86 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020
FORBESLIFE• CONSERVATION
FORBES AFRICAFORBESAFRICA.COMstafftraininginGaramba,theWorldWildlifeFund(WWF)askedme
tobeanadvisorintheirefforttoprotecttheCongobasinforestand
wildlifeinsixcountries.It is knownastheTRIDOM;transfrontier
parkscovering10%oftheCongobasin.
Duringthatassignment,I spentbetween 2010 and 2012 inMinkébé
NationalParkinGabon,abuttingtheCameroonborderwhere25,000
forestelephantswerepoachedinjust 10 years,thelargestelephant
decimationever.About 60 to 70 elephantswerekilleddailyin2012.
Goldmining,bushmeattrade,elephantpoachingandivorytrafficking
wererifeinMinkébé,withcross-bordernetworksoperationalhere.
ElementsoftheAl-Shabaabterroristgroupwerealsopresent.Q.Itseemsthemostbeautifulplacesonearthhavetheworst
problems.WhatdoyoubelievewasyourcontributiontotheWWF
atTRIDOM?
A.BasedonmydecadeofexperienceinAfricanparks,I ama big
believeroffootpatrolsandcommunityengagement.Notonlydid
wehavetoworryaboutivorypoachersbutalsothatthemarketfor
elephantbushmeatis becomingpopular.
Thelocalpygmies,whoaresubsistencehunters,can’tfindelephants
fortheirconsumptioninthewakeofprofessionalhunterswhoclear
entireareaswithautomaticrifles.Asa professionalanti-poaching
advisor,I providedtrainingandeducation so the locals realize poaching
is nota sustainableresource.Q.Youhavemaintaineda verypositiveapproachtoconservation.I
believeyouwereinCentralAfricanRepublic(CAR)intheamazing
Dzanga-SanghaNationalParkthesepastfouryears.Whatwere
yourcontributionsthere?
A.I managed 120 rangersandfullyimmersedmyselfinGPS-mapping,
snifferdogusageandanti-poachingtrainingtoprotectsomeofthe
largestherdsofelephantsleftinAfrica.
NowhereinAfricais ivorytrademoreintensethaninCentralAfrica.
Theextentofthissenselesskillingis dramatic.TheheartofDzanga-
Sanghais anareaof1,260sqkm;theprotectionofnatureis thehighest
priority– anyotheruseis excluded.
Wealsocreateda 500sqkmareaforhuntingforthelocalBaaka
Pygmiesandotherinhabitants.Northoftheparksis thespecial
Dzanga-SanghaSpecialReservewithover4,000elephantsinan
intactforestenvironmentwithanareaofover3,500sqkm.Mysworn
prioritywastoprotectit.TheDzanga-SanghaPark,togetherwith
theneighboringparksinCameroonandtheRepublicofCongo
respectively,formthecoreoftheTRIDOM-SanghaTri-National(TNS)
ProtectedAreascomplex,designateda WorldHeritageSitein2012.
Togetherwithitsforestedbufferzones,theTNSlandscapeconsists
of25,000sqkmoftropicalforest– a lastbastionforgorillas,elephants
andotherendemicspecies.Mygreatestsuccess was to see only three
elephantskilledinallof 2019 inthisarea.
Weweredoingsomethingright.Q.YouhavejustfinishedyourcontractatDzanga-Sangha.
What’snext?
A. I am nearly 35 years old and have been moving around and feel theneedtosettledown.Currently,I am
betweenjobs,enjoyingmyfavorite
pastimeofgamefishingafterwhich
I willvisitfamilyinFrance.I’llbe
backinAfricasometime late 2020
tostartanotherjob.Q.Whatdoyouthinkarethe
mainproblemsinwildlife
protectioninAfrica?
A.Thereis nodoubtthatthere
is seriouscorruptioninallthe
countriesduetopoorministerial
actions.It is hardtorecruitrangers
sincetheyareonlypaidaround
$150permonth.Inthisjob,theyencountermanyrisksincluding
animalattacks,terroristsandpoacher-shootings.Themortalityrateis
quitehigh.Largeinternationalagenciesprovidefirearmsandfoodto
thelocalstocollectbushmeatandanimalproducts.
FromwhatI canrecollect,a kilogramofivoryis worth$60inCAR,
$250inCameroonand$1,500inChina. Of course, poverty makes
peopleblindtoanimalwelfare.Q.Whatthenis thesolutionandwhatdrivesyoutocontinuein this
profession?
A.WorkingwithamazingprofessionalsfrombothAfricaand
internationallywhobelievestronglyinanimalconservationis certainly
a motivator.Wehaveseenthatcommunityinvolvementandtourism
helpsincontrollingpoaching.
Wearegettinginvolvedinmanycommunitiessurroundingthe
parksbyofferingemployment, training and education to reduce
poachingefforts.Q.EveryoneblamesChinafordoingverylittleaboutthetradingin
animalproducts.Whatcanbedonetoimprovethatposition?
A.Lately,thegovernmentsofChina,VietnamandThailandhave
startedbanningivoryproductswhichis a goodstart.Chinais beginning
toclampdownonelephanttradebutasa largecountry,it is slowtobe
effective.ManyChineseNGOshavestarteddonatingforconservation
measuresinKenya.
TheParadiseInternationalFoundationinChinahasinitiatedan
AfricanRangerAwardfor 50 toprangersinvariouscountries.In2018,
JackMa,thefounderofAlibaba,gave$3,000eachto 50 rangersfrom 17
countriesonbehalfofthefoundation.In fact, I was in Beijing talking to
theParadiseFoundationthatyear.Q.WhatwillthenationalparklandscapeinAfricabeinthenext
50 years?
A.Whileoureffortseemstohavesomeimpactonthedecline,it’s
likelythattherewillbeseveralparksprofessionallymanaged.Visitors
willhavetopaylargesumsofmoneyforsafarisinthoseparks.The
mountaingorillasinUganda,Rwanda and the DRC Congo were saved
because of such measures.FromwhatI can
recollect,a kilogram
of ivoryis worth
$60in CAR,$250
in Cameroonand
$1,500in China.
Ofcourse,poverty
makespeopleblind
to animal welfare.