Resources
Lac Télé Community Reserve

  • Covering a mosaic of landscapes, the Lac Télé Community Reserve is best known for its wetlands of international importance (RAMSAR site). 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • The Reserve harbors 27,000 as well as unique ecosystems. Most people of the 20 villages rely on natural resources, primarily fishes as a source of protein and incomes. Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • The Reserve is recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area and an Important Bird Area. Up to 78 species have been recorded there, among them the hamerkopf. 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • The winding rivers of the Reserve, particularly the Likouala-aux-herbes, are the main transport routes for both the local population and the teams, most often using dugout canoe. 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • Dwarf crocodiles are hunted for their meat. Seizures seem to indicate a decline in the weight of these reptiles, which could reflect unsustainable hunting levels. 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • The Reserve's ecoguards seize crocodiles being transported en masse to urban centers such as Kinshasa and Brazzaville and release them to prevent a collapse in the population of these reptiles, on which local communities depend for their food security. 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • The Reserve takes its name from Lac Télé, located in the heart of its forest. Almost circular in appearance, it is an ancestral fishing spot shrouded in mysticism, which continues to fuel cryptozoological myths to this day. 

    Photo credit : Jordi Bernado
  • Much remains to be discovered in the dense forests of the Reserve, including numerous species of insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles, such as geckos. 

    Photo credit : Thomas Nicolon
  • To open waterways and create arable land, communities resort to bush fires, which are often poorly controlled and can destroy important gallery forests, contributing to the silting up of rivers and a reduction in fish catches. 

    Photo credit : Scott Ramsay
  • Épéna, the main village in the Reserve, is crossed by a procession of warriors dressed in raffia for a traditional ceremony. 

    Photo credit : Scott Ramsay
  • On the road connecting the Reserve and the regional capital, Impfondo, ecoguards ensure compliance with wildlife protection laws. 

    Photo credit : Scott Ramsay
  • Agroforestry cocoa cultivation is a source of income with great potential for communities in the Reserve, without deforestation. 

    Photo credit : Scott Ramsay