Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Ituri Forest, DRC

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, located in the Ituri tropical rain forest in the northeastern corner of the Congo Basin, is one of five World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Reserve is named for its high concentration of okapi (Okapia johnstoni), the only living relative of the giraffe; the reserve contains roughly one-sixth of the species’ wild population. The forested region encompassing the Reserve derives its name from the Ituri River, a tributary of the Congo River. This region is home to the hunter-gatherers of the Mbuti and Efe forest peoples (collectively known as pygmies) and the farmers of various Bantu and Nilotic ethnic groups, who have inhabited the forest for hundreds of years. In 1992, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve was established to conserve the exceptionally high species diversity and endemism of the Ituri forest. The reserve is bounded by the Nepoko River to the north and the Ituri River to the south, and occupies an area of nearly 13,150 km2.

Epulu, the main town in the Okapi Reserve, viewed from the IKONOS satellite

Today, the Ituri region is the most politically unstable area in the DRC. Near-constant conflict between ethnic and military groups makes both conservation and humanitarian efforts in this area extremely challenging. Consequently, forest monitoring via remote sensins is particularly useful in this region.

Natural Environment

The Ituri Forest is situated on a plateau between the watershed of the Congo Basin to the west and the mountain range of the Albertine Rift to the east. The elevation within the forest ranges from approximately 600 m above sea level in the southwest to 900 m in the northeast. Soils usually extend to a depth of approximately two meters in the forest, and short-term rainfall records indicate an average precipitate of about 1,700 mm annually.

The vegetation in the Ituri forest is dominated by mixed-species terra firma forest. Vegetation sampling conducted in this forest type by the Center for Tropical Forest Science indicates the presence of about 500 species of plants and a very high tree density. Another common vegetation type within the Ituri Forest is the “mbau forest”, or the mono-dominant evergreen forest of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei. Also known as “limbali forest” in other parts of Central Africa, this forest formation is widespread throughout the Congo Basin from the eastern DRC westward to the Sangha Tri-National Park region. Other notable vegetation types in the forest include swamp forest along streams and rivers, secondary or regrowth forest surrounding roads and settlements, and occasional grassland inselbergs.

The high plant diversity of the Ituri Forest ecosystem also extends to its animal populations. The richness of species of duikers and primates in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve is among the highest in Africa. There are also over 300 species of birds, more than 50 species of mammals, and a large population of forest elephants.

Land Use

Traditional land use in the Ituri Forest includes hunting-gathering and shifting cultivation; currently, agriculture is limited to along the main roads in the southern portion of the reserve and areas surrounding the reserve. Conservation management plans have called for the zoning of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve into areas of no use, areas permitting traditional hunting-gathering, and areas allowing agricultural cultivation and settlements.

Scientific research in this region began in earnest with the establishment of the Okapi Captive Breeding Centre at Epulu in 1952; today, conservation and scientific research comprise one of the dominant land uses in the Ituri Forest. Current research has focused on biodiversity, cultural anthropology, and wildlife ecology of the okapi. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has helped to create and maintain the Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Conservation Forestière (CEFRECOF), located in Epulu, to train Congolese ecologists and conservation managers. However, the prevailing political instability and widespread armed conflicts in the greater Ituri District make the continuity of these activities extremely challenging.

Threats to Conservation

Social, economic, and political turmoil are the source of all threats to conservation in the protected areas of the eastern DRC. In the Ituri Forest region, as in the Garamba, Virunga, and Kahuzi-Biega Natinoal Parks, illegal activities have flourished in the absence of governance. In these rebel-controlled and resource-abundant areas, mining of gold, coltan and diamonds; poaching of elephants for ivory; illegal logging; and commercial hunting of bush meat have turned into lucrative businesses that both pay for armed conflicts and profit the warlords. Without the government’s support in local infrastructure, law enforcement, and funding, research and conservation activities become nearly impossible and persist only through commitments made by individuals and a limited number of international conservation NGOs.

There are an estimated 20,000 people living in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and an additional 10,000 within 15 km of its borders, translating into a relatively low population density of roughly 1.5 persons/km2. However, as the security situation in nearby population centers deteriorates, there is an additional influx of displaced persons from urban areas into the forest. These urban migrants place an increasing burden on the land, as well as increase the demand for bush meat; the hunting pressure for duiker and other large mammals is especially high. Illegal logging also takes place on the outskirts of the Reserve.

"Mbau" or "limbali" forest seen from the air

A map of northeastern DRC showing the location of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and the 1990 populations of surrounding towns