Rediscovering the Uncharted Forest

Using state-of-the-art geospacial mapping technology, members of the Canadian Ape Alliance are helping guide an expedition into one of the last uncharted wilderness regions on the planet. The objective: achieving lasting protection for what is considered a bonanza of rare animal and plant life.

Located in remote central Democratic Republic of Congo, the 56,000-square-kilometre tract of forest remains little known to outsiders. There, the expedition is finding extremely high levels of biodiversity and many surprises, including a population of rare and endangered bonobos, stretching much farther than previously thought. The ultimate goal of the expedition is to gather enough data to have the region-called Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba, or TL2, declared a United Nations World Heritage Site.

"The world has a rare opportunity here 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."

In partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo's Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation (LWRF), members of the Toronto-based wildlife conservation group 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 biological importance of the region has been hinted at for more than four decades. But now, inventories are being conducted within forest sectors, focusing on areas of interest to monitor the presence of the endangered bonobo (a close relative of the chimpanzee), as well as a rich variety of monkey species, okapi, Congo peacock, large ungulates, elephants and much more.

As the expedition makes its way upriver in a dugout canoe, the Canadians stay in contact by e-mail via satellite phone, helping the team track their position, log their discoveries, and decide where to explore next.

In February, 2008, Alliance members will return 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.

"Right now, our GIS focus is rebuilding a hydrographic layer for the mapping, using hard-copy maps ranging in date from 1880s to post-2000, plus satellite imagery and other earlier digital map data," says Nick January, GIS project manager with the Canadian Ape Alliance. "That data is being supplied to field survey teams on the ground in remote spots through satellite-phone ftp downloads, and giving them much-needed geographic information for travelling through the region."

The project is expected to continue for at least two more years.

For more information, contact Dr Kerry Bowman Phone: 416 946 5057 Email: kbowman@great-apes.com