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[Uniquement en Anglais] Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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 [Uniquement en Anglais]

In 2000, UNESCO and the United Nation's Foundation, set-up an innovator project "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict : Conserving World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo". This pilot project of conservation of natural heritage in war times, was launched for four years.

UNESCO, ICCN, a range of international NGOs as well as the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) jointly executed the US$2.9 million dollar project. The UNF Project, approved in November 1999 - a time when most other donors did not want to invest in DRC or were pulling out -has been critical to UNESCO World Heritage Centre, NGOs and ICCN holding the battle-lines from advancing too fast to destroy biodiversity and obliterate protected areas. The Government of Belgium was the first to join forces with the UNF Project, providing 300,000 Euros over four-years beginning in 2000 for community-support activities for conservation in and around the five World Heritage sites.

Since then, further interest on the achievements of the UNESCO/UNF/DRC Project has been building and possibilities of future support by the European Union, the World Bank (through the Global Environment Facility) and the German Government for Virunga, Kahuzi-Biega, Garamba and Salonga appear real. The UNF and the Government of Belgium, continue to provide encouragement through considerations of additional support for staff and project co-ordination Within the framework of the Congo Basin Initiative, launched at the Johannesburg Summit in August 2002, many projects have been launched sustaining conservation of World Heritage Sites in DRC. UNESCO, World Heritage Centre, ICCN and NGO partners agree that the time may be ripe for taking UNESCO's efforts to build partnerships for World Heritage conservation in DRC to a new level.

Project Strategy

A two level strategy is followed. On an international level, political support for the conservation of the sites is gathered at all pertinent governmental levels within the Democratic Republic of Congo and within neighbouring states involved in the ongoing conflict. To do that, information is gathered on the state of conservation of the sites through the setting up of a monitoring programme. On the local level, direct support to conservation activities in the sites is provided, mainly targeted at the park rangers who currently receive no national salaries but have demonstrated their determination to assure protection of the sites. A special focus is put on increasing of the capacity of field staff to assure key park management operations under the present difficult conditions.

Partenaires

Contacts

  • Guy Debonnet (g.debonnet@unesco.org)
  • Yvette Kaboza (y.kaboza@unesco.org)

Etats parties

Sites

Actualités

Zone géographique :

  • Afrique