Ensuring the long-term protection of Conkouati Douli National Park, Republic of Congo

The purpose of this project is to support a conservation effort in Conkouati Douli National Park, Republic of Congo, by improving park management, protection, and capacity.

The project is intended to primarily conserve the parks populations of forest elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, coastal dolphins, leatherback and olive ridley sea turtles, and large monkeys, as well as other threatened and iconic forest and aquatic species such as pangolins and manatees.

This multi-year agreement will address hunting for the commercial bushmeat trade, poaching for ivory, illegal fishing, and other key threats to wildlife via five main objectives: control of illegal killing and park encroachment on land, control of illegal killing and bycatch in park waters, development of a better evidence base to adaptively manage park activities, improvement of community support of the park, and enhancement of management capacity to implement and oversee important park programs.

Specific activities in the first year include: (1) ecoguard patrols to protect the terrestrial portion of the park, including training and equipment; (2) support for a Wildlife Crime Unit to ensure arrests and confiscations lead to fair trials and prosecutions; (3) engagement with extractive industries to promote better management practices and to remain vigilant of illegal activities or encroachment; (4) patrols in marine waters to reduce illegal killing and bycatch; (5) support for a net compensation program to release sea turtles accidentally caught in local fishermens nets; (6) implementation of a law enforcement monitoring system (i.e., SMART) to more effectively plan patrol effort and evaluate performance; (7) continuation of a beach monitoring program to maintain a low poaching level of sea turtle nests; (8) improvements to ecotourism infrastructure to generate more revenue for communities and development of a community development strategy and better revenue-sharing scheme to decrease incentives for commun