Kabila to Save Environment in Congo
2/20/98
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Title: Kabila to Save Environment in Congo
Source: Environmental News Network
Status: Copyright by source, contact for reprint permissions
Date: 2/20/98
President Laurent Desire Kabila pledged to establish a genuine conservation
agenda for The Democratic Republic of Congo at a meeting with representatives
from the World Wide Fund for Nature in Kinshasa Monday.
The civil war ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Africa's most
biologically diverse nations and home to endangered species such as the
northern white rhino.
In the meeting, Kabila said that conservation efforts in Congo are difficult in
light of the recent civil war but committed himself to remedy the structural
and circumstantial problems that are harming the country's protected areas and
threatening already endangered species with extinction.
WWF says that Congo's national parks are currently in a state of crisis. For
example, Garamba National Park, in the northeast of the country and home to the
last wild population of northern white rhinos, faces pressures from increased
poaching and a lack of resources to ensure adequate patrolling and other
conservation measures.
Dr. Kes Hillman-Smith, WWF Project Executant at Garamba, discussed the current
state of the park and steps needed to ensure the conservation of park with
Kabila and Edi Angulu-Mabengi, Minister of Environment and Tourism.
"The President was very supportive and said he was keen to adopt a clearly
defined environmental agenda to ensure the nation's unique natural wealth
survives in the long term," she said.
In terms of biodiversity, the Democratic Republic of Congo is likely the
richest in Africa. It contains unique species, like the okapi, the pigmy
chimpanzee, and the eastern lowland gorilla, that are found nowhere else in the
world. After Brazil, the country has the largest surface area of tropical
forest in the world.
According to WWF, the conservation of the country's protected areas is
essential to the recovery of the local tourist industry, an important generator
of revenue and a potential creator of many jobs for the country's people, who
could also benefit from adequate management of the forest resources and unique
protected areas.
For more information, contact Javier Arreaza, 41 22 364 9550,
email: jarreaza@wwfnet.org.