Congo villagers threatened by hungry elephant herds

BRAZZAVILLE, Aug 25 (Reuters) Herds of elephants are trampling crops and polluting water sources in eastern Republic of Congo, threatening to force thousands of villagers out of their homes, the forestry minister said.

Around 10,000 people in Ingouni-Moke and Olounou I, 250 km north of the capital Brazzaville, have been in a stand-off for more than a week with the elephants which have laid waste their manioc fields.

''There is a proliferation of pachyderms. Today we have nearly 30,000 whereas in the 1980s we had only around 10,000,'' Forestry Minister Henri Djombo said yesterday.

''In most of the country's forested areas, the population is complaining about the destruction of their fields by elephants who come and eat their bananas and manioc.'' Elephants are protected by law in Congo and there is little under-resourced villagers can do to keep them at bay. In the past some have burned bricks of dung mixed with chillis to produce a pungent smoke which drives off the animals.

Forest elephants are smaller than their savannah cousins and tend to be more reclusive, moving around in small groups rather than large herds and generally avoiding contact with humans.

But a lack of food has driven them out of the rain forest and towards tempting fields of bananas or rice. They can consume about 500 kg per day.

CONSERVATION Rampant poaching in the 1980s threatened to wipe out elephant populations until an international treaty virtually halted the worldwide ivory trade. Despite the destruction they cause, Djombo said the Congolese were proud of their pachyderms.

''The law allows us to carry out authorised culls to dissuade the animals but we use it very little,'' he said.

''Partly so as not to encourage poachers but also because we consider the situation to be a positive result of our conservation policy - the proliferation of species said to be threatened globally is a source of pride for our country.'' During a 1997-1999 civil war, the population of Mbomo in the north protected the Odzala national park from the bloodletting, a marked contrast to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where nine rare mountain gorillas have been shot dead in a park where armed militias roam.

A senior forestry ministry official has been dispatched to Ingouni-Moke and Olounou I to lend ''moral support'' to the villagers and assess the damage. Last year, the state paid 10 million CFA (20,690 dollar) in compensation to one locality alone.

''We envisage finding technical solutions, like barriers sufficiently solid to stop the elephants getting to villages and fields. But for the time being we are limiting ourselves to compensation,'' Djombo said.

''Today, the population is a partner in conservation ... The slaughter of protected animals is reported whenever it happens.

That is a sign of a real public awareness.'' REUTERS RN RAI0943