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305
ChAPTeR 21
LA k e Té L é -LA k e Tu M B A LA n d s C A P e
Land Use Planning
Sources: WCS, WWF, UMD-CARPE, OSFAC, FORAF, IUCN, Tom Patterson, US National Park Service.
Figure 21.1: Macro-zones in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape
Felin Twagirashyaka and Inogwabini Bila-Isia
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306
e Lake Télé – Lake Tumba Landscape en-
compasses 126,000 km2 in the Republic of Congo
(ROC) and the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). ere are currently two protected areas
in the Landscape: Lake Télé Community Reserve
(in ROC) with an area of 4,400 km2 created in
2001 and the Tumba-Lediima Natural Reserve (in
DRC) with an area of 7,500 km2 created in 2007.
In July 2007, government officials, COMI-
FAC representatives, Ramsar focal points, scien-
tists and members of the Landscape Consortium
met in Brazzaville to discuss the land use planning
process, focusing primarily on establishing a cross-
border agreement for landscape management and
on the Ramsar process to classify part of the Land-
scape as one of the world’s largest wetland sites. A
strategy with benchmarks was adopted and a draft
document for the bilateral agreement was devel-
oped.
an important part of the strategy for the land use
planning process because it provides an interna-
tional legal framework for a large portion of the
Landscape, which will be adopted in national
legislations in both DRC and ROC. Ramsar sites
have now been officially classified in both DRC
and ROC, but the inter-ministerial agreement
for the transboundary management of these sites
has been delayed. With 65,696 km2 of the Ram-
sar site in DRC alone, it will be the world’s largest
Ramsar site. e Landscape is currently divided
into 23 macro-zones including 4 proposed PAs,
13 CBNRMs and 6 ERZs. e boundaries of
the macro-zones will likely change as these areas
are poorly known and sites with high conserva-
tion value are still being identified. e survey
work is being conducted zone by zone, focusing
on empowering local communities to become
part of the planning teams (with special atten-
tion to women and marginalized groups).
Under Congolese law, the Lake Télé Com-
munity Reserve (LTCR) is a recognized protected
area. During participatory mapping of villages in
the LTCR, it was found that the community ter-
ritories of Bouanela and Dzeke villages overlap the
proposed Batanga PA. e community territories
of Moungouma-Bailly and Kinami village also
overlap the proposed Bailly PA. It is therefore
logical and, from a management perspective,
more efficient to propose an extension of the
limits of the existing PA (LTCR) to also include
these areas.
Bailly PA (proposed) and Batanga PA (proposed), ROC
Photo 21.2: Products from
harvesting, fishing and hunt-
ing co-exist in markets.
Photo 21.1: e vast expanses
of water and marshy mead-
ows provide a rich landscape.
Creating a transboundary Ramsar site in the
Landscape, spanning ROC and DRC, was deemed
© FRM
© WWF
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307
In the LTCR, all villages in the reserve were
mapped and community regulations allowing
the communities to manage their resources have
been drafted. Additionally, the mapping of com-
munity areas outside of LTCR, including the
Bailly zone and the southern Likouala-aux-herbes
(e.g., Moungouma-Moke and Ebambe) in the
Bouanéla CBNRM, has been finalized. Aware-
ness campaigns explaining landscape activities
and targeting local and regional authorities such
as the Préfet, the Sous Préfets and the Departmen-
tal Directors were conducted. ese authorities
have agreed to actively participate in the land use
planning, which is important for the success of
the process.
Lake Télé Protected Community Reserve, ROC
Planning sessions were organized between
ICCN and WWF to agree on the management
of the reserve. An agreement was reached to in-
clude local communities in the process of imple-
menting the management plan for the reserve. A
human occupational map documenting changes
in land occupation between 1986 and 2006 was
produced and will feed into the development of
the management plan. e map and on-going lo-
cal consultations will generate a management mo-
dus operandi between local communities and the
ICCN Management team.
Tumba-Lediima Reserve, DRC (IUCN cat. II)
Local Committees for the Management of
Natural Resources (LCMNR) have been created
for most of the villages surrounding the lake. e
LCMNR’s raison d’être is to constitute the plan-
ning group at a local level because there is a need
to train communities in advocacy and organiza-
tion. After the creation of these LCMNRs, the
second phase of the process was the selection
of pilot communities for the establishment of a
community based fisheries monitoring system
and organization of stakeholder groups to im-
prove the quality of post-harvest fish processing.
A general meeting, including both provincial and
territorial authorities, LCMNRs and other stake-
holders, was held in September – October 2008
to agree on the management of the lake. A draft
of the management plan was produced and is go-
ing through the approval process.
Lake Tumba ERZ (proposed), DRC
Photo 21.3: Fishing village
on the Ruki River.
Biological data have been collected and key
biodiversity areas identified. Some important bio-
diversity areas geographically overlapped with the
Bobangi, DRC CBNRM (proposed), indicating
the need to undertake a fine scale participatory
mapping exercise. Currently, negotiations are un-
der way with ICCN to conduct another assess-
ment, which will include the creation of LCM-
NRs and the drafting of a preliminary agreement
between ICCN and the local communities on the
appropriate ways to manage different micro-zones
within the PA.
Ngiri Biosphere Reserve (proposed), DRC (IUCN cat. II)
© Omari Ilambu
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308
SEBO (Société des Élevages du Bandundu Occidental) Grazing Concession
and Adjacent Forests ERZ (proposed), DRC
LCMNRs were created in villages located
within the SEBO grazing concessions. e LC-
MNR of Mpelu, Nkala, and Nko have met sev-
eral times and are now working, with critical in-
put from the NGO Mbou-Mon-Tour (MMT),
toward the implementation of a CBNRM in the
gallery forests of Nkala. WWF is helping to ne-
gotiate proper community land tenure of these
lands. Next steps include negotiations with the
territorial authorities as part of the planning pro-
cess, and the submission of an official request for
tenure, as required by the DRC forestry law.
Imese CBNRM (proposed) and Bomongo-Lubengo CBNRM (proposed), DRC
In both of these proposed CBNRMs, fine-
scale biological surveys were conducted and local
areas of biological importance were identified. Re-
Photo 21.4: A stand
of Terminalia along the river.
e top three commercial agricultural prod-
ucts in the ROC section of the Landscape are
cassava, Koko leaves and palm nuts. Data were
collected from the market of Epena, the district
capital, where cassava is sold in three forms: cas-
sava leaves, cassava flour and cassava baguette. e
leaves are the most abundantly sold at CFA 100
($ 0.09) for 1,200 g. Cassava flour (“le foufou”)
is sold in small plastic bags of 500g at CFA 100
($ 0.18). It is possible to get 1 sack of flour of
50 kg for CFA 8,000 ($ 14.5), if ordered in ad-
vance. e sale of agricultural products is done
exclusively by women. e cooked cassava ba-
Human Activities
sults of these surveys will inform the micro-zoning
process when the LCMNRs are developed.
guette is also exclusively made by women and is
derived from the cassava root which is pounded,
wrapped, and cooked in Marantacae leaves. e
2nd and 3rd most abundantly sold products in
the Epéna market are the leaves of Gnetum afri-
canum (“koko”) which are gathered in the forest,
and palm nuts, respectively. In the DRC part of
the Landscape, the most common commercial ag-
ricultural products are: palm oil which is sold in
containers of 25 liters, bananas which is sold in
bunches or “régimes” and peanuts which are sold
in 80-kg sacks
Bushmeat data were collected in the villages
of Mokengui, Koundoumou and Dzéké (ROC).
e top three commercialized species are dwarf
crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), monkeys (Cer-
copithecus sp. ) and red river hog (Potamocherus
porcus). e prices vary between $ 10 and $ 15
for an entire dwarf crocodile; between $ 3 and $
5 for a monkey and $ 6 and $ 9 for a quarter of
red river hog. Bushmeat is mostly exported to Im-
pfondo and Brazzaville. Other species found on
the market are sitatunga, duiker, and turtle. In the
ROC part of the Landscape there is also a high
consumption of fish, with Clarias and Parachana
being the most commercialized species. In DRC,
the products which are most sold are red river
hog, monkeys and sitatunga at Mbandaka mar-
ket. e prices vary from $ 22 for a monkey to $
111 for a red river hog.
© WWF
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309
Table 21.1a: Important agricultural products in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape
Agricultural product Unit Purchase
price/unit ($)
Primary
destinations
Date Data collection Sources
Town of Mbandaka
Palm oil Can
(25 l)
8.88 Mbandaka May-05 Household and
market interviews
Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study, 2006
Banana Whole
bunch
4.00 Mbandaka May-05 Household and
market interviews
Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study, 2006
Peanuts Sack
(80 kg)
111.11 Mbandaka May-05 Household and
market interviews
Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study, 2006
CBNRM Lake Télé, markets of Epéna and Dzeke
Cassava leaves (Mani-
hot esculenta)
1,200 g 0.09 Epena Apr-07 Market surveys Otto et al., 2007
Cassava meal (Manihot
esculenta)
500 g 0.18 Epena Apr-07 Market surveys Otto et al., 2007
Cassava stick (Manihot
esculenta)
50 g 0.18 Epena Apr-07 Market surveys Otto et al., 2007
Table 21.1b: Bushmeat trade in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape
Bushmeat species Unit Purchase
price/unit
($)
Primary
destinations
Date Data collection Sources
Mbandaka
Red river hog (Nsombo,
Potamocherus porcus)
Whole 111.44 Mbandaka May-05 Market survey Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study,
2006
Monkey (non specified) Whole 22.22 Mbandaka May-05 Market survey Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study,
2006
Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei) Packet
of 3
111.11 Mbandaka May-05 Market survey Lake Tumba
socioeconomic study,
2006
Village of Dzeke (CBNRM Lake Télé)
Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus
tetraspis)
Whole 14.55 Dzeke Jun-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Spot-nosed guenon (Cercopithecus
nictitans)
Whole 3.64 Dzeke Feb-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Red river hog (Potamocherus
porcus)
Quarter
(gigot)
9.09 Dzeke Jun-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Village of Koundoumu (CBNRM Lake Télé), periphery of the Reserve
Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus
tetraspis)
Whole 9.09 Koundoumou Jun-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Caterpillar (Chenille) Cook-
ing pot
0.18 Koundoumou Aug-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Red river hog (Potamocherus
porcus)
Piece 1.09 Koundoumou Mar-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Village of Mokengui (periphery of the LTCR)
Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus
tetraspis)
Whole 12.73 Mokengui Aug-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Spot-nosed guenon (Cercopithecus
nictitans)
Whole 3.64 Mokengui Aug-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
Red river hog (Potamocherus
porcus)
Quarter 6.36 Mokengui Jun-07 Household surveys Otto et al., 2007
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310
Human Density and Distribution in the Landscape
ere have been no major changes in human
density and distribution since the 2006 SOF re-
port, except that the United Nations High Com-
mission for Refugees (UNHCR) has repatriated
a large number of the refugees in DRC, which
might have impacts on the distribution of the
population in the Landscape.
e main activities in the Landscape remain
fishing and agriculture. Small-scale trade is prac-
ticed by migrant women from Brazzaville who
come to buy fish and bushmeat. Below are the
activities as reported from the 2007 census. e
concession in Maboula Mbondo is now active in
the ROC section.
Photo 21.5: Piroques made
from tree trunks are an im-
portant form of transporta-
tion in the Landscape.
Table 21.2: Principal activities for the populations of 27 villages of the Lake Télé
Community Reserve
Activity % main activity % secondary activity
Men Women Men Women
Farming (agriculture) 15.07 83.96 45.17 26.31
Fishing 57.20 8.84 26.38 55.63
Hunting 9.71 0.21 8.49 0
Traditional activities 3.11 0.79 13.19 4.13
Crafts 10.86 0.68 3.31 0.35
Cattle 0.07 0 0.62 0
Small trade 3.97 5.52 2.83 13.58
Source: Otto et al., 2007.
Direct reats
ere are three main direct threats to sustain-
able management of the Lake Télé – Lake Tumba
Landscape: commercial hunting, refugees in the
Landscape and roads.
Soldiers visiting the region while on holiday
usually bring in weapons which are then given to
the local population to hunt for the soldiers. e
meat is then transported by boats to Brazzaville.
In the northeast of the Landscape (ROC),
refugees from DRC living in the villages adjacent
to the Oubangui River are poaching intensively.
Ivory and meat are transported by boat to be sold
in Impfondo and Brazzaville. Additionally, the
refugees have developed intensive agriculture in
the forest along the river; the consequence is se-
vere degradation of the ecosystem in the area.
In the western part of the reserve, roads and
agricultural paths are being opened which creates
easy access to the forest for hunters, and facilitates
the transportation of bushmeat.
© WWF
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311
Forest Cover
Sources: SDSU, UMD-CARPE, NASA, SRTM, IUCN, FORAF.
Figure 21.2: Composite Landsat satellite image of the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape
overlain with 1990 to 2000 forest loss (in red) and 2000 to 2005 forest loss (in orange)
Table 21.3: Forest cover and forest loss in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape from 1990 to 2005
Forest area Forest loss
Landscape area 1990
(km²)
2000
(km²)
2005
(km²)
1990-2000
(km²)
1990-2000
(%)
2000-2005
(km²)
2000-2005
(%)
130,710 100,285 99,366 99,177 919 0.92 189 0.19
Forest cover and forest cover loss are derived from Landsat and MODIS satellite data.
Sources: SDSU, UMD-CARPE, NASA.
With around 1 % of forest loss, the rate of for-
est loss was high between 1990 and 2000 in the
Landscape. However, the net loss in forest cover
went down to about 0.2 % between 2000 and
2005. Most forest cover changes occurred in the
southern part of the Landscape in the DRC seg-
ment where most of the logging concessions are
located. Overall, swamps prevented forest cover
losses because logging activities are difficult to un-
dertake and prohibitively expensive in such inun-
dated and/or seasonally inundated habitat. Fire is
also apparent in all the Landscape, particularly in
the forest-savanna mosaics and along major riv-
ers. Fire is used as a management tool for raising
cattle (especially in the DRC segment). e de-
crease in forest cover lost between 2000 and 2005
may reflect the impact of the moratorium that
was imposed on allocations of new concessions
in the DRC.
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312
Large Mammal and Human Impact Monitoring
Sources: WCS, WWF, UMD-CARPE, OSFAC, FORAF.
Figure 21.3: Biological surveys conducted in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape
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313
Table 21.4a: Biological survey results for the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape, DRC segment
Survey Site name Survey date Total km
of recces
Number
of
transects
Other Elephant
presence
Elephant
dung pile
encounter
rate
(N/km)
Ape
presence
Ape nest
group
encounter
rate
(N/km)
Ape nest
group
density
(N/km²)
Human sign
(N/km)
1 Mbala-
Dokese
May 05-
Feb 06
324 75 Yes 0.14 Pan
paniscus
0.27 Snares =
0.54
2 Ngombe-
Botuali
May 05-
Feb 07
3 Botuali-
Ilombe
May 05-
Feb 08
Pan
paniscus
0.27
4 Malebo-
Nguomi
May 05-
Feb 09
Pan
paniscus
2.2
5 Bomongo -
Lubengo
May 05-
Feb 10
111 12 Yes Pan
troglodytes
0.019 Hunting
camps =
0.020
6 Imese May 05-
Feb 11
111 15 Yes 0.018 Pan
troglodytes
0.009 Hunting
camps =
0.032
6 Imese May 05-
Feb 13
61 10 No Pan
troglodytes
0.041 Hunting
camps =
0.027
7 Bolombo-
Losombo
May 05-
Feb 12
Pan
paniscus
0.057
8 SEBO
grazing zone
2006-
2008
Presence-
absence using
McKenzie occu-
pancy models
Major trails
= 0.22
8 South of the
SEBO
grazing zone
2006-
2008
148 6 Presence-
absence using
McKenzie occu-
pancy models
Yes 0.038 Pan
paniscus
1.02 Hunting
camps =
0.019
1-5, 7-8) Inogwabini et al., 2007; 6) Biological inventory in the north of Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape (DRC segment);-10) Large mammals inventory in the south of the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba
Landscape (DRC segment).
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314
Table 21.4b: Biological survey results for the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape, Congo segment
Survey Site name Survey
date
Total
km of
recces
Num-
ber of
transects
Total
km of
transects
Elephant
presence
Elephant
dung pile en-
counter rate
(N/km)
Elephant dung
pile density (N/
km²)
Ape
pres-
ence
Ape nest
group
encounter
rate (N/
km)
Ape nest group
density (N/km²)
Human sign
(N/km)
1 Bailly Jan-
May 06
341 24 48 Yes 2.68 ± 2.57 432.44 ± 416.4 Yes 0.65 ±
0.33
26.6 ± 13.58 0.75 ± 0.09
2 Lake Télé
mixed
forest
Jan-
May 06
117 21 42 Yes 0.07 ± 0.20 11.49 ± 31.7 Yes 0.66 ±
0.73
26.65 ± 29.36 1.07 ± 0.33
3 Lake Télé
swamp
forest
Jan-
May 06
132 17 34 Yes 0.06 ± 0.17 9.47 ± 16.4 Yes 1.06 ±
0.62
42.88 ± 25.42 0.71 ± 0.60
4 and
5
Lake Télé
Terra
Firma
Jan-
May 06
55 15 30 No 0 0 Yes 1.30 ±
0.88
52.64 ± 35.91 0.5 ± 0.27
6 Batanga Mar-
Apr-07
118 21 42 Yes 1.1 ± 4.12 176.43±
[40.75;763.85]
Yes 4.64 ±
5.88
217.29 ±
[120.23-392.68]
0.10 ± 0.26
7 Impfondo Mar-
Apr 08
139 22 44 Yes 0.52 ± 1.42 Yes 1.25 ±
1.26
83.9
±
[48.62;144.799]
0.11 ± 0.38
1) Iyenguet et al., 2006; 2, 3, 4 and 5) Malanda et al., 2006; 6) Malanda et al., 2007; 7) Iyenguet et al., 2008.
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315
Table 21.5: Population of bonobos (Pan paniscus) in selected sites in the eastern
part (DRC) of the Lake Télé – Lake Tumba Landscape.
Group size Group composition
Site 2006 2008 Male Females Juveniles Babies
Nkala 40 53 15 20 10 8
Mpelu 23 25 * * * 2
Edzaengo 20 20 * * * *
Tsieli * 15 * * * *
Lenga * 25 * * * 3
Source: WWF Lake Tumba Project – Technical Progress Report 2008.
An overall fine-scale survey was conducted
in the northern part of the Landscape and has
provided critical information about chimpanzees
in the region and in the region of the Bomongo-
Lubengo proposed CBNRM, DRC. In addition,
during this same period, the project has initi-
ated a wildlife-domestic livestock interaction and
health monitoring component, which is in its
early stages.
Photo 21.6: Waterways repre-
sent a primary transportation
network throughout much of
the Congo Basin.
ably due to the fact that the local communities are
not targeting great apes in their hunting activi-
ties. e area of highest great ape potential (based
upon the abundance of Raphia and an herbaceous
coverage of Cyperacae which are preferred great
ape food items) is in the Batanga zone proposed
PA, ROC.
In the DRC Landscape segment, elephants
were monitored through a pre-established net-
work of elephant trails in the region of Malebo.
As shown in Figure 21.4, the use of trails by el-
ephants significantly decreased between 2007 and
2008.
In the ROC the monitoring results from the
surveys between 2006 and 2008 show that the
number of the great apes remains constant, prob-
In the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape the
trend is that populations of great apes remain
constant or are increasing slightly. In the eastern
part of the Landscape in DRC, the data gathered
from the bonobo habituation program indicates
an increase in the number of individuals of the
three monitored groups, as shown in the table
21.5. e group at Nkala has increased by 32 %
since 2006. Despite this increase, there was evi-
dence of bonobo hunting for bushmeat in the re-
gion of the Malebo proposed ERZ, DRC.
Site mais_2007 juin_2008
P1 0,54 0,38
P2 0,360,6
P3 0,63 0
P4 0,29 0
P5 0,5 0
P6 1,380,4
P7 3 0,95
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
3,5
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7
Trail frequentaon for 7 days
Trail number
2007
2008
Frequency of trail use by elephants in the region of
Malebo (DRC)
Source: WWF Lake Tumba Project – Technical Progress Report 2008.
Figure 21.4: Frequency of trail use by elephants in the region of Malebo (DRC).
© Alejandra Colom
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316
In the ROC, the elephants are more localized
in the periphery of the LTCR (Batanga proposed
PA, Bailly proposed PA) and the Impfondo pro-
posed CBNRM, ROC. A small population that
was found inside the reserve by Poulsen and Clark
(2002) was almost decimated when there was an
increase in human traffic along the rivers in the
south, which included the arrival of a large num-
ber of automatic weapons from recent war activi-
ties. e remaining elephant population is cur-
rently found in the swamp forests near the center
of the reserve.
Human Signs
In the DRC, snares are mostly found in the
Mbala-Dokese proposed ERZ. In the other sur-
veyed areas, the human signs found were mostly
hunting camps.
In the ROC, especially the eastern part of the
LTCR and Bailly, there is moderate human en-
croachment because of proximity to villages, and
especially the settlements and fishing camps along
the rivers, which, in many cases, are transformed
into hunting camps. In contrast, there is only one
village in the entire Batanga zone proposed PA,
ROC.
Special Interest
At 126,000 km2, the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba
Landscape is Africa’s largest wetland and is made
up mostly of swamp forest. Until the 1990s, these
forests were believed to have relatively few large
mammals because of the flooded nature of the
region. ree endangered great ape species oc-
cur in DRC and ROC, western lowland gorillas
(Gorilla g. gorilla), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
and bonobos (Pan paniscus), and all three can be
found in the swamp forests of the Lake Télé -
Lake Tumba.
Until recently, the Lake Télé Community Re-
serve (LTCR) in the western part of the Land-
scape was the sole protected area in the Land-
scape. In 2001, WCS estimated a population of
over 13,000 gorillas and 3,000 chimpanzees in
the 4,400 km2 reserve. In the DRC portion of
the Landscape where bonobos occur, no surveys
to estimate their abundance or distribution had
ever been attempted.
In 2007, WCS carried out additional surveys
in the periphery of the LTCR to determine the
value of swamp forests for great apes. As a result,
several very important and previously unknown
populations of gorillas were identified. e area
surveyed included 1,029 km2 in the south east of
the LTCR. e density of gorilla was estimated
there at 5.72 gorillas/km2 (2.97 – 11.05). A less
conservative analysis produced an estimate of 7.90
gorillas/km2 (4.34 - 14.39). ese are the highest
recorded densities of great apes in Central Africa.
us swamp forests in ROC could hold a very
large proportion of the world’s remaining gorilla
population and be vital for long term gorilla con-
servation. As these forests are very difficult to pen-
etrate and the timber quality is poor; they provide
natural protection for the swamp gorillas.
In DRC, the bonobos were surveyed and
the main populations were found in the south
of the Lake Tumba and in the west of the Lake
Mai Ndombe. e largest population was found
at Malebo-Nguomi with an estimate of 2,300
bonobos, exhibiting the highest ever recorded
mean density for this species (2.2 individuals/
km2, within the margins of 1.8 – 3.4 individu-
als/km2) (Inogwabini et al., 2007). As a result of
these findings, the DRC government decided to
protect the area and ensure conservation for the
species by creating the Tumba-Lediima Natural
Reserve, an area of 7,500 km2.
High Density of Great Apes in Africa’s Largest Wetland
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