Gorilla Journal people live along the eastern border of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. In general,...

Journal of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe

Developments inthe Kahuzi-BiegaNational Park

African Apes andEthnomedicine

Apes in the Tri-national de laSangha Conser-vation Area

GorillaJournal

No. 25, December 2002

Mountain GorillaConfiscated

BERGGORILLA & REGENWALD DIREKTHILFE

2 Gorilla Journal 25, December 2002

CONTENTSDemocratic Republic of Congo 3Developments in Kahuzi-Biega 3Illegal Exploitation of NaturalResources of Congo 4Poster Campaign for PublicAwareness 5The Mikeno Gorillas 5Mountain Gorilla Confiscated 7Rwanda 8Ubuzima, a 13-month-old Re-introduced to her Group 8Uganda 9Golden Jubilee for National Parks 9Opening the Habinyanja Group Bto Tourists 9Bwindi Killer Suspect Netted 9Gorillas 10African Apes and Ethnomedicine 10Johannesburg in the Media 12Let’s Hope Johannesburg Wasthe Turning Point 14GRASP Reporting 14CITES and Elephants 15Funds to Protect Congo's Forests 15Apes in the Proposed Tri-Nationalde la Sangha Conservation Area 17Survey Results of GorillasFrequenting the Mongambe Bais 20Reading 22Berggorilla & RegenwaldDirekthilfe 23Distribution of our Equipment inthe Kahuzi-Biega Park 23Activities 23

lic and with health monitoring of thegorillas at Bai Hokou.

Carlos Schuler first worked as atypograph, then became a windsurfingand skiing instructor. In 1983, duringone of his last intercontinental travels,he visited Bukavu. There he saw free-ranging gorillas for the first time. Twoyears later he returned to Bukavu andsince 1994 he has been working forthe GTZ. Even when the war started in1996, he decided to stay.

Claude Sikubwabo Kiyengo leda gorilla survey in the Maiko Park from1989 to 1992, and in 1994 took part inthe gorilla census in Kahuzi-Biega. In1995, he started to work for the ICCNin Goma. Now he works for the IUCNprogram PPP (Peace Parcs Project)in Goma.

Angelique Todd is a Doctoratestudent at Manchester MetropolitanUniversity. She also assists WWFpersonnel in the habituation processof two gorilla groups at Bai Hokou.

Dr. Leonard Usongo has beenworking with WWF for 6 years; beforethat he worked with WCS (WildlifeConservation Society).

Paluku Vasangavolo Pavasa is asociologist and an independent re-searcher. He is the coordinator of thelocal NGO CADAK (Coordination deActivités de Développement Autourde Kyavirimu) in Kivu, D. R. Congo.

Dr. Lyna M. Watson is AffiliatedScientist at the Zoo of New England,Boston, USA. Presently she is con-ducting a study on zoo gorillas.Moreover, she is employed as Direc-tor of Animal Welfare and BehavioralManagement.

Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsä-cker is a biologist. He has worked atvarious universities and internationalinstitutions. Since 1991 he has been amember of the Club of Rome. In the1960s, he began a political career inthe SPD (German Social DemocraticParty). Since 1998 he has been amember of the German parliament.

Authors of this IssueDon Cousins has had a lifetime

interest in the great apes. He hasworked in Twycross and Chessingtonzoos, and in 1957 visited Gabon tolook for gorillas. He has researchedand published widely on the subjectand was a friend and colleague of DianFossey.

Bernard Iyomi Iyatshi is a spe-cialist in wildlife management. He hasworked for nature conservation in theZaire/D. R. Congo for 22 years, e.g. inthe Salonga, Maiko, Virunga andKahuzi-Biega National Parks. In Au-gust 2002, he became Principal Con-servator of the Kahuzi-Biega Park.

Déo Kajuga Binyeri has beenworking for conservation since a longtime. He directed several national parkstations, for example the stationRumangabo. At the moment he is theProvincial Directeur of the ICCN (In-stitut Congolais pour la Conservationde la Nature) North Kivu.

Déo Mbula Hibukabake works asTechnical and Scientific Director atthe provincial ICCN Direction in Goma.

Dr. Antoine Mudakikwa has beenworking at the Mountain Gorilla Veteri-nary Centre in Rwanda since 1995. Hehas also been involved with trainingtrackers in the Central African Repub-

Organization Address:Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfec/o Rolf BrunnerLerchenstr. 545473 Muelheim, GermanyFax +49-208-7671605E-mail [email protected]:http://www.berggorilla.orgBank Account:Account number 353 344 315Stadtsparkasse MuelheimBank code number 362 500 00

Gorilla Journal 25, Dec. 2002Editor: Angela MederAugustenstr. 122, 70197 Stuttgart,GermanyFax +49-711-6159919E-mail [email protected] and Proofreading: AnnDeVoy, Bettina and Andrew GrieserJohns, Colin Groves, RaymondMorrisonDesign: Edwin Artho, Angela MederProduction: Gentner-Verlag, StuttgartCover: Kahuzi-Biega rangers withnew sweaters donated by usPhoto: Carlos Schuler

D. R. CONGO


Developments in theKahuzi-Biega ParkSince the start of the war, the Kahuzi-Biega National Park has suffered anunprecedented destruction of its natu-ral resources. Both the human popula-tion and the park’s natural resourceshave been badly affected during thevarious conflicts. It has become diffi-cult to carry out the necessary work toprotect these resources. In spite ofthis, park staff have not sat back anddone nothing, but have taken pains toimplement some conservation activi-ties in the park, development interven-tions for the population living near thepark and public awareness activities;nor have they neglected staff trainingin seminars.

All parts of the park, in the lowerand higher altitude sectors, have beenvisited in spite of the insecurity. Con-tacts have allowed us to strengthen

in order to drive away the Mai-Mai.However, Tshivanga was not onlyhousing these people but also by15 families of our rangers. Fortu-nately, no human casualties or mate-rial damages were reported.

Following these fights, the RCDsoldiers reconquered Tshivanga whilethe others retreated to the park to the7th kilometer (saba-saba) situated atthe park exit. Each party strictlykeeps its position. We have made ef-

collaboration with the population livingclose to the park.

A survey of wild animals illegallyheld in captivity was conducted in thecity of Bukavu and surrounding areas.The survey identified the following spe-cies: 239 parrots, 94 monkeys, threechimpanzees, two baboons, two ea-gles, four tortoises and two antelopes.A good number of them was confis-cated. Some patrol posts and theranger camp were rehabilitated.

Four workshops on improved fuel-wood stoves have been organized tointroduce and increase the use of thistype of stove with the final target ofusing energy more economically whileat the same time decreasing the pres-sure on the resources of the park.Seven theatre shows demonstratingthe importance of protecting the parkand of using alternatives have beenperformed. Local radios produced 32programmes.

Recent eventsOn 3 October, the Mai-Mai laid siegeto the Tshivanga station and theMugaba patrol post. For ten days theMai-Mai stayed there. They never pre-vented our personnel from carrying outtheir duties.

On 13 October, RCD (Rassemble-ment Congolais pour la Democratie)troops attacked the Tshivanga station

Le Gorille No. 6. This issue of themagazine for the population ofthe Kahuzi-Biega area was fundedby Berggorilla & RegenwaldDirekthilfe

Carlos Schuler and Bernard IyomiIyatshi, the new conservator of theKahuzi-Biega National Park, holdthe sweaters produced for therangers by a cooperative in Kisoro

Snares and traps collected in the Kahuzi-BiegaNational Park are exhibited and their functionis demonstrated. Chantal Shalukoma (above,center) explains the problem of bushmeathunting to the local media.

Pictures: Stills from a video taken byCarlos Schuler

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forts to convince both of them of theirobligation to protect the park in spiteof the war.

We sincerely thank both sides forthe good will they have exhibited to-wards safeguarding the park's gorillas.The monitoring patrols and the visitsto the habituated gorilla groups arebeing resumed slowly.Bernard Iyomi Iyatshi, Carlos Schuler

Illegal Exploitation ofNatural Resources ofCongoIn October, the UN published the finalreport of the "Panel of Experts on theIllegal Exploitation of Natural Re-

ing together with elite networks in thethree countries involved. They haveadopted many tactics to disguise theiractivities. The resources that were ex-ploited are transported to their coun-tries, and the money that is made withthose goods is contributing to thearming of rebel groups.

Other nationals also benefit fromthe resources; for example, senior of-ficers of the Zimbabwean DefenseForces enriched themselves from thecountry's mineral assets. Moreover,29 international companies are listedas being involved; the report namescompanies and persons from Bel-gium, Zimbabwe, South Africa, UK,USA, Germany and many others.Members of elite networks in Congo,

sources and Other Forms of Wealthof the Democratic Republic of theCongo".

The aim was to analyse the situa-tion and to evaluate possible actionsthat could be taken to help bring to anend to the plundering; in addition, rec-ommendations were to be made re-garding specific actions to be takenby the international community, tran-sit countries and end-users. ThePanel focussed its work on politicallyand economically powerful groups in-volved in the (often highly criminalized)exploitation.

It is concluded that the main forcesresponsible for the illegal exploitationof Congo are the armies of Ugandaand Rwanda, which are closely work-

People of the ForestPygmies are traditional rainforest people and are at home in the forest.They also hunt there – not only for their own needs, but also for wealthycustomers, to earn some money. Many Pygmies were poachers in thepark, especially during the war.

The GTZ/ICCN project has been trying to offer the Batwa alternatives topoaching. Many of them now earn money legally by working for the park,e.g. as guides or labourers.

There is a great deal to do in the park. At the moment, for example,some roads urgently need repairs; the rangers use them for their patrols.More than 58 km are in very bad shape. The repair work will take sixmonths. During that time, 30 Pygmies will be employed. Their wages arepaid by the project. Apart from this, they need food for the time they spendin the forest – formerly, food was provided by the World Food Programmein such cases, but this support was stopped some time ago.

We want to provide the food for 30 Pygmies who work in thepark. They should have the opportunity to earn money withconservation work instead of being forced into poaching.

15 US$ per person are neededper months, i.e., 2,700 US$ intotal. We promised to fund thefood for the next six months, butwe would like to continue oursupport beyond this. You canhelp to make this possible!

About 1,600 Pygmies of theBatwa people live along the

eastern border of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. In general,

they own no land and many ofthem, therefore, still depend on

the resources of the forest whichwas their home before the

national park was created. Mostof them cannot earn their livinglegally because they have not

learned a vocation. Only 21% ofthem have gone to school.

Please send your donation to:Rolf BrunnerBerggorilla & Regenwald DirekthilfeLerchenstr. 545473 Muelheim, Germany

D. R. CONGO


Rwanda and Uganda are also named.In Congo, Joseph Kabila reacted tothe release of the report by removingthose responsible from his govern-ment.

The report explains in detail theactivities of these networks and theconsequences. Recommendations forputting a stop to the illegal exploita-tion include: support of the Congolesegovernment in its measures againstthe illegal activities, and promotion ofreconstruction and sustainable devel-opment of the country; restrictions onthe business enterprises and individu-als involved: and the regulation ofcommodity trade from conflict areas.

The document (S/2002/1146) isavailable in English at

http://daccess-ods.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N02/621/79/pdf/N0262179.pdf?OpenElement

Poster Campaign forPublic AwarenessPosters make one of the best teach-ing materials. In both concept and for-mat they speak to people of all ages.Anthropologists tell us that they makean important contribution to socialawareness. We discovered this forourselves recently when we distrib-uted posters throughout Kyavirimu(Virunga National Park) and surround-ing regions.

”How can Kyavirimu be saved?” isthe question on all our minds, wher-ever we live in the region. Answers willdiffer according to whether our maininterests are in development, science,research, politics or administration.Some believe in a simple authoritariansolution, while others understand thatdialogue is a better policy, and thispolicy is the one applied by CADAK(Coordination of Development Activi-ties Around Kyavirimu) since little willbe achieved without a sensitive ap-proach at the grass-roots level.

This was the strategy which we ap-plied to our poster called "MountKyavirimu". The text is in English,French, Swahili and Kinande: aroundKyavirimu the two widely spoken lan-guages are Kinande (the local lan-guage) and Swahili (the lingua francaof all the tribes of North Kivu), whileFrench is the official language of theCongo and the medium of education,and English is the official language ofneighbouring Uganda.

Primary and secondary school prin-cipals and some of the heads of reli-gious orders joined us and provided uswith information about their or-ganizations and regional situations.

All of these organizations were in-vited to a meeting prior to the officiallaunch of the public awareness cam-paign, to organize who would be re-sponsible for hanging the posters. Theposters were displayed for one month.It went well. The posters inundated theentire area.

The most remarkable success wasin the town of Butembo, 35 km fromKyavirimu, where CADAK reached acrowd of some 500 people. The oppor-tunity arose during an evening recep-tion and dinner organized by the Tour-ist Service following an excursion tothe Yivugha tourist site, which hadbeen chosen instead of Kyavirimu be-cause of the security situation there.After the excursion, everyone gath-ered at a restaurant in Butemboto mark International Tourism Day.CADAK had been invited to make apresentation about the conservationand protection of nature. About 100posters were distributed.

This strong public awareness cam-paign has helped us to evaluate oureffectiveness and to understand wherebest to target our efforts. It has helpedchildren, adults, and the various or-ganizations that became involved tounderstand the multiplying effects ofconservation and all the benefits to bederived from it. The organizers of the

campaign overcame a lot of problemsand some hardship, and suceeded ingenerating a lot of public awareness atthe grass-roots level. The long dis-tances travelled by foot or bicyclehave paid off. Supervision of all theseareas by CADAK, with its limitedfunds, has not been at all easy but, bycareful coordination, in the end theentire region was covered.

Paluku Vasangavolo Pavasa

The Mikeno GorillasIn the articles we published in 1996and 1998, we demonstrated the greatthreat faced by the gorillas in the Con-golese part of the Virunga Volcanoes(Mikeno Sector of the Virunga Na-tional Park), a threat caused by thestate of war and by the demand forbaby gorillas. Since then, the situa-tion has deteriorated further as inse-curity in the forest continues and thedemand for baby gorillas has in-creased. Since 1995, we have helpedto record cases of death among thegorillas due to military operations andto the demand for baby gorillas. In theCongolese part of the Virunga Moun-tains, the following events were noted:– 1995: The silverback male Rugabo

was killed with two of his females,one baby gorilla was taken away,then confiscated from the poachersand re-introduced to the family.

– In the same year, the silverbackmale Luwawa was killed for thesame motive, i.e. to abduct infantsfrom the group.

– 1996–1997: complete and suddendisappearance of the entire Rafikifamily (12 individuals) in the zone ofmilitary operations. (In the mean-time, the group has been foundagain in the Mikeno Sector – belowthe bamboo zone, where no patrolscould be made for security rea-sons.)

– 1997: the silverback male Ndungu-tse was trapped between two lines

D. R. CONGO


of fire and killed together with threeother gorillas. Several members ofthis family have not been re-discov-ered to date. The number of familymembers fell from 25 to 13 withinthree months.

– 1998: Two young gorillas of theLulengo family, one of them a re-introduced baby, were shot andkilled quite close to Jomba post.

– 2001: The silverback male Rugendowas also shot and killed betweenlines of fire of two opposing armies.Many killings took place in the

Democratic Republic of Congo. Onthe Rwandan side of the Virungas, weknow of one or maybe two gorillaswhich were killed and partly eaten byRwandan militia and, in May 2002,two female gorillas of the Suza familywere killed and a baby was takenaway (page 8).

The period prior to 1995 seems tohave been much better for the conser-vation of gorillas. Poachers targetedgorillas only very rarely, or not at all.Although military infiltrations and op-erations happened frequently in themountains, the gorillas suffered mini-mal or no ill consequences.

In December 1994, seven habitu-ated gorilla families, comprising 96 in-dividuals, lived in the Congolese partof the Virunga Massif. By March 1995,their number had increased to 103.

The gorilla families started to beaffected in 1995 when the silverbackmales Rugabo and Luwawa werekilled so that baby gorillas could beabducted. The subsequent armedconflicts worsened the situation. ByMarch 1998, the total number of goril-las had decreased to 66 (and duringthat time very few births were reportedcompared to the current period).

Group DynamicsThe Lulengo family will soon dispersecompletely. Things started to godownhill in 1995, when Rugabo waskilled, the silverback male who led this

family with two of his females. Sincethen, the number of gorillas in thisfamily has continued to decrease andno births have been observed. Thefamily history is as follows:– beginning of September 1995: 23

individuals– end of September 1995: 17 indi-

viduals– June 1996: 13 individuals– July 1996: 11 individuals– December 1998: 5 individuals– December 2001: 3 individuals– May 2002: 4 individuals. The fourth

gorilla was a solitary animal whohad joined the family but left it againin June, according to tracks, tram-pled vegetation etc.

After Rugabo’s death, an old femaleled the family before the blackbackmale Lulengo took over. In August1998, an unhabituated silverbackmale who had been roaming on thefringe of the family’s home range at-tacked Lulengo. The interactions be-tween them lasted for 15 days. Thesilverback, Mapua, succeeded insplitting off one young female and ajuvenile. Later, another female and her

baby left Lulengo’s group and onesubadult male subsequently alsojoined this family. In September 1998,two juveniles were shot and killedclose to Jomba post. The last femaleleft in October, perhaps because shewas tired of living on her own with onlymales for company. By now, thenumber of gorillas had decreased to 5,all of which were males. In the mean-time, Lulengo had grown up to asilverback.

Until February 2002, the composi-tion of this family remained the same.In February 2002, two males left thefamily and became solitary. Theywere Pilipili, who had also become asilverback by then, and the blackbackKarema. This left the family with threeindividuals: one silverback and twoblackback males. We think that, asthese two blackback males are alsodestined to become solitary males,this family has become dysfunctional.The silverback Lulengo has accom-plished his task, which was to ensurethat the young would grow up.

The Munyaga family seems to ex-hibit the same trend as the Lulengo

Development of the gorilla groups from 1998 to 2002The period from 1998 to 2002 has shown a remarkable overall increase inthe number of gorillas:

March 98 Dec. 98 Dec. 99 Dec. 2000 Dec. 01 May 02Kwitonda 10 12 10 11 12 13Mapua – 3 7 7 9 9Lulengo 11 5 5 5 3 4Rugendo 18 9 11 11 7 8Kabirizi 11 14 19 27 27 31Munyaga 12 12 6 6 6 6Humba – 10 9 9 9 11Solitary males 4 4 4 4 5 4Total 66 69 71 80 78 86

Humba split off from Rugendo. One baby was born, which explains whythe total of the two groups was 19 in May 2002. The Mapua family wasformed at the onset of interactions between Mapua and the blackbackmale Lulengo during 15 days in August 1998.

D. R. CONGO


family. This family was formed in thebeginning of 1997, and Munyaga ac-quired females when the former groupleader Buhanga was very weak after asavage fight with the silverback maleKabirizi on 6 February 1998. Thegroup had many interactions withKabirizi during March and April 1998,in February 1999 and in December1999, and lost a total of six individu-als. Currently (May 2002), the familyincludes one silverback male, twoblackback males, two subadults,whose gender has not yet been deter-mined, and one juvenile. Again, theabsence of females and babies is no-ticeable.

By contrast, the Kwitonda, Mapuaand Kabirizi families are entirely sta-ble and their numbers are increasingvery quickly. In these families, thenumber of females is greater than thenumber of other age/sex classes. Thestability of the Kwitonda family datesback to 1994. Mapua’s family hasbeen stable since its formation; num-bers started to increase with the ab-sorption of females in April and Au-gust 1998. This is a young family con-sisting only of the silverback male,several females and their babies.

The Kabirizi family, which used tobe the Ndungutse group until Ndu-ngutse was killed in 1997, contains 31individuals, the same number that theNdungutse group contained from 1994until the beginning of September1995. Currently, the group includes13 females and 12 babies.

After having been stable for severalyears, the Rugendo family is currentlydecreasing in size. This developmentwas unexpected, as Rugendo, afterhe had been killed, was succeeded bya habituated silverback from the samefamily.

Looking at the table above, onecannot but notice that the gorillaswent through a comparatively quietperiod prior to 1995. From then on, thesurvival of these apes has been under

terrible threat due to the demand forbaby gorillas and the pressure exertedby military operations in their habitat.The observed tendencies in the gorillagroup structures support the hypoth-esis that "the number of females de-termines whether a gorilla group splitsup, stays stable or increases in num-bers of group members."

Déo Kajuga Binyeri, Déo MbulaHibukabake, Claude Sikubwabo

Kiyengo

Mountain GorillaConfiscatedOn 4 October the Rwandan nationalpark authority and the police rescueda young gorilla from three poacherswho had hidden the infant in a moun-tain cave while they awaited a buyer.After the confiscation the female go-rilla, aged 2–3 years, was checkedmedically and was found to be in goodhealth. She is under 24-hour care andeating well. It is planned to reintroducethe infant into a gorilla group as soonas her health is confirmed.

The orphan is called Mvuyekureand is doing well. She is being kept inquarantine until it is certain that she isnot carrying any obvious infectuousdiseases. As she was in contact with

many people, it is possible that shewas infected with human diseasesthat could have catastrophic effectson the wild gorilla population.

On 25 October, the poachers ledthe Rwandan national park authorityto the bodies of two adult gorillas inthe Democratic Republic of Congo – afemale and a blackback. They wereprobably members of the Chui group,a wild Congolese mountain gorillagroup that had already been identifiedby Dian Fossey. Only about 200 mfrom this place, two more bodies of afemale and a silverback were found.These bodies were much more de-cayed, so they must have been killedat an earlier date.

At least nine Rwandans were in-volved in the mountain gorilla poach-ing, but only a few of them were ar-rested. An international network forthe trafficking of mountain gorilla in-fants is working in Rwanda, Ugandaand Congo; requests for baby gorillaswere registered from Butembo, Kam-pala and Rwanda. This network is stillactive and the poachers have tried tocapture mountain gorilla infants in theDemocratic Republic of Congo severaltimes. Moreover, in November threemen were arrested in the Bwindi Im-penetrable National Park for allegedlyhunting gorillas.

Mvuyekure in her cage withmountain gorilla food.

Photo: Christopher Whittier

A portrait of the mountain gorillaorphan, Mvuyekure

Photo: Christopher Whittier


RWANDA

Ubuzima, a 13-month-oldRe-introduced to herGroupOn 9 May, two adult females werekilled by poachers. Those two females(Impanga and Muraha) were nursingtwo infants. Impanga's infant was 16months old and is still missing whileMuraha's infant Ubuzima (meaninglife/health in Kinyarwanda) was foundclinging to her mother's body. TheSuza group was obviously disturbedand very nervous. The individuals weredispersed and could not tolerate hu-man presence.

Information was exchanged at ameeting with the park staff and all theNGOs working in mountain gorillaconservation. I explained the re-intro-duction process and we organizedthree groups of people: one led byJosé Kalpers went to track the re-maining Suza group, the second wasfocused on Impanga's infant, and I ledthe third group to care for Ubuzima. Isedated the infant and removed herfrom her mother. I gave fluids as herbody condition was poor. Physical ex-amination and different vital param-eters were taken while she was se-

dated. Ubuzima was placed in a boxcovered with tarpaulin. Because of thevery stiff slope it was not easy to keepthe infant in a comfortable posture.During the time we were carrying theinfant, respiration and heart rate wereconstantly monitored. We were in ra-dio contact with the first group of peo-ple, who identified the position of theSuza group. We walked for about 45

minutes to reach the group. Munyi-nya, a silverback, was not with thegroup; we found him 150 m from therest of it. He was sleeping a gooddeal, neither moving nor nesting withthe other group members.

The group appeared agitated. Al-though we identified four good moth-ers as potential foster mothers, theywould not have been able to adopt the13-month-old infant because they allwere nursing their own infants. WhenUbuzima was released, the dominantsilverback came and the rest of thegroup surrounded the infant. She wasinspected by the dominant male, thenhe moved away. Her elder brother rec-ognized her and adopted the role ofcaregiver. On several occasions hewas observed carrying the infant, andUbuzima was seen picking up foodfrom the ground. She made a suc-cessful transition to a diet consistingof vegetation. She slept between herbrother and the dominant silverback.No aggression has been observed,and she has been accepted and re-integrated in her original group andbehaves normally.

Antoine Mudakikwa

View of the Virunga Volcanoes Photo: Christoph Lübbert

Photo: Christoph Lübbert

Silverback of the Amahoro A group. After the death of Amahoro inMay 2002, his group split in two. They are called Amahoro A (13 mem-bers) and Amahoro B (4 members).


Golden Jubilee forNational ParksThe 50 years jubilee of national parksin Uganda was celebrated on 7 De-cember at Paraa in Murchison FallsNational Park. Murchison and QueenElizabeth, in western Uganda, werethe first national parks to be estab-lished in 1952. During the week from 2to 7 December, the Uganda WildlifeAuthority (UWA) offered free park en-trance to all Ugandan nationals andresidents and a 50% discount on parkentrance fee for non-residents.

President Yoweri Museveni tookpart too. He addressed the cel-ebrants, praising the wildlife in theUgandan national parks that he him-self visited during the celebration. Fur-ther activities included:– A joint parade mounted by UPDF,

Police and the UWA Ranger Force;– Cultural music, dance and drama

staged by the local communitiesand school children;

– Bird watching sprint and sport fish-ing competition;

– Announcement of the honorarywildlife wardens;

– An exhibition at the museum inMurchison Falls;

– A series of public debates on con-servation throughout November;

– Wildlife art and photo exhibition inKampala.

UWA recognised President Muse-veni's efforts to conserve wildlife andestablish more parks despite thepressure from an increasing popula-tion.

Opening the HabinyanjaGroup B to TouristsThe habituation of the original Ha-binyanja group started in late 1996and tourist visits began in 1998. Bythe time of habituation, the group hadmore than 30 individuals, though not

all the individuals were well identified.By the time of habituation, the grouphad three silverbacks, one of whichlater died. In January 2002, the groupsplit, each silverback taking someother individuals with him, which re-sulted in two groups: Habinyanja Aand Habinyanja B. Given the length oftime the group has been split, it isunlikely that the two groups will mergeagain to form one group, although be-cause of the fluid nature of gorillagroup dynamics there is no guaran-tee. The groups are continuously be-ing monitored.

Habinyanja A consists of 20 indi-viduals: one silverback, two black-backs, eight adult females, four juve-niles (?) and three infants (?), and isheaded by a silverback named Rwa-tsigazi who was the dominant male inthe original group. The original Habi-nyanja group before separation hadnever ranged outside the park, but af-ter separation, Habinyanja A left thepark and entered the Kasarabandwaregion, Democratic Republic of Con-go, and was harrassed. Gorilla behav-iours change as the individuals be-come more habituated. This group isvisited by tourists and is doing well.

Habinyanja B consists of nine indi-viduals: one silverback, five adult fe-males, two juveniles and one infant. Itis headed by the silverback Mwirima,who was not dominant in the originalHabinyanja group. This group hasgood reproductive prospects, with fiveadult females of which three have off-spring and the fourth female has beenobserved mating several times.

The groups have so far been moni-tored for three and a half months; theyhave never met since their split. Ac-cording to the observations they sharethe same home range but feed far fromone another.

A decision was made on 15 July2002 by the UWA Management toopen the Habinyanja B group for tour-ism. All reservations will be made from

the UWA Reservations Office in Kam-pala. A maximum of four permits perday will be booked for this group. Theexisting price structure for Bwindi go-rilla permits will apply for the Habi-nyanja B group as well, including theexisting cancellation, refund, paymentterms and time limit guidelines.

Due to the fear that the two groupsmight re-unite, however, only theshort-term bookings are allowed (up to6 months in advance). Regular evalua-tion will be carried out to assist inmaking a decision regarding long-termbookings in the future.

Summary of an UWA press releaseAccording to a report of John Ma-kombo at an IGCP meeting in Novem-ber 2002, the Habinyanja A group had18 members then, the B group 10.

Bwindi Killer SuspectNettedOn 3 October, the Ugandan newspa-per New Vision reported that the sus-pected mastermind of the gruesome1999 massacre of eight tourists and aUgandan in the Bwindi ImpenetrableNational Park has been arrested in theDemocratic Republic of Congo andhanded over to the International Crimi-nal Tribunal for Rwanda. TharcisseRenzaho, the former Prefect of Kigaliand a close confidant of the lateRwandan President Juvenal Habya-rimana, has been on the run sincetheir regime collapsed to the RwandanPatriotic Army in 1994.

Renzaho is also to be tried for hispart in the 1994 genocide. He is al-leged to have been a top mastermindin the killings. Moreover, he allegedlyplayed a leading role in fomenting theconflicts that have dogged Congo forthe past decade. He is believed tohave been the leader of the Army forthe Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR) that islinked to the killings in Bwindi.

Summary of a New Vision article

UGANDA

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African Apes andEthnomedicineConvincing evidence for self-medica-tion in wild chimpanzees has accumu-lated over the past 25 years or so.Observations have identified self-treat-ment for parasitosis and related ill-nesses through leaf-swallowing andbitter pith chewing, and it has beendiscovered that plants used by theapes are identical to those used bylocal human populations for their ownmedications.

Michael Huffman of Kyoto Univer-sity has demonstrated that the leavesof five different species of plants areemployed by chimpanzees to reduceparasite loads. The common factor inall of these leaves is their abrasive-ness. Swallowed whole, they scourparasites from the gut wall and arethen passed through the animal withthe parasite hooked into the leaf.

Deparasitisation via a chemicalprocess is believed to occur whenchimpanzees chew the stems ofsome plants. One of these, Vernoniaamygdalina, has been extensivelystudied and has been shown to pos-sess antischistosomal, antiamoebal,antileishmanial and antispasmodialproperties. The Watongue people ofthe Mahale Mountain region in Tanza-nia utilize this plant for the treatmentof parasitosis and gastrointestinal up-sets, the rate of recovery being 20–24hours for both man and chimpanzee.

Pygmy chimpanzees or bonobos ofthe Lilungu-Lokofe region of the De-mocratic Republic of Congo utilizeRauwolfia vomitoria, Manniophytonfulvum, Tabernaemontana crassa ,Scorodophloeus zenkeri, Megaphry-nium macrostachyum and Belluciaoxinanthera: all the medicinal plantsused by the Mbuti and Mongo-Boyelapeoples of the area.

Common chimpanzees living in theBossou region of Republic of Guineain West Africa are known to exploitthe leaves of two medicinal plant spe-cies: Ficus mucuso and Polycepha-lium capitum. Complete leaves havebeen found in chimpanzee faeces,and Polycephalium is used by localpeople for the treatment of diarrhoea.Chimpanzee populations in the neigh-bouring country Ivory Coast also swal-low the whole leaves of this plant,while in the Kahuzi-Biega area, Demo-cratic Republic of Congo, both chim-panzees and gorillas swallow wholethe leaves of the herb Commelinacecilae.

The similarities in the use of plantsby man and apes is highlighted bythe employment of leaves of Hypo-

phrynium braunianum. The chimpan-zees of Bossou break off a leaf, put itinto their mouth with one hand, fold iton the roof of their mouth, take it out,insert it into a hole in the base in atree, then put back the folded leaf withthe water into the mouth. Signifi-cantly, this leaf is also used by localpeople when they drink from smallstreams, although humans make acup from the leaf instead of folding it.

The chimpanzees of Gombe Na-tional Park and the gorillas of BwindiNational Park have both suffered fromoutbreaks of scabies in the past, allcontracted from humans or livestock.Both ape populations had to betreated via human intervention, but insome regions there are reports ofchimpanzees self-medicating againstskin complaints. The Mende people ofWest Africa gain knowledge of herbalmedicine by observing wild chimpan-zees that are sick. A forestry workerobserved a chimpanzee chew up acertain leaf and spit it onto the af-fected area of skin. When he later

Drawings on this page from the bookNatural Medicine in the Tropicsavailable at www.anamed.org orfrom: anamed, Schafweide 77,71364 Winnenden, Germany

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tested it on himself, the observerfound that it was effective against skinirritations. A similar case was re-corded in the 1920s when an Englishwoman was travelling through Liberiaand was told by an old local womanthat she had watched a female chim-panzee treat her infant’s skin com-plaint with some large flat leaves thatshe had crushed and pounded be-tween her fingers and applied them tothe baby’s infected area. The oldwoman later found these leaves tohave curative properties.

Although observations of self-medi-cation in gorillas is meagre, thesegreat apes must also benefit fromphytochemicals which inhibit certainpathogens. In Mgahinga Gorilla Na-tional Park, Ugandan gorillas share anumber of the same medicinal plantswith humans. Park wardens havenoted that 35 plant species form thecore diet of gorillas in this region, andthat several of them are also medicinalplants. The bark of one of these,Dombeya quinqueseta, is used tocombat diarrhoea, and analysis hasidentified a mixture of fatty acids (in-cluding palmitic, stearic, linoleic andlinolenic) and phytosterols (includingbeta-sitosterol). These compoundsare potent antimicrobials. Other gorillafoods from this area found to possessactive medicinal properties are Rubusrigidus and Brillantaisia kirungae . Lo-cal medicine men watch what gorillasand other animals do when sick todiscover herbal treatments.

Jessica Rothman of Cornell Univer-sity researching gorilla diets in neigh-bouring Bwindi National Park foundthat local people employ 22 plantsethnobotanically, and that some ofthese are also ingested by gorillas;the same plant parts are exploited bythe apes as are used medicinally byhumans. They include Rytigynia ki-giensis, the rotten wood of which isused by locals to make into a drink totreat worms and intestinal problems;

Ocotea usambarensis, whose bark,wood, rotten wood and leaves areused to alleviate conditions associ-ated with parasites; Vernonia spp., ofwhich the whole leaves of differentspecies are employed as a drink forworms and intestinal complaints; andRubus spp., the young stems beingmixed in warm water and given to in-fants for colic. A few species of wood/rotten wood consumed by gorillas areused locally in preparations for in-testinal parasites: Sesbania sesban ,Maytenus spp. and Myrica spp.

The use of rotten wood medicinallycould be significant. Decaying plantsare broken down by saprophytes(fungi and bacteria), which release thenitrates from the proteins. One of themost important products of this decayis ammonia which, when taken orallyin small doses, acts as a rapid anddiffusable stimulant, acting on theheart, respiratory system, and on thebowel wall. In medicine it is usuallygiven to those colics which are due toan atonic condition of the intestinalwall, resulting in overloading or stop-page, when its stimulating effect on

sluggish bowel movements is wellnoted.

The Bwindi gorillas also frequentlyuse a cyanogenic bracken fern fornesting material, and local people em-ploy these plants as insect repellents.

A primary source of food in the di-ets of gorillas and chimpanzees inmany regions is the wild ginger Afra-momum. Current research indicatesthat there are about 80 speciesthroughout Africa, approximately 40 ofthese being found in the Cameroon-Gabon area. The most preferred spe-cies appears to be A. angustifolium(also known as A. sanguineum), beingexploited by gorillas in at least sevendistinct and widely separated regions.The few species of Aframomum thathave undergone bioassays have re-vealed a broad spectrum of antipara-sitic, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-viral properties, and it may well provethat these plants not only furnish apeswith nourishment, but also providethem with a source of preventativemedicine. John Berry of Cornell Uni-versity has established that citric acidaccumulated in the fruits of A. an-

Aframomum fruit Photo: Angela Meder


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gustifolium act as an antimicrobialprinciple.

In a paper in African Study Mono-graphs (Vol. 23: 65–89; 2002) on themedicinal properties in the diets ofgorillas, Michael Huffman and I sug-gest that gorillas may have a pen-chant for plants bearing caffeineand theobromine, particularly the so-called ”nuts” of cola trees. The seedsof these fruits usually contain 2–2.5%caffeine and theobromine, both stimu-lants, and in some areas gorillas arevery fond of these seeds. Gorillas, es-pecially adult males, are large pri-mates that have been found to fre-quently climb very high trees duringfruiting seasons in lowland rainforests.In montane regions they traversesteep slopes in oxygen-thin atmos-pheres, and it is not difficult to sur-mise that under both of these environ-mental conditions, cardiac stimulantswould not only be desirable, but alsoadaptive. The importance of certaincompounds and alkaloids in naturalgorilla diets is emphasized by mortal-ity rates in captive gorillas, where poordiets may be a contributory factor. Asurvey in 1997 of diseases in gorillasin North American institutions re-vealed that 41% of females agedseven years and over, and males agednine years and over, died from cardio-vascular disease.

Zoopharmacognosy (the use of me-dicinal plants by animals) is a sciencestill in its infancy, and new data isbeing gleaned only slowly. So far, theplants that have been identified andpharmacologically screened barelyscratch the surface. Many moreplants, particularly in the world’s rain-forests, no doubt possess the chem-istry to combat a much greater rangeof pathogens. Yet these forests arefast disappearing to satiate theWest’s appetite for tropical hard-woods. The relentless pressures ofthe timber industry will result not onlyin the decimation of food sources for

humans, primates and other species,but also in the total loss of preciousmedicinal plants essential to the well-being of man and apes in tropical re-gions.

Don Cousins

Johannesburg in theMediaThe World Summit on SustainableDevelopment was widely covered inthe media – not only in Europe, but inAfrica as well. In general, the conclu-sions were disappointing. The follow-ing example is a an excerpt of a reportby Elizabeth Roxas (Executive Direc-tor, Environmental Broadcast Circle;Co-Chair, Civil Society CounterpartCouncil for Sustainable Development)published in the Ugandan newspaperThe Monitor on 18 November 2002.

When the World Summit ended inSouth Africa on September 5, theUnited Nations understandably calledit a success – that the WSSD was a"major boost" to sustainable develop-ment, with the Implementation Planproviding "a solid foundation for ac-tion." On the other hand, internationalNGOs painted the summit as a"missed opportunity" for setting bind-ing global commitments, a goal thatwas much ballyhooed at all the pre-paratory meetings. Friends of theEarth International particularly decriedthe inability of governments and theUnited Nations to set specific targetson energy access and renewable en-ergy use.

Clearly, the Summit was a big dis-appointment for opponents of busi-ness-led globalisation and the con-tinuing corporate take-over of publicspace. Governments failed to supportproposals that would have made en-vironmental agreements take prec-edence over WTO (World Trade Or-ganization) trade rules. Proposals toregulate and ensure corporate ac-

countability were also rejected in theface of strong business lobbyingagainst such proposals. Corporationsfought fiercely against internationalregulation, saying such regulationshould be the prerogative of nationalgovernments.

At the same time, UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan praised the factthat "the Summit represent(ed) a ma-jor leap forward in the development ofpartnerships." Some activists vehe-mently reject such partnerships be-cause experience has shown that cor-porations use them only to furthertheir brand strategies.

In the protracted war of Mao's revo-lution, "one step forward, two stepsback" was a positive accomplish-ment. In the current environmental cri-sis, however, it can hardly be taken assuch. There is still more work to bedone. More research... more informa-tion... more communication... andeducation.

NGOs Feel BetrayedThe UN International Regional Infor-mation Networks wrote about this in-ternational event:

The summit was attended by 104heads of state and government, about9,000 delegates, and 8,000 NGOs.Delegates worked towards the adop-tion of a Plan of Implementation,which would detail actions needed tofight poverty and protect the environ-ment. The highlights of the summit,listed by the UN, included the commit-ment to halve the proportion of peoplewho lack clean water and sanitationby 2015, and the expansion of modernenergy services to the two billion peo-ple who are currently without access.

They also agreed to support theNew Partnership for Africa's Develop-ment (Nepad) objective of ensuringaccess to energy for at least 35 per-cent of Africans within 20 years.Countries also agreed to phase out,by 2020, the use and production of

chemicals harmful to health and theenvironment.

Other highlights were commit-ments to reduce biodiversity loss by2010, the restoration of fisheries totheir maximum sustainable yields by2015, the establishment of a repre-sentative network of marine protectedareas by 2012, and a commitment toimprove developing countries' accessto environmentally sound alternativesto ozone-depleting chemicals by2010.

Many activists, however, expres-sed concern that the important chal-lenges of tackling poverty, and open-ing Western markets to the devel-oping world, were not adequatelyaddressed. There was no commit-ment to raise aid levels, and neitherwas the challenge of HIV/AIDS givenprominence. Oxfam described thesummit as a wasted opportunity, andsaid the world's leaders had turnedtheir backs on the poor.

The organization said that apartfrom "some gains on a few environ-

mental issues, and on sanitation forthe poor", rich countries had shiedaway "from targets, timetables andmoney".

"We feel betrayed. We were ex-pecting world leaders to deal with is-sues like poverty and the destructionof natural resources, but governmentsare more interested in promoting tradeat the expense of social issues," com-mented Richard Navarro of Friends ofthe Earth International.

The WWF (World Wildlife Fund ,Washington) published a critique evenbefore the meeting. These are themain points:

Key negotiations in Johannesburgare in danger of being stitched up by acontroversial deal struck between UStrade officials and trade mandarins inthe European Commission. With over90% of issues surrounding Trade andFinance remaining undecided at thetime of the summit, the EuropeanCommission has jumped in with a newset of proposals which fail to addresskey NGO concerns.

The new proposals, which have nowbeen agreed as the basis for discus-sion, do not tackle the fundamentalinequalities of global trade. For exam-ple:– There is no recognition of the poten-

tial dangers, particularly to develop-ing nations, of globalisation.

– There is no commitment to elimi-nate the EU systems of subsidiesthat damage the environment andmake it harder for developing coun-tries to compete in the global mar-ket place.

– There is no reference to the use ofthe precautionary principle, alreadyestablished in the 1992 Rio Decla-ration on Environment and Develop-ment.

Although the Commission does havethe authority to negotiate on certaintrade issues, in most cases it is Mem-ber States which should be leadingthe WSSD negotiations, rather thanhaving to comment on secret agree-ments between the US and the EUTrade Commission. Many individualEuropean states are now waking up tothe fact that some of their key con-cerns have already been traded offwith the US, in pursuit of the short-term economic interests of globali-sation.

According to IRIN, the FAO (Foodand Agriculture Organization) warnedthat there could be no sustainable de-velopment as long as millions of peo-ple suffered from chronic hunger andextreme poverty. More than 70% ofthe poor in developing countries live inrural areas and depend mostly on agri-culture for their livelihoods. FAO fore-casts that world demand for food willincrease by 60% by 2030. Most of theadditional demand and productionwould be expected to originate in de-veloping countries. The agency antici-pated that close to 20% of the extraproduction would come from an ex-pansion of land used for agriculture,mainly in Africa and Latin America,

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A local market at the roadside in Uganda. In many regions of Africa,people have no access to such food at all. Photo: Angela Meder

10% from more frequent harvests, and70% from higher yields.

But not all summit participantswere disappointed. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on the finalday that the real test of the success ofthe UN World Summit was what del-egates did on their return to their com-munities. In reply to criticism that thesummit had failed to win real progresson key development issues, he saidthat although the package of propos-als made at the summit "were noteverything", it was not a failure.

"We must be careful not to expectconferences like this to produce mira-cles", he said. "We came here to getcommitment for sustainable develop-ment and [we must] go back home totake action. It is on the ground that wewill be able test how we did".

But not all reports were worried,there were also positive reports. Thefollowing one was written by a partici-pant from Germany.

Let’s HopeJohannesburg Was theTurning PointThe World Summit on SustainableDevelopment was worth it. The pressdisagrees; they think the summit didnot achieve anything and most cer-tainly did nothing for the environment.

So what did the summit achieve?The first result of the summit was apolitical declaration and an action planwhich makes a number of points moreconcrete that remained non-binding inthe Rio Agenda. The topic of drinkingwater, for example, has finally beenawarded the significance that it de-serves. As a result considerablefunds, including private funds, are nowflowing into this area through "Type 2Agreements"; approximately Euro 1.4billion have been made available forthese Type 2 Agreements. In the caseof energy, in spite of the crass ob-

structive attitude of the USA andSaudi Arabia, over 100 countriesjoined together voluntarily to achieve aspeedy and tangible increase in theuse of renewable energy sources.What is more, the worrying recent glo-bal trend away from awareness of en-vironment and development was re-versed both by the preparation for thesummit and by the summit itself. Indeveloping countries, in particular, thesummit has been received very posi-tively – including sessions on thechanges required to avoid furtherlosses in biodiversity in the period upto 2010.

The German government has nego-tiated well. Chancellor Schröder waswarmly applauded in particular be-cause of the one billion Euro that hemade available for renewable energysources and for energy efficiency indeveloping countries.

One shortcoming of the summitwas the weakness of the EU. It wasaccused of agricultural protectionism;the conservative majorities includingthe Danish Presidency appear to havelost their enthusiasm for environmentand justice.

The bushmeat scandal was not anitem on the agenda as such. But theindefatigable Jane Goodall appearedin several events and continued tohammer away at this topic. The mainspeaker in one event in the Germanpavilion, on the conservation of for-ests, was Parliamentary Minister ofState Matthias Berninger. This eventhighlighted the importance of the FSC(Forest Stewardship Council) seal,which, needless to say, does not per-mit any logging which is suspected tosupport the bushmeat trade.

Obviously, I cannot reproduce in afew lines what 40,000 people experi-enced in these 10 days, but I cameaway with the impression that thisgreat gathering of peoples was worth itfor almost all the participants.

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker

GRASP ReportingDuring the World Summit, a GRASP(Great Ape Survival Project) reportwas released by UNEP (United Na-tions Environment Programme) Ex-ecutive Director Klaus Töpfer. It con-cludes that less than 10% of the ha-bitat now inhabited by the great apesof Africa will be left undisturbed by2030 if road building, mining campsand other infrastructure developmentscontinue at current levels.

A new method of evaluating thewider impacts of infrastructure devel-opment on key species was used inthis study. The key species studiedare the chimpanzees, the bonobo orpygmy chimpanzee, the gorillas andthe orangutans.

The scientists looked in detail ateach of these species to assess thecurrent remaining habitat deemedrelatively undisturbed and able to sup-port viable populations of apes. The

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Logging road through a forest inthe Democratic Republic ofCongo's Equateur Province

Photo: Angela Meder


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experts then mapped the likely im-pact at current levels of infrastructuregrowth, and the area of healthy habitatthat would be left to the apes in 2030.

The study estimates that around28%, or some 204,900 km2, of remain-ing gorilla habitat can be classified asrelatively undisturbed. If infrastructuregrowth continues at current levels, thearea left by 2030 is estimated to be69,900 km2 or just 10%. It amounts toa 2.1%, or 4,500 km2, annual loss oflow-impacted gorilla habitat in coun-tries including Nigeria, Gabon andRwanda.

The report The Great Apes – TheRoad Ahead was edited by ChristianNellemann of UNEP Grid-Arendal inNorway and Adrian Newton of UNEPWorld Conservation Monitoring Centrein Cambridge, UK. It is available athttp://www.globio.info/download.cfm?File=region/africa/GRASP_5.pdf. As the study was launched at thesummit, supporters of GRASP an-nounced more cash backing for theproject. More funding was announcedfrom the Government of the UnitedKingdom, and new money from theUnited Nations Foundation (UNF) andthe International Fund for Animal Wel-

fare (IFAW) was earmarked for greatape survival.

The strategy aims to cover all of thetwo dozen range states of the greatapes and draw up national recoveryaction plans in collaboration withthe governments concerned, wildlifegroups and local people.

CITES and ElephantsAt the CITES (Convention on Interna-tional Trade in Endangered Species)conference in Santiago de Chile, from28 October to 15 November 2002, theelephants' fate became darker. Theattempt to improve their conservationfailed – with the help of the EU, amongothers.

There are two appendices toCITES: Appendix 1, which bans anytrading in elephant products, and Ap-pendix 2, which allows controlled trad-ing. How to control it is a vexed ques-tion. The elephants of four countries– South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabweand Namibia – are on the Appendix 2list. In a motion strongly put by Kenyaand supported by India it was sug-gested that these four join the rest ofthe world in listing their elephants inAppendix 1. But Botswana raised its

own motion calling for the 4 countriesto remain on Appendix 2. This waspassed.

When elephants were downlistedduring the last CITES conference, el-ephant hunting increased dramaticallyin many countries. It seems no prob-lem to "launder" elephant products bysmuggling them into one of the coun-tries on Appendix 2.

The EU countries did not vote be-cause they did not agree on how tovote. By abstaining, they allowed thevotes for the trading of elephant prod-ucts to become the majority. As theUgandan newspaper New Vision re-ported on 23 November, the Ugandandelegation also did not vote – althoughthe minister had ordered them to votein favour of retaining the ban on ivorytrade. New Vision even reported thatthe Assistant Commissioner of theMinistry responsible for CITES, whoironically has been a member of theUWA board up to then, was movinground telling people to vote for liftingthe ban.

Funds to ProtectCongo's ForestsThe world's five wealthiest countries,working with the World Bank , interna-tional conservation groups and loggingcompanies, will provide up to US $100million to try to save the forests of theCongo Basin, the largest stretch ofunbroken forest in the world after theAmazon. This was announced in con-nection with the World Summit onSustainable Development in Johan-nesburg.

Although negotiations between thepartners are still taking place, it isunderstood that the US will take thelead, providing more than US$ 60 mil-lion over the next five years (at leastUS$ 36 million in newly allocatedmoney over the next 3 years), withFrance committing up to $US 30 mil-Photo: Sylvia Wladarz

Trees from the Congo Basin readyfor transport. Logging is one ofthe causes of forest destruction

Photo: Angela Meder


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lion. Germany, Japan and the EC willalso contribute.

The Congo Basin until a decadeago comprised virtually untouched for-est, but European-based logging com-panies have since moved in from WestAfrica and Asia. The timber is ex-ported mainly to Europe, and almostall of it is known to have been felledillegally, said The Guardian, with littleor no monitoring.

The scale of destruction in theCongo Basin is now thought to be soserious and rapid that up to 20% of theforest could be lost within 15 years,with potential implications for climatecontrol, flooding, and loss of plantspecies.

A recent report by Global Witness ,the Cameroon government's officialforestry monitors, found that almostall companies working in the countryhad been acting illegally. Some wereworking in protected areas, while oth-ers were falsely declaring the amountof timber they were taking, and bribingofficials. The situation in the Demo-cratic Republic of Congo is believedto be even more serious, with up to

400 illegal concessions having beinggranted.

The international plan to save theCongo Basin will concentrate onmonitoring concessions and exports,setting up new protected areas, beef-ing up legislation and developing acertification system.

The Congo Basin Forest Partner-ship is a United States governmentinitiative to promote the conservationand responsible management of theBasin's tropical forests. US govern-ment funds will be used to protecteleven priority areas in six countries –Cameroon, Central African Republic,Democratic Republic of Congo, Equa-torial Guinea, Gabon and the Republicof Congo.

Government funds will be providedmostly through USAID's Central Afri-can Regional Program for the Environ-ment (CARPE). In addition, Conserva-tion International (CI), the WildlifeConservation Society (WCS) and theWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) all an-nounced their intention to raise anadditional US$ 37.5 million of newmoney over the next ten years for their

joint efforts in the Congo Basin. Thethree groups worked closely with thegovernments involved to set prioritiesfor protecting the most important land-scapes in the region.

The US and non-governmental or-ganization (NGO) funds will support awide range of activities within theeleven targeted areas, including thecreation and management of pro-tected areas, capacity building for lo-cal communities and development ofan ecotourism industry. These effortsare part of a broader partnership– involving other governments, the pri-vate sector and additional NGOs –that aims to support a network of up to10 million ha of effectively managednational parks and protected areasand up to 20 million ha of well-man-aged multiple use forests, while pro-moting economic development, pov-erty alleviation and improved govern-ance for people who depend on naturalresources for their livelihoods. The pri-ority landscapes are:– Monte Alen – Mont de Cristal In-

selbergs Forest Landscape (Equa-torial Guinea, Gabon)

– Gamba – Conkouati Forest Land-scape (Gabon, Congo, D. R.Congo)

– Lopé – Chaillu – Louesse ForestLandscape (Gabon, Congo)

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A male Bonobo in SalongaNational Park

Photo: Angela Meder

Photo: Angela MederA view of the Congo Basin rainforest in the Equateur Province

– Dja – Minkebe – Odzala Tri-nationalForest Landscape (Cameroon,Congo, Gabon)

– Sangha Tri-national Forest Land-scape (Cameroon, Congo, CentralAfrican Republic)

– Lac Télé-Lac Tumba Swamp ForestLandscape (Congo, D. R. Congo)

– Bateke Plateau Forest SavannaLandscape (Congo, Gabon)

– Maringa/Lopori – Wamba ForestLandscape (D. R. Congo)

– Salonga – Lukenie – Sankuru For-est Landscape (D. R. Congo)

– Maiko – Lutunguru Tayna – Kahuzi-Biega Forest Landscape (D. R.Congo)

– Ituri – Epulu – Aru Forest Land-scape (D. R. Congo)

Summary of various articles

Apes in the ProposedTri-National de la SanghaConservation AreaThe forests of equatorial Africa arehighly significant from a biodiversityconservation point of view and they areat the same time an important eco-nomic resource for the nations pos-sessing them. Logging and its conse-quences are the cause of the loss ofalmost 4 million hectares per year inthe Congo Basin and the degradationof much more. The opening up of theforest to hunting and trapping has ledto a burgeoning bushmeat trade withimportant negative impacts on thebiodiversity of the area.

In response to some of these pres-sures, the idea of a tri-national parkconnecting protected areas in Cam-eroon, Central African Republic andCongo was first floated in the 1980s.The idea was to create a large andextensive trans-border protected areasurrounded by peripheral zones inwhich logging (and other activities)would be carried out sustainably withthe goal of avoiding a number of pro-

tected areas surrounded by a sea ofdegraded and destroyed forest.

Two great ape species live in thisregion of the Congo Basin, the west-ern gorilla, Gorilla gorilla and the ro-bust chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes.These two species, like other non-human primates, play a vital rolewithin forest ecosystems as majorseed dispersers, and constitute a sig-nificant proportion of the mammalianbiomass. Other important functionsinclude their vital contributions to-wards the understanding of humanevolution and of human diseases (Goaet al. in Butynski 2001), and they are,for better or worse, important sourcesof protein for local populations in theregion.

Description of the Tri-National dela SanghaThe Yaounde declaration was signedby the Heads of State of six Central

African countries on 17 March 1999,and committed these countries to thecreation of trans-border protected ar-eas and to reform of the forest sectorand sustainable forest management.This agreement led to the establish-ment of a trans-border conservationinitiative known as Tri-National de laSangha (TNS) comprising the pro-tected areas of Lobéké in Cameroon,Dzanga-Ndoki in the Central AfricanRepublic and Nouabalé-Ndoki in theRepublic of Congo. Ministers inCharge of Forests of the three coun-tries signed a formal protocol on TNSin December 2000.

The TNS comprises a core protec-tion zone in which human activitiesare either forbidden or controlled and aperipheral zone in which participatoryand sustainable management of wild-life and forest resources is practised.The core protection zone of the TNScomprises the three protected areas

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Nouabalé-Ndoki

Lobéké

REPUBLIC OF CONGO

CAMEROON

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

SettlementBaiBorder 0 20 40 km

Buffer ZonesNational Parks

Moloundou

Ouesso

Dzanga-Ndoki

Nola

Bayanga

Lidjombo

Libongo

Bomassa

Kabo

Yokadouma

Mbeli Bai

Sangha

Sangha

Motaba

Mongambe

Ndoki

Goualougo Bai

Bai Hokou

Dja

River

Map of the Tri-National de la Sangha Conservation Area. The locationof some bais is indicated, e.g. those of the Mongambe area (page 21)

with a total area covering some 7,750km2. The peripheral zone includes pro-duction forests, sport hunting con-cessions, community-hunting zones,agro-forestry areas or any other com-patible activity and covers about21,000 km2.

The limits of the TNS are thoseestablished by the respective nationallegislative acts creating the three pro-tected areas and their respective pe-ripheral zones. The section of theSangha River included in the TNS re-mains an international boundary andas such is regulated by internationallaw.

Population Status of Great Apesin the TNS ZoneThe forest areas of the TNS regionharbour some of the highest densitiesof chimpanzees and gorillas. The con-centration of chimpanzee and gorillapopulations for the three countries isgreater in the protected areas of theTNS than in the buffer zones. The lackof systematic surveys countrywideand notably in the forests surroundingthe protected areas makes it difficultto give a very good estimate of num-bers, but the protected areas makingup TNS have been widely censused.

Based on these studies, the chim-panzee and gorilla populations withinthe entire TNS zone that comprises

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the national parks (7,750 km2) and thesurrounding buffer zones (21,000 km2)are estimated at 1,500 and 10,000individuals, respectively. The multiple-use zones include farmlands, loggingand sport hunting concessions. Log-ging concessions make up more than40% of the multiple-use area with thelargest concession being the one ofCIB (Congolaise Industrielle du Bois)close to the Nouabalé-Ndoki NationalPark (12,000 km2). Low populations ofchimpanzees compared to gorillascould be attributed to large-scalecommercial logging operations in theregion, as chimpanzees are largelyprimary forest dwellers, whereaswestern lowland gorillas prefer sec-ondary or disturbed vegetation types.

In the region, gorillas are alsostrongly attracted by large forestclearings known by the Baka name"bais", where they feed on grassesand sedges. The bais possess enor-mous potential for eco-tourism devel-opment, especially if the gorillas canbe habituated.

Existing Threats to the ApePopulationsLogging. Logging concessions closeto the TNS cover more than 35,000km2 of forest, the largest concessionsbeing those of CIB with 12,000 km2.Commercial logging accounts for a

significant amount of the revenuesgenerated by Central African govern-ments; for example more than 12 bil-lion Euros is provided for state revenueby timber exports from southeasternCameroon. The greatest threat fromcommercial logging is the opening upof most forest areas for poaching anddestruction of primary forest that rep-resents a vital habitat especially forchimpanzees.

The opening of hitherto inaccessi-ble forest areas with construction ofroads, transport provided by trucks in-evitably encourages settlers, notablypoachers, who hunt great apes andother bushmeat. Timber from CIB andother logging concessions in the Cen-tral African Republic is transitedthrough the Lobéké region to the portof Douala. This transport networkmaintained by logging trucks hasstrongly encouraged the bushmeattrade as truck drivers transport meatto neighbouring towns such asOuesso in Congo, and Douala andYaounde in Cameroon. They also fur-nish the poachers with snares, ciga-rettes and other basics for their sub-sistence.

Hunting and bushmeat trade.According to IUCN classification, thecentral chimpanzees and westernlowland gorillas are considered "vul-nerable". This category includes taxa

Population estimates of western lowland gorilla and robustchimpanzee in three Central African countries of the westernmoist Congo Basin forest

Region Population estimateGorilla Chimpanzee

Low HighCameroon 15,000 8,500 10,000Central African Republic 9,000 800 1,000Republic of Congo 34,000 6,000 10,000

Data for the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo from Teleki (1991) andButynski (2001), for Cameroon from Usongo (1998)


Gorillas feeding in a bai inLobéké National Park, Cameroon

Photo: Leonard Usongo

GORILLAS

whose populations are decreasing be-cause of over-exploitation, extensivehabitat destruction or other environ-mental disturbance, taxa with popula-tions that have been seriously re-duced and whose ultimate securityhas not yet been assured. Throughouttheir ranges as reported by Butynski(2001), chimpanzees and gorillas areofficially protected under both nationaland international law from beinghunted, captured, or moved across in-ternational boundaries.

More than 70% of the entire popula-tion in logging towns in the region(Libongo, Kika, and Moloundou forLobéké in Cameroon, Kabo, Pokolaand Ouesso for Nouabalé-Ndoki inCongo, and Bayanga, Mbebarit andNola for Dzanga-Ndoki in the CentralAfrican Republic) depend on ape hunt-ing and the bushmeat trade for incomegeneration. For example, Noss (1998)reported that local hunters of Dzanga-Sangha earn between US$ 44 andUS$ 700 annually from the bushmeattrade; that is far higher than the annualearnings of a government civil servant.In the CIB concession area with aresident population of more than 3,000inhabitants, the proceeds of thebushmeat trade accounted for aboutUS$ 300 per household per annum(Wilkie et al. 2000, unpublished reportto WWF). The high incomes from thebushmeat trade make it extremely lu-

crative. The number of logging roadsand easy access across the largelyunmanned borders has also encour-aged trade and illegal trafficking, es-pecially in arms and ammunitions.

In Lobéké the seizure of meat andthe arrest of five poachers by gameguards uncovered more than 20 casesof gorilla hunting. There were fewercases for chimpanzees – eight cases,with the arrest of one poacher, in2001 – probably because of the morerestricted distribution of chimpanzeesin the core part of the primary forestarea. The numbers could have beeneven higher in Lobéké, and an ex-trapolation to the entire TNS regioncould be tenfold what was officiallyrecorded for Lobéké. No good dataexist on great ape hunting within theentire region; this information wouldpermit a better assessment of the de-gree of threat posed by hunting.

Arms proliferation. In most partsof the Republic of Congo and the Cen-tral African Republic there is wide-spread possession of arms and am-munition. This has greatly encouragedhunting with guns in these two coun-tries, notably of great apes. Not onlyare these weapons cheap but, moreimportantly, they can easily be boughtin local black markets, notably inOuesso, where an automatic rifle(AK47) costs US$ 250. If smuggledacross the border to Cameroon, it is

Density estimates of western lowland gorilla and robustchimpanzee in the TNS national parks

Site Approx. area Species (km2) Chimpanzee Gorilla

Density Number Density NumberLobeke (Cameroon) 2,200 0.17 <500 2.98 >5,000Nouabalé-Ndoki (Congo) 3,866 0.13 >500 0.2 <1,000Dzanga-Ndoki (CAR) 1,221 0.001–0.13 <200 0.8–2.7 <3,000

Density: individuals/km2. Data for Lobéké from WCS (1996), for Nouabalé-Ndoki from Fayand Agnagna (1992) and for Dzanga-Ndoki from Carroll (1986)

Arrested local poacher in Lobékéwith smoked chimpanzee meatdestined for the market


sold at least for twice this price. Thelong and relatively unmanned bordersbetween the three countries, and thebusy road transport fuelled by thebooming timber business, greatly fa-cilitates illegal trafficking in arms andammunition. The truck drivers supplyarms and food, and transport thebushmeat to various destinations andmarkets.

Pet trade. Commercial trade inbaby chimpanzees and gorillas isgradually gaining ground within theTNS region. Most of the pets confis-cated last year were from Ouessowhere there seems to be a ready mar-ket for young orphans whose parentshave been killed. There is a regionalnetwork in the sale of pets destinedmainly for zoos in Europe and to alesser extent the Gulf States. Thepets are transported in very inhumaneconditions in little wooden cages withpoor aeration and stuffed in betweenthe logs in timber trucks. Pet trade ingreat apes is quite organized, withintermediary agents working withcounterparts in Europe and other des-tinations where they have been re-quested.

Future Conservation MeasuresThe threats facing the great apepopulations in the tropical forests of


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Chimpanzee intercepted in alogging truck (background) fromKabo heading for the port ofDouala. The baby was rescuedfrom a sack squeezed behind thelogs on the truck.


Africa will continue to worsen if verystrong remedial measures are nottaken. One of the fundamental prob-lems is the poor shape of the eco-nomy of most of these countries, cou-pled with numerous wars that havemade most of the rural people moredependent than ever before on forestproducts like wildlife for survival.Butynski (2001) observed that the ulti-mate cause of the decline of Africa’sapes is the continent’s rapidly ex-panding population and the relatedpoverty and insecurity.

The international community has avital role to help support African gov-ernments to address some of theburning issues of poverty alleviation,population control, health and so on,in order to curb the current trends ofnatural resource exploitation. AsButynski stressed, it is especially ur-gent for the conservation community,national governments, donors, loggingcompanies, trade organizations andthe public to address the two mainthreats to ape populations: huntingand deforestation.

Within the Tri-National de la San-gha Conservation Ares some of theimmediate actions to be taken to re-

dress some of the threats to apepopulations in the region include:– Carry out systematic surveys, es-

pecially in the buffer zones, to as-certain the size and distribution ofthe ape populations in order to de-sign better protection measures;

– Reinforce the existing TNS jointanti-poaching patrols in the threecountries and establish trans-boundary control posts that will en-sure law enforcement and control ofvarious products transported in andout of the respective countries;

– Develop collaborative partnershipswith all commercial logging andtransport companies operating inthe region to ensure strict respectfor the law and punishment of law-breakers, especially those involvedin hunting and the bushmeat trade;

– Compel logging companies to pro-vide matching funds to supportconservation initiatives such asanti-poaching programs, replacebushmeat consumption within con-cession areas with cow meat, andconstruct refrigerated stores for thesale of beef and fish to their numer-ous workers, who are the peoplelargely responsible for hunting andthe bushmeat trade;

– Establishment of a long-term fund-ing mechanism, such as a trustfund, with aid from the internationaldonor community, to secure long-term protection and management ofthe TNS national parks system;

– Request the international com-munity to support broad-basedlandscape conservation programs,such as the TNS, that seek to pro-tect and ensure the sustainablemanagement of large trans-bound-ary forest areas with similar conser-vation problems;

– Harmonization of the existing lawsand their enforcement by the threecountries, to help to guarantee thatmore effective control measures areimplemented, notably concerning

hunting, illegal timber exploitationand bushmeat trade under the TNS;

– Establish a reliable communicationsystem, especially at the bordercontrol posts, to ensure efficientcoordination, by the protected areaauthorities of the respective na-tional parks, of anti-poaching pa-trols and the fight against illegaltrans-border trafficking such as ingreat ape pets, ivory and so on.

Leonard Usongo

ReferencesButynski, T. M. (2001) Africa’s great apes. In:Great Apes and Humans: The Ethics of Co-existence. Beck, B. et al. (eds.). WashingtonD. C. (Smithsonian Institution Press), pp. 3–56.Carroll, R. W. (1986) The status, distributionand density of the lowland gorilla (Gorillagorilla gorilla), forest elephants Loxodontaafricana cyclotis and associated dense for-est fauna in southwestern CAR. Unpublishedreport, New Haven, Yale University.Fay, J. M. and Agnagna, M. (1992) Census ofgorillas in northern Republic of Congo. Ameri-can Journal of Primatology 27: 275–284.Noss, A. J. (1998) Cable snares and bushmeat markets in a Central African forest. Envi-ronmental Conservation 25: 228–233.Teleki, G. (1991) Action plan for the conserva-tion of wild chimpanzees and protection oforphan chimpanzees in the Republic of Bu-rundi. Hants, UK: Jane Goodall Institute. Un-published report.Usongo, L. (1998) Conservation Status of Ar-boreal Primates, Lobéké Forest, SE Camer-oon. Primate Conservation 18: 66–68.WCS (1996) The Lobeke forest, SoutheastCameroon. Summary of activities 1988–1995.Report submitted to WCS, New York.

Survey Results ofGorillas Frequenting theMongambe BaisDense tropical vegetation has been aconfounding factor in the collection ofadequate behavioral observations ofwestern lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorillagorilla). However, in recent years,studies concentrating at forest clear-ings (open, grassland areas calledbais or salines), such as Mbeli Bai inthe Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park andthe Maya North saline in the OdzalaNational Park within the Republic of


GORILLAS

A silverback in a clearing of theMongambe area

Photo: Angelique Todd

Congo have provided excellent viewingconditions for studying western low-land gorillas’ population dynamics andsocio-behavioral ecology.

From October 1998 through Febru-ary 1999, a pilot study was conductedwithin the Central African Republic’sDzanga sector of the Dzanga-SanghaSpecial Reserve at the Mongambe re-search site (2° 55' 04" N, 16° 23'20" E). The reserve is under the col-laboration management of the govern-ment, the World Wildlife Fund andLUSO consult for the German Techni-cal Cooperation (GTZ). The Dzangasector has one of the highest docu-mented densities of western lowlandgorillas at 1.6 weaned individuals/km2

(Blom, 1999 and personal communi-cation). Previously, Mongambe was abase for a primate eco-tourism pro-gram, concentrating on the habitua-tion of gorillas via tracking. Thisproject was relocated in 1997 to an-other site (Bai Hokou) within the samesector (Alma, et al., 1999; Blom,1999; Cipolletta, 1999).

Based on the frequency and dura-tion of gorilla observations recordedwithin the adjacent Nouabalé-NdokiPark, this pilot study was conductedto determine whether gorillas atMongambe similarly use bais and, ifso, the feasibility of a long-term inves-tigation. It was hoped that like similarstudies, the continual proximity of re-searchers at platforms located next tothe bais would acclimate the gorillasto human presence and hence, pas-sively provide a means of habituation.

Using a global positioning system(GPS), Mongambe’s 50 km2 area wassurveyed, and the bais’ locations anddimensions were mapped. A total offive bais were located. One of these, alarger clearing connected by narrowcorridors, was further divided intothree areas to facilitate observations,resulting in a total of seven.

The bais range in size from thesmallest at approximately 0.15 km


long x 0.1 km wide to the largest of0.7 km long x 0.4 km wide. For obser-vational and recording purposes eachbai was arbitrarily categorized in sizeas small, medium or large. Temporaryplatforms at the edge of four of theseven bais ensured good viewing tothe major parts of the clearings. Atotal of 460.5 hours of observationtime was logged. Both direct contacts(visual and/or auditory) and indirectevidence (prints, feeding traces, fecalmatter, and nests) were noted atthe bais and within close proximity(0.5 km). Evidence of gorillas, eitheras groups or solitary males, occurredat six out of the seven bais.

The sample set was too small forstatistical analysis. All direct (visualand/or auditory) contacts were madeeither in the early morning or late after-noon and the number of elephants vis-iting the bais increased three-fold dur-ing the study period for the duration ofthe dry season. The frequency ofvisual contacts totaled 15 (11 of soli-tary males and 4 of groups) and thefrequency of auditory contact for both

groups and solitary males totaled 46.Determination of auditory contact asbeing either from one or more animalwas not always possible. Indirect evi-dence (prints, feeding traces andnests) for both groups and solitarymales totaled 53, 31 and 3, respec-tively (54 of solitary males and 33 ofgroups). The tendency to encounter orfind evidence of solitary males, ratherthan groups, is also apparent whenthe data are broken down according tobai size. Combining visual contactswith indirect evidence, the frequencieswere 31, 19 and 15 for solitary malesvs. 23, 7 and 7 for groups at small,medium and large bais, respectively.

The results indicate that gorillas dovisit bais in the Mongambe area; how-ever, it appears that these visitationsare less frequent than those recordedby observers at Mbeli or Maya North.Possible contributing factors to thesedifferences, both within this study andbetween sites, may be populationdemographics, elephant density, vari-ation of food plants, poaching, andproximity of human populations.

Due to the number of bais atMongambe and the distance betweenthem, a long-term behavioral investi-gation of the gorillas at the bais wouldnecessitate either an increase in thenumber of researchers and/or the in-stallation of surveillance-type cam-eras at every platform. These cameraswould be used to record the presenceof any animals, including gorillas,which visit the bais when researchersare not present.

Lyna M. Watson, Angelique Todd

ReferencesAlma, A., Blom, A., Prins, H. (1999) TheMongambe Research Camp, Dzanga-NdokiNational Park, Central African Republic. GorillaConservation News 13:5-6.Blom, A. (1999) Dzanga-Sangha ProjectTechnical Report: Ecological Monitoring.World Wildlife Fund, Central African Republic.Cipolletta, C. (1999) Habituation de gorillespour un tourisme de vision a Dzanga-Sangha,en Centrafrique. Canopée 13:22-24.


READING

Medecins Sans FrontieresR. D. Congo: Silence, on meurt.Témoignages. Paris (Editions L'Har-mattan) 2002. Paperback, Euro 20.ISBN 2747522393.

Christophe Boesch, GottfriedHohmann, Linda MarchantBehavioural Diversity in Chimpan-zees and Bonobos. Cambridge(Cambridge University Press) 2002.352 pages. Hardcover US$ 90, ISBN0521803543. Paperback US$ 33,ISBN 0521006139.

Walter Carl Hartwig (ed.)The Primate Fossil Record. Cam-bridge (Cambridge University Press)2002. 608 pages, 107 line diagrams,347 half-tones, 19 tables. Hardcover,£ 120, US$ 175. ISBN 0-521-66315-6

Lynne E. Miller (ed.)Eat or be Eaten. Predator SensitiveForaging Among Primates. Cam-bridge (Cambridge University Press)2002. 304 pages, 27 line diagrams,28 tables. Hardcover £ 80, US$ 110.ISBN 0-521-80451-5; paperback£ 29.95, US$ 40, ISBN 0-521-01104-3

Rosaleen DuffyA Trip Too Far. Ecotourism, Politicsand Exploitation. London (Earthscan)2002. 224 pages. Hardcover £ 45,US$ 65. ISBN 1-85383-758-X; paper-back £ 15.95, US$ 25, 1-85383-759-8

Paul F. J. Eagles et al.Sustainable Tourism in ProtectedAreas. Guidelines for Planning andManagement. Gland (IUCN) 2002. 198pages. £ 17.50, US$ 26.25. ISBN2-8317-0648-3. Also available at http://wcpa.iucn.org/pubs/pdfs/tourism_guidelines.pdf

Paul F. J. Eagles and Stephen F.McCoolTourism in National Parks and Pro-tected Areas: Planning and Manage-

ment. CABI Publishing 2002. 336pages, hardcover. £ 55, US$ 90.ISBN 0851995896

Trevor Sandwith et al.Transboundary Protected Areasfor Peace and Co-operation, Basedon the Proceedings of workshops heldin Bormio (1998) and Gland (2000).Best Practice Protected Area Guide-lines Series 7. Gland (IUCN) 2001.122 pages. £ 16.50, US$ 24.75. ISBN2-8317-0612-2. Also available athttp://wcpa.iucn.org/pubs/pdfs/Transboundary_guide.pdf

Steven Franzel et al. (eds.)Development and Agroforestry.Scaling Up the Impacts of Research.Oxford (Oxfam) 2002. Paperback,202 pages, £ 12.95, US$ 18.95.ISBN 0-85598-464-3

Ian LeggettUganda. An Oxfam Country Profile.Oxford (Oxfam) 2001. Paperback,88 pages, £ 6.95, US$ 9.95. ISBN0-521-0-85598-454-6

Shantayanan Devarajan et al.(eds.)Aid and Reform in Africa: Lessonsfrom Ten Case Studies. Washington(World Bank) 2001. 696 pages, paper-back, US$ 35. ISBN 0-8213-4669-5.

Human Rights WatchUprooting the rural poor in Rwan-da. New York (Human Rights Watch)2001. 91 pages, US$ 10.ISBN 1-56432-261-0

Hezron Mogaka et al.Economic Aspects of CommunityInvolvement in Sustainable ForestManagement in Eastern andSouthern Africa. Forest and SocialPerspectives in Conservation 8.Gland (IUCN) 2001. 155 pages.ISBN 2-8317-0607-6.

Edmund C. G. Barrow et al.Analysis of Stakeholder Powerand Responsibilities in CommunityInvolvement in Forest Manage-ment in Eastern and Southern Af-rica. Gland (IUCN) 2002. 164 pages.ISBN 2-8317.9655.6.

IUCN/SSC Re-introductionSpecialist GroupIUCN Guidelines for the Placementof Confiscated Animals. Gland(IUCN) 2002. 24 pages. ISBN 2-8317-0622-X. Also available on the internetat http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/news/introconfiscation.htm

Rob Barnet (ed.)Food for Thought. The Utilization ofWild Meat in Eastern and SouthernAfrica. Traffic 2000. 264 pages. ISBN9966-9698-0-2. Overview at:http://www.traffic.org/bushmeat/overview.pdf

Jeffrey A. McNeely and Sara J.ScherrEcoagriculture. Strategies to feedthe world and save wild biodiver-sity. Washington, D. C. (Island Press)2002. 296 pages. Hardcover. US$ 55,ISBN 1-55963-644-0. Paperback US$27.50, ISBN 1-55963-645-9.

Brian Groombridge and Martin D.JenkinsWorld Atlas of Biodiverstiy. Earth'sLiving Resources in the 21st Century.Berkeley (University of CaliforniaPress) 2002. 256 pages, hardcover,US$ 54.95. ISBN 0-520-23668-8.

Human Rights WatchReluctant Recruits: Children andAdults Forcibly Recruited for MilitaryService in North Kivu. New York (Hu-man Rights Watch) 2001. US$ 3.Order at http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/demrepofconr.html ordownload at http://hrw.org/reports/2001/drc3/Goma.pdf

BERGGORILLA & REGENWALD DIREKTHILFE


We thank everybody who supportedus from 21 May to 30 October 2002.Major contributions and donationswere received from Horst Engel, ev.Kirchengemeinde Essen, Jörg andMarianne Famula, Gabriele Holzinger,Norbert Huber-Voss, the shop Hunde-leben, Uta Munck, Erwin Rosenkranz,Dieter Peter Schmitz and AlexanderWiesengrund.

The Wuppertal Zoo and KlausSchüling initiated a special campaign:At the "zoo collectors' meeting" anauction was held and the proceeds(Euro 1,123) were donated to us.Erwin Fidelis Reisch (Gentner VerlagStuttgart) took charge of the com-position costs for the Gorilla Journal.We are grateful for the confidence ofthese and of all the other supportersand wish you all a happy 2003!

Distribution of ourEquipment in theKahuzi-Biega Park

Stills of a video recorded byCarlos Schuler

ActivitiesSummer Festival by the ShopHundeleben with a DonationAppeal for Mountain Gorillas

Gorillahandy ("Gorilla MobilePhone") – an Installation by Ger-hild Werner on Gorillas + Coltan

Mgahinga Safari Lodge is a luxury lodge, perched at the tip of a peninsula jutting intothe waters of Lake Mutanda, in southwestern Uganda. The lodge is the ideal settingfrom which to track the mountain gorilla in nearby Mgahinga Gorilla National Park;venture deep into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest; search for savannah antelope in LakeMburo National Park; or visit Lake Bunyonyi – renowned as the ‘lake of little birds andsweet water fish’.

The lodge complex consists of a main building – which houses the reception,restaurant, lounge and bar – and six spacious, twin-bedded tents. All equipment at thelodge is of the highest European standard. The tents are en suite, with hot showers andflush toilets, and have continental quilts and pillows. Soft drinks and laundry serviceare provided. The restaurant serves a high standard of continental and traditionalcuisine accompanied by a selection of local and international wines and spirits.

For further information contact:AFRICA ADVENTURE TOURISTIKKurt NiedermeierSeeshaupter Str. 17D-81476 Muenchen/GermanyTel: +49-89 759 79 626Fax: +49-89-759-79-627

E-mail: [email protected]@t-online.de

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