Mbandaka, 10 April 2012 – The Congolese Nature Conservation Institute (ICCN) and other partner organizations dedicated to environmental protection requested the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) to step up its support to protect Salonga Park and the local populations around it.

An operation named "Bonobo" has been underway since October 2011, and is being conducted jointly by MONUSCO and the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC). It is aimed at protecting reserves against poaching and other illicit activities that may pose a direct threat not only to the park but also to the people living in surrounding areas.

The request for increased support was presented during an emergency meeting held on 10 April 2012 at MONUSCO's Office in Mbandaka, Equateur province, to examine ways of protecting this natural park which covers an area of 36,000 square km. The meeting was led by the ICCN, and involved other partners including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, the Protected Areas Network of Central Africa (RAPAC), and MONUSCO.

Created in 1950, the Salonga Park is located at about 550 km from the provincial capital, Mbandaka. It was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1984. The park harbors a broad range of rare plant and animal species, and is also known for being one of the two greatest nature reserves of our planet, the other being the Amazon. In 1999, due to decades of neglect which had turned it into a lawless area of illicit activities, the Salonga was declared a "world heritage site in danger".

Jean-Tobie Okala/MONUSCO