Protecting Congo's Biodiversity through Aerial Surveillance

The purpose of this project is to support a conservation effort in four national parks and along the coast of the Republic of the Congo by launching an aerial surveillance program to monitor key national parks and their buffer zones for illegal activities.

This project is intended to conserve forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, marine turtles and other species by addressing the impacts of ivory and bushmeat poaching, illegal fishing, and extractive industries.

Specific activities include: (1) bi-weekly aerial surveillance of major roads, rivers and other access points in Nouabal-Ndoki National Park and its immediate buffer zone; (2) bi-weekly aerial surveillance of major clearings and bais in Nouabal-Ndoki and its immediate buffer zone; (3) quarterly aerial surveillance of major roads, rivers, other access points and forest/savanna mosaics in three other national parks and their immediate buffer zones: Ntokou-Pikounda, Conkouati-Douli, and Ogooue-Lekiti (scheduled for creation in 2016); (4) bi-weekly aerial surveillance of the wider Nouabal-Ndoki buffer zone; (5) quarterly aerial surveillance of the wider Ntokou-Pikounda, Conkouati-Douli, and Ogooue-Lekiti buffer zones; (6) quarterly aerial surveillance of the Congo coast; and (7) standardized reports and data from the air surveys for adaptive management.