Ouésso

Ouésso
Town and Commune
Ouésso in 2015
Ouésso Location in the Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 1°36′38″N 16°03′05″E
Country	Republic of the Congo
Department	Sangha Department
District	Ouésso District
Commune	Ouésso
Area
• Total	5 km^2 (2 sq mi)
Elevation	340 m (1,120 ft)
Population  (2023 census)
• Total	75,095
• Density	15,000/km^2 (39,000/sq mi)

Ouésso is a town and commune[1] in the Ouésso District in northern Republic of the Congo at the border of Cameroon, lying on the Sangha River and surrounded by rainforest. It is the capital of the Sangha Department.

Economy

Ouésso is one of the four special economic zones in the Republic of the Congo. The town's main industries are mining, forestry, agriculture, and wood processing.[2] a power purchase agreement in 2017 with the Gezhouba Group led to the creation of the Liouesso Hydroelectric Power Station, which powers Ouésso.[3]

Bushmeat

In 1994, Ouésso consumed 7,500 kilograms of bushmeat a week. The most sold animal in the bushmeat market are duikers, but gorillas, monkeys, and elephants were also sold. The meat was transported from Liousesso, a village southwest out Ouésso, and often on logging trucks from Cameroon. Ouésso lacks enforcement of the bushmeat market.[4]

On 27 October 2016, ivory dealer Hamadou Abbo, and his accomplices, Minda Xavier and Gonock Evounanga Edgard, were each sentenced to 5 years in an Ouésso prison.[5]

In May 2018, Guyvanho, an elephant poacher and ivory trader, was arrested and held in jail in Ouésso. On June 2, 12 days before his trial, he escaped from prison. He was arrested again on 31 May 2019. He attempted to escape, but failed, and was transferred to prison in Brazzaville.[6][7]

Logging

Ouésso is a carbon negative area. Between 2001 and 2022, the town had a carbon sink of -8.40.[8]

In 2010, the Parliament of the Republic of the Congo passed a law that gave protection to the country's indigenous pygmy and Baka people and their land. This made logging more difficult.[9]

Transportation

In April 2007, a South Korean consortium proposed to build a railway to Ouésso from Brazzaville, in exchange for a concession to harvest timber.[10]

In 2015, the city's port was extended 100 linear meters. The expansion was funded by the Development Bank of the Central African States,[11] which has a complex in Ouésso.[12]

Ouésso is connected to Brazzaville by a 23,324 km road titled the "RN2".[13] In 2021, the Sangmelina-Ouésso Road was constructed, which connected Ouésso to Cameroon and removed the need for ferries. The road was 321.5 kilometers long, and costed US$354 million. The ceremony of its completion was attended by Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi [fr].[14] In 2023, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission built the Sanha Bridge and the Ouésso-Pokola Road for Ouésso. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by president Denis Sassou Nguesso.[15]

Ouésso is served by the Ouésso Airport.[12]

Climate

Ouésso has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am), bordering on a tropical rainforest climate (Af).

Climate data for Ouesso (1991-2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31.4 (88.5)	32.4 (90.3)	32.5 (90.5)	32.0 (89.6)	31.2 (88.2)	30.2 (86.4)	29.5 (85.1)	29.8 (85.6)	30.4 (86.7)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.7 (87.3)	31.0 (87.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	25.2 (77.4)	26.1 (79.0)	26.3 (79.3)	26.2 (79.2)	25.9 (78.6)	25.2 (77.4)	24.7 (76.5)	24.8 (76.6)	24.7 (76.5)	24.8 (76.6)	24.9 (76.8)	25.1 (77.2)	25.3 (77.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	19.7 (67.5)	20.5 (68.9)	21.2 (70.2)	21.4 (70.5)	21.2 (70.2)	20.8 (69.4)	20.6 (69.1)	20.5 (68.9)	20.4 (68.7)	20.6 (69.1)	—	20.2 (68.4)	21.1 (70.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	57.2 (2.25)	65.6 (2.58)	116.2 (4.57)	128.1 (5.04)	171.9 (6.77)	149.0 (5.87)	116.7 (4.59)	164.6 (6.48)	228.6 (9.00)	227.8 (8.97)	140.2 (5.52)	67.8 (2.67)	1,633.7 (64.31)
Source: NOAA[16]

Notable people

• Jane Vialle (1906–1953) French journalist, politician and women's rights activist

References

1. "Annuaire Statistique du Congo 2018, chapitre 3 : organisation administrative" (PDF). ins-congo.cg (in French). Institut National de la Statistique. 23 March 2021. p. 13. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
2. Org, Glob Ener Interconn Deve &Coop (6 April 2020). Research on Hydropower Development and Delivery in Congo River. Springer Nature. p. 80. ISBN 978-981-15-3428-7.
3. Harris, Michael (30 May 2017). "Congo Republic's 19.9-MW Liouesso hydroelectric project inaugurated". Hydro Review.
4. Hennessey, A. Bennett; Rogers, Jessica (2008). "A Study of the Bushmeat Trade in Ouesso, Republic of Congo". Conservation and Society. 6 (2): 179–184. doi:10.4103/0972-4923.49211. ISSN 0972-4923. JSTOR 26392925.
5. "Ouesso court: five years in prison for an ivory trafficker and his accomplices (Republic of the Congo)". Save the Elephants. 29 October 2016.
6. "MEDIA STATEMENT: WCS Commends Congolese Justice System on 30-Year Sentence of Notorious Elephant Poacher and Ivory Trafficker in Republic of Congo". newsroom.wcs.org. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
7. Bax, Pauline (24 August 2020). "Congo Republic Jails Man Accused of Killing 500 Elephants". Bloomberg News.
8. Vizzuality. "Ouesso, Sangha, Republic of Congo Deforestation Rates & Statistics | GFW". www.globalforestwatch.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
9. "How the Indigenous Baaka of the Congo are saving forests". Forest Stewardship Council. 2 August 2022.
10. Butler, Rhett Ayers (25 April 2007). "New railway will facilitate logging in Congo". Mongabay. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008.
11. "Port developments reflect the country's promising maritime future". The Worldfolio. 28 May 2015.
12. Shaban, Abdur Rahman Alfa (4 March 2020). "Ouesso – The resource rich special economic zone in Congo's north". Africanews.
13. "2.3 Republic of the Congo Road Network | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments". dlca.logcluster.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
14. "Sangmelina-Ouesso Road inaugurated in Cameroon". Projects Today. 29 December 2021.
15. "Congolese president lays foundation stone for Chinese-built road project". National Development and Reform Commission. 13 June 2023.
16. "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 4 January 2024.