The decks were piled high with equipment and provisions - and packed with people, too, most of them wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Boyekoli Ebale Congo ("Study of the Congo River" in the Lingala language). It was the start of an intrepid expedition organised by the Belgian-
Congolese Congo Biodiversity Initiative to study the plant and animal species of the Congo Basin.
The boats, in fact, were not meant to be so crowded. A third vessel - the media boat - didn't arrive on time. Consequently, two boats - designed to hold 67 zoologists, botanists, hydrologists, geologists, cartographers, archaeologists and linguists - had to find space for journalists and camera crews, and all their equipment.
Already a few days later than scheduled, it wasn't the smooth start that the organisers of Boyekoli Ebale Congo had hoped for. Flemish biologist and expedition co-leader Erik Verheyen calls the overcrowding the project's biggest challenge.
But considering the journey ahead, that's possibly not such a bad thing. The great expedition had commenced, and it saw the team of 130 travel from Kisangani to Bumba and back, a five-week, 1,000-kilometer round trip.
"With 130 people, we were like a floating village," says Verheyen.
The Congo Basin is home to the second-largest rainforest in the world. Conservation of this region's unique biodiversity is vital, not only for its intrinsic ecological importance but also the crucial role it plays in generating income for national and local economies.
More than 40 million Congolese rely on the forests and rivers of the Congo Basin for their livelihoods. Due to deforestation, poachers and over-fishing, these natural resources are at risk, and the whole eco-system is under threat. To tackle these dangers, sustainable use and management of ecological resources is essential. Fundamental to that process is scientific knowledge.
However, there is very little data available on Congolese biodiversity, with much of it dating back over 50 years. The Congo Biodiversity Initiative was formed to update this knowledge. It's a Belgian-Congolese consortium of four scientific institutions: the University of Kisangani (Congo); the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren); the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Brussels); and the National Botanic Garden (Meise).
That's why so many people were necessary on those two boats. "There was so much work to do, as much of this area is still largely unknown," says Verheyen, who teaches at Antwerp University. "For example, before the expedition only 185 species of lichen were known in the whole country. We discovered 600 more."
The Congo/Belgian connection
The expedition's objective was to survey the biodiversity in and around the Congo River. From analysing the water quality of the river and its tributaries to examining the aquatic life, the scientists' work in the rainforest extended to the banks of the river. Here they collected native plants and animals.
Taking specimens is essential because conservation is based on knowledge. Correct identification of animals and plants is, therefore, crucial. A new species can not be identified just from photographs. It requires in-depth information from an anatomical example.
The expedition, in fact, was originally intended to last longer. "Initially, we wanted to travel from Kisangani to Kinshasa, but we decided not to do so for two reasons. One was the delay in leaving Kisangani, which meant that the original schedule was always going to be tight. And then we heard of some security issues in Mbandaka that might have prevented us from setting foot on land, so we decided to travel to Bumba and back."
Ultimately, it wasn't a disappointment. "Actually it worked to our advantage," says Verheyen, "as our biological sampling was more in-depth, plus we had time to explore the various tributaries."
The work of the Congo Biodiversity Initiative extends way beyond the expedition; it also includes comprehensive training of local scientific staff. Such investment in researchers aims to support their learning, help them integrate into international scientific networks and ultimately contribute to the long-term sustainable management of the Democratic Republic of Congo's natural resources.
"I was delighted to see the different nationalities collaborate very well together," says Verheyen. "Wherever possible we formed groups made up of both Congolese and Belgians. They all got on amazingly well, both as scientists and as people. And it has to be said that the passion of the Congolese researchers for their work is unequalled in Africa, which played a significant role in the successful outcome of the expedition."
Later this year, a multi-disciplinary Biodiversity Surveillance Centre will open in Kisangani. A place of study and home to the biological collections obtained during the expedition, the centre will be equipped with material to carry out field work and provide accommodation for visiting researchers and students.
"One of its main tasks will be the education and training of zoologists and botanists specialising in Congo's biodiversity and of experts in the sustainable development of forests," explains Verheyen. "The intention is that it becomes a real centre of excellence to monitor the biodiversity of the Congo Basin."
A road map - literally
Boyekoli Ebale Congo 2010 yielded thousands of photos, observations, recordings and samples. It will take months if not years to process all this information. However, the preliminary results are already impressive.
The rapid integration of high- resolution satellite images with old maps and topographical and data collected in the field has already produced new, high-quality maps of the region - an important result as most maps of Congo are more than 40 years old.
More than 1,200 plant species were collected for the herbarium in Yangambi, the new Biodiversity Surveillance Centre in Kisangani and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. These included 35 orchids, 150 fungi (of which one is a new species) and 750 lichens.
Zooplankton, phytoplankton, crustaceans and molluscs were sampled in 150 different places, in habitats with different water quality. Around 6,000 fish were collected at 95 localities using a variety of nets, plus local fishermen. Selected species were screened for the presence of gill parasites, and tissue samples were taken for DNA identification of species.
Tens of thousands of insects and spiders were collected after being trapped with lures - such as pheromones, manure and light - or via fumigation of tree canopies. On our cover, Patrick Grootaert, head of entomology at the Institute of Natural Sciences, gathers insects off a brightly lit sheet at night.
Around 700 amphibians and 150 reptiles (mostly snakes) were caught by hand. More than 100 hours of sound recordings were made of the calls of male frogs to assist in the identification of species.
Using hundreds of snap traps, live traps and pitfalls, 195 small mammals were collected along the banks of the Congo, mainly mice, rats and shrews of at least 19 species. They include a possible new species of rat and two shrews, which were recorded in Congo for the first time.
Over 22 nights, the team collected 594 bats of 19 species. During the day, using the same nets, 830 birds of 61 species were caught. An important effort of the local scientific community is focussed on gaining insight into the role of fruit-eating bats and birds in the regeneration of the primary rainforest.
Linguists, meanwhile, conducted 82 interviews in nine villages to learn what the people of four languages (and many dialects) could tell them about local traditions and the animals and plants of the region. Some cultural interactions were unforgettable: in one river village that has never had electricity, researchers used a generator to show the children a movie.
Photographer Kris Pannecoucke, responsible for the photos you see here, travelled along the Congo River with the expedition. In hundreds of photographs, he has captured life on the river: the fieldwork of the scientists; the diverse plant and animal species; the villages and people of the Congo. An exhibition of his work, Boyekoli Ebale Congo 2010, can be visited simultaneously at the sites of the three Belgian partners: the Museum of Central Africa, the Royal Museum of Natural Sciences and the National Botanic Garden.
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