A fabulous experience. If I have to sum up the “8”: it’s esprit de corps in Fayolle, combat training on the Causse and hardiness in the Montagne Noire. When you have a motto as a volunteer, it stays with you for life. I am always linked and attached to my subordinates: there has always been humanism at the “8”, and the feeling of belonging to a big family.
Can you introduce the NGO Global Health Keeper and your role?
It is a French non-governmental organization, made up of volunteers, which defends the environment and the animal condition. We were deeply affected by the 2012 massacre of 200 elephants in Cameroon’s Bouba Ndjida National Park. I proposed to continue supplying the park with equipment to avoid this disappearance. And today I am project manager in the fight against poaching to save Waza National Park, still in Cameroon.
Why was it important to “save” this park?
It is a mythical park, created by the French in 1934. It was a hunting reserve. With the evolution of the defense of biodiversity, it has become a park, visited by the French. There were 329 species of animals, all the biodiversity was gathered in this place. We all knew him when we served in Africa. It is one of the most beautiful parks in Africa and after terrorist events perpetrated by Boko Haram, we realized that the region had been emptied… We had to help Waza Park.
What is the reality of poaching in Africa?
Poaching is on several levels. There is local poaching by local populations to feed themselves, so-called urban poaching of bushmeat to supply local markets, cross-border poaching, particularly to Nigeria, to “satisfy” the rich, private zoos with animals juveniles. Religious poaching or beliefs: hair, skins, organs, tails, mustaches and finally that of pharmacopoeia for the manufacture of potions. You should know that network poaching feeds terrorist organizations, in particular through the trafficking of elephant ivory (white gold). They understood that with ivory, they could arm themselves and subsidize their conflicts.
Who are the poachers and which animals are the most targeted?
Regarding our mission, it is above all the local populations, to feed themselves. Local poaching to make money or food. Are targeted antelopes, cobs and we have concerns about giraffes. Then there is another factor: without them being poachers, we are faced with the slaughter of animals during the transhumance of zebus, oxen, in the Sahel towards protected areas, to eat. As soon as there are lions, they shoot them to prevent them from attacking their herds.
How do you fight?
In many ways. It is essentially land occupation by mobile patrols, supplemented with intelligence. But also the realization and the maintenance of the interior tracks of the park and the cleaning of the ponds.
A rich experience in the heart of Africa
Dominique Milanini started at 8eRPIMa in 1983 as a sergeant, before becoming a staff sergeant in stride, for six years of adventure at “8”. With military stays in Gabon, Togo, Djibouti, Senegal, Mauritania, Congo, then in Nigeria as a contractor for private companies responsible for the security of expatriates and companies in conflict zones, he knows Africa like the back of his hand. Then, for 16 years, he was boss of the rural and environmental police in Porto-Vecchio in Corsica, where he lives. At 67, he is now a project manager and volunteer in the fight against poaching for the NGO Global Health Keeper.
