UNESCO Supports World Heritage Sites in Congo

A project called "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Natural Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" will be supported with an initial donation of US$ 2,895,912 by UNESCO. These funds will go to five conservation areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Garamba National Park, Okapi Faunal Reserve, Virunga National Park, Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Salonga National Park.
The project will require US$ 4,186,600 in total; US$ 1,290,688 have yet to be raised. The plan was approved in November by the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. charity which administers the US$ 1 billion donated in 1998 by Ted Turner to promote UN-supported causes, and by the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP). It has been developed in cooperation with IUCN and a Task Force of partner organisations notably, GTZ (Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit - developmental aid organisation of the German government) and ICCN (the Congolese national park authority), WWF and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).
The project will seek to facilitate UNESCO's interaction with relevant authorities with a view to supporting local staff in their duties. It will provide salary substitutes and field equipment to help them carry out their work, support staff training, monitor the status of biodiversity, support programs integrating indigenous people and establish long-term financing mechanisms for the conservation of these sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Democratic Republic of Congo overview

Homepage