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Countries Appendix ZAIRE (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) (48.2%) Zaire has the greatest extent of tropical rainforests in Africa, covering over 100 million hectares. The forests in the eastern sector are amazingly diverse as one of the few forest areas in Africa to have survived the ice age. Almost 50% of Zaire is covered by primary forest which provides home to countless large mammal species driven to extinction in other African regions. Zaire has tremendous conservation potential and has a history of concern for its environment. In 1925, it became the first country in Africa to create a national park, Virunga National Park for mountain gorillas. Already over 4% of Zaire is protected in reserves and the government (traditionally unstable) aims to expand these conservation areas to 8-15% of the country. However, institutions are notoriously weak in Zaire and incumbent corruption makes conservation funds disappear. Still, many of Zaire's reserves are fairly safe from encroachment by virtue of their inaccessibility. Those that are near inhabited areas are often well managed, especially Virunga National Park which is funded mostly by fees collected from tourists going to see the mountain gorillas. For a time the unstable political situation in Zaire appeared to actually help the forests by discouraging investment and development of infrastructure which would allow logging of tropical timber. There is vast potential for sustainable development of Zaire's forests, 60% of which are loggable, since the sector makes up only 1% of the GNP. However the future of Zaire's forests is in question due to a population growth rate exceeding 3% and the recent change of government. There is already a high demand for fuelwood and although the government plans to establish 100,000 hectares of fuelwood plantations, demand will exceed availability and the forests will be impacted. The growing population will accelerate slash-and-burn agriculture, already common in several areas. Plantation agriculture and commercial mining, also on the increase, further threaten Zaire's extensive forests. Even with all these threats, annual deforestation rates are still less than 0.7%, but could increase exponentially with political stability and continued population growth. Deforestation has increased noticeably over the past decade: in 1988, WCMC reported an annual deforestation rate of 0.2%. Poaching is a problem in several areas of Zaire, even in the reserves, and little is currently being done to counter this development. Unfortunately, Zaire's wildlife and forests are threatened by refugees fleeing civil strife in Rwanda and Sudan. Over 80,000 Sudanese refugees are camped right next to the last refuge for 31 Northern White Rhinoceros and 230 Savannah giraffes, Garamba National Park. Refugees are hunting wildlife with automatic weapons and poaching endangered species for body parts (ivory, horns, etc.). During Kabila's rebellion in 1997, Garamba national park was used as a base by mercenaries to launch former dictator Mobutu's counter-offensive. In 1994 Virunga National Park, refuge for 350 of the 610 remaining mountain gorillas, was invaded by refugees from Rwanda, over 1,000,000 of whom settled in a small, filthy area beside the park. These refugees freely entered the park to cut wood for fuel and construction. Well over 20,000 acres and an estimated 36 million trees were cut from the park. Research facilities were destroyed, members of park staff were killed, and all vehicles and equipment were stolen. The Hutu military acted as a shadow government over the camp and auctioned of wildlife and wood from the park. Four of the five habituated silverback gorillas were killed by the refugees and countless numbers of hippos were machine-gunned by soldiers for their meat. In a northern part of the park, an entire group of gorillas was allegedly massacred and a large section of forest was destroyed. The International Gorilla Conservation Program reports that at least 18 mountain gorillas have been killed since 1995. When Kabila came to power, park rangers for Virunga had not been paid for over a year and the ICCN, which manages the park, says that only $8450 of the $140,000 average monthly tourist revenue went to running the park. The refuges wandering through Zaire's forests during Kabila's rebellion, further impacted Zaire's forests. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Zaire's national parks, including Virunga, Garamba, and the Okapi Fauna Reserve, were threatened with collapse during the fighting between Mobutu Sese Seko and Alliance of Democratic Forces of Laurent Kabila. Reportedly, anti-poaching and conservation equipment were looted. The northern white rhino population fell from 31 to 24, while at least 12 mountain gorillas were slaughtered. In addition, 44 park guards were killed and the hippo population has fallen from 30,000 to 3000 in the past decade. The Okapi Faunal Reserve has been ravaged by refugee migrations and marauding bands of militias. Militias heavily damaged and looted forest service equipment and poached game in the reserve, while refugees burned forest for fires and hunted wildlife. Initially, the establishment of the new government prompted investors to surge into Zaire, threatening to spell doom for much of the Congo rainforest. South Africa pledged a considerable sum for the construction of new roads that would open up the previously inaccessible interior to development. Previously, the poor condition of infrastructure prevented the transport of heavy equipment needed for logging. New roads would allow deep penetration into some of the world's most primeval forests by commercial interests and transient peasants. However, after Kabila scrapped 12 mining deals just 5 months after signing them, investor confidence plummeted. It may take longer to develop Congo's forests than initially anticipated. Mining is another major threat to Zaire's environment. Endowed with 28% of the world's cobalt, 18% of the world's industrial diamonds, and 6% of the world's copper, Zaire should be a relatively rich country. Instead years of widespread, crippling corruption and mismanagement have left it one of the world's poorest countries. The effects from archaic mining techniques have degraded vast areas. In the near future, should Zaire's political situation remain stable, conservationists expect a flurry of hydroelectric projects to tap Zaire's vast potential: an estimated 13% of the world's hydroelectric potential. The dams would flood large sections of forests in addition to altering river life. . . . . . For current information I highly recommend trying the CIA and FAO links below. CIA-World Factbook Profile FAO-Forestry Profile |
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