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Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative

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Dja Faunal Reserve

The Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative is the result of a long consultation between the World Heritage Center of UNESCO and various partners. This Initiative aims to improve the management of protected areas of the Congo Basin that could be recognized of "outstanding universal value" and to improve their integration in the ecological landscape encompassing them.

The Congo Basin harbors the second largest tropical forest area after the Amazonian Basin and shelters one of the greatest biological diversity of Africa. Conservation of this biodiversity is currently seriously threatened by an important and growing traffic of bushmeat. Hunting in this area is usually non-selective and illegal. It has been identified as one of the most significant threats to biodiversity conservation and thus to the sustainability of these ecosystems.

Despite growing reconnaissance of the importance of these forest areas by national governments, National Park authorities often face severe financial constraints. Signature of the Yaoundé Declaration in 1999 by most countries of the region testifies their will to improve this situation and act for improved sustainable management of these ecosystems. The CAWHFI Initiative, in collaboration with other members of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), integrates this dynamic and significantly contributes to several strategic orientations adopted by the Yaoundé Declaration.

Today, this Initiative is composed of two major components

CAWHFI's intervention sites

Protected areas of the Initiative are located in three distinct ecological landscapes of the Congo Basin: Tri-National Sangha (TNS), Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkebe (TriDOM), and the Gamba-Conkouati landscape.

A difference should be made between National Parks benefiting from the UNF-cofinanced component of CAWHFI and areas surrounding these National Parks where the FFEM components of CAWHFI are being implemented. These various sites are listed here-under according to the ecological landscape they are part of.

The Tri-national Sangha Landscape

  • Lobeke National Park (S.-E. Cameroon)
  • Dzanga-Sangha National Park (Central Africa Republic)
  • Nouabale-Ndoki National Park (Congo)
  • Kabo and Loundougou forest concessions surrounding the Nouabale Ndoki NP (Congo)
  • Sangha river banks between Pikounda (Congo)
  • Salo (Central Africa Republic)

The Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkebe Landscape (TriDOM)

  • Minkebe National Park (Gabon)
  • Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Congo)
  • Dja, Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks in South-East Cameroon
  • Forest concessions surrounding Boumba Bek and Nki National Park
  • Forest Corridor connecting Minkebe NP with Ivindo NP
  • Ngombe forest concession and surroundings of the Odzala-Kokoua NP

The Gamba-Conkouati Landscape

  • Gamba complex of protected areas (Gabon)
  • Mayumba National Park (Gabon)
  • Conkouati-Douli National Park (Congo)
  • Mandji forest concession surrounding the Gamba Complex of PA
  • Surroundings of the Conkouati-Douli NP and adjacent oil concessions.
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    Raising awareness on World Heritage

    Significant resources have been provided by CAWHFI to raise Gabonese citizens awareness on the importance of their natural and cultural heritage. Studies have been carried out to document the outstanding value on sites inscribed on the national tentative list for World Heritage inscription and greatly helped in developing the Lopé-Okanda nomination dossier. Joint efforts from Gabonese authorities and CAWHFI partners succeeded in obtaining the inscription of this mixed natural and cultural site on the World Heritage List on 28 June 2007, during the World Heritage Committee meeting held in Christchurch (New Zeeland).

Partners

Contacts

  • Cédric Hance (c.hance@unesco.org)

States parties

Sites

News

Geographical focus:

  • Africa

Strategic objectives:

  • conservation
  • capacity building