Exhibition focuses on Congo's diversity

An exhibition on "Congo, Nature and Culture" opened this week in the museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, just outside of Brussels, Belgium. "The exhibition brings a positive light on the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] and testifies that DRC remains a country with a huge human, cultural, biological and economical potential," Guido Gryseels, the director of the museum, said at the inauguration. Objects, pictures, documents, sound tracks and archives reveal the diversity of links between nature and culture in the DRC. Under five thematic guidelines, the exhibition reflects the dynamic relations between human beings and their natural environment: biodiversity and national parks; nature as a source of raw materials; symbolic use of nature; nature as a source for food and medicines; and words for nature and culture. Also on display are huge colourful maps revealing the more than 200 languages spoken in the Congo, the country's hydrography (study, survey and mapping of oceans, seas and rivers), creativity and protected ecological areas. The DRC has an extensive network of protected natural areas, which covers at least 12 percent of the national territory. Scientists have already identified 11,000 different plants, 409 species of mammals, 1,096 species of birds, 1,069 species of fish and 152 species of reptiles in the country. Four of Congo's parks and one wildlife reserve are included in the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO's) World Heritage List. On the maps detailing human impact, areas indicated in red represent places where humans have intervened in their natural environment. "Such interventions alter the composition of the land cover and include agricultural practices, settlements, mining and logging," according to an explanation under one of the maps. Regarding deforestation, "which rage on relentlessly, a few logging companies in the DRC are exerting considerable efforts and are taking measures to obtain FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. This marks a turning point in the history of tropical logging". Other items exhibited include the natural pharmacy of the Leles, or samples of the mineral wealth (coltan, silver, diamond), initiation masks, the "proverbs rope" of the Lega and the copper belts attached to the headdresses and belts of the "Nkumu", the sacred chiefs. Placed under the patronage of the Belgian King Albert II, the exhibition was launched at the initiative of UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre as a means to support the endangered patrimony of the DRC. The exhibition will run until 9 October 2005. For the occasion, a book entitled, "Nature and Culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo", has been published in English, French and Dutch. Information can be found on www.africamuseum.be