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32-507: The vast area of forest and permanent or seasonal lakes and marshlands has great environmental and economic value. However, a rapidly growing population combined with weak and corrupt governance may be contributing to irreversible destruction. The Ramsar wetland area of Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe is bordered to the west by the Ubangi and Congo rivers, which form the boundary with the Republic of

64-466: A MONUC helicopter that was restocking the 20 troops stationed came under gunfire from armed men. The helicopter crew, all of Russian nationality, evacuated 25 people, including five injured people who were taken to Brazzaville for emergency medical treatment. The Congolese army (FARDC) recaptured Dongo on 13 December. According to the Congolese press among the rebels who had captured several towns in

96-583: A leading role in developing technical plans. Official recognition was formally announced in Kinshasa in July 2008. The WWF has said it plans to continue working with international partners and with local communities to preserve biodiversity through sustainable development in the landscape. The Lac Tumba-Ledira and Ngiri reserves are contained within the site, supporting research and helping raise awareness. The city of Mbandaka , capital of Équateur province with

128-586: A party to the Ramsar Convention, the DRC is obliged to identify wetlands of global importance and to ensure that they are used in a sustainable manner. Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe is considered important because the vegetation of the flood basin absorbs water during the rainy season and releases it later, regulating flooding downstream. It helps filter impurities from water that is used by millions of people, and it provides breeding sites for fish that provide food for

160-472: A population of around 750,000, is near the center of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe site. The site also contains several smaller towns, mainly populated by Mongo people . Communities in the area grow cassava, sweet potatoes, sugarcane and bananas for local consumption. They produce palm oil, groundnuts and rice as cash crops, and catch fish for shipment to large cities in the region. The people of

192-627: Is a small town on the Ubangi River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on its frontier with the Republic of the Congo . The conflict at Dongo began in July 2009 with a dispute over the ownership of fish ponds claimed by people from Enyele and Monzaya villages which had been disputed since 1946. In the confrontation, seven policemen were killed and ethnic tensions increased. By 5 November 2009 at least 16,000 civilians had fled to

224-669: Is believed that the Ubangi's upper reaches originally flowed into the Chari River and Lake Chad before being captured by the Congo in the early Pleistocene. Together with the Congo River, it provides an important transport artery for river boats between Bangui and Brazzaville . From its source to 100 km (62 mi) below Bangui, the Ubangi defines the boundary between the Central African Republic and

256-688: Is part of the moist tropical forest of the Congo Basin, which includes over 10,000 plant species. The diverse fauna includes many bird species. It is home to hippopotamus and to three types of crocodile. Forest elephants, forest buffalo and leopards are of particular interest to conservationists. The wetlands are estimated to have 150 species of fish. The brown waters of the flooded forests, with plant fragments suspended in anaerobic conditions, are home to endemic species of fish uniquely adapted to this environment. These include Protopteridae, Polypteridae, Notopteridae, Clariidae, Anabantidae, and Channidae. As

288-464: Is possible that a vicious cycle is setting in where degradation of the swamps and forest is causing reduced precipitation, which in turn is causing further degradation. Ubangi River The Ubangi River ( /( j ) uː ˈ b æ ŋ ɡ i / ; Swahili : Mto Ubangi ; French : Fleuve Oubangui ; Dutch : Mubangi Stroom ), also spelled Oubangui , is a river in Central Africa , and

320-579: The Guatemalan Special Forces. Military equipment such as armored personnel carriers, transport and combat helicopters were also at their disposal to support their mission. The crisis in Dongo led to an exodus of the civilian population, first due to the advance of the rebels and then due to the counter-attacks of the army. Humanitarian agencies faced major logistical obstacles since refugees were spread across an area of 500 km along

352-741: The 1980s and 1990s by Nigerian engineer J.   Umolu and the Italian firm Bonifica. In 1994, the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) proposed a similar project, and at a March 2008 summit the heads of state of the LCBC member countries committed to the diversion project. In April 2008, the LCBC advertised a request for proposals for a feasibility study. 0°30′S 17°42′E  /  0.500°S 17.700°E  / -0.500; 17.700 Dongo conflict Lobala rebels [REDACTED]   Democratic Republic of

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384-764: The CAR, after which it flows south – forming the border between the DRC and the Republic of the Congo . The Ubangi finally joins the Congo River at Liranga. The Ubangi's length is about 1,060 km (660 mi). Its total length with the Uele, its longest tributary, is 2,270 km (1,410 mi). The Ubangi's drainage basin is about 651,915 km (251,706 sq mi). Mean annual discharge at mouth 5,936 m /s . Its discharge at Bangui ranges from about 800 m /s (28,000 cu ft/s) to 11,000 m /s (390,000 cu ft/s), with an average flow of about ~4,000 m /s (140,000 cu ft/s). It

416-549: The Congo Other major events The Dongo conflict was a minor conflict centered in the town of Dongo , on the left bank of the Ubangi River in Sud-Ubangi District , Democratic Republic of the Congo . Violence initially broke out in late October 2009 after a local dispute over fishing rights. This destabilised the region and led to a spiral of violence, and an exodus of civilians attempting to flee from

448-528: The Congo . The Kasai River and its tributary the Fimi River , which drains Lake Mai-Ndombe , define the southern boundary. Within the site, Lake Mai Ngombe is farthest south, with Lake Tumba to the north. Further north again is the city of Mbandaka , on the east bank of the Congo River. The region included in the Ramsar wetlands extends further north in the region between the Ubangi and the Congo, as far as

480-590: The Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) rushed peacekeeping troops to Dongo in an effort to protect the local population. First peace keepers to reach Dongo were a MILOB team led by Maj Sankha Jayamaha (Sri Lanka Army) from Gemina team site with some Ghana peace keepers to provide real time information and to compromise the prevailing situation. Peace keepers were able to reached to Dongo and also were able to facilitate UN official to reach Dongo by heli by making favorable and safe atmosphere. after some days

512-574: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Thereafter, it forms the boundary between the DRC and the Republic of Congo until it empties into the Congo River. In the 1960s, a plan was proposed to divert waters from the Ubangi to the Chari River . According to the plan, named Transaqua, the water from the Ubangi would revitalize Lake Chad and provide a livelihood in fishing and enhanced agriculture to tens of millions of central Africans and Sahelians . Inter-basin water transfer schemes were proposed in

544-633: The area were former soldiers of the Congolese army, deserters, and former members of the Zairean army who had sought refuge in ROC. At the weekly MONUC press conference of 16 December 2009, it was announced by MONUC spokesperson Madnodje Mounoubai that the first MONUC peacekeeping troops were deployed in Dongo, as well as in nearby Bozene . The 500 MONUC troops consisted of soldiers from the Ghanaian , Tunisian and Egyptian contingents as well as troops from

576-595: The banks of the Ubangi River. With its local staff, the UNHCR has supported the creation of nine clinics around the highest concentration of refugees, where there is a greater need for medicines and medical staff. There are also mobile medical centers for remote areas. Humanitarian agencies also installed six large water tanks with a total capacity of 60,000 litres near Bétou in the northern Republic of Congo, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Dongo. By 22 December,

608-428: The conflict had left 100 dead and forced 115,000 people to flee their homes, two thirds of them into the Republic of the Congo, according to the UNHCR. Amid growing violence, the creation of an anti-government rebel group called the " Resistance Patriots of Dongo " ( Patriotes-Résistants de Dongo ) was declared by Ambroise Lobala Mokobe but appears to have had little presence on the ground. The United Nations Mission in

640-635: The displaced crossed the Ubangi River into ROC. The unrest was led by an animist priest called Udjani  [ fr ] whose followers apparently included former members of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo led by Jean-Pierre Bemba which fought the Congolese government during the Second Congo War (1998–2003). Udjani's supporters patrolled the Ubangi river, shooting at barges filled with people trying to escape. By 10 December

672-600: The fighting. By December 2009, this conflict was one of the biggest conflicts of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and the United Nations ; more than 168,000 people had fled their homes, many of them crossing into the neighbouring Republic of the Congo . An intervention by the Congolese army and MONUC brought the conflict to an end by 13 December 2009. Dongo

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704-464: The forest is its misery and poverty… We cannot maintain and protect this forest with a miserable people, a poor population, who has no schools, no health care centres, no drinking water and no electricity". Between 75% and 95% of rainfall in the Congo Basin is thought to be recycled as water vapor rises from the forests and marshes and falls again as rain. Rainfall has declined in recent years. It

736-627: The inhabitants of cities such as Brazzaville and Kinshasa . The wetlands and forests also serve as a major carbon sink , absorbing and retaining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Efforts to gain recognition of the wetland began in 2004, with support from the USAID Central African Regional Program for the Environment, the Ramsar Convention and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The WWF took

768-517: The largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River . It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m /s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual discharge 1,550 m /s) and flows west, forming the border between Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Subsequently, the Ubangi bends to the southwest and passes through Bangui , the capital of

800-577: The neighbouring Republic of the Congo (ROC) and Dongo had become a ghost town. Further to the south, in Saba-Saba and in the Bomboma area, new fighting started on 17 November and the residents and the refugees from Dongo had to flee. The refugees included members of the Congolese navy , which patrols the Ubangi River ; they had to flee with their families because they had neither weapons nor ammunition to protect themselves. More clashes occurred in

832-497: The people have little or no education. They use unsustainable quantities of firewood and charcoal as their main source of energy, and contribute to forest degradation through slash-and-burn cultivation. Fish stocks are declining due to overfishing using fine-mesh nets, including mosquito nets. Illegal bushmeat hunting and trapping to meet demand from the towns and cities is causing wildlife populations to decline. José Endundo Bononge , DRC Minister of Environment, says: "The enemy of

864-435: The provinces. Land tenure laws are poorly defined and applied. Laws regulating mining, agriculture and forest use are inconsistent and poorly enforced, causing conflict over rights to exploit resources. Logging concessions do not recognise traditional land rights and are causing unsustainable degradation of the forests. Other threats come from the expansion of oil palm plantations, commercial farms and from urbanization. Most of

896-416: The region are extremely poor and suffer from endemic local conflicts as well as food insecurity. 26 police and at least 100 civilians died, and tens of thousands were displaced, in the 2009 Dongo conflict over fishing and farming rights in the northwest of Équateur. The local population is growing at about 3% per year, one of the highest rates in the world, placing growing stress on natural resources. However,

928-426: The region is still sparsely populated with 6–24 inhabitants per square kilometer. About 90% of the people outside the urban centers live on under $ 1 per day, and few have access to clean water. Maternal and infant mortality rates are high and diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS are prevalent. Governance in the region is weak and corruption is widespread. The central government does not provide funding to

960-551: The shallow lakes Tumba and Mai Ndombe . Lake Tumba covers about 765 square kilometres (295 sq mi) depending on the season, connected via the Irebu channel with the Congo river. Water may flow into or out of the lake through this channel depending on the floods. Lake Tumba has 114 species of fish. Lake Mai Ndombe covers about 2,300 square kilometres (890 sq mi) and is surrounded by flooded forests and swamps. Both lakes support important fisheries. Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe

992-485: The town of Makanza on the Congo. The Ubangi and Congo rivers join in the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe region to form a huge area of flooded forest covering more than 38,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi) that varies in size seasonally. When the wetlands around Lake Télé in the Republic of the Congo are included, the area contains the largest body of fresh water in Africa. The two largest areas of open water are

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1024-460: The village of Buburo on 20 November. Although the inhabitants had already fled, the attackers destroyed the houses there, including the UNHCR offices, which had also earlier evacuated its staff. By 30 November 2009 more than 70,000 people had been displaced. About half of the displaced remained in DRC, taking temporary shelter in locations such as Kungu , Bokonzi , Bomboma and Bonzene . The rest of

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