The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) recently gathered 36 experts, scientists, students, high-level government officials and representatives from civil society organizations from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Chad, Belgium, and the Central African Republic for a two-day International Freshwater Biodiversity Workshop to identify gaps in freshwater biodiversity data. Participants were divided into six thematic groups based on their interests and expertise to develop ideas to address data gaps. Each thematic working group was led by a prominent expert of these respective themes: Macro-invertebrates, Waterbirds, Ichthyological biodiversity, Herpetofauna, Hydrobiology and Other taxa.

Representatives from the local press were present at the opening and closing of the proceedings. Two articles were published in the Bangui newspaper l’Hirondelle, and the media groups Les Autres Nouvelles de Centrafrique (LANOCA), Oubangui Media, and Ndeke Luka publicized the workshop online. The event also made the headlines on Radio Centrafrique and Télé Centrafrique.

Read more about JRS support to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Freshwater Biodiversity Data Collection System (FBDC) for conservation and sustainable development of the Northeast protected area complex (NPAC) and its landscape in the Central African Republic project here.