The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become the 25th member state of the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), a pan-African alliance of countries dedicated to the conservation of elephants and the harmonious co-existence of elephants and people.

“The DRC joining the EPI marks a positive progression in the close, fruitful and long-standing collaboration between the country and EPI Foundation. It sends a strong signal of DRC’s intention to be a part of a collective effort to advance elephant conservation and harmonious coexistence across Africa,” the group submitted.

The DG of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), Yves Milan Ngangay, is recognised for his commitment to the preservation of biodiversity, including the fight against illegal wildlife trade, said the EPI, adding that DRC’s membership of the organisation demonstrates the country’s political will to conserve its robust elephant population.

The Chair of the EPI Leadership Council, Sharon Ikeazor, said: “As Chair of the EPI Leadership Council I am delighted to warmly welcome the DRC as the 25th member of the EPI. We look forward to working closely with the Government, as we have already been doing through the EPI Foundation, in supporting local, national and cross-border efforts to achieve harmonious coexistence between local communities and elephants across their range.”

The EPI Foundation disclosed that it has been working with the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), the national agency in charge of the management of ivory and other wildlife products, to improve its system of wildlife product management.

This work, added EPI, includes the development, validation and approval of standard operating procedures, reinforcement of storage facilities and the development of their stockpile management systems.

The EPI CEO, John E. Scanlon AO, said: ‘We warmly welcome DRC as the 25th member of the EPI. DRC becoming a member of the EPI will facilitate efforts to achieve harmonious coexistence across the elephant’s range, and to achieve maximum impact from its projects and initiatives for the benefit of local communities, countries, elephant herds, and entire ecosystems. The EPI Foundation looks forward to supporting the DRC government in achieving its elephant conservation objectives.”

On May 22, 2023, the EPI Foundation hosted a special film from the Congo Basin in Central Africa. The film, presented by Vianet Djenguet, places a spotlight on Africa’s critically endangered Forest Elephants and examines their plight and prospects for the future. Government speakers from Congo-Brazzaville, the DRC, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, discussed these themes with specific examples from their own countries. They were joined by the Lord Zac Goldsmith from the United Kingdom as well as Cristián Samper of the Bezos Earth Fund.

The EPI Foundation said it would continue to work closely with the Democratic Republic of Congo by:

• Helping to secure stockpiles of ivory and other wildlife products, by equipping wildlife officials with the relevant training.
• Providing technical expertise in developing elephant action plans, managing human-elephant conflict (HEC)
• Amplifying the voices of their conservation journalists, and other related support.

The EPI Foundation commended the DRC for achieving the milestone, adding that it looks forward to working closely with the Government to implement projects and other initiatives that serve to promote elephant conservation.