Human Landscape
Current human impact in Odzala ranges from close to zero in the heart of the OKNP to very high along roads to the south, east, and north of the National Park. Most communities in the region rely on agricultural and hunting. Hunting is practiced for commercial and subsistence purposes depending on transport conditions. The local population center of Mbomo to the south has grown in recent years to more than 4,000 inhabitants whose demand for bushmeat exerts considerable pressure on wildlife populations. Threats to the OKNP include commercial bushmeat trade, ivory poaching, logging, weak law enforcement capacity, and, more recently, outbreaks of the Ebola virus.