Garamba National Park

Artisanal mining for gold became a major economic activity in parts of the southern half of Gangala Na Bodio and much of Mondo Missa Hunting Areas over the past decade or so (since liberalisation of the mining sector in 2004). It attracted many thousands of people and resulted in extensive destruction of woodlands and gallery forests, as well as development of large permanent settlements in the Hunting Areas (UNESCO and IUCN, 2016). As a result, low levels of poaching inside the park have occurred as a direct result of the presence of these mining camps (Aveling, 2010).

In 2019, a Ministerial Decree (No. 0532 / CAB.MIN / MINES / 01/2019 of August 23, 2019) was passed to cease gold panning activities in the Gangala Na Bodio and Mondo Missa Hunting Areas, which includes a 6-month moratorium for illegal operators to evacuate the sites (State Party of the DRC, 2020). This measure will contribute to ensuring that this threat is addressed, reduced and elliminated going forward.

For more than a decade the park and its surrounding buffer zones were used as a cover by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) (a rebel group originating in Uganda). This armed militia wreaked havoc amongst local communities and destroyed the park headquarters at Nagero in January 2009 (with the loss of 10 lives), but subsequently became increasingly fragmented and dispersed (Titeca and Costeur, 2015). By the time of the last UNESCO/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission in 2016, they had mostly moved away from areas previously occupied in the park and Azande Hunting Area into the south-eastern areas of CAR (UNESCO and IUCN, 2016). For some time, personnel of the government’s Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) who were tasked with driving out remaining elements of LRA and improving security, were also contributing to the escalation of poaching (Titeca, 2013). Measures have subsequently been taken to ensure that FARDC are no longer a threat to the park (UNESCO and IUCN, 2016; UNESCO, 2017). As a result of increased actions, the LRA have now been chased of the property, however minor issues with local poachers, South sudanese poachers, Mbororo and other armed groups persist (IUCN Consultation, 2020). Recent reports note that armed conflicts have been caused by a mixture of groups, including the LRA, but also South Sudanese rebels, local poachers, FARDC, Mbororo, etc. (Titeca and Edmond, 2019). In 2020, anti-poaching collaborations between ICCN, African Parks, FARDC and local authorities have been further strengthened and FARDC forces support surveillance efforts in and around the site (State Party of the DRC, 2020). As a result of a combination of strong efforts by African Park's and relative calm in South Sudan, Garamba is currently experiencing low levels of insecurity, although it is likely that the stability may only be temporary and therefore insecurity remains a potential future threat (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Illegal commercial hunting over the past 45 years has resulted in significant declines of all wildlife populations in the site (ICCN, 2010; UNESCO and IUCN, 2016; Titeca et al., 2020). At least 2,000 elephants were killed illegally between 2007 and 2012, reducing the population to around 1,700 individuals by that time (from 22,000 in 1976). Most elephant poaching (75-80%) is now being carried out by people entering the park from South Sudan. In addition, there were four known incidents of mass killings of elephants from a helicopter, accounting for the deaths of 50 elephants between March 2012 and August 2015 (UNESCO and IUCN, 2016). At the time of the last reactive monitoring mission (March 2016) the LRA was thought to be financing its operations through the sale of poached ivory, which probably accounted for around 10-15% of elephant poaching in the Garamba complex. LRA operatives were known to be collaborating in elephant poaching with Mbororo peoples (transhumant pastoralists) and others from further afield (including Janjaweed horsemen from Sudan), particularly in the western parts of the park and Azande Hunting Area (UNESCO and IUCN, 2016; Titeca and Edmond, 2019).  However, it is also noted that regarding commercial poachers from South Sudan, the SPLA and SPLA.io elements have constituted a major threat (Titeca and Edmond, 2019).

In recent years, collaboration on anti-poaching measures has been strengthened between ICCN, African Parks, FARDC and local authorities. In 2019, 90 FARDC elements were placed under the command of the Park for strategic and operational collaboration, eco-guard numbers increased from 243 to 286 (238 eco-guards and 48 security guards) and patrols increased from 447 (2018) to 630 (2019) resulting in arrests and seizure of ivory, wildlife and weapons. Also, surveillance coverage has increased to 68% of the property and 32% of the Hunting Areas, with 100% covered by aerial surveillance. Furthermore, a new canine unit will be operational during 2020 to detect illegal activities (State Party of the DRC, 2020). Elephant poaching is reported to have progressively declined since aerial surveillance began in 2014 (Mission report, 2016), from 131 carcasses recorded in 2014, to 50 in 2017, to 8 in 2019 (State Party of the DRC, 2020). Furthermore, no poaching of Kordoffan giraffes was recorded in 2017 or 2018 (State Party of the DRC, 2020). Whilst the recent decrease in elephant poaching is a hopefully encouraging shift after the many years of significant pressure on these species, a concern remains since elephant poaching has not been fully eradicated, the seizure of illegally poached goods continues, and populations of Kordofan giraffe remain critically low and the current status of the elephant population remains unclear. Anti-poaching efforts must be proactively continued to ensure both the full eradication of poaching in the site, and the recovery of key species.