Posted on September, 01 2014

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo – A very rare bird species last spotted in DR Congo over two decades ago was twice recorded last week at Bombo Lumene, a protected area 130 km outside of capital city Kinshasa. Easily recognizable by its white head and rufous plumage and cadenced tremolo tweeting, the White-headed Robin-Chat (Cossypha heinrichi) is known to exist in only two sites in northern Angola and DR Congo. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as vulnerable.

“The rediscovery of such an elusive species after such a long time confirms the conservation value of Bombo Lumene and protected areas in general,” said Marc Languy of WWF, who conducted the expedition in collaboration with the Congolese Park Authority ICCN.

The presence of the robin chat at Bombo Lumene is all the more remarkable considering the constant outside threats to the reserve and its biodiversity. Endemic hunting and poaching practices have depleted the once rich fauna, exterminating the elephant and lion populations and drastically reducing the numbers of buffaloes and antelopes.
Over the last few years, illegal charcoal production has also hit hard. Hundreds of people have entered and even settled within the confines of the protected area and set large swathes of forest on fire, in order to produce and sell charcoal as fuel supply to Kinshasa and its surroundings. Such habitat destruction represents a direct menace to the very survival of the robin chat and other species.

Despite a recent operation led by ICCN and the military, which successfully uprooted most of the charcoal perpetrators who had set camp at Bombo Lumene, the threats to the reserve and conservation activities here remain acute. ICCN is severely understaffed and underequipped to be able to adequately secure this parameter: fewer than 20 rangers are tasked with protecting over 300,000 ha.

“In face of all these challenges, we continue to support ICCN and encourage them to keep up their fight against poaching and illegal charcoal production,” said Languy. “At the same time it is imperative that the authorities step up their support to Bombo Lumene and other high value conservation areas so as to minimize further loss of critical habitat and biodiversity.”

WWF and ICCN are currently conducting a biodiversity inventory across 15 protected areas in the country in order to reevaluate their conservation value as well as their potential economic role.

Bombo Lumene has the distinct advantage of easy accessibility from Kinshasa, and as such a well-developed tourism program could represent an important source of revenue for the reserve and the communities around. Efficient solutions against illegal charcoal production also exist: in Eastern DRC, WWF is running a large-scale tree plantation program called Eko Makala, in order to help alleviate the pressures on Virunga National Park and provide sustainable energy to the population of Goma. More than 10 million trees have been planted so far.