Protectors of the Forest: How Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park Advances the Fight for its Wildlife
When thinking of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), although many individuals may envision a thriving ecosystem virtually untouched by man and inhabited by numerous animal and plant species, others may only see dollar signs. Nestled in the northeast corner of the Republic of Congo, the NNNP is home to a vast array of species, but none so prized as the African forest elephant whose unique pink tinted tusks offer a valuable bounty for poachers¹. Over the last decade, ivory constituted approximately 70% of wildlife product seizures in the Republic of Congo, highlighting threatening levels of wildlife poaching across Africa².
Motivated by such alarming rates of poaching, the Congolese government and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) founded the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation (NNF) and the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) in 2014 and 2016 respectively. The Foundation ushered in professionalization of park operations, long term management and financing, and an increase in staffing and infrastructure, while the WCU began to play a major role in dismantling criminal networks and bringing them to justice³. Although this progress is not without its challenges, these organizations are constantly adapting to face the poaching threat.
The illegal hunting and killing of elephants has become increasingly organized with high caliber weapons, the promise of cash reward, and the support of complex criminal organizations — sometimes with terrorist associations². Corruption, undercutting local populations for resources, inadequate funding, and poor communication have plagued organizations like the NNF tasked with anticipating, detecting and stopping the illegal activities of these criminals³.
Poachers can easily hide undetected in the dense undergrowth of the forest. Footprints, signs of poaching, knowledge of key access points into and out of the forest, are all recorded and accounted for by a Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), an open source database³. Locals can also send preemptive alerts to authorities when poachers have arrived. This data compiled with observations have allowed the NNF forces to stay one step ahead, and over the last half decade, the NNNP protection force has been professionalized, reinforced, and increased six-fold³.
Still, major holes exist when it comes to getting convictions. Although making arrests is important, it is only the first step in an extensive judicial process. About 80% of court cases in Ouesso, a town neighboring Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, are related to wildlife poaching or trafficking². As the basis for securing the NNNP, the Wildlife Crime Unit oversees a four-pronged approach to wildlife crime which includes: intelligence-based investigations, law enforcement, supporting the judicial process, and media outreach. Monthly newsletters organized by the NNF keep the public updated on arrests, patrol efforts, illegally killed elephants, seizures, community developments, and important research that goes on in the park such as the bioacoustics monitoring conducted by the Elephant Listening Project³.
The Noubalé-Ndoki Foundation’s commitment to this four-pronged approach has resulted in significant gains. Between 2014 and 2015, 80 arrests were made, yet none of them made it to trial. However, from 2016–2018, 96 poachers and traffickers went to trial resulting in 45 convictions, 18 of which saw the maximum penalty applied: 5 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine².
Only the continued collaborative efforts of the WCS, other non-government organizations, and global partners will maintain the successes against poaching seen in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. In spite of the 65% decline in forest elephant populations between 2002 and 2013, the NNNP has proven its ability to provide protection for its wildlife through decisive action and organization as recent surveys have revealed stable elephant populations²’⁴. There is hope for the future of conservation efforts should the NNNP’s methods for advancement be recreated and applied elsewhere and its progress utilized to inspire action.
References:
¹Yong, Ed. “Africa’s Other Elephant is Fading Fast.” The Atlantic (2017). Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/02/forest-elephant-extinction-minkebe-gabon-ivory-poaching/517266/
²Bergen, Molly. “Justice for Elephants: Fighting the ivory trade in the courts of the Republic of Congo.” CARPE. Retrieved from https://carpeincongobasin.atavist.com/justice-for-elephants
³Arnhem, Eric. “Wild Places: Nouabale-Ndoki National Park.” Wildlife Conservation Society (2019). Retrieved from https://congo.wcs.org/Wild-Places/Nouabale-Ndoki-National-Park.aspx
⁴Sutner, Stephen. “Nouabale Ndoki National Park Celebrates its 25th Anniversary at Ceremony in Brazzaville.” Wildlife Conservation Society (2019). Retrieved from https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/12494/Nouabale-Ndoki-National-Park-Celebrates-its-25th-Anniversary-at-Ceremony-in-Brazzaville.aspx
