Scientific mission in the karstic region in Kongo Central- DRC

This field mission, Karst-Kongo Central 2024.02, took place in the Mbanza Ngungu region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was carried out in collaboration with a team of geologists from the Kongo branch of GeoRes4Dev: Nadège Ngala from the Geological and Mining Research Center (DRC), Hardy Nkodia, a structural geologist from Marien Ngouabi University (Republic of the Congo), and Pascale Lahogue from the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Belgium).

The objective of this mission was to illustrate and clarify the field data of the grantee Nadège Ngala, enrolled in a DEA degree program at the University of Kinshasa. Fieldwork included taking additional structural measurements, correcting previously conducted topographies, collecting samples for biocorrosion studies, obtaining measurements and samples necessary for cave monitoring, and taking photos to illustrate the work and publications.

The presence of archaeologists Igor Roland MATONDA SAKALA from the Department of Historical Sciences, Heritage Management and Development of the University of Kinshasa and Isis Isabella MESFIN from the National Center for Scientific Research at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, specialists in archeology in Africa, with a research project for Stone Age material, in 2 of the caves that we are studying, allowed interesting exchanges with complementary visions on them.

These international missions within the GeoRes4Dev project demonstrate the importance of collaboration between Congolese and European scientists from various disciplines to explore and understand the geological and karst riches of Central Africa. They constitute interdisciplinary research opportunities that can lead to the preservation of the underground environment and the sustainable development of the region.