WCS has provided technical support to Conkouati-Douli National Park (PNCD) since 2000. COGEREN (Natural Resource Management Committee) was created to establish mechanisms for co-managing the Park, with strong representation from local communities. After a difficult start, a new COGEREN board was elected in 2009, restoring trust with WCS. The project is led by WCS but aims to progressively enable COGEREN to fulfil its role as coordinator of income-generating activities (IGAs) in the PNCD, by providing it with technical and administrative support. WCS in particular recognises COGEREN’s strong capacity to work with fishers, the target group of this project.
The various fishing practices in the PNCD impact the environment at 3 levels:
– in the lagoon: overfishing using the “tapé-tapé” technique (trapping fry and fish by frightening them with noise, which disturbs manatees), non-regulation mesh sizes, and blocking of river mouths with nets;
– offshore, in the PNCD’s marine waters, illegal trawlers overfish and deplete fish stocks, threatening residents’ food security. They selectively harvest manta rays and sharks for the fin trade, which has led to a rapid collapse in their populations. The PNCD’s waters are also an area of very high concentration for 5 species of marine turtles (“EN” and “CR”), including the leatherback turtle, whose major world nesting site is located a few km to the north, on the border with Gabon. These turtles are regularly caught in nets and taken to be sold. Trawlers destroy artisanal nets (worth around $400 each), pushing fishers to intensify their fishing activity within 200 metres of the beach — a key spawning area for several fish species and, above all, the habitat of the Atlantic humpback dolphin (“EN”), for which a market has recently developed. There is a significant risk that fishers will turn back to the bushmeat trade;
– along the coast, fishers consume accidental catches of dolphins and turtles, or sell them in Pointe-Noire. Their precarious economic situation means they cannot afford to “waste” a catch.
A large part of the PNCD’s marine waters is currently in the process of being classified as a Marine Protected Area.
In addition, the collection of wild mangrove oysters in the PNCD was previously a lucrative activity, supplying the strong demand from Pointe-Noire. Overexploitation has led to the near-collapse of stocks. In Mayumba, the neighbouring Gabonese National Park adjoining the PNCD, a sustainable wild oyster management scheme has been implemented, showing very promising economic impacts and providing employment for more than 200 women.
The project therefore aims to strengthen COGEREN’s capacities, improve fishing practices in the PNCD, and generate income from sustainable oyster production based on the Mayumba model.
