In the past, Ba’Aka pygmies tracked gorillas to eat them. Today, if they follow them, it is to allow tourists and researchers to observe them in peace in their natural habitat. Terence Fuh Neba is responsible for primate habituation, research and monitoring within the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (APDS). He explains what his work consists of and especially the key role of the Ba’Akas in tracking gorillas.
How many gorillas live in the area ?
In 2012 and 2016, there were wildlife inventories throughout the APDS. It is quite difficult to know their exact number, but it remains stable. Today, we have three groups that can be observed by tourists and researchers.
What actions are taken to accustom gorillas to human presence? ?
There are teams following them from 6am to 6pm. We avoid all interaction so that they continue to eat, move around, rest and let their young play. The goal is that they accept us as part of the forest, that they don’t make a difference. And the teams collect a lot of data about their diet, movements, behavior and state of health.
Can you introduce us to these bands ?
Work with Makoumba’s group began 22 years ago. Makoumba has two adult females, and together with their offspring they are eight individuals. Many young mature people have already left the group to start their families. Twins were born in 2016, which is very rare. We had never seen this before! The gorillas being threatened with extinction, it reassures us that they can make twins. There is a second group of eight individuals, Mata, the silverback. He has four females. They live together with their offspring. And the third group is made up of Mayelé and his wives. But one of them left after the death of a baby, which fell from a tree.
What relationship do indigenous populations, in particular the Ba’Akas, have with gorillas?
Before the project, they did not even imagine that the gorillas could get used to human presence. They followed them to eat them or for customs. But, today, this is no longer the case, because they understand their importance and their value. Today, of the 60 people employed, 40 are Ba’Akas, as the primate habituation program depends entirely on their knowledge. They master the forest very well (read here) and monitor the gorillas during the day. Tracking animals, for them, is something traditional. For years, their parents lived in the forest. When they were young, they spent their time there tracking animals, killing them and eating them. But today, these skills give them work and support their families. They continue to track the animals, but to protect them. And they do it with joy!
But isn’t the human presence a threat to the gorillas?
We share the same environment. So all diseases can be transmitted and vice versa.
So how do you avoid contamination ?
We follow very strict procedures. We keep a minimum distance of seven meters with the gorillas. We wear masks before approaching them, because our respiratory diseases can be dangerous. At camps, shoes and hands must be disinfected. And when you are in the middle of the gorillas, you avoid throwing the waste on the ground and touching the leaves that the gorillas eat. We make efforts not to take anything into the forest and to the camp.
Interview by Bérenger Sylvère Romaric Kouzoundji
Journalist-Technician at Ndjoku radio,
Bayanga, Central African Republic
Tourism, donations and grants fund the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (APDS)
The African continent is full of magnificent parks, especially in East and Southern Africa, renowned for their fauna, flora and indigenous communities. However, it is in the Central African Republic that Alfonso, a tourist from Spain, chose to come. ” The director of the park, also Spanish, had told us that there was the most beautiful forest in Africa. So we came to see it! “. During his stay, he went to the Dzanga-Baï saltworks, which he found impressive », and observed the many animals that make the reputation of the reserve.
Political crises and pandemic
“ We also went to the forest and spent a night with the Ba’Akas to discover their culture and the reality of the country. Nature is truly exceptional here. It is a very beautiful country! », Enthuses Alfonso who has promised to promote it, once back in Europe, so that this site is notably supported financially and continues to be preserved. ” Financially supporting the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (APDS) means contributing to the protection of the environment to give future generations the chance to see, for example, gorillas and elephants, explains Gervais Pamongui, the deputy director of the APDS. It also allows states to leverage other funding for their development activities. “. In 2021, a budget of approximately 3 billion CFA francs had been estimated to carry out all the activities of the site, part of which was to be financed by tourist activity. But this objective could not be achieved. Due to political crises and the pandemic, it is not always easy for tourists to travel to the CAR.
Up to 500 tourists per year
However, in periods of calm, between 200 to 500 tourists come each year, in particular to see the gorillas. “ They pay 300 euros (200,000 CFA francs) for one hour of observation. This money is very important, says Terence Fuh Neba, head of primate habituation (read above), because all the receipts are used for the management of APDS, sustainable development, the payment of nursing and teaching staff, support in schools, etc. The gorilla habituation program costs about 300,000 euros per year, which is a lot. During the pandemic, we lost these revenues, but donors supported us to avoid any breakdown. Then there are the entrance fees to go into the forest, of which 40% goes to the local population, 10% in a state tourist tax and 50% to the management of the APDS. The objective is that the revenues exceed the expenses and that the benefits are paid to the local populations. »
Radio Ndjoku (95.5 FM): “Better information to live better together”
Ndjoku community radio was created after the mobilization of the team of the Association of Community Radios of Central Africa (ARC) and RFI Planète Radio. Created in 2011 in Bayanga with funding from the European Union, the World Wide Forest (WWF) and Electricity Without Borders, the radio began broadcasting in 2015. Installed in a region where the environment and human rights rights are particularly threatened, radio Ndjoku has been able to play a role of spokesperson and media promoting the circulation, collection and exchange of information. It allows awareness and active participation of the population in terms of good practice. It thus contributes to the peaceful coexistence of communities. Its coverage radius, which normally extends beyond 105 kilometers, allows the radio to be heard in villages located in Cameroon and Congo, which represents a pool of around 50,000 listeners. But after the pylon fell in March 2020, its coverage radius dropped to 60 kilometers and the radio reportedly had only 22,000 listeners.
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