Conserving the Congo Basin: 35 Years of Field Work in Central Africa
Wed, Sep16, 2020 1:00 PM MT / 3:00 PM ET
Remote, little visited and challenging to access, Central Africa is home to a tremendous diversity of species under pressure from growing human populations. From coastal Gabon to the Congo rainforest, this region has been the focus for two WWF conservationists who have invested 35 years toward its protection. WWF Africa experts Allard Blom and Bas Huijbregts discuss their work in some of Africa’s most extraordinary wild realms. Allard was instrumental in establishing Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lopé National Park in Gabon. In Dzanga-Sangha in the Central African Republic, he initiated sustainable funding including a tri-national trust fund and a successful tourism program with habituated western lowland gorillas. Bas conducted surveys that would lead to the creation of Minkebe National Park in Gabon, home to the world’s densest population of forest elephants. After two decades in the Congo Basin, Bas became African Species Director for WWF’s Wildlife Conservation Program. Join Allard and Bas to learn about their challenges and triumphs in these critical wildlife habitats.
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