The quiet, beautiful and enigmatic okapi has only been known to Western scientists since 1901 due to its secretive and reclusive nature. However, the local people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the only country where the okapi is found, have known about the animal for thousands of years. Though this endangered giraffe relative is a culturally respected animal and has been protected in the country since 1933, slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal gold mining and bushmeat poaching threaten its existence.
For over 30 years, the Okapi Conservation Project has never faltered in its ability to withstand civil wars, rebel attacks and insecurity in an area ripe with political strife and uncertainty. It’s this standing loyalty that OCP has developed a strong trust within the community, allowing their conservation programs to thrive and expand under arduous conditions. Throughout DRC’s turmoil, the Okapi Conservation Project has remained the primary supporter of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and protector of okapi.
Recently, OCP managed to capture the first known footage of a wild okapi feeding in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, just a few short miles from Epulu, the village where OCP is stationed.
The okapi holds a special reverence within the people’s hearts in the Congo. This is very important in conservation: the local people must have a real love for the animal.John Lukas
John, who is currently Conservation and Science Manager for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and President of the Okapi Conservation Project and the International Rhino Foundation, has over 25 years of international conservation experience. From his work with okapi in the Congo to saving rhinos in Sumatra, John has seen first-hand the importance of integrating the needs of local people into conservation strategies.
Tackling Wildlife Crime
Restoring Habitat
Scientific Research
Expanding Education
Empowering Women
Boosting Local Economies
Guiding Policy
Promoting Health
Honoring Culture
OCP supports and works with the ICCN (Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature) to ensure the availability of rapid response to threats in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. ICCN wardens, rangers, and guards share a wide range of protection and law-enforcement responsibilities—collecting snares, evicting miners, pursuing and detaining poachers, monitoring agricultural expansion, and engaging communities throughout the DRC in conservation awareness and education.
OCP supports tree nurseries around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve to provide nitrogen-fixing and nut-producing trees that help both farmers and wildlife. Students also help plant trees around their schools, a useful and educational practice teaching forest protection to the youth. All of OCP’s nurseries employ local people, stewarding the seeds of habitat corridors for native wildlife, including okapi.
By using motion-sensing camera traps, OCP monitors the presence of okapi and other elusive species within the rainforest to determine population and habitat health. OCP strongly values the involvement of the indigenous Mbuti community in monitoring activities because of their unique history, relationship, and knowledge of the rainforest they have lived in for thousands of years.
Radio broadcasts are the preferred method of sharing information in the region, and the most productive way to connect with many people over a large insecure area. OCP provides education programming broadcasts on five local stations, covering topics like wildlife rangers, climate change, student participation in conservation, forest protection, and the management of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.
Women’s Groups actively improve food security, safeguard clean water sources, and provide alternative income generating opportunities through small business enterprises. OCP supports Women’s Groups around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve with resources like administrative support, sewing machines and materials, as well as bean and vegetable seeds for community gardens.
Traditional farming in Okapi Wildlife Reserve involved slash and burn agriculture, which depletes topsoil. OCP’s agroforestry program promotes sustainable farming practices while reducing dependence on forest resources. By introducing alternative crops, better farming methods, and technologies, the program makes villagers’ lives less volatile, healthier, and more prosperous.
General economic and civil instability of the Democratic Republic of Congo makes it very difficult for the government to address wildlife threats. OCP supports and works with the Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), with specialized training in wildlife management, communications, technology, and language, to ensure they’re prepared for rapid response to wildlife threats.
Outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 have made clear that healthcare is the most important need surrounding the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Through the Okapi Dispensary, and provisions to local health clinics, OCP improves access to doctors and nurses, even providing medical care and transport of emergency cases to regional hospitals.
World Okapi Day is a celebration around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, advocating for community participation in their conservation programs. The day is centered around celebrating okapi as a flagship species to protect the entire forest ecosystem in which it lives. Exciting activities are planned in six villages around the Reserve with children, women, and the Mbuti people.
Tackling Wildlife Crime
OCP supports and works with the ICCN (Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature) to ensure the availability of rapid response to threats in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. ICCN wardens, rangers, and guards share a wide range of protection and law-enforcement responsibilities—collecting snares, evicting miners, pursuing and detaining poachers, monitoring agricultural expansion, and engaging communities throughout the DRC in conservation awareness and education.
Restoring Habitat
OCP supports tree nurseries around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve to provide nitrogen-fixing and nut-producing trees that help both farmers and wildlife. Students also help plant trees around their schools, a useful and educational practice teaching forest protection to the youth. All of OCP’s nurseries employ local people, stewarding the seeds of habitat corridors for native wildlife, including okapi.
Scientific Research
By using motion-sensing camera traps, OCP monitors the presence of okapi and other elusive species within the rainforest to determine population and habitat health. OCP strongly values the involvement of the indigenous Mbuti community in monitoring activities because of their unique history, relationship, and knowledge of the rainforest they have lived in for thousands of years.
Expanding Education
Radio broadcasts are the preferred method of sharing information in the region, and the most productive way to connect with many people over a large insecure area. OCP provides education programming broadcasts on five local stations, covering topics like wildlife rangers, climate change, student participation in conservation, forest protection, and the management of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.
Empowering Women
Women’s Groups actively improve food security, safeguard clean water sources, and provide alternative income generating opportunities through small business enterprises. OCP supports Women’s Groups around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve with resources like administrative support, sewing machines and materials, as well as bean and vegetable seeds for community gardens.
Boosting Local Economies
Traditional farming in Okapi Wildlife Reserve involved slash and burn agriculture, which depletes topsoil. OCP’s agroforestry program promotes sustainable farming practices while reducing dependence on forest resources. By introducing alternative crops, better farming methods, and technologies, the program makes villagers’ lives less volatile, healthier, and more prosperous.
Guiding Policy
General economic and civil instability of the Democratic Republic of Congo makes it very difficult for the government to address wildlife threats. OCP supports and works with the Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), with specialized training in wildlife management, communications, technology, and language, to ensure they’re prepared for rapid response to wildlife threats.
Promoting Health
Outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 have made clear that healthcare is the most important need surrounding the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Through the Okapi Dispensary, and provisions to local health clinics, OCP improves access to doctors and nurses, even providing medical care and transport of emergency cases to regional hospitals.
Honoring Culture
World Okapi Day is a celebration around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, advocating for community participation in their conservation programs. The day is centered around celebrating okapi as a flagship species to protect the entire forest ecosystem in which it lives. Exciting activities are planned in six villages around the Reserve with children, women, and the Mbuti people.
$250 will support sustainable livelihood programs for one family living in or around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve for one year.
$500 will support three ICCN rangers who protect okapi by collecting snares and pursuing poachers and other illegal activities.
$1,000 will provide a month’s worth of fuel and maintenance for all motorbikes of the OCP educators who travel the Reserve educating the local people about protecting the forest and conserving okapi.
