Reducing Unsustainable Agriculture Practices in Bili-Uele
Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the greatest threats facing this landscape. Starting in 2021, we began a program to sensitize local communities to the benefits of farming sustainability. Farmers are reporting higher yields and a better understanding of why protecting biodiversity is important to their everyday lives.
Applying GIS Technology for Conservation Decision-Making
Fragmentation and other threats to bonobo populations—forest conversion to agriculture and roads, as well as human encroachment into forests—can be mapped using long-term satellite imagery. Integrated with detailed information from ground surveys, the spatial data acquired enables us to create models that predict and track pressures on the land such as hunting activity.
41,000 Number of hectares protected and/or with improved conservation status due to AWF interventions beginning in 2016
13,979 Number of people benefiting from AWF's conservation efforts
3 of 3 Wildlife populations supported by AWF that are stable/increasing
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The DRC is one of the most important countries globally for conservation. Here, we partner with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature and the European Union to support communities in improving their livelihoods while curbing threats like poaching, bushmeat hunting, and habitat fragmentation. We are the longest-running "boots on the ground" conservation organization in two critical landscapes, working closely with the government to lay a solid conservation foundation.
We improve community well-being through sustainable livelihood strategies that slow forest degradation and fragmentation. Our activities include:
- Promoting sustainable livelihoods through skills-building and entrepreneurship workshops
- Training in sustainable agriculture and fishing practices
- Supporting anti-poaching law enforcement by strengthening capacity and providing resources, as well as promoting cross-border collaboration
- Developing eco-monitoring systems through training and tools for tracking and spatial analysis
- Infrastructure development in protected areas (operational bases, radio stations, roads, an airport runway, and more)
Bili-Uele
The Bili-Uele Protected Area Complex stretches over 40,000 square kilometers and hosts significant populations of Eastern chimpanzees and forest elephants. Because this area makes up part of the Congo Basin rainforest—a vital global carbon sink, which sequesters more carbon than the Amazon—it is critical for conservation. But the country’s wildlife authority has struggled to effectively protect and manage Bili-Uele due to a dire lack of resources and the extraordinary remoteness of this landscape.
We’ve partnered with the DRC’s wildlife authority (the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, or ICCN) in the Bili-Uele Protected Area Complex since 2016. This work has been primarily supported by the European Union under its ECOFAC 6 Preserving Biodiversity and Fragile Ecosystems in Central Africa Programme.
Our comprehensive approach addresses the range of challenges and opportunities in the landscape, where we uphold a firm commitment to human rights:
- Supporting law enforcement
- Investing in protected area infrastructure
- Developing sustainable livelihoods
- Creating incentives for sustainable community practices
- Monitoring wildlife
Maringa-Lopori-Wamba
The Maringa-Lopori-Wamba (MLW) landscape covers approximately 72,000 square kilometers and is home to many endangered species, including the bonobo, found only in the DRC. To help promote long-term resilience and food security, we are intensively engaged with local communities in land-use planning, conservation projects, and sustainable livelihood strategies.
We have helped communities establish two bonobo reserves in this high-priority landscape. The 3,625-square-kilometer Lomako–Yokokala Faunal Reserve and the 1,030-square-kilometer Iyondji Community Bonobo Reserve comprise a bonobo habitat of global significance.
Conservation and development solutions assist local and Indigenous people, as well as indigenous wildlife. They include:
- Community livelihood projects, including training in entrepreneurship and microenterprise
- Support for participatory land-use planning
- Anti-poaching and law-enforcement support in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (The DRC’s wildlife authority)
- Biological monitoring of wildlife populations and habitat
- Regular community sensitization to conservation goals and importance through meetings and public awareness campaigns