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The Congo Government, with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other organizations, officially announces the creation of the country’s first three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), protecting marine resources and coastal habitats across more than 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles) and representing 12.01 percent of Congo’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The area includes globally important nesting grounds for leatherback turtles, and critical migrating and breeding habitat for a number of marine mammals including the Atlantic humpback whale. It is home to the ocean’s largest fish, the open ocean whale shark, and more than 40 species of sharks and rays. It is also home to some of the most productive coastal and offshore fisheries in the world, making a large contribution to the food security of local communities.
“Our meeting shows the culmination of a long process, which we began years ago with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which initiated and supervised the spatial planning process that allowed us to identify sites potentially rich in marine biodiversity and ecologically suitable habitats for the creation of protected areas. I would like to thank our partners who never cease to deploy their efforts for the conservation of biodiversity in Congo, notably WCS, for their multiform support to this conservation action,” declared Her Excellence Rosalie MATONDO, Minister of Forest Economy in charge of protected areas on the occasion of the official ceremony.
The MPA creation is part of a national Marine Spatial Plan (MSP), which was approved by the Ministry of Forest Economy in 2019. The MSP was developed with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and partners including the University of Exeter and local NGO Renatura, under the landmark ‘Congo Marine’ Initiative. The Plan identified a total of eleven MPAs in Congo’s Exclusive Economic Zone of which the first three are being announced this week. These include a major marine extension to Conkouati-Douli National Park along the border with Gabon, Loango MPA and Mvassa MPA, covering 4,330 square kilometers (1,671 square miles). The announcement follows extensive community consultations, conducted in part by WCS.
"Fishermen are sometimes afraid to go fishing at sea because they fear encountering large boats, especially at night," explained Martin Safou, a coastal village chief in Bondi, during a community consultation. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) is a threat to the exceptional biodiversity of Congolese waters, but also to the livelihood of thousands of small-scale fishermen who have actively participated in the creation of the MPAs.
In 2016, WCS socio-economic surveys showed that 49 percent of small-scale fishermen had suffered loss or damage due to illegal industrial fishing vessels. Nearly 87 percent of the 250 industrial fishing vessels inspected between 2017 and 2019 were in contravention of the fishing regulations, and several shark and ray species found in fishing nets were globally threatened, including 10 Critically Endangered species, according to WCS Congo catch tracking scheme. The creation of MPAs, which provide for community fishing zones, are intended to be an effective tool against illegal and unregulated fishing.
According to Richard Malonga, WCS Country Director in Congo, “It is a pleasure to note that the support that the WCS Congo program brings to the government is capitalized through this series of creations of marine protected areas and the extension of the Conkouati National Park on its marine part. Today the Republic of Congo has optimized its participation in international efforts to conserve the marine environment, which has reached more than 10% of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) dedicated to conservation which is also in line with objective 11 of the Aichi Convention.”
Through its Congo Marine program, WCS will continue to support the Ministry of Forest Economy in building institutional and technical capacity in MPA management, promote the establishment of an MPA network covering more than 30 percent of the EEZ and assist stakeholders and local administrations in the sustainable management of resources. In an effort to ramp up regional commitment to protecting marine biodiversity and preserving sustained small-scale fisheries, WCS will also promote synergies and linkages with the transboundary "Blue Gabon" program covering adjacent MPAs in order to strengthen multinational protection. WCS support to the creation of Congo’s Marine Protected Areas is made possible thanks to the financial support from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and donors to the WCS Marine Protected Area Fund (MPA Fund), a partnership with the Waitt Foundation.