Central Integral Conservation Area – 24 Years in the Making

When the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR) was created almost 25 years ago, it was envisioned that someday a portion of the Reserve would receive protected status similar to that of a National Park. As a Wildlife Reserve certain human activities are allowed – limited agriculture, collecting firewood, collecting medicinal plants, developing sources for drinking water and sustainable hunting by the indigenous Mbuti and Efe pygmies.

The various civic and cultural stakeholders involved in the conservation of nature in Ituri Province, DR Congo met on July 21, 2016 in Mambasa to sign the Protocol Agreement dedicating the Central Integral Conservation Area within the OWR. This agreement will allow the preservation of the biodiversity in this protected area by making the conservation of wildlife the primary objective of ICCN rangers within the core area of the OWR.

Since the OWR has been inhabited by people since its inception (no people were moved out to create the Reserve), a zoning process was undertaken over the last 16 years which has resulted in the demarcation of 32 agricultural areas and the recognition of 31 hunting areas (which represent more than half of the 13,700 sq. km. of the Reserve) for indigenous hunter-gather pygmy tribes living inside the Reserve.  Read more here…