Wamba, Luo Reserve
Encyclopedia
Wamba is a village in the Luo Scientific Reserve, Tshuapa District
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
.
It is inhabited by Bongando people.
The reserve is home to bonobo
s, threatened due to hunting.
The 150 square kilometres (57.9 sq mi) Wamba forest is home to an important population of bonobo
s.
In the past, the local people co-existed with the bonobos and had taboos against eating bushmeat. These have broken down as villagers were forced to hide in the forest during two civil wars. By 2005 an area that once held 300 bonobos now held just 22, with a serious risk of extinction.
Under the the Bonobo Conservation Initiative
, a reforestation project is planned for the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape
in an attempt to counter the destruction of bonobo habitat and increase areas where the bonobo are protected. 5000 hectares (12,355.3 acre) will be replanted, forming corridors to link existing patches of forest, with the project funded by sale of carbon credit
s.
Tshuapa District
Tshuapa District is a district located in the Équateur province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
It is inhabited by Bongando people.
The reserve is home to bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
s, threatened due to hunting.
The 150 square kilometres (57.9 sq mi) Wamba forest is home to an important population of bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
s.
In the past, the local people co-existed with the bonobos and had taboos against eating bushmeat. These have broken down as villagers were forced to hide in the forest during two civil wars. By 2005 an area that once held 300 bonobos now held just 22, with a serious risk of extinction.
Under the the Bonobo Conservation Initiative
Bonobo Conservation Initiative
The Bonobo Conservation Initiative is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. and the Democratic Republic of the Congo that promotes conservation of the bonobo and its habitat in the tropical forests of the Congo Basin....
, a reforestation project is planned for the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape
Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape
The Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape is an ecologically sensitive landscape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the Maringa / Lopori basin....
in an attempt to counter the destruction of bonobo habitat and increase areas where the bonobo are protected. 5000 hectares (12,355.3 acre) will be replanted, forming corridors to link existing patches of forest, with the project funded by sale of carbon credit
Carbon credit
A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide....
s.