Lomami National Park

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Lomami National Park
Democratic Republic of the Congo relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location Democratic Republic of Congo
Nearest city Kindu
Coordinates 2°0′0″S25°2′0″E / 2.00000°S 25.03333°E / -2.00000; 25.03333
Area8,879 km2 (3,428 sq mi)
Established2016
Governing body Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature

Lomami National Park is a national park located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Situated within the centre basin of the Lomami River, it straddles the Provinces of Tshopo and Maniema, with a slight overlap into the forests of the Tshuapa and Lualaba River basins. Lomami National Park was formally declared on 7 July 2016 as the ninth national park in the country and the first to be created since 1992.

Contents

Lomami National Park encompasses some 8,879 km2 (3,428 sq mi) of lowland tropical rainforest with some open-forest savanna islands to the south and more hilly terrain to the west. It is home to several endangered species including the bonobo (Pan paniscus), the okapi (Okapia johnstoni) and the Congo peafowl (Afropava congensis). It also harbours the lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) and the Dryas monkey (Chlorocebus dryas) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).

History

The process to establish a national park got underway with meetings in village centers and town halls, with outreach missions led by ministers, chiefs and deputies From 2010 through 2012, legitimized through Tambiko ceremonies in which the ancestors were consulted, the surrounding villages defined the limits of the national park. By 2013 the governors of both Maniema and Tshopo Provinces declared provincial parks, making all hunting within the parks illegal.[ citation needed ] On 7 July 2016, Lomami National Park was officially decreed by DR Congo's national government. [1]

Geography

Lomami National Park is located in the two provinces Tshopo and Maniema between Kisangani and Kindu. The Lomami River forms the western border at the southern limit of the park and flows through the center of its northern part. This river is a biogeographic barrier and has influenced the evolution of wildlife in the region. The Tshuapa and Lualaba Rivers define the general east-west limits of the Tshuapa–Lomami–Lualaba Conservation Landscape. Edaphic savannas emerge from the forest in the southernmost part of the landscape, whereas forest cover is more consistent in the north, although varying from hill-forest to low elevation upland forest to seasonally flooded forest and riverine forest.

Biodiversity

Lomami National Park is home to populations of the Okapi, Congo peafowl, African forest elephant and significant populations of many primate species including the rare dryas monkey. [2] The lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) was discovered in 2007. [3] The bonobo population in Lomami National Park is genetically distinct from other bonobo populations, establishing the Lomami River as a probable geographic barrier. [4]

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and the Congo peafowl (Afropava congolensis) inhabit the forests throughout Lomami National Park.[ citation needed ]

Lomami National Park also harbours the following species:[ citation needed ]

Ethnic groups

The people living in the buffer zone of the Lomami National Park belong primarily to seven different ethnic groups: Lengola, Mbole, Mituku, Langa, Tetela, Ngengele and Arabisé. The approximately 100 small villages live primarily on agriculture, hunting, and fishing. [5]

Threats

The major threat to wildlife in the Lomami National Park is the commercial bushmeat trade. The Lukuru Foundation found that the origin of hunting pressure is not just the local communities, as many hunters are from other regions [6]

Elephant poaching represents another threat to the park, and commercial ivory trade pushes a rapid decline of the elephant population. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okapi</span> Species of mammal

The okapi, also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe and zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. However, non-invasive genetic identification has suggested that a population has occurred south-west of the Congo River as well. It is the only species in the genus Okapia. Although the okapi has striped markings reminiscent of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe. The okapi and the giraffe are the only living members of the family Giraffidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dryas monkey</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Dryas monkey, also known as Salonga monkey, ekele, or inoko, is a little-known species of Old World monkey found only in the Congo Basin, restricted to the left bank of the Congo River. It is now established that the animals that had been classified as Cercopithecus salongo were in fact Dryas monkeys. Some older sources treat the Dryas monkey as a subspecies of the Diana monkey and classify it as C. diana dryas, but it is geographically isolated from any known Diana monkey population.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salonga National Park</span> National park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congolian rainforests</span> Broad belt of rainforest in Central Africa

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf's mona monkey</span> Species of Old World monkey

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Democratic Republic of the Congo–related articles</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thollon's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

Thollon's red colobus, also known as the Tshuapa red colobus, is a species of red colobus monkey from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and lower Republic of the Congo. It is found south of Congo River and west of Lomami River. It had once been considered a subspecies of the P. badius. It was recognised as a distinct species by Dandelot in 1974, and this was followed by Groves in 2001, while others have suggested it should be considered a subspecies of P. rufomitratus.

<i>Congo</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tshuapa–Lomami–Lualaba Conservation Landscape</span>

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Iyaelima people are an ethnic group with a population of about 2,500 that live in eight settlements in the southern part of the Salonga National Park (SNP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They belong to the Mongo group of Bantu peoples. Although they practice slash-and-burn agriculture and hunt for bushmeat, they have little impact on the environment. The Iyaelima never kill bonobos, an ape closely related to humans whose population is much higher in Iyaelima territory than elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesula</span> Species of Old World monkey

The lesula is a species of Old World monkey in the guenon genus Cercopithecus, found in the Lomami Basin of the Congo. Though known to locals, it was unknown to the international scientific community until it was discovered in 2007 and confirmed in a 2012 publication. The lesula is the second new species of African monkey to be discovered since 1984. This monkey is described to have human looking eyes and a blue bottom “And adult males have a huge bare patch of skin in the buttocks, testicles and perianal area,” said John A. Hart, the researcher who described the monkey. “It’s a brilliant blue, really pretty spectacular.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Congolian swamp forests</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foa's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

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References

  1. ↑ "DRC declares first new national park in 40 years". Mongabay. 2016.
  2. ↑ Stanton, D. W. G.; Hart, J.; Galbusera, P.; Helsen, P.; Shephard, J.; Kümpel, N. F.; Wang, J.; Ewen, J. G.; Bruford, M. W. (2014). "Distinct and Diverse: Range-Wide Phylogeography Reveals Ancient Lineages and High Genetic Variation in the Endangered Okapi (Okapia johnstoni)". PLoS One. 9 (7): e101081. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101081 . PMC   4090074 . PMID   25007188.
  3. ↑ Hart, J. A.; Detwiler, K. M.; Gilbert, C. C.; Burrell, A. S.; Fuller, J. L.; Emetshu, M.; Hart, T. B.; Vosper, A.; Sargis, E. J. (2012). "Lesula: A new species of Cercopithecus monkey endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and implications for conservation of Congo's Central Basin". PLoS One. 7 (9): e44271. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044271 . PMC   3440422 . PMID   22984482.
  4. ↑ Kawamoto, Y.; Takemoto, H.; Higuchi, S.; Sakamaki, T.; Hart, J. A.; Hart, T. B.; Tokuyama, N.; Reinartz, G. E.; Guislain, P. (2013). "Genetic Structure of Wild Bonobo Populations: Diversity of Mitochondrial DNA and Geographical Distribution". PLoS One. 8 (3): e59660. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059660 . PMC   3609822 . PMID   23544084.
  5. ↑ "New Hope for Congolese Wildlife". Rain Forest Trust. Dem. Rep. of Congo. 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
  6. ↑ Hart, J. (2009). The Bushmeat Crisis in Maniema Province. A summary report on a project to control and monitor the commercial bushmeat chain supplying the city of Kindu (PDF) (Report). Lukuru Foundation.
  7. ↑ Turkalo, A. K.; Wrege, P. H.; Wittemyer, G. (2016). "Slow intrinsic growth rate in forest elephants indicates recovery from poaching will require decades". Journal of Applied Ecology. 54: 153–159. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12764 .
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