Help Stop Slash and Burn Farming in the Congo

By providing families around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve with the resources to support sustainable agricultural we are protecting the okapi’s natural rainforest habitat while assisting the communities that call the area home. By only using designated agricultural zones combined with strategies that lengthen the life of the soil, communities can avoid the slash-and-burn agricultural methods that destroy large swaths of the rainforest while gaining increased harvest yields through better farming practices.

This quarter we have continued to distribute seeds from five sites around the Reserve benefitting 774 farmers across the region. A grand total of 23,331 seedlings and 1,525 trees were planted during the third quarter this year. Sixteen new vegetable gardens were set up, adding an additional 71 households across five sites to our program. The main harvests included rice, beans, and peanuts providing a sustainable dietary resource for the communities.

Our efforts in creating sustainable agricultural have been so popular with the local community that they have attracted some unwanted attention from local wildlife and intruders in Mambasa. To thwart these raids, the nursery constructed new fencing and gate that now secure the property.

International Tree Day will continue to be celebrated this year, with saplings being distributed to children to plant around their school. These trees provide much-needed shade from the tropical heat as well as wildlife corridors for local animals to enjoy.

Programs like these establish long-term solutions to agroforestry for the region, empowering people and allowing them to become self-sustaining. It also gives them the opportunity to participate in the conservation of their environment while still providing for their families. The protection of the okapi and aid provided to local villages is only possible through the funding of our generous donors like you. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you in the new year!

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Slash-and-burn farming is the main threat to okapi habitat throughout its range. Okapi need large, undisturbed tracts of lush forest in order to survive and reproduce. To decrease the prevalence of slash-and-burn agriculture within the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR), Okapi Conservation Project provides the tools, supplies and education needed to create a more sustainable farming practices that helps to both extend the life of the soil by up to 10 years and establish food security needed in an area where food access is difficult. By teaching these practices to local communities, we increase their capacity to grow their own food while preventing incursions into critical okapi habitat. With these actions combined, we are protecting okapi habitat. This program is currently hosted in five regions in and around the OWR including Mambasa, Niania, Wamba, Biakato and Epulu.

During this quarter over 23500 seedlings were distributed consisting of over 9700 nitrogen-fixing trees that put nutrients back into the soil, 70 agroforestry trees, nearly 1400 fruit-bearing trees and over 12,400 multi-purpose trees. These seedlings were propagated by seed collected in the region and grown in our OCP nurseries in each of the 5 areas. These sites are monitored by our knowledgable agronomes. In addition to providing seedlings to 870 farmers, OCP staff also distributed much-needed supplementary tools to plant the trees in each area. They donated 38 machetes, 21 hoes and more in order to mend the soil and plant the trees. 

By providing these seedlings and tools to the local people, there have been no incursions by farming into critical okapi habitat. This is a testament to the success of the program which provides a direct need for the communities and, in turn, reduces their impact on the surrounding forest.

This longstanding and successful program is only possible with the support of wonderful donors like you! We thank you for your continued support - especially working in such a difficult corner of the world for an animal that is rarely seen. 

Links:

• Visit our website