Project History
Conservation activities in the region were first initiated in April 1994 with the signature of an agreement between the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Project for the Management and Conservation of Protected Areas (PROGECAP/GEF-Congo).
The goal of this project was to create a protected area. Under IUCN's guidance, the communities in and around the current Lac Télé Community Reserve signed an accord on 9 Mars 1997 agreeing to the establishment of a reserve. In October 1998, the reserve was designated a Ramsar site. However, in June 1999, financing for the reserve came to an end and the IUCN project stopped before a management plan could be implemented. The Wildlife Conservation Society was invited to assist the government of Congo with the management of the Lac Télé Community Reserve in July 2000. The Lac Télé Community Reserve was officially created on May 10, 2001 by the Congolese government (Décret 2001).
Recognising the complexities of managing community-based extractive reserves, WCS-Congo first initiated a feasibility study to determine whether the biological and socio-economic conditions were appropriate for a long-term conservation presence in the area. This study lasted for 18 months and resulted in the decision to continue with a long-term conservation project in the area.