Kahuzi-Biéga National Park

Coordinates: 2°30′0″S 28°45′0″E / 2.50000°S 28.75000°E / -2.50000; 28.75000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Kahuzi-Biega National Park
)
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
Park entrance
Map showing the location of Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
Map showing the location of Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
Location within the Democratic Republic of the Congo
LocationDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates2°30′0″S 28°45′0″E / 2.50000°S 28.75000°E / -2.50000; 28.75000
Area6,000 km2 (1,500,000 acres)
Established1970
Governing bodyl'Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)
TypeNatural
Criteriax
Designated1980 (4th session)
Reference no.137
RegionAfrica
Endangered1997–present

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (French: Parc national de Kahuzi-Biega) is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border. Established in 1970 by the Belgian photographer and conservationist Adrien Deschryver, the park is named after two dormant volcanoes, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega, which are within its limits. With an area of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi), Kahuzi-Biega is one of the biggest national parks in the country. Set in both mountainous and lowland terrain, it is one of the last refuges of the rare species of Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), an endangered category under the IUCN Red List. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1980 for its unique biodiversity of rainforest habitat and its eastern lowland gorillas. In 1997, it was listed on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the political instability of the region, an influx of refugees, and increasing wildlife exploitation.[1]

Geography

Map The park lies west of the Bukavu town in

Kahuzi (3,308 m (10,853 ft)) and Biéga (2,790 m (9,150 ft)).[2]

The park receives an average annual precipitation of 1,800 mm (71 in). The maximum temperature recorded in the area is 18 °C (64 °F) while the minimum is 10.4 °C (50.7 °F).[4]

Legal status

The earliest reserve, Zoological and Forest Reserve of Mount Kahuzi, was created on 27 July 1937 by the then Governor General of the Belgian Colonial administration.

Gorilla beringei graueri.[3]

Biodiversity

An Eastern lowland gorilla in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park

The park has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. As of a survey conducted in 2003 by the Wildlife Conservation Society, it protects roughly 349 species of birds and 136 species of mammals.[3] Over 1,178 plant species have been observed in the highland regions of the park alone.[3] Because of its varied topography and habitat types, Kahuzi-Biega National Park is also a hotspot of plants and vertebrate endemism for.[3]

Flora

The park's swamps, bogs, marshland and

subalpine heather.[3] The montane rain forests are part of the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion.[6] Mountain and swamp forest grows between 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), bamboo forest grows between 2,350 metres (7,710 ft) and 2,600 metres (8,500 ft), and the summits of Mounts Kahuzi and Biéga above 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) have subalpine heather, dry savannah, and grasslands, as well as the endemic plant Senecio kahuzicus.[3][7]

Fauna

The national park protects a greater diversity of mammal species than any other national park in the Albertine Rift.[3] Among the 136 species of mammals identified in the park, the eastern lowland gorilla is the most prominent. According to a 2008 status report of the DR of Congo, the park had 125 lowland gorillas, a marked reduction from the figure of 600 gorillas of the pre-1990's conflict period, and consequently the species has been listed in the endangered list. The park is the last refuge of this rare species.[8] According to the census survey of eastern lowland gorillas reported by the Wildlife Conservation Society in April 2011, at least 181 gorillas were recorded in the park.[9]

Other primates include the

endemic to the Congo Basin: the aquatic genet and the giant forest genet.[3]

Of the 349 bird species identified within the park, at least 42 of them are

African green broadbill (Pseudocalyptomena graueri), and the Rockefeller's sunbird (Nectarinia rockefelleri).[3]

The species of fauna listed under the IUCN Red List as threatened include:[3]

The species of fauna listed under the IUCN Red List as least concern or near threatened include:[3]

A 2020 survey of the freshwater fish in the park and its three drainage basins identified 147 species, 11 of which were found to be endemic to the Lowa River basin, and 7 of which were previously undescribed.[10] Cyprinidae was by far the largest family represented.

Conservation

The park, under the management of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, has a basic management and surveillance structure. However, the park's 1975 expansion, which included inhabited lowland areas, resulted in forced evacuations with about 13,000 people of the tribal community of Shi, Tembo and Rega affected and refusing to leave.[3] Cooperation by the communities living around the park and employment of the Twa people to enforce park protection was pursued by the park authorities. In 1999 a plan was developed to protect the people and the resources of the park.[11]

In a survey conducted between 2015 and 2016, the national park rangers reported a low level of satisfaction with the job, highlighting low salaries, lack of support from the authorities, and poor living conditions.[12]

Illegal artisanal mining of Coltan happens in the park, thus damaging the deep forest cover.[13]

See also

  • World Heritage Sites in Danger

References

  1. ^ Debonnet, G. & Hillman-Smith, K. (2004). "Supporting protected areas in a time of political turmoil: the case of World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Parks. 14 (1): 9–16.
  2. ^ a b c Barume 2000, p. 68-.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Kahuzi-Biega National Park". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b Barume 2000, p. 68.
  5. ^ Barume 2000, p. 70.
  6. ^ a b "Kahuzi-Biega National Park". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 22 March 2022. [1]
  7. ISBN 1856497577
    .
  8. ^ "Kahuzi-Biega National Park". World Heritage Site Organization. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Gorillas surviving against the odds in Kahuzi-Biega". Gorilla Organization. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  10. ISSN 0022-1112
    .
  11. ^ Barume 2000, pp. 72–77.
  12. ISSN 0030-6053
    .
  13. ^ Diaz-Struck and Poliszuk 2012

Further reading

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kahuzi-Biéga_National_Park&oldid=1212145044"