In Exile (observing elections from a distance)

For DRC's recent elections, there was a lot at stake – the rule over a country of 70 million people, which borders 9 countries (Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo), and has vast resource wealth. However, the state institutions are being rebuilt after corruption and wars devastated the country. DRC remains impoverished, recently being rated 187 out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index, which measures such indicators as literacy, maternal and infant mortality, life expectancy, and wealth.

The Congolese population has the most at stake as they've have been waiting a long time for their government to start functioning and to stop preying on them. So given recent wars, continued instability, and significant tension, we acted with a lot of precaution. Offices were shut down from Dec 3 – 10, while the election results were tallied and final results announced. I went into exile in Uganda on Dec 4, while waiting for the results to be announced on Dec 6. The electoral commission however delayed the announcement 48 hrs to Dec 8, which was delayed at the last minute until Dec 9. These delays were due to logistical problems and also general disorganization that reigned from the start of the campaigns to the end of voting.

The wait was a bit intense, though we all knew who would be re-elected, as the incumbent stuffed ballot boxes, used state resources and institutions for his campaign, put friends in all major election commission and supreme court positions, and touted democracy the entire way. Shameless! But, given the possibilities (literally anything you could imagine has already happened in DRC), it was still interesting to follow and also to try to gauge what the reaction would be.

Beni, the eastern city where I pass through on my way out of the country, seems like a relatively calm place, but my friends who live there often here gunshots at night, and insecurity is chronic. On voting day (Nov 28), a large group of armed men attacked the central prison, killing the prison guards and freeing over 400 prisoners, allegedly so that they could go vote! Then on the morning of the original results proclamation day (Dec 6), a militia attacked and released more criminals. But then things returned to normal in a few hours. We knew the situation was volatile, but with very isolated incidents across a huge country. Any more disruptive reactions to elections might bend toward a longer-term trajectory or take part in the capital city over 1000 miles west of me. So, I returned from exile for about 8 days. On our return, we passed through an area where a bus had avoided a roadblock set by unidentified armed men and one passenger was killed when they shot through the back windows. This was yet another sobering reminder of the insecurity that plagues the country.

In my village, it was business as usual, though election chatter dominated among my colleagues because the opposition and different observation groups contested the results. After working and planning what needed to be done over vacation and early in 2012, I left again to pass a few days in Beni before vacation officially started. When I arrived there, rumors circulated of imminent attacks, so my bosses told me to just go!

On Tuesday, the incumbent was sworn in while only one head-of-state attended, Robert Mugabe, the 173 year-old Zimbabwean dictator who destroyed their economy. That was a strong sign of the illegitimacy of this regime. Even their closest allies like South Africa, Rwanda, and China were noticeably absent.

Meanwhile, the main opposition leader apparently held his own inauguration ceremony Friday. He was not allowed to hold it in a Kinshasa football stadium as originally planned. He's basically under house arrest, which is fine because he's 78 and likes his house a lot. It seems we're in for a political crisis, which we hope won't degenerate. DRC can't afford it. But they also can't afford for democracy to get trampled all over. Where will the rule of law and justice begin with an administration that abuses it? Development cannot happen without it.

Pre-electoral period :

(written Nov 15, 2011)

I've just returned to DRC during the month of campaigning prior to Nov 28 presidential and national elections. There is a lot of anticipation in the air, and frankly lots of worry. There is nothing concrete that gives us reason to worry but it's just uncertainty, volatility, and immaturity and cutthroat nature of politics in this region that has people concerned. There are clear signs that these elections will be fraught with intimidation, voter fraud, and muscling in whatever way possible, as the rules of fair play are difficult to enforce here.

For good coverage of the elections, there is a good blog by Jason Stearns, an American human rights researcher, who has a network from which he acquires credible information. I'm keeping my eye on his blog these days, just to get a feel for the situation.

Voting is done by emotions here – so if the incumbent hands out $10 or pieces of printed cloth to a group of poor citizens a few days before the election, they can easily forget the 5 years of corruption and ineffectual governance that has plunged DRC to the very bottom of the Human Development Index, while insecurity at the hands of the national army persists.  Even nations like Niger, Chad and Mali, who have few resources and dictatorship government, are ahead of DRC. It is quite sad, as there is so much potential here…but its only that. I now see the negative sense of the word "potential" – when everything is there, but nothing has yet been done. I'm talking about the state government. Congolese themselves are survivors, habituated to making the best of any situation. They've never been able to expect anything from government, as it has always functioned to siphon off of the people rather than to provide services. Dictators have come and gone and come again, but opposition isn't able to clearly break from this system. So the system may not change no matter what happens. Congolese will survive, but what level of suffering will they be able to endure?

Birds on the brain

Thanks to July’s trip with my parents to western Uganda, my long pathetic search for a hobby has finally yielded something. Ornithology! - simply the science (?) of identifying birds! Given my choices in life, I am living in a mega-hotspot for birds - frequently traveling in the Albertine Rift which bridges the Congo Basin and East Africa's savannahs.

Anyways, with my parents, we visited Bigodi wetland which is a community conservation project just outside of the Kibale National Park in western Uganda. This project generates revenue for community members by leading tourists on guided primate & bird walks. Our young guide Alex was inspiring. Within seconds of debarking on our bird walk, he was shooting off cock-eyed looks through his binoculars and telling us which species we were seeing. A few minutes into the hike, Alex, exclaimed, “Oh, I hear a golden-backed thrush! I’m going to get him to fly overhead!” Then Alex whipped out his iPod and portable speakers and quickly played the call. The bird responded by flying directly overhead and repeating the recorded call. Wow! That was amazing!! As we proceeded, sometimes we’d hear birdcalls a long ways off. Other times we’d stop to talk and by chance, catch the glimpse of bird perched silently in the undergrowth close to us.
“What is that one Alex?!”
“It’s a blue-breasted kingfisher”; “It’s the larger cousin of the woodland kingfishers which you probably already know”
“What bout that one!!”
“That one is Ross’s turaco, one of three turacos found here. Frequently in groups of three”;
“Wow, this is your lucky day. That is a white-collared oliveback, see its white collar! OH wow! Even the female is here! I only see these about three times in a year! And we are getting such a good view of a couple!”
So this cool guy and fun experience convinced me that I should become an ornithology hobbyist! Other fun outings on the trip around Fort Portal crater lakes, Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, and Murchison Falls National Park provided many new bird sightings! And back in Massachusetts, I went out with my new ornithologist friend Russ to a saltmarsh where we (read: he) identified 53 species in one day!
Now, I couldn’t hold the jockstrap of Alex (pardon me for trying to remember vulgar high school slang). I frequently search vainly for that incessant chirping in the forest canopy and viney tangles, but the darn bird won’t come out and show its beak! Oh SNAP, he just flew off! I can’t get my binocs to my face fast enough…and he’s gone….
Also, I have a very small capacity to forcefully imprint new calls into my brain. However, I find birding to be tons of fun! I wander all around Epulu with my binoculars and see things that I never cared to notice before. Having spent the better part of two years here already, I’m finding some birdsongs are already inprinted in my subconscious, but now I am matching the song to its singer by its color, size, shape, size, patterns, and behavior.
I was super lucky to have my new birding fetish coincide with the extended vacation of one the very few Congolese ornithologists. We went out birding together several times and he gave me some key tips and helped me with identification. Also, knowing that someone finds this interesting was important ego-booster. In fact, I’m not the first, second, third or fourth. Epulu has a rich history of conservationists (of whom I couldn’t humbly hold the jockstrap for) and ornithologists, who have successfully identified well over 300 species of birds in and around the central sector of Okapi Reserve!
To date, I’ve successfully identified about 25 of these birds, but my list is growing every day! There are easily another 25-50 that I wasn’t able to identify. And, I may be nuts, but I swear on my life that I saw the most seductive forest bird that one could ever imagine existed. Imagine a beta fish in bird form – black but with two long white tail feathers on either side of the tail, it was floating up in the canopy! There for 5 seconds before I took my binocs down and started running around in circles in excitement. Then it floated off, never to be seen again! But I know he and many others are still out there, waiting to be discovered.

PS. The little guy in the photo is a red-cheeked cordon bleu - a type of finch that we saw in Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve on the shores of Lake Albert in Uganda.

10 things I miss v. 10 things I like

Things I miss about America
1. Ice
2. Ice cream
3. My family!
4. Snowstorms
5. 24/7 electricity (not counting freak October snowstorms or hurricanes)
6. Instantaneous everything (Smartphones)
7. Driving
8. Flush toilets
9. Newspapers, nightly news & even local news
10. Sweet desserts

Things I like about being in Africa
1. Carol

2. Having a cook!
3. Exploring, hiking, birding, enjoying incredible nature
4. My cat Kidogo (my other kitty Minnie, Kidogo’s mother,died recently )
5. Simple village life
6. Awesome lightning and showers during thunderstorms
7. Not driving
8. Excitement of new experiences
9. When things work
10. Juicy pineapples, mangos, and papaya

Pre-Election Period

I’ve just returned to DRC during the month of campaigning prior to Nov 28 presidential and national elections. There is a lot of anticipation in the air, and frankly lots of worry. There is nothing concrete that gives us reason to worry but it’s just uncertainty, volatility, and immaturity of politics in this region that has people concerned. There are signs that these elections will be fraught with intimidation and voter fraud, as the rules of fair play are difficult to enforce here.

For good coverage of the elections, there is a good blog by Jason Stearns, an American human rights researcher, who has a network from which he acquires credible information. I’m keeping my eye on his blog these days, just to get a feel for the situation.

Voting is done by emotions here – so if the incumbent hands out $10 or pieces of cloth to a group of poor citizens a few days before the election, they can easily forget the 5 years of corruption and ineffectual governance that has plunged DRC to the very bottom of the Human Development Index, while insecurity at the hands of the national army persists. Even nations who have few resources and dictatorship government, are ahead of DRC.

Its sad for the Congolese people, as there is so much potential here…but its only that til now. Here we see the negative sense of the word “potential” – when everything is there, but nothing has been done yet.

Massive Ivory Seizure

On Wednesday, over 1000 tusks were seized from a boat in Zanzibar headed to Malaysia. This means over 500 African elephants were killed.

This huge seizure underscores the point that the war against poaching and the wildlife trade is being lost. The demand in China and Japan is huge, value attributed to ivory is rising. Therefore sophisticated smuggling networks have been created. Let us redouble our efforts for protection of African Elephants and also to the education of the world's citizens about our natural environment and the flora and fauna which share this earth with us.

Click Here for the original article

Tusks From Over 500 Elephants Seized in Zanzibar
DAR es SALAAM, Tanzania, August 25, 2011 (ENS) - Tanzanian officials have confiscated 1,041 elephant tusks they found hidden in sacks of dried fish at the Port of Zanzibar, authorities said on Wednesday. The island of Zanzibar is located in the Indian Ocean, about 22 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania.

Shipping documents for the container in which the elephant tusks were discovered show the destination as Malaysia.

Two suspects are in custody and are being questioned, Zanzibar police spokesman Mohammed Mhina told Reuters.

"Interpol officials from Dar es Salaam have arrived to investigate the incident," he said of the international police force.

The seizure comes as 27 wildlife law enforcement officials from 11 Southern African countries gather in Gaborone, Botswana this week for a training session on the prevention of illegal trade in wildlife given jointly by Interpol and the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare.

"This seizure makes it clear that the ongoing Interpol wildlife enforcement training, which IFAW is supporting in Gabarone, is vital to saving elephants - particularly those elephants of the Congo Basin which are most threatened," said Kelvin Alie, IFAW's Wildlife Trade Programme director. "While we gather to discuss combating the ivory trade, elephants continue to be killed for their ivory."

"At a certain point you stop saying these seizures are alarming or surprising and accept them as a grim and inevitable reminder that we are losing the war against wildlife trafficking," said James Isiche, IFAW East Africa director. "We need a global outcry to spur investment in creating the necessary wildlife law enforcement capacity to take on the international criminal syndicates who benefit from these massacres."

Yet conservationists say they were "stunned" by news of the seizure. "Just imagine discovering the remains of at least 521 dead elephants in a single haul," said Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation and president of the Species Survival Network. "This news has truly numbed us all to the core, and made us even more determined to redouble our efforts in the fight against elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade."

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, approved a complete ban on trade in ivory in 1989, following a decade of bloodshed when 700,000 elephants were slaughtered. But since then there have been numerous concerted efforts to re-open legal trade, and two legal sales of ivory approved by CITES.

"Many experts believe the battle for elephants must not only be fought in the forests or on the savannahs of Africa, or even in the ivory markets of the Far East, but in the corridors of power at CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species," said Travers. "Africa's elephants need action - and they need it now."

The elephant battles at CITES are truly something to behold. Elephant and ivory trade discussions are possibly the most divisive and contentious issues discussed by the 175 countries that have signed the treaty.

In 1999, CITES approved a legal export of 58 tonnes of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to Japan.

In 2008, China joined Japan as an approved "ivory trading partner" in a decision that the United Kingdom government justified at the time as an attempt to satisfy demand and thus reduce poaching.

In 2009, the second CITES-approved shipment of 108 tonnes of ivory to China and Japan took place, despite an international outcry that such legal trade would surely only stimulate demand, and therefore increase poaching.

In 2010, Tanzania and Zambia both asked CITES for approval to sell their stockpiled ivory. However, a group of 23 African elephant range states, known as the African Elephant Coalition, prevented this from happening. More ivory trade proposals are predicted for future CITES meetings, which take place every three years.

Conservationists point out that elephant poaching levels now are rising. "Seizures of illegal ivory this year alone run into tens of thousands of kilos; and the price of illegal raw ivory in the Far East has risen exponentially," Travers said.

A recent report by the EU-funded Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants Programme (MIKE) reveals an upward trend in poaching across East, Southern and Central Africa.

"There are not enough elephants left on this planet to meet Asian demand for ivory," said Shelley Waterland, Born Free's wildlife trade expert.

"Enforcement efforts are essential, but so is reducing demand. A complete ban on any trade in ivory whatsoever must be the only way forward if we are to have any hope of saving elephants across their current range," Waterland said. "Many fragile populations will simply not survive for very much longer if this level of threat continues unabated."

China is now recognized by CITES as the single biggest consumer of illegal ivory. "With the growth in disposable income of Chinese citizens," Travers says, "many believe the demand will keep on rising."

As a matter of urgency, Born Free is calling for China's status as an approved ivory trading partner to be withdrawn.

The group says all countries should agree that future proposals to sell stockpiled ivory be abandoned.

The conservationists are calling on Interpol and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force to step up measures to infiltrate and destroy the organized criminal gangs that operate the poaching syndicates responsible for the current high level of illegal elephant poaching.

In addition, conservationists say money is needed to support law enforcement. "What elephant range states now need is the commitment of the international community to financially support these highly skilled and motivated trainees to be able to meet the task of protecting elephants and stop the legal trade in ivory which facilitates poaching and illegal trade," said Alie.

An African elephant trust fund for the implementation of an African Elephant Action Plan was launched last week at a meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, which manages the affairs of the agency between the tri-annual meetings.

CITES officials and conservationists are urging the international community to join the Netherlands, France and Germany in donating to the African Elephant Fund, which has a goal of $100 million over the next three years. The fund is intended to help pay for priority elephant conservation actions identified in the African Elephant Action Plan, which has been agreed by all 37 African elephant range states.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2011. All rights reserved.

Abraham Conservation Award recipients

The two park guards from Okapi Wildlife Reserve who were killed on 23 Dec 2010 will be posthumously honored with the Abraham Conservation Award, a prestigious honor which recognizes the sacrifice, courage, and bravery with which individuals have acted to protect nature. The guards' widows will attend a ceremony on Sept 25 in the capital city of Kinshasa. May their sacrifice not have been in vain and the memory of their courage be forever appreciated.

OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE
James Kumbayangu Biangbale, ICCN, Second in Command of the RFO guards

James joined ICCN in Epulu after paramilitary training in 2002. He continued para military training and was named instructor at the Ishango training (Virunga) in 2005 because of his high achievement. His bravery and clever strategizing caused him to rise in rank becoming the associate commanding chief of the guard force in the RFO. On this occasion 23 December 2010, his mixed team of guards and military encountered a group of 48 poachers with lookouts hidden in the forest. James team captured one, but as James spoke with him, another, still hidden, fired on James from behind. Struck in the hip he continued to encourage and guide his guards until he died. This included not only instructing one of his team on how to fire a rocket propelled grenade, but also use of his own arm. He died an hour later.

Kambale Bemu, ICCN Patrol guard
Known as Didi, he joined ICCN in 2008. He was appreciated as brave and responsive in guard patrols. He was particularly recognized by his superiors for his refusal to take bribes when posted at potential mining sites. In the same confrontation that cost James his life he forged forward and took two bullets while recovering an arm. The injury cost his life 2 days later, before he managed to reach the road. In the battle the ICCN managed to recuperate two military arms and to kill 8 poachers at the site. The identity of the uncontrolled military that were among the poachers has not been made public, nor are any in custody.

Elephant Poaching publicity

In the last month, several important articles have been published which document the massacre of African Elephants since 2008.

Orphans No More, National Geographic, September 2011:
After the trauma of attack and loss comes healing—and a richer understanding of the emotions and intelligence of elephants.

- this article depicts the complexity and "humanness" of elephant emotions as encountered at a unique orphanage / rehabilitation center operated by the David Sheldrick Trust in Kenya. One must note that very few elephants actually arrive in an orphanage and elephant orphans like them are scattered all over the African elephant range

Agony and Ivory, Vanity Fair, August 2011:
With a booming illegal-ivory market in China and impoverished poachers desperate for tusks, Alex Shoumatoff discovers, Africa’s elephants face an “extinction vortex.”

- this article travels to Kenya, Gabon, Zimbabwe, as well as Hong Kong and Guangzhou to trace the lethally sophisticated and antediluvian ivory trade.

Okapi Reserve retains Imperiled Status

Since 1997, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve has been inscribed on the dubious list of 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites which are "in danger". It is reviewed at the annual session held by the World Heritage Committee which appears to be composed of all manner of conservation folk.

DRC's other sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger were also retained. They include: Virunga National Park, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Garamba National Park, and Salonga National Park. DRC's extraordinary biodiversity continues to be under extraordinary pressure.

Forest from Above

Its way more than just broccoli! Here is a photo taken from a Cessna piloted by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) for the purposes of Law Enforcement Monitoring in the Okapi Reserve.
I was lucky to participate in one survol which had the goal to locate illegal activities and human installments seen from a pre-defined flight path. We took a 2 hr flight over a mixed-species primary forest. It is incredibly diverse from the air as seen in this photo. The diversity of colors due to flowering and leafing - different heights, shapes, and dimensions of crowns, make for a hypnotically stunning viewing-experience.

We located 3 existing villages and 1 new village - very very deep in the forest. The largest one had about 20 houses while the smallest was one isolated hut! It is amazing that these villages survive so far from roads. What is their method of subsistence? Who helps them out? These questions will have to be followed up by launching ground patrols. One village was mining gold and had recently been confronted and dispersed by park guards. We didn't see anybody down there, but maybe they were hiding in their houses. Telltale signs of water-filled pits, houses, and even an orange tarp made it easy to spot.

Also we located some edos which are clearings maintained by animals - typically large and mammalian - such that the vegetation is significantly reduced. Edos are attractive because of water, minerals, and eventually became a sort of social scene perhaps? We saw a series of 4 each of which were over 100m long...no animals down there at the time of our flight, but its interesting to know that activity is or has been significant there. Not much is known about how edos are used.