A film by Lavinia Currier Based on the memoir by Louis ... - FDb.cz

(after the Amazon River). This mosaic of ecosystems - rivers, forests, savanna, swamps and flooded
forests – holds one-quarter of the world’s tropical forests.
Its forests are called the earth's "second lung" (after the Amazon jungles) because they absorb and
store carbon dioxide to slow the rate of global warming. Their eco-systems also help to regulate the flow of
water, protect and enrich soils, control diseases, and safeguard water quality. Their dense equatorial
growth contains an immense diversity of species that extend through almost 500 million acres. This forest
region spans the boundaries of six African nations.
The Congo basin is one of the most important wilderness areas left on earth. Coalitions working to
protect the region face a pressing need to restore ecological balances, reduce the human footprint and
support local economies. The survival of these magical wilds depends on the ability of governments,
timber operations, international lending institutions, and conservation non-governmental agencies to enact
and maintain sustainable environmental practices.
Many scenes in “OKA!” were <strong>film</strong>ed in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas that combine the
Dzanga-Ndoki National Park and the adjacent Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Special Reserve. This 5,500-
square-mile wilderness area is home to one of the most intact and diverse humid tropical forests on the
planet. Though hunting and logging are prohibited in the park, the reserve allows the Bayaka to hunt and
use the forest to meet their traditional needs. The protected areas lie about 200 miles southwest of the CAR
capital, Bangui, along a dirt road hacked through the jungle. In good weather, the journey from Bangui
takes 15 hours. When the rains come, it can take days.
These remote areas are internationally renowned for their beauty and remarkable diversity that
include western lowland gorillas, forest elephants, bongo antelope, forest buffalo and a multitude of bird
species. The <strong>film</strong>’s memorable cinematography offers rare close-ups of these unique inhabitants.
This landscape is characterized <strong>by</strong> the presence of natural forest clearings, or "bai" in the Aka language of
the Bayaka, that allow easy observation of large mammals. The animals are attracted <strong>by</strong> mineral rich soil,
salt, clay and aquatic plants. The elephant scene in OKA! was <strong>film</strong>ed at the Dzanga Bai under the guidance
of the world’s authority on forest elephants, Andrea Turkalo, a field biologist with the Wildlife
Conservation Society.