Maiko National Park

Maiko National Park
*Parc national de la Maiko*
Maiko National Park; Parc national de la Maiko
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nearest city	Kisangani
Coordinates	0°24′S 27°34′E / 0.400°S 27.567°E
Area	10,885 km2 (4,203 sq mi)
Established	1970
Governing body	Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)
	WDPA 1080

Maiko National Park (

Province Orientale and Maniema. Three of the country's spectacular endemic animals occur here: the Grauer's gorilla, the okapi, and the Congo peafowl. Maiko is also an important site for the conservation of the African forest elephant, eastern chimpanzee and the endemic aquatic genet

.

Creation

In 1949, the

Joseph Désiré Mobutu

. This document asserted the Maiko National Park to be a full-fledged nature protection area.

The rebel problem

The roadless and inaccessible nature of the region made it ideal for some

Congolese army into guiding their attacks towards the Simba. Moreover, conservation work has also been hampered by the presence of rebels, culminating in capture and detainment of several survey crews between 2003 and 2005. At least three other rebels groups are known to be active in different parts of the park, among which the Rwandan Interahamwe in the east. Put together, these menaces leave absolutely no control over the park area by the ICCN

.

International conservation efforts

The first thorough exploration of the Maiko dates back to 1989, when the

European Community and the WWF, moved into the area and surveyed about 950 km of transect.^[1] WCS further surveyed the North Sector in 2005.^[2]

The Dian Fossey Gorilla fund conducted the first surveys of the southern sector of the park for over a decade in 2005, and documented a gorilla population more widespread than previously detected from previous studies.

WCS surveyed an additional block in the South Sector in 2006.[3] These surveys, combined revealed that Maiko is highly threatened yet supports an important reservoir of endemic and rare species.

A more recent survey focussed on the forests west and south of the park in 2010 ^[4] revealed that threats had intensified since 2005 and also documented the extinction of one of the new gorilla subpopulations documented in the 2005 surveys. All observations point out to the intense hunting pressure caused by miners and the widespread use of guns as serious threats to the remaining animal populations.

A new approach to conservation has been the implementation of compensation measures for Simbas willing to leave the Park. In 2010, FFI initiated the construction of health centers and schools in villages falling inside the zone of influence of the Simbas. The same year FZS launched an ambitious project aiming at turning the Simbas problem around by recruiting some of them as park rangers and allowing a de facto social reintegration which would directly benefit nature conservation in Maiko.

The southern end of the Maiko National Park.

References

^ Hart, J.A., and Sikubwabo, C., (1994). Exploration of the Maiko National park of Zaire 1989-1992. Working Paper No. 2. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York
^ Amisini, F., Grossmann, F., Hart, J., Kibambe, C., Nyembo, B. and Vyahavwa, C. (2005) Identifying conservation priorities for the recovery of the Maiko National Park: postconflict surveys of wildlife populations and human impact in the North Sector of the park. IMU Technical Report No. 4. Wildlife Conservation Society
^ Amisini, F., Grossmann, F., Hart, J., Kibambe, C., Nyembo, B. and Vyahavwa, C. (2006) Identifying conservation priorities for the recovery of the Maiko National Park: postconflict surveys of wildlife populations and human impact in the South Sector (Oso Block) of the park. IMU Technical Report No. 6. Wildlife Conservation Society
^ Nixon, S., (2010), Participatory Assessment of Grauer’s Eastern Gorilla and Other Wildlife in the Lubutu Sector of Maiko National Park and Adjacent Forests, Fauna and Flora International, Internal Report

External links

[1] Hart, J.A., and Sikubwabo, C., (1994). Exploration of the Maiko National park of Zaire 1989-1992. Working Paper No. 2. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York

[2] Amisini, F., Grossmann, F., Hart, J., Kibambe, C., Nyembo, B. and Vyahavwa, C. (2005) Identifying conservation priorities for the recovery of the Maiko National Park: postconflict surveys of wildlife populations and human impact in the North Sector of the park. IMU Technical Report No. 4. Wildlife Conservation Society

[3] Amisini, F., Grossmann, F., Hart, J., Kibambe, C., Nyembo, B. and Vyahavwa, C. (2006) Identifying conservation priorities for the recovery of the Maiko National Park: postconflict surveys of wildlife populations and human impact in the South Sector (Oso Block) of the park. IMU Technical Report No. 6. Wildlife Conservation Society

[4] Nixon, S., (2010), Participatory Assessment of Grauer’s Eastern Gorilla and Other Wildlife in the Lubutu Sector of Maiko National Park and Adjacent Forests, Fauna and Flora International, Internal Report

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