UNESCO and the nongovernmental
organization Fauna & Flora International are launching an emergency appeal
to support the staff and rebuild the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
in Epulu, a small village in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. On 24 June, poachers armed with AK47 rifles attacked the facility and
killed seven people, including two rangers. The appeal hopes to raise $120,000
by 20 July to help the families of the victims and repair the Reserve’s
headquarters.
Led by the notorious elephant poacher known
as Morgan, the attackers torched buildings and destroyed equipment. Unless the
facility can be restored very soon, these poachers will have met their
objective; to move freely about the reserve in their search for elephant tusks.
“Unless we can reverse this situation
quickly, this will be a real setback for the conservation in Okapi Wildlife
Reserve, home to the largest remaining population of forest elephants in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. We can’t let those poachers kill rangers and
hunt wildlife with impunity,” urged Guy Debonnet, of UNESCO’s World Heritage
Centre.
The Reserve is a World Heritage Site. Funds
from the campaign will be used to protect its elephants, whose population has
been declining rapidly because of the ivory poaching. They will also help to
re-establish the Reserve’s successful okapi breeding programme, which has
played a critical role in preserving the gene pool of this rare forest giraffe.
13 okapi were killed in the raid. Buildings will be rebuilt and equipment
repaired or replaced. Perhaps most importantly, the families of those who were
killed will be supported.
In a meeting with UNESCO during the recent
session of the World Heritage Committee in Saint Petersburg, the Director
General of the Congolese Institute of Nature Conservation’s (ICCN), Cosma
Wilungula, expressed grave concern over the situation in Okapi and called on
UNESCO to help resume the conservation activities that were halted by the
attack.
The appeal for funds is conducted as part of
the Rapid Response Facility created by UNESCO and Fauna & Flora
International to raise financial assistance for conservation emergencies.
Burned-out
park headquarters after the attack. ICCN / ICCN
