Conkouati-Douli National Park

Conkouati-Douli National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location	Kouilou,  Republic of the Congo
Area	5,049.5 km²[1]
Established	August 14, 1993
Governing body	Ministry for National Forestry Commission

The Conkouati-Douli National Park is a UNESCO recognised coastal national park in the Republic of the Congo. Created by Presidential Decree No. 99-136 on 14 August 1999, it covers an area of 504,950 ha and is located in the Kouilou Department, straddling the districts of Nzambi-Madingo and Kayes in the extreme northwest of the department. It is located near the villages of Cotovindou and Louléma along the border between Congo and Gabon, at the point of intersection with the National Route 5.^[2] Conkouati-Douli National Park has a management team of two curators, assisted by a chief of patrol, forty officers including 22 wardens are active on the site and technical and financial assistance from the WCS.^[2]

History

The Conkouati-Douli National Park was established on August 14, 1999. However the park has been part of an active area of conservation since at least 1980 and includes area of the former old Reserve of Conkouati. This reserve covered nearly 300,000 hectares but was reduced down to 144,294 hectares by a legal provision of 1989.^[3] From 1994 to 1999 the UICN recognised that the area was critically endangered and collaborated with PROGECAP-GEF Congo and financed by the World Bank in agreement with the Congolese authorities until June 1999.^[3] Promoted to a national park, Conkouati-Douli has been managed by the Ministry for National Forestry Commission in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) since 1999.^[3]

Geography and flora

The Noumbi River flows through the park. The park is characterised by dense forests mized with wetlands, floodplain forests and lagoons. Rhizophora racemosa and Avicennia nititta are common mangroves in the park and aquatic vegetation in lakes and lagoons is composed of Vossia cuspidata, Cteniumnewtnii etc.^[2]

Savannahs of the south-west are dominated by Ctenium newtonili, Elytonrus brazzae and Pobeguinea arrecta while those of Cotovindou in the north-east are made up of Hypparrhenia diplandra, Panicum phragmitoides, Pobeguinea arrecta, etc.^[2]

Fauna

The National Park is home to a vast fauna typical of forest ecosystems of the Congo including elephant, buffalo, gorillas, leopards, Chimpanzees, bushpigs, sitatunga and mandrill.^[2] HELP^{[disambiguation needed ]} Congo has developed a reintroduction program in the Conkouati-Douli National Park to investigate whether it is feasible to return chimpanzees to their natural environment.^[4] Aside from this the park has a number of endangered turtle and dolphin populations.

Threats to conservation

In an ecological Conkouati contains a diversity of local ecosystems which have faced several threats, notably from logging, mining and several oil exploitation demands in the area.^[2] The existence of the road, the high population density of some 3000 people around the park and poaching are other threats to the site.^[3] In addition, there is an illicit trade in bushmeat and threats to its substantial population of turtles.

References

1. ^ "The Conkouati-Douli National Park". The World Database on Protected Areas. http://www.wdpa.org/siteSheet.aspx?sitecode=313401. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Le Parc National de Conkouati-Douli". UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5375/. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "The National park of Conkouati-Douli". HELP^{[disambiguation needed ]}. http://www.help-primates.org/an/index.php?SRC=0&DEST=16300. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 
4. ^ "HELP Congo". HELP^{[disambiguation needed ]}. http://www.tusk.org/conkouati-douli-chimpanzee-project.asp. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 

External links

• UNESCO site (French)
• HELP
• Pointe Noire Alive! - Latest news for Park visitors (French)