Bili (coordinates 4°9'N 25°10'E), which is about 200 km east of Bondo and 250 km north of Buta, is a city in the Bas-Uélé District in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.[1] It lies along the Bili river, a tributary of the Ubangi river. It lies 50 km south of the Mbomou river, which forms the border with the Central African Republic.[2] It is situated to the north of the Uélé river. The town has existed since at least 1908.[3] It sits on land covered in marshlands, swamps and savannah, with patches of forest, while to the south of the Uélé lies dense unbroken rainforest.[4] The local populace of the greater area are Azande.[5] In 2005, a Time reporter found the region was highly undeveloped due to war and neglect. Bicycles were the main mode of transport at the time.[6] Gold was found in the region, attracting many prospectors in 2006–2007.[7]
The troubles in the neighbouring country of the Central African Republic have caused a large number of people to cross the nearby Mbomou river to seek refuge here. In 2015, a UNHCR refugee camp for 4,000 was set up in a near-by village. There was not enough to eat.[8] As of 2020 the refugee camp now houses 10,000 people from CAR.[9] There are also numerous informal refugee camps along the border on the near bank of the Mbomou and Ubangi, such as Baladamo Rive, housing 90,000 people in makeshift shelters. Malaria is a problem. The UNHCR is trying to convince these refugees to decamp to Bili.[2]
In 2016, the WHO registered a cholera outbreak in Bili.[10]
In 2014, the Africa Wildlife Foundation (AWF) declared the entire region from the Uélé to the Mbomou to be the 'Bili–Mbomu Forest Savanna Mosaic'. They also call the region the 'Bili-Uele Protected Area'. The government of the DRC does not recognise these entities. In 2015, the AWF complained of artisanal miners and indigenous Mbororo people crossing the river from the north, as they survive as cattle herdsmen and might hunt animals, as well as the Lord's Resistance Army, an extremist Christian militia. In early 2015, the NGO brought in Maisha Group Ltd., a commando training company, which established a field office in Bili. The plan was to train a group of twenty to thirty rangers to patrol the region for the AWF and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), an independent partner for the DRC government. The AWF planned to talk to local 'stakeholders' and 'intruders' at a later date.[11][12] As of 2019, the AWF uses UAV technology and spatial modelling to protect the wildlife in the area, funded by western charities.[13]
Bili can be reached by light plane,[3] boat,[6] and by vehicles on unpaved roads.[8][11]
Natural history
editThe region around Bili, between the Ubangi river to the northwest and the Uélé river to the south, was studied in the early 2000s by scientists interested in common chimpanzees.[14] In 2003, an American controversially claimed to have maybe discovered a dangerous new species of great ape here,[4][6][15][16] but her claims were debunked.[4][6][17]
At least in the early 2000s, the wider area has elephants,[3][11] lions, hyenas and leopards.[6]
The Domaine Chasse Bili Uere is a hunting preserve in the area. The Uéré is another river further to the east. Garamba National Park lies even further east from that. As of 2017, the ICCN has rangers installed at Bili Uéré.[18]
References
edit- ^ Michelin Motoring and Tourist Map: "Africa Central and South". Michelin Travel Publications, Paris, 2000.
- ^ a b Schmitt, Céline (17 April 2015). "The Malaria Medics". UNHCR. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b c Roach, John (2003-04-14). "Elusive African Apes: Giant Chimps or New Species?". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2003.
- ^ a b c Dunning, Brian (August 20, 2019). "Skeptoid #689: The Bili Ape of the Congo". Skeptoid. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Hicks, Thurston Cleve; Roessingh, Peter; Menken, Steph B. J. (2012). "Supplementary material for Reactions of Bili-Uele Chimpanzees to Humans in Relation to Their Distance From Roads and Villages". American Journal of Primatology. 1: 1–13. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Faris, Stephan (January 17, 2005). "Lost apes of the Congo: A Time Reporter Travels Deep into the African Jungle in Search of a Mysterious Chimp Called the Lion Killer". Time.
- ^ Hicks, Thurston C.; Darby, Laura; Hart, John; Swinkels, Jeroen; January, Nick; Menken, Steph (2010). "Trade in Orphans and Bushmeat Threatens One of The Democratic Republic of the Congo's Most Important Populations of Eastern Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)". African Primates. 7 (1). Archived from the original on 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ a b Clowes, William (24 June 2015). "'We Cannot Go Back. We Cannot Trust Them Again.'". Foreign Policy. Zondo, DRC. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "Democratic Republic of the Congo UNHCR Operational Update May 2020". UNHCR. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Democratic Republic of the Congo health situation reports". World Health Organization. 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2004. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Protecting the Bili-Uele Protected Area in DRC". InfoCongo. 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ McQuay, Bill; Joyce, Christopher (9 May 2014). "Former Commando Turns Conservationist to Save Elephants of Dzanga-bai". National Public Radio. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Improving Anti-Poaching Operations In Bili-Mbomu". Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Hicks, Cleve. "The Bili Chimpanzees" on The Wasmoeth Wildlife Foundation website – updates: 'Field Season 2004–2005: Into the World of the Bili Apes'
- ^ Primates.com – Seeking answers to big 'mystery ape'
- ^ NationalGeographic.com – Elusive African Apes: Giant Chimps or New Species?
- ^ Thurston C. Hicks; Hjalmar S. Küehl; Christophe Boesch; Paula Dieguez; AyukEmmanuel Ayimisin; Rumen Martin Fernandez; Donatienne Barubiyo Zungawa; Mbangi Kambere; Jeroen Swinkels; Steph B. J. Menken; John Hart; Roger Mundry; Peter Roessingh (2019). "Bili-Uéré: A Chimpanzee Behavioural Realm in Northern Democratic Republic of Congo". Folia Primatologica. 90 (1): 3–64. doi:10.1159/000492998. hdl:21.11116/0000-0003-11D9-5. PMID 30799412.
- ^ "Central Africa's natural treasures are a blessing. They are also a curse". Newsroom. National Geographic Society. 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2021.