Nanna Heitmann, Protectors of Congo’s Peatland
Active local climate protection with global repercussions: in this series, the German photographer (born 1994) introduces the inhabitants of Lokolama, a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are determined to defend their vast, and hitherto untouched peatlands against the threat of deforestation and resource extraction. Enormously important to the global climate, the areas represents one of the largest tropical peatlands on the planet – an ecological marvel that stores many billions of tonnes of carbon.
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19 Images
01
Ovide Emba, a scientist and biology student, in the peatlands close to the village of Mpeka
02
Plants that grow in the peatlands: old botanical collections of Belgian scientists, dating back to colonial times, at the botanical garden of Mbandaka
03
Freshly caught fish in the village of Mpeka, on the Ruki River. Because of the bordering peatlands, the river is very rich in fish
04
Josef Bonkile Engobo, the local chief of Lokolama, shows the place where a logger from the neighbouring village cut down trees, illegally
05
A stick marking the peatlands, close to the village of Mpeka
06
A monkey on a boat that moored in Mbandaka
07
Floating down the Congo River, in the direction of Kinshasa
08
View over Équateur forest, close to Mbandaka, seen from the plane to Kinshasa
09
Children play under an avocado tree in Lokolama
10
Therese Bokinga, with her husband, lives in Lokolama; she looks after Ovide Emba, the researcher, when he visits
11
A village, close to the peatlands, on the way to Mpeka
12
Old collections of local fish, set up by Belgian scientists at the botanical garden of Mbandaka. A leftover from colonial times
13
Timber is tied together to make rafts to float downriver to Kinshasa. Léonard Baly’s raft got stuck on the sand till the water level rose
14
Jungle animals such as porcupines, monkeys, crocodiles and turtles are sold at the market in Mbandaka
15
Guy, a logger, in the house where he usually lives, when he comes to the neighbouring town of Lokolama for contract work
16
Tantine, Therèse, Marie-Jeanne and Bebeta returning from collecting mushrooms
17
Massive timber on a boat belonging to the Lebanese company Congo Futur
18
Ovide Emba, a scientist and biology student, at his home in Mbandaka
19
Ovide Emba, a scientist and biology student, in the peatlands bordering Ruki River, close to the village Mpeka
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