Okapi game reserve
| Okapi game reserve | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Epulu River in the Okapi Game Reserve |
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| National territory: |
 Democratic Republic of Congo
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| Type: | nature |
| Criteria : | x |
| Surface: | 1,372,625 ha |
| Reference No .: | 718 |
| UNESCO region : | Africa |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1996 (session 20) |
| Red list : | since 1997 |
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve (French: réserve de faune à okapis ) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Ituri Rainforest in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , close to the borders with South Sudan and Uganda . Its size is about 13,700 km², about a fifth of the total area of the forest, and is for the most part in the valley of the Congo River.
The area is home to many okapis . Their numbers were estimated at 3900 to 6350 in 1996, out of a total population of about 10,000 to 20,000. It is also home to many other interesting or endangered animals, such as the forest elephant and at least 13 species of Old World monkeys .
The Epulu Conservation and Research Center is located on the Epulu River there. This goes back to the founding of the American anthropologist Patrick Putnam in 1928 as a trapping station for wild okapis for zoos in America and Europe. Today the approach is a little different: Okapis are caught and bred, only their offspring are sent to zoos, which have a much higher chance of survival than in the wild. Yet very few are exported - just as much as is needed to maintain the genetic diversity of the zoo's populations. The center also does important research and conservation work.
The reserve has been on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger since 1997 . The main threats are deforestation from slash and burn for agriculture and commercial hunting for the sale of game meat. The mining of gold and coltan are also problematic. In July 2012, the Epulu okapi station in the Ituri rainforest was attacked and destroyed by rebels. Six people, mostly rangers, and 13 of the 14 okapis held there were killed and the station was destroyed by fire. The EEP coordinator Hofmann from Antwerp has asked all zoos that keep okapis for additional support in order to be able to rebuild the station.
With the reserve nomadic life Mbuti - Pygmy and Bantu-speaking farmers. In the places along a road leading through the reserve, there has been creeping immigration from the densely populated eastern parts of the country for years. That is why a program has now been started to control this trend. The focus is on improving the yields on the existing agricultural land.
Due to the political and economic conditions in the Congo, there is insufficient funding for the reserve's facilities. The hoped-for ecotourism and a rethinking of the population are not yet in sight.
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Status report 2006 (PDF; 742 kB), p. 30ff. (English)
- Okapi Conservation Project (English)
- www.onlinereports.ch: Massacre and kidnapping in the world center of the okapis in Epulu , 7 July 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Retrieved August 20, 2017 .
- ^ Okapi station in the Congo needs support , Association of German Zooförderer e. V.
Natural heritage: Virunga National Park (1979, R ) | Garamba National Park (1980, R ) | Kahuzi-Biéga National Park (1980, R ) | Salonga National Park (1984, R ) | Okapi Game Reserve (1996, R )
Coordinates: 2 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ N , 28 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E