Garamba National Park, DRC

Community Involvement

Eight community personnel have been recruited, trained and deployed in villages to work directly with the community and an ICCN warden now heads the Community Conservation Department. Between December 2005 and June 2006 Fauna and Flora International established six community conservation (CoCo) projects, which were financed jointly by African Parks. The CoCo department created a "Comité de dialogue” which consists of members of Garamba's administration board, the head of the CoCo department and the three "Chefs de chefferie” (traditional authorities) which surround the park. Territory administrators, members of other local NGOs and civil society representatives also attend these meetings.

Garamba's community conservation approach encompasses environmental education and community involvement in projects aimed at safety and security, as well as the improvement of living conditions. Four main areas are focused on:

· Education

· Health

· Agro-forestry-pastoral

· Infrastructure

Health

Garamba National Park supports the Nagero hospital/clinic. The doctor and four nurses working in this hospital treat over 200 patients monthly. Projects supported include the procurement of medical supplies and equipment which enable hospital staff to preform surgeries and laboratory analysis on site. Park staff and their families receive medical care and medicine free of charge, while people in the surrounding community receive free consultation and medicines at purchase price.

Due to the high demand for medical care in the region, the construction of a second hospital is underway and will be completed in early 2012. It will have all the necessary equipment and facilities such as an operating room, maternity ward, pharmacy and laboratory.

Education

Environmental education in schools began with the assistance of a Congolese volunteer, Prisca Biwaga, and was an immediate success. Twenty schools were selected and more than 6,500 school children have received environmental education through education sessions, brochures, films and documentaries. A truck was purchased as part of a guided school visit programme in which children are brought to the park to experience it first-hand. Many of these children have no knowledge of the wildlife in the park and these educational trips have proved immensely popular.

The environmental awareness programme has been designed not only to educate neighbouring communities, but also to inform dignitaries, opinion makers, NGOs and Governmental authorities. This is achieved by making use of the local radio station. A radio frequency specifically set up to discourage LRA activity has granted Garamba one hour airtime per day to discuss conservation issues.

Infrastructure

Community representatives have pointed to the lack of road infrastructure as a major hindrance to community development. As such, African Parks has commenced a substantial road rehabilitation project between Faradje (the closest town to the park) and Nagero with significant involvement from the local community.

Several other community infrastructure projects have been completed since African Parks' involvement in Garamba. A shop has been constructed which supplies goods to Garamba workers at a reasonable price. A school and an office have been built and three boreholes have been sunk to provide clean drinking water and better sanitation.

Agro-forestry-pastoral

Programmes in agriculture, apiculture, fish farming, reforestation, livestock and plant and animal health products have been set up and are continually maintained and strengthened.

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During a devastating attack on park headquarters by the Lord's Resistance Army in 2009, several towns and villages in the region were also attacked, causing the destruction of houses and property and the displacement of many people. Due to the inaccessibility of the region and the severity of the security situation, aid agencies are not very active in the Tadu-Faradje area around Nagero. As a result, the resources available to the community conservation programme in 2009 were used to help the local population recover from these attacks through the provision of food, medicine and clothing. Efforts to link with the community were severely disrupted due to the large number of people displaced during the attack, but normal operations resumed in 2011. As a goodwill gesture, African Parks also paid $20,000 in grants to families of the victims of the LRA attacks.