World Endangered Species Day: Upemba Through the Lens of a 1967 Report
- Communication
- May 16
- 5 min read
Introduction
We often speak of the threats facing Upemba—its wildlife, its ecosystems, and the delicate balance that sustains them. We acknowledge the years of neglect and destruction whose consequences still echo today. Yet we rarely delve into the specific actions, the deliberate choices, that contributed to the park’s decline.
On this World Endangered Species Day, we revisit a revealing report published in the second volume of the IUCN Bulletin (April–June 1967). It recounts a mission carried out at the invitation of the Congolese Government, with support from the New York Zoological Society. An IUCN representative accompanied the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Alphonse Zamundu, on an inspection tour of southern Congo, including Upemba National Park.
Several key recommendations from a 1966 IUCN report were adopted as a result of this mission—most notably, the creation of a new Service de la Conservation de la Nature. This body replaced the outdated oversight of the Forestry Service and assumed responsibility for managing national parks, nature reserves, and zoological stations. It marked a turning point in conservation governance in the DRC.
Report: Upemba National Park
We visited the Upemba National Park, the largest in the Congo, from February 25th to March 1st. Five days are inadequate for more than a superficial impression of such a vast reserve, but we were able to fly over the area at a low level (50-80 m.) which gave us the opportunity to observe parts of the park which are seldom visited.
For a better under standing of the serious problems which are current in this national park it is necessary to give a brief outline of its history. The Upemba Park has been in existence since 1939. It was a strict natural reserve, but in the 1950's the administration envisaged opening parts of the reserve to tourism. Preparations in this direction were made during the years prior to independence, but it was not until 1960 that the park was opened to tourists.
After 1960, however, there was considerable human intrusion and illegal slaughtering of animals. Between 1960 and 1962 the Southern Sector was many times violated by armed U.N. troops, who forced the national park rangers at Kayo to allow them to enter with jeeps and lorries. At that time the animals were not shy of vehicles with the result that the U.N. forces slaughtered animals, particularly zebras and various species of ante lopes, in large numbers with machine guns and other automatic weapons. Unfortunately, this inexcusable behaviour was in no way punished by the responsible U.N. authorities. This had a demoralizing effect both on the rangers and the local people.
The Katangese gendarmes and, later, members of the A.N.C. (Armée Nationale Congolaise) followed the bad example set by the U.N. Moreover, certain provincial political leaders took advantage of the situation to indulge in commercialized slaughter, entering the park with lorries and extracting huge quantities of meat. This resulted not only in declining numbers of wild animals in the national park but also led to a worsening of the attitude of the local population. Poaching increased and is apparently still widespread in the Southern Sector. There are now few animals in the Southern Sector.
We spent two days there and did not see more than a herd of 14 zebras, three herds of hartebeest (14 + 8+ 15 animals), small groups or single individuals of oribi and reedbuck, some warthogs and one waterbuck. It is, of course, true that under present conditions most ungulates keep away from the roads. Moreover, we were there during the rainy season, when the animals are widely dispersed. Apparently, some rangers in the Southern Sector are involved in poaching and the sale of meat.
In my report to the Congo Government I have gone into this matter in detail and have suggested appropriate counter-measures which have been approved. That summarizes the negative aspects of the situation in the Southern Sector, but there is also a positive side, because this part of the national park is still intact in the sense that no settlements have been established and there is consequently no pressure on the land.
In the Northern Sector of the Upemba National Park, which comprises almost three quarters of the area, the situation is much better. Although there are several settlements the animals do not appear to have been greatly persecuted. Lusinga is the main station of the national park and is situated in the Northern Sector. In September 1960 this station was still in good order. Unfortunately, warriors of the Baluba tribe invaded the national park from the north. They plundered the station at Lusinga and burned rangers’ quarters throughout the Northern Sector. The ferry on the Lufira River was destroyed and since then direct road communication within the national park between the Southern and Northern Sectors has been disrupted. Finally, the Baluba withdrew and the national park administration now controls about two-thirds of the reserve.
Lack of suitable vehicles, however, is a serious obstacle to effective control. Well-armed poachers have no difficulty in avoiding encounters with ranger foot patrols. In fact, we came across two poachers armed with automatic weapons not far from one of the illegal Baluba settlements within the national park, where rangers seldom penetrate. Despite the Baluba settlements there is apparently less poaching in the Northern than in the Southern Sector. The animals’ behaviour bears witness to this.
There are at least 8 villages in the Northern Sector. Three are situated in the centre close to the Lufira River, with a population of about 500 people. They live entirely on hunting and fishing. Two villages are situated in the extreme north. The heaviest human population in the park is on the eastern shore of Lake Upemba. There are two large villages with extensive cultivation and with hundreds of canoes in long canals cut through the papyrus beds. A third village is located on the Sanga River south-east of Lake Upemba. The population in these three villages is considerable, probably more than 7,500 people.
The effect of these human populations on the fauna is difficult to estimate without careful investigation. Judging from our observations in February-March 1967 there are fewer animals in the vicinity of the three villages close to the Lufira River than elsewhere in the Northern Sector. This is probably because the human population there bases its existence almost entirely on hunting. However, despite this pressure there were more animals in this area than in the Southern Sector, where poaching is heavier. The people along the eastern side of Lake Upemba seem to live chiefly on fish and vegetables. Probably they hunt as well. Nevertheless, it was in this swampy region that we observed the largest herds of elephants and antelopes of various species. This observation suggests that the fauna is not directly disturbed in the vicinity of the Baluba villages.
Mammals in the Northern Sector are not shy and can be easily approached in vehicles. Despite the animals being widely dispersed due to the rainy season, we observed numerous herds of zebra (30 to 150 animals in each), hartebeest (from 15 to 50), roan (from 10 to 20) and baboon (from 15 to 70). Oribi and reedbuck were common everywhere. In the swampy areas east of Lake Upemba we encountered several herds of elephant (from 100 to 150 animals). Many other species of mammals were observed as, for example, vervet, mongooses (two species), warthog, waterbuck, puku, bushbuck and one herd of eland. Numerous aardvark holes were seen. Negative observations were the seemingly total absence of hippopotami in the Lufira River, the surprising rarity of warthog and the lack of records of buffalo, duiker, klipspringer and sable. Despite the damage that has occurred since 1960 the Upemba National Park remains an exceptionally valuable faunal area of high potential. | have submitted a number of recommendations to the Government, which is anxious to restore conditions to normal.
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Image Illustration: Chris Boyes