Ann Novek( Luure)--With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors

Chinese construction camps eyed as ivory trade conduits in Republic of Congo

By Arwa Damon and Brent Swails, CNN
January 8, 2014 — Updated 1230 GMT (2030 HKT)

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Rangers search for illegal ivory

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Anti-poaching leader is convinced Chinese construction camps are conduits for the ivory trade
  • The Congolese government vows to punish anyone found to be connected to poaching
  • A wildlife protection group works with Congolese authorities to find and shut down poachers

Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo (CNN) — The Republic of Congo’s main north-south road runs right on the edge of Odzala-Kokoua National Park. For now, it remains nothing more than a narrow dirt track and Odzala, the country’s largest park, very much remains one of the world’s last isolated natural Edens.

But Mathieu Eckel, head of the park’s anti-poaching unit, knows that is quickly changing. For the past year, Eckel has been gathering evidence…

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