From 26 to 28 October 2023, Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, will host the first Summit of the world’s three major tropical forest basins: Congo, Amazonia and Borneo-Mekong. To ensure that this global meeting does not end with mere declarations, civil society is calling for action. The areas in which participants in this summit are being called upon to act are set out in a petition that civil society players are continuing to sign online.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
From 26 to 28 October 2023, Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, will host the first Summit of the world’s three major tropical forest basins: Congo, Amazonia and Borneo-Mekong. To ensure that this global meeting does not end with mere declarations, civil society is calling for action. The areas in which participants in this summit are being called upon to act are set out in a petition that civil society players are continuing to sign online.
Civil society is expressing its expectations of the first Summit of the world’s three major tropical forest basins, scheduled for 26-28 October 2023 at the Kintélé International Conference Centre on the outskirts of Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. For this global meeting on the preservation of the three regions of the planet that are home to 80% of the world’s green lungs and three-quarters of the world’s biodiversity, nature conservationists are calling for strong and significant action.
The Eboko Foundation, a Congolese organisation committed to the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, has just posted an online call for action during the Three Basins Summit. It sets out the five priority areas on which participants at the summit are being asked to take action. First and foremost is the conservation and restoration of biodiversity in the Congo Basin in Central Africa, the Amazon Basin in South America and the Mekong Basin in South-East Asia.
« We call on national governments and international partners to strengthen conservation measures in the basins. This requires several key actions: firstly, improving the management system and governance of protected areas in existing basins, by revising strategic or action plans and harmonising national texts. Secondly, the creation and expansion of cross-border protected areas to promote ecological connectivity between habitats and allow species to move freely. Thirdly, the training and capacity-building of environmental legal actors, as well as natural and artificial guardians of protected areas », explains the manifesto, which is open for signature online by civil society actors.
Promoting the know-how of forest peoples
The call for action stresses the urgent need for collective action to preserve the Congo, Amazon and Mekong basins. The four remaining priorities focus on strengthening international cooperation, mobilising the necessary resources, involving civil society and promoting the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples.
For the initiators of the appeal, who will be making their voices heard throughout the Brazzaville Summit, harnessing the traditional knowledge of the first communities is fundamental to the sustainable management of natural resources. Their in-depth knowledge of these ecosystems, passed down from generation to generation, offers invaluable tools for the effective preservation of biodiversity and the promotion of a sustainable future
Fanta Mabo
Ce vendredi 13 mai 2023, la police Judiciaire a mis la main sur un jeune homme, la trentaine révolue qui tentait de vendre de l’ivoire a un client dans un hôtel de la place. Pris la main dans le sac et conduit dans les locaux de la PJ, le trafiquant avouera être le propriétaire de la marchandise qu’il gardait enterré en forêt voilà bientôt un peu plus de six mois.
En effet, parti de la ville d’Ovan avec les pointes d’ivoire qu’il avait préalablement scié en six morceaux, c’est dans les portières de son véhicule qu’il va les dissimuler pour passer les contrôles ; mais c’était sans compter avec les forces de police qui était déjà informés de ce qui se tramait.
Il faut avouer que le trafic d’ivoire, au même titre que la vente de la drogue est une importante source de revenue pour les trafiquants qui, développent chaque jour des nouveaux mécanismes afin de tromper la vigilance des administrations en charge de veiller sur, d’une part la lutte contre le braconnage et, d’autre part de stopper la vente des produits qui y sont issus.
Au Gabon, c’est le Ministère des Eaux et Forêts, les Parcs nationaux qu’appuis les forces de l’ordre qui se charge de mettre hors d’état de nuire tous ces indélicats. Et depuis 2010, un autre partenaire, l’ONG Conservation Justice apporte son assistance a l’administration dans la lutte contre l’exploitation forestière illégale, le trafic de la faune et assiste les populations dans la gestion des forets communautaires. C’est d’ailleurs pourquoi, les responsables de cette Organisation Non Gouvernementale félicitent les agents de la police Judiciaire pour cette énième arrestation.
D’ici la fin de cette semaine, le braconnier sera présenté au parquait de Libreville et surement écroué pour 10 ans avant d’être déféré à la prison centrale ou il méditera tranquillement sur son sort.
Inutile de rappeler que les éléphants font partie des plus grandes curiosités touristiques de notre faune et qu’un éléphant vivant apporte bien plus au pays qu’un éléphant mort.
Dieu-Donné KUMBAHT
GABON : un trafiquant d’ivoire de plus dans les mails de la police judiciaire
Ce vendredi 13 mai 2023, la police Judiciaire a mis la main sur un jeune homme, la trentaine révolue qui tentait de vendre de l’ivoire a un client dans un hôtel de la place. Pris la main dans le sac et conduit dans les locaux de la PJ, le trafiquant avouera être le propriétaire de la marchandise qu’il gardait enterré en forêt voilà bientôt un peu plus de six mois.
Nyungwe and Odzala-Kokoua national parks, in Rwanda and the Republic of Congo respectively, are now part of the world heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The decision was taken on Tuesday 19 September 2023, at a session of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Rwanda is no longer one of the 12 African countries without a World Heritage Site from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Nyungwe National Park, a tropical forest covering almost 102,000 hectares in the south-west of the East African country, is now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The decision was taken on Tuesday 19 September 2023, at a session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Nyungwe National Park is one of the most important bird conservation sites in Africa. It is home to 12 species of mammal and seven species of bird that are globally threatened, with 317 species of bird recorded. The park also contains the most important natural habitats for a number of species found nowhere else in the world, including the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodyte schweinfurthii), the globally threatened golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti) and the critically endangered hill horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hillorum).
Odzala-Kokoua National Park
This is a double coup for the Congo Basin. The world’s second largest rainforest massif saw two of its sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the same day. The Odzala-Kokoua national park, which covers 13,546 km² in the north-west of the Republic of Congo, was also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 19 September 2023.
« This reaffirms Odzala’s position as a biological hotspot and one of the most species-rich areas in the world. It is home to several types of ecosystems (Congolese forest, Lower Guinea forest and savannah). Odzala is one of the most important strongholds for forest elephants in Central Africa and is home to the greatest diversity of primates in the region, notably the western lowland gorilla and the chimpanzee », describes African Parks Network.
The nature conservation non-governmental organisation (NGO), based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is responsible for managing the two new UNESCO World Heritage sites. This is thanks to long-term conservation contracts, lasting 20 years, signed with the Rwandan and Congolese governments.
Thanks to their new status, Nyungwe and Odzala-Kokoua will attract more funding for conservation and research efforts. « The first advantage is that the site benefits from immediate international recognition, which is an asset for sites that are already protected. This stimulates tourism. It demonstrates social responsibility. The site can benefit from Unesco’s network and partners. What’s more, limited funding is associated with World Heritage status, » explains Charles Karangwa, the Regional Technical Coordinator for Forest Landscapes and Livelihoods at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Fanta Mabo
CONGO BASIN: Nyungwe and Odzala-Kokoua join Unesco heritage list
Nyungwe and Odzala-Kokoua national parks, in Rwanda and the Republic of Congo respectively, are now part of the world heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The decision was taken on Tuesday 19 September 2023, at a session of Unesco’s World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
The 2023 survey report on elephants in the Kavango-Zambèze Transfrontier Area (KAZA) shows that elephant populations there are stable. In this region of southern Africa, which includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the elephant population is estimated at 227,900 individuals.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) has just published the first-ever synchronised and comprehensive survey of elephants, carried out in the Kavango-Zambèze Transfrontier Area (KAZA). This region of southern Africa includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the survey, elephant populations there are stable, and are estimated at 227,900 individuals. In detail, the study counts 5,983 pachyderms in Angola, 131,909 in Botswana, 21,090 in Namibia, 3,840 in Zambia and 65,028 in Zimbabwe. Only the elephant population in Zambia has declined.
« These results are very satisfying, and we congratulate the KAZA Transfrontier Conservation Area Secretariat, the States and their partners for their joint efforts to maintain stable elephant populations despite the threats posed by climate change, habitat loss and poaching, » says Philip Kuvawoga, Ifaw’s programme manager for habitat conservation.
« This rigorous survey provides an important basis for assessing the effectiveness of our joint efforts to secure a future for the region’s elephants and the human populations that live alongside them. While this is positive news, we must continue to address the growing challenges of habitat connectivity and human-elephant coexistence, and ensure that conservation actions support those who live in contact with the wildlife of this region, » adds Philip Kuvawoga.
With a surface area of 520,000 km2, around five times the size of Switzerland, the KAZA transboundary conservation area is the largest network of protected areas in Africa. The region is a veritable mosaic of landscapes, made up of grasslands, forests and wetlands. They are home to a wealth of wildlife. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), almost half of Africa’s savannah elephants, a quarter of Africa’s hyenas, 15% of Africa’s lions and countless other species, including buffalo, giraffe and hippopotamus, live in these reserves.
Fanta Mabo
SOUTH AFRICA: Kavango-Zambèze, an area of stability for elephants
The 2023 survey report on elephants in the Kavango-Zambèze Transfrontier Area (KAZA) shows that elephant populations there are stable. In this region of southern Africa, which includes Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the elephant population is estimated at 227,900 individuals.
The Gabonese authorities, in collaboration with the NGO Conservation Justice, are continuing to track down members of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon. Five other suspected traffickers have been arrested in various locations. The alleged traffickers risk a prison sentence of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
Investigations into the dismantling of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon are continuing. A trafficker suspected of recovering ivory in the provinces of Ogooué-Ivindo and Haut-Ogooué was arrested on 11 August 2023. Subsequently, on 17 and 18 August 2023, four other people were arrested between Makokou and Okondja. These four suppliers were successively arrested in Mohoba, Mbela, Zolindin and Bakeba-Bakouaka. Two additional ivory tusks weighing 11 kg were seized.
The alleged trafficker from Makokou is said to have admitted certain facts. The use of pick-up vehicles with a secret compartment under the body has been confirmed, facilitating the transport of ivory to Cameroon.
These operations follow those of 8, 9 and 10 August 2023, during which five suspected ivory traffickers were apprehended in Lambaréné and Sindara 1, in the Moyen-Ogooué and Ngounié provinces respectively. The total seized during these operations consisted of 120 kg of ivory, 18 rounds of 458 calibre hunting ammunition, nearly one million CFA francs in cash, illegal substances (Tramadol) and an expired residence permit belonging to a well-known Cameroonian ivory trafficker.
Read also-Gabon : un camerounais interpelé avec 120 kg d’ivoire
As a pyramid-type organised network, several local coordinators appear to collaborate with poachers, whose activities they finance and whose ivory they buy. The head of the network is believed to be in Cameroon, financing local traffickers, who in turn finance the poachers.
Those arrested face prison sentences of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.
Fanta Mabo
GABON: international ivory trafficking network dismantled
The Gabonese authorities, in collaboration with the NGO Conservation Justice, are continuing to track down members of an international ivory trafficking network from Gabon to Cameroon. Five other suspected traffickers have been arrested in various locations. The alleged traffickers risk a prison sentence of up to 10 or even 20 years, as this is a transnational network organised as a criminal association.