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TL2 is short for “Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba”—
the names of three rivers that surround a 56,000-square-kilometre
tract of forest in central Democratic Republic of Congo.
This remote river basin is one of the last uncharted
wilderness regions on the planet.
Since last year, members of the Canadian Ape Alliance
have been using state-of-the-art geospacial
mapping technology to help guide an expedition there.
 In
2005, the Alliance received an ESRI Conservation Grant,
as well as generous hardware and equipment support from
Trimble Corporation and WESA, to develop a base map
for field conservation applications in TL2.
In partnership with the DRC-based Lukuru Wildlife Research
Foundation, members of the Alliance are combining sparse
preexisting data—some of it dating back to the
19th century—with the researchers’ daily
discoveries. The results are being used to provide real-time
digital mapping support and analysis to those in the
wilderness.
The ultimate goal of the expedition: to gather enough
data to have the region declared a United Nations World
Heritage Site.
“The world has a rare opportunity to preserve
and protect from development what is almost untouched
natural habitat,” says Dr. Kerry Bowman, founder
of the Canadian Ape Alliance. “We believe that
once we demonstrate the level of endangered life within
TL2, we’ll have a good case for the preservation
of part or maybe all of the area.”
So far, the expedition has discovered extremely high
levels of biodiversity, as well as a population of rare
and endangered
bonobos—a species of great ape closely related
to chimps and humans—stretching much farther than
experts previously thought.
It has also found a rich variety of monkey species,
okapi, Congo peacock, large ungulates, elephants and
much more.
 This
past February, Alliance members returned to the region
to conduct on-site training with local expedition members,
teaching them how to use the portable units to record
information as they continue exploring the forests.
The project will be ongoing for at least two more years.
Recognizing the enormous research and educative potential
of computer mapping technology in conservation programs,
the team has been generously supported by GIS and GPS
industry leaders through donations and technical support.
The Canadian Ape Alliance would like to express their
sincere thanks to the following organizations whose
dedication and support for conservation worldwide has
made this project possible.
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