Ecotourism
WCS-Congo is committed to its role in working with Government and private tour operators in the facilitation and implementation of ecotourism in Congo.
Ecotourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. It employs the natural resources of an area as means of attracting visitors, benefiting local people and providing a sustainable source of funding for protected areas in the process. Ecotourism also includes a significant education component for the visitor, enabling them to better understand the region and ecosystem that they are visiting. Ecotourism can also be an important tool for developing local, national, and international support for a protected area.
WCS-Congo first began developing ecotourism in early 2001, with tourists visiting the Mbeli bai forest clearing in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. This program was expanded in 2004 with the completion of the construction of a small number of high quality bungalows near Mbeli Bai. The area has now become popular with international tourists.
It is hoped that a national process involving the government Ministries of Forest Economy and the Environment and the Ministry for Tourism will produce guidelines and a national strategy for the future development of ecotourism within Congo, and existing partnerships with private tour companies and ground operators will be expanded to ensure the success of ecotourism as a long-term strategy for conservation and development.