Raising awareness of conservation issues with the communities surrounding the Lésio-Louna reserve has been an important aspect of our two-year project supported by IUCN Save Our Species although it has proven difficult to arrange large scale meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic. We were delighted to be able to remedy this in the final weeks of the project with one of our largest ever community meetings attended by over 150 people from the local villages.
Events of the Day
Conservation Awareness Day in Congo 8th May 2021 © Alice Zambarda, The Aspinall Foundation
The focus of the day was to raise awareness amongst the local communities of the importance of biodiversity and conservation. It included presentations from various speakers on issues such as the vulgarisation of law 37/2008 on the protection of wildlife and protected areas, the impact of climate change, and the importance of protecting the reserve, as well as identifying key points relevant to the various villages.
Presentations on Awareness Day 8th May 2022 © Alice Zambarda, The Aspinall Foundation
Presentations on Awareness Day 8th May 2022 © Alice Zambarda, The Aspinall Foundation
The event was held in a local church with the support of the archbishop and the presentations given by the Monseigneur and the Abbey were particularly well received. They spoke for more than an hour about the importance of conservation and wildlife protection, both in French and in Lingala, a Bantu language spoken in the region. Another special guest was Maman Catherine, a local woman who has worked with us on raising the orphaned gorillas at the Lésio-louna reserve for many years.
The event was also filmed by TV Congo, the national television company, and we hope to be able to share some of their video content with you at a future date.
Maximum attendance on Awareness Day 8th May 2022 © Alice Zambarda, The Aspinall Foundation
Our Thanks
Our Project Coordinator in Congo, Alice Zambarda, ensured the day was well organised, and this included the provision of face masks for anyone that wished to wear one.
Alice, along with all of us at The Aspinall Foundation, would also like to express our thanks to those that not only helped to make the day possible but contributed so generously to make it a success. This includes
Abbot Guy Noël Okemba - National Coordinator of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace
Don Andrea Giovita - Deputy Chief of mission Apostolic nunciature in Brazzaville
Nganongo Stéphane - Conservateur of the Lésio-Louna Reserve
Denise Milandou - Lisanga Développement President
Axel Miehakanda - Lisanga Développement Coordinator
Nassima Samir - Lisanga Développement Technical Assistant
Fasci Roberti - Lisanga Développement Technical Assistant
We are also extremely grateful for the support of IUCN Save our Species who, through the African Wildlife Initiative, are helping to support the two-year project which enabled us to organise this awareness day. The African Wildlife initiative is a partnership between the European Union and IUCN that responds to conservation challenges facing key threatened species in sub-Saharan Africa. It delivers tangible results for species, habitats and people.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union through IUCN Save Our Species. Its contents are the sole responsibility of The Aspinall Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN or the European Union.