercial hunting, concurrently consolidating particularly as relates to controls on immigration. and confi rming the rights and responsibilities of To this eff ect, ICCN, in conjunction with its part- the traditional communities with respect to hunt- ners and the administrative authorities, is testing ing. a pilot program to regulate access and the permit- Small-scale logging must be managed through ted length of residence in the reserve, through the support for legally recognized associations of introduction of a residence permit. Four types of small-scale loggers already established in the status will be recognized: Landscape and its periphery. Major problems to • permanent resident be resolved concern the allocation and protection • temporary stay of concessions, working practices, controls on en- • in transit vironmental attacks and taxation. • returning to place of residence

214 Research and monitoring Transport and tourism

In the past, the wildlife reserve and the Ituri Before the war, Epulu was an important tran- forest have served as a framework for basic re- sit center for commercial and tourist vehicles search programs, which themselves serve as the traveling to or from Kisangani. Every day, 10-20 basis for the management programs being devel- trucks stopped at Epulu and the local popula- oped today. Th ese interventions must be contin- tions were able to sell their agricultural produce ued and extended to address new challenges that or buy salt, paraffi n, cigarettes, food, clothing and are already taking shape. many other items. Tourism was also an important Th e most important research over the last 30 source of income for local populations: between years has concerned key species (okapi, duiker, 1987 and 1993, 22,775 tourists visited Epulu to elephant), basic studies on forest dynamics and see the okapis in the captivity of their vast enclo- phenology and socioeconomic subjects related sures. to the traditional peoples of the forest and the new immigrants. Since it was created in 1990, CEFRECOF in Epulu has also served as a train- ing and applied research center supporting the wildlife reserve. Present work centers on obtaining post-con- fl ict data on the biological and socioeconomic state of the Landscape and on the impacts of its utilization by human populations. Approximately 40% of the inventories have been completed. Th ey have collected data on action to combat poaching and on the development of zoning. A program based at ICCN and supported by Belgium and UNESCO has produced a basic map of the wildlife reserve and is now developing capacity to manage data concerning the protected area in Epulu.

215