Infrastructure – Increasing Efficiency and Improving Morale

The past year has been incredibly busy with construction projects for the Reserve and that trend continues into this new year. Improving infrastructure in such a remote area not only increases the productivity and efficiency of ICCN rangers and OCP staff to continue their work protecting the forest, but it also increases the morale of everyone involved in the process.

In 2018, with the help from Fondation Segré and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, we were able to construct a new Immigration Checkpoint and ICCN Office at the Zunguluka Guard Post, construct an internet office building to increase communication opportunities for OCP staff and ICCN rangers, and thanks to support from a Wildlife Conservation Network donor, we also constructed a new nursery in Wamba, just northwest of the Reserve, to fill a critical need for farmers in the area adjacent to the northwest sector of the Reserve to join our agroforestry program.

We were also able to construct a multipurpose office complex for our Education and Agroforestry team and the Women’s Group in Mambasa that was made possible by a donor from the Wildlife Conservation Network. This office complex was so successful, word has spread to the four other Women’s Groups around the Reserve, resulting in an exciting push to secure funding to construct additional buildings in those areas. In just a few short months, the new building in Mambasa has increased the motivation and efficiency of the women, provided suitable storage for their materials and a space to work out of the heat of the tropical sun and the heavy rains so common near the equator.  To read more, click here.