Two ivory poaching victories in Congo by Odzala-Kokoua National Parks eco-guard unit comprising former poachers
Two victories in the battle against elephant poaching in the Congo have been achieved by Odzala-Kokoua National Park’s eco-guard unit, which now has former poachers in its ranks. The first involved the arrest and conviction of a Congolese regional ivory kingpin in July, and the second involved the arrest of an alleged major Chinese ivory trader in October.
The Odzala eco-guard unit comprises former poachers who applied for the park’s ground-breaking amnesty programme at the end of last year. The inaugural "poacher-to-protector” amnesty programme was launched last December with a word-of-mouth drive via existing eco-guards and with official notification letters to the chiefs of villages surrounding the park. Poachers who entered the amnesty programme were required to hand in their illegal weapons and provide written statements detailing their poaching crimes. As part of the amnesty programme, they were entitled to take part in a selection and training programme for new eco-guards in the park.
Altogether 56 former poachers applied for the amnesty programme and 45 successfully completed the rigorous selection and training course, of which 28 have been employed as fully fledged eco-guards while a further 17 have been employed as eco-monitors in the park. (Eco-monitors perform research and monitoring functions; eco-guards perform law enforcement functions.)
Five of the amnesty applicants confessed to previously working with major regional ivory kingpin, Ngondjo Ghislain, known by the nick-name "Pepito”, and their statements were admitted to the court in Ewo where he was tried. "Pepito” was convicted in July and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
On 15 October a group of eco-guards, also comprising former poachers, identified and arrested an alleged Chinese ivory trader and his driver, also a Chinese national. The trader was found to be in possession of three pieces of ivory. During the course of his arrest, the ivory trader tried unsuccessfully to bribe a member of Odzala’s anti-poaching unit. The two men were transported to the police station in Ouesso the following day to make their official statements. They were both charged but released. The case is currently before the country’s national prosecutor.
The applicants for Odzala’s inaugural amnesty programme included a pygmy who completed the training and is now a member of the park’s eco-guard unit. He has offered to recruit pigmy hunters in the area for the second amnesty programme.
"While poaching is a more lucrative occupation than being an eco-guard, the amnesty recruits were attracted by the benefits of a stable, legal job with social security benefits,” said African Parks’ manager for Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Leon Lamprecht. "Some also admitted that Odzala’s anti-poaching efforts were making it increasingly difficult for them to continue hunting illegally and avoid arrest.”
Prior to African Parks taking on the management of Odzala under the auspices of the Odzala-Kokoua Foundation in 2011, the central area of the park had not been patrolled for four years. Since then, African Parks has implemented an effective, multi-pronged anti-poaching plan to address threats to the park. Lamprecht and his team at Odzala are planning a second amnesty programme, coupled with a recruitment drive for new eco-guards, in February 2014. A permanent eco-guard training facility is to be set up at Odzala in 2014, with funding provided by the US-based Richardson Foundation.