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 othing pleases Jean Bosco Kpanou (Pah-no) more than seeing a 400-pound silverback gorilla charging toward him. He's equally delighted to zigzag from tree to tree while an elephant lumbers behind. Kpanou, 39, loves the "thrill and exhilaration of being around animals, having your senses alive," in the forest.
No wonder Kpanou is excited. His hard work has helped to preserve the Dzanga-Ndoki (Zong-guh-In-doe-kee) National Park in the Central African Republic. The area's lowland tropical forest is full of unique plants and animals.
Many of the world's tropical forests have been wiped out by logging. Once the trees are gone, the wildlife-like the beautiful bongo, below-can't survive. Kpanou didn't want this to happen to the forest near his home, so he worked to protect it. Thanks to his efforts and those of biologist Richard Carroll and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the forest has become part of the park and the surrounding Dzanga-Sangha (Zong-guh-Song-guh) Dense Forest Special Reserve. In 1990 it gained government protection.
No hunting or logging is permitted inside the park. However, the rules are less strict in the reserve. The WWF and Kpanou continue to battle for greater protection.
A Hero Is Made, Not Born
Kpanou doesn't have a science degree or even a high school diploma. When his father died, he had to leave elementary school to help his mother work in the fields. Kpanou grew up in a tiny village just north of the forest. In 1978 he met Richard Carroll, who was working in the area. "Jean told me about going into the forest with his dad," Carroll says. "He had learned a lot about the plants and wildlife."
In 1984 Carroll visited Kpanou on his way into the forest for a WWF project. Kpanou, then in his early 20s, asked to help. The biologist agreed.
They found lots of wildlife species in what is now the forest reserve. But the area wasn't yet protected. So Carroll began his fight to secure the area. Kpanou worked on park development, opening and building roads and training the staff.
Save the Trees!
Even after the area was legally protected, Kpanou and Carroll had to make sure people followed the rules. The locals rely on the forest to survive. They hunt for their food and use the plants to make medicine. They make money by cutting trees and selling gorilla meat and ivory from elephant tusks, even though it's illegal to kill these animals.
People didn't realize they were hurting the forest, Kpanou says. "They feel like it goes on forever." He started a "storytelling" night and invited elders from different groups to talk about respect for nature. "The fire would be blazing, and hundreds of people would come," Carroll says. "They'd hear stories and realize conservation was part of their history."
Local people started to understand Kpanou's work. They wanted to help, so he gave them jobs at the park. Today the area earns money through tourism, which helps pay for local projects and park salaries.
Kpanou has won an environmental award for his work. He is now leading a project to conserve areas outside his country. But his most important job, he says, is teaching others to care about nature. "The image I'd like people to see," Kpanou says, "is coming out of this tall, green forest and seeing hundreds of elephants and the bongo and the buffalo in the clearing. It's a magical place."
By Kathryn Hoffman
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