Central African Republic
Dzanga-Sangha Integrated Conservation and Development Project
OVERALL GOAL: The immense biodiversity of the Dzanga-Sangha forests is protected and form a
sustainable livelihood source for the indigenous Ba’Aka People.
CONTEXT
Ecological: The Dzanga-Sangha Project, initiated in 1981 in the Central African Republic (CAR), is
part of an extensive rain forest conservation project that includes the Lobeke National Park in
Cameroon and the Noubale Ndoki National Park in Congo. Dzanga-Sangha is composed of a Special
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Forest Reserve (3,159 km ) and a National Park (1,220 km ) that was gazetted in 1990. The area, one
of the richest in the world in terms of biological diversity, comprises three main ecosystems: wetlands,
moist evergreen rain forest, and semideciduous forest. The area supports large numbers of faunal
species of conservation interest, such as the forest elephant, bongo, lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, and
several monkey species.
Socioeconomic: The project area was traditionally occupied by hunter-gatherer societies, mainly
Ba’Aka, constituting the largest ethnic group among the some 6,000 people living in the project area.
Traditionally, the Ba’Aka People had a special social relationship with farming Bantu clans in which the
Ba’Akas provided bushmeat to the farmers in return for carbohydrate foods. The timber logging
industry has led to an influx of job seekers and the development of the main township in the project
area, Bayanga, with a population of 3,500 as of 2005. Timber logging and diamond mining constitute
CAR’s main sources of revenue, although safari hunting and nature tourism are also gaining
prominence as economic activities in the project area. Wildlife plays an important socioeconomic role,
contributing 30-40 percent of the annual meat consumption.
Institutional: The project is managed through an agreement between the Government of CAR,
working through two Ministries (Ministry of Environment & Tourism and Ministry of Forest, Hunting,
Fishing, and Water), and WWF. Funding sources for the project include WWF, World Bank, GTZ, and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The rich biological diversity of Dzanga-Sangha is threatened by habitat destruction resulting from
logging operations, rising human population, and increasing overexploitation of wildlife. These
developments are also resulting in increased marginalization of indigenous people. Wild meat is
increasingly being commercialized and traded at both provincial and national level. There is strong
evidence that harvest of many game species is not sustainable. Additionally, ivory poaching is on the
rise, and well-equipped poaching gangs have frequently entered the area. Illicit ivory trade with
neighboring countries has emerged which is facilitated by weak enforcement of the wildlife law in the
entire region. Furthermore, Dzanga-Sangha is a source area of the African grey parrot (Psittacus
erithacus), which is one of the most popular avian pets in Europe, the United States, and the Middle
East. Demand for wild parrots is also increasing in China, and increased presence of Chinese
businesses in central Africa (particularly for mining, oil and logging) may increase illegal exports of this
species.
GROUP WORK
Please discuss within your working group how you would engage on developing a Biodiversity Action
Plan. Fell free to use the attached (or any other) format to specify objectives and main activities in the
corresponding biodiversity areas 1, 2 and 2. Please check your objectives and activities against a set
of supporting measures that need to be in place to make your action plan operational. Additionally,
you may want to give some thoughts on developing several indicators for a biodiversity monitoring
plan. Please be prepared to feed back the results of your discussion to the class.
Malaysia
Sabah Terrestrial Species and Habitat Programme
OVERALL GOAL: Viable populations of global priority mammal species are maintained and thrive in
sustainably managed forested landscapes in Sabah.
CONTEXT
Ecological: Roughly 50% of Sabah’s land area was legislated in March 1984 as Forest Reserve and
State Park. Most of the Forest Reserves were - and still are - wood production forests, known as
Commercial Forest Reserves. Many of these Forest Reserves consists of logged (and in most areas,
damaged and degraded) lowland dipterocarp forests and freshwater swamp forests. Despite the often
degraded forests status, a total area of almost 13,500 km² of the Commercial Forest Reserves is vital
for conservation of species with extensive home ranges, such as Borneo orangutan, Asian elephant,
banteng, and Sumatran rhinoceros. However, migration and movement patterns of large mammals are
hampered by the fact that large areas of land outside the Forest Reserves have been allocated to
individuals and companies for plantation development (mainly oil palm).
Socioeconomic: Sabah has a very sharp division between land that is legislated as Commercial
Forest Reserve, Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (under State control, for purposes of natural resource
exploitation and conservation), and land which has title owned by individuals and companies (for
conversion of natural habitats to other uses). This fact has major implications on conservation of
terrestrial species and habitats. Essentially, government has passed immediate control of any land
which is not a Reserve, Park or Sanctuary, to private interests, and the expressed intention is not to
allow retention of natural habitat.´
Institutional: WWF is working collaboratively with oil palm companies, other NGOs and Sabah
Government Departments, such as Forestry Department and Wildlife Department to highlight the
importance of managing the forest sustainably and to ensure forest connectivity is maintained and
managed as a natural forest. WWF works closely with relevant Governmental bodies to prepare forest
management units for certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the development of a
forest restoration programme.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Intensive and repeated logging in the past few decades in Sabah has resulted in an extreme degree of
damage to the forest structure and to its capacity to regenerate naturally. Oil palm plantation
development throughout the last decades has fragmented the habitat for mammals with large home
ranges. Frequently, plantation workers without a proper hunting license set very large numbers of
animal traps. Snares are usually targeting deer, pigs, porcupines, civets and pheasants, and most are
set in Forest Reserves or Wildlife Sanctuary within a few hundred meters of the forest‐plantation edge.
However, such opportunistic form of illegal hunting also threatens endangered mammals. There is
also debate as to whether chemical substances to mitigate pests in the oil palm plantations do
negatively impact on forest biodiversity. The Sumatran rhino is on the edge of local extinction in Sabah
due to its low numbers. Very few remaining breeding females prevail, and without concerted
population management the Bornean subspecies will soon become extinct.
GROUP WORK
Please discuss within your working group how you would engage on developing a Biodiversity Action
Plan. Fell free to use the attached (or any other) format to specify objectives and main activities in the
corresponding biodiversity areas 1, 2 and 2. Please check your objectives and activities against a set
of supporting measures that need to be in place to make your action plan operational. Additionally,
you may want to give some thoughts on developing several indicators for a biodiversity monitoring
plan. Please be prepared to feed back the results of your discussion to the class.