rainforest | WCS Congo Blog

Elusive Congolese Poacher Sentenced to Five Years in Jail

Posted on December 18, 2017

OUESSO, Republic of Congo (December 15, 2017) – A local court sentenced a notorious elephant poacher and ivory trafficker to five years in prison and a fine of 1,200,000 XAF (~2100 US$). The sentencing, which took place yesterday, is an indication that Congolese government is becoming increasingly serious about dealing with criminals that threaten the country’s natural heritage. Over the last 12 years, Benjamin Mbondo,...

HONEY PRODUCTION STRENGTHENS LIVELIHOODS IN NORTHERN CONGO

Posted on December 7, 2017

by Germain Mavah

The harvest and sale of honey produced by wild bees generates income, and reduces pressures on families living near the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo to turn to killing wildlife as a source of cash income. Finding ways to increase incomes and improve the living standards of families living in isolated areas is a challenge throughout the world. However, it is especially important in...

taking to the sky

Posted on May 11, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

On the 31st of April 2017, Jean Pierre Sagette, took WCS Congo to the air on its first surveillance flight. Jean Pierre, an experienced pilot with more than ten years of flying experience in Africa, is the newest member of the WCS Congo family. From his last position piloting charter planes in Mozambique, Jean Pierre is applying skills to the conservation realm for the first...

Marching forward for wildlife

Posted on March 3, 2017

by Forrest Hogg

In the build-up to World Wildlife Day 2017, the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park anti-poaching force gathered on the grassy lawn at the Park’s headquarters in Bomassa. The Congolese National Anthem was chanted as the modest troop of some 50 rangers saluted the flag’s ascent. The day marked an important step in the Park’s march to protect its forest elephants and the integrity of Ndoki’s World Heritage...

Conserving Congo’s only Community Reserve

Posted on February 6, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

Created in 2001, Congo’s only community reserve includes extraordinary biodiversity: the highest known local densities of gorillas in the world, large populations of chimpanzees, as well as the full range of other Congo forest creatures. The area is managed by the Ministry of Forestry Economy and Sustainable Development (MEFDD) in partnership with WCS Congo, through funding from USAID’s CARPE program. Commercial hunting and wildlife trafficking...

investigation leads to 70 kg ivory seizure

Posted on February 6, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

On the 27th of January 2017 seventy kilograms of ivory was seized near a residential home in Ouesso, northern Congo. The group responsible for obtaining and selling the ivory is an ivory trafficking network that has been closely followed by WCS’s Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) since September 2016, when four members of the network were arrested following collaboration between the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and...

A VITAL PIECE OF NATURAL HERITAGE TO BE SAVED

Posted on January 11, 2017

by Tim Rayden

Ten years ago, in 2006, the government of Congo committed to the creation of a new protected area: the Ogooué Leketi National Park, to make a trans-frontier protected zone with the Plateau Batéké National Park in Gabon. The forest was, at the time, one of the last intact areas in southern Congo, naturally protected by the two rivers, the Ogooué and the Leketi, from which...

the sound of conservation

Posted on November 30, 2016

by Terry Brncic

Cornell University’s Elephant Listening Project and WCS-Congo are launching a new study using hidden microphones in the forest to better monitor forest elephant populations and movements, pinpoint the gunshots of poachers, and record the biodiversity in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Congo. Any animal (including humans) that makes a loud noise can be detected and recorded by the acoustic devices. Elephants are exceptionally good subjects for acoustic...

Hippos in the rainforest

Posted on November 16, 2016

by Zanne Labuschagne

A team of 6 six rangers congregated in the Joint Operations Centre at Bomassa Park HQ. Maps and photos taken during patrol flickered across the monitor screen as Christian Molango, the patrol leader, detailed what they encountered as they scouted along the banks of the Ndoki river. Then, something unusual caught everyone’s attention – a pair of hippos appeared on the screen....

the ndoki experience

Posted on May 31, 2016

by Forrest Hogg

Our latest video, 'The Ndoki Experience' showcases the incredible diversity of the pristine forest of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. The park, created in 1993, spans 4,238.7 km2 in the northwestern corner of the Republic of Congo and is a rare example of an intact forest wilderness, completely uninhabited by human settlers and with low human population densities in the surrounding area. The forest is part...

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