Gilman International Conservation's Okapi Conservation Project is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the most biologically diverse country in Africa.

The Ituri Forest covers 175,000 square kilometers of lowland tropical forest and contains some of the most important closed canopy rainforest and species diversity in the world. 

The okapi, or forest giraffe, is the national symbol of the protected areas of the Congo and is the flagship species of the Ituri Forest. Rallying support to protect okapi habitat, in turn, provides a secure environment for millions of rainforest species of plants and animals. To save okapi an intact forest ecosystem must be protected. By doing this, there is a chance of preserving a part of the greatest biological diversity on the African continent.

Since 1987, Gilman International Conservation has partnered with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) to help insure the survival of the okapi and its home, the Ituri Forest in northeastern Congo. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was gazetted in 1992, encompassing 13,700 square kilometers to protect a significant population of the endemic okapi.  Listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the Reserve represents a global effort to preserve rare plant and animal life and a significant human culture.

The primary objective of the Okapi Conservation Project is to develop an economic and educational base on which a functioning okapi reserve can operate. A management plan is in place to guide development and management of the Reserve. Gilman International Conservation is responsible for supporting the mandates of the management plan and is actively doing so with additional financial assistance from partners in the US, Europe and Japan.

The Okapi Conservation Project is a model example of what can be achieved when local people and local government, in collaboration with a non-governmental organization, come together at every level, creating a strong, sustainable base for the future of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, its forest, its wildlife, and its peoples.

For more information, please visit: www.GIConline.org