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Set amongst the waters of the Lopori and Maringa Rivers, the Congo Heartland boasts the second-largest contiguous moist tropical forest in the world. The Heartland is home to a wealth of African wildlife, including the endangered bonobo, forest elephants, diverse avifauna, and more than 400 fish species. Now recovering from years of civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the people of this Heartland are striving to rebuild their livelihoods, their infrastructure, and their environment.

Conserving Wildlife

Preserving biological diversity and endangered species bonobo research and mammal monitoring.

AWF solutions in Congo:

Protecting Land

Creating a National Reserve to keep tropical forest ecosystem.

AWF solutions in Congo:

Empowering People

Developing sustainable livelihood strategies for a population struggling with poverty.

AWF solutions in Congo:

Congo Shipping Project

Engaging You!

See how you can make a difference for the wildlife and people of the Congo. Click on these Solutions to become involved!

AWF solutions in Congo:

May 08, 2008 | AWF’s Nairobi-Based President to Visit Washington

May 05, 2008 | Green Living Project Champions AWF

Apr 29, 2008 | Support the Great Cats and Rare Canids Bill

More headlines & highlights >

Because the Heartlands cover truly vast tracts of public and private land, cooperation by many public and private parties is required for success. Here are some of AWF's partners in the Congo Heartland:

Action for Conservation of Wildlife (ADCN)
Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE)
Centre de Recherche en Ecologie et Forestrie (CREF)
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

USAID / CARPE (Congo Basin Forest Partnership)
University of Maryland
Vie Sauvage
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
World Fish Center (WFC)

More partners >

Philip Muruthi. African Heartlands: A Science-Based and Pragmatic Approach to Landscape Level Conservation in Africa. Technical Papers, 2005.

J.J.R. Grimsdell. Ecological Monitoring. Technical Papers, 1978.

Philip Muruthi. Human Wildlife Conflict: Lessons Learned From AWF's African Heartlands. Technical Papers, 2005.

David Western and J.R.R. Grimsdell. Measuring the Distribution of Animals in Relation to the Environment. Technical Papers, 1979.

Philip Muruthi. The Process of Preparing a General Management Plan for a Protected Area. Technical Papers, 2006.

Quick Facts

Area: 7.7 million hectares (29,730 square miles) - slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina

Key landmarks: Globally important tropical forest; expansive river systems; unique wildlife species.

Maps: this region | Africa

Staff in this Heartland

Valentin Omasombo W`Otoko
Protected Area Manager
Congo Heartland

Jef Dupain
Congo Heartland Director
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Congo Wildlife

Bonobo

The bonobo is only found in the country of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between the Congo River, the Lomami River, the Kasai/Sankuru Rivers, and the Lake Tumba/Lac Ndombe region. Bonobo range is presently calculated at no more than 350,000 square kilometers. They spend much of their time in the tall, dense tropical forest canopy, gracefully maneuvering though the trees searching for food. This area is fragmented, and it seems as if bonobo can survive in close proximity to human communities that are willing to co-habitate with this peaceful ape. Recent surveys, however, show that many areas that were known to have lots of bonobo 20 years ago now have none. This region of DRC has been politically unstable for the past 10 years, and this has attributed to bonobo decline.

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