By Lucas Meers | Program Officer
During the past 18 months, joint wildlife ranger and army patrols removed 15,000 miners from the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, but illegal mining for gold and diamonds continues to affect the wildlife through poaching for bushmeat and the presence of large numbers of people in the forest which causes wildlife to disperse. Most of the miners come from outside the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and immigration control at the borders of the Reserve have been reinforced and the road through the Reserve is closed at night.
The 49 new recruits continue to settle in and are conducting regular patrols into the previously unpatrolled northern sector risking their lives to protect the forest and the animals that inhabit it.
In the past 3 months, over 39% of the Reserve was covered by patrols (4,200 km) with 22 miners and 8 poachers arrested and 20 illegal mines evacuated and closed. With the arrests and closures of illegal mines, the rangers also confiscated all mining equipment and any remaining bushmeat in the camps.
The gracious support from around the world makes this challenging work and the protection of the stronghold of okapi in DRC possible. Thank you!
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