Supporting Community Conservation in Kahuzi Biega National Park

This case study describes the application of the conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) approach in Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo to mitigate tensions between the national conservation authority and local communities over natural resource extraction.

• Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP), established in 1970 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site within ten years, is a biodiversity hotspot home to eastern lowland gorillas, bush elephants, chimpanzees, buffalo, bongos, and nearly 350 bird species. However, it was placed on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 1997 due to severe encroachment, chronic instability, and pressure on resources.
• To address conflicts between the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and local communities regarding the extraction of minerals, land, and forests, ICCN and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) created Community Conservation Committees (CCCs) in 13 villages starting in 2000. These committees were intended to serve as a bridge for decision-making and the transmission of community grievances.
• In 2006, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), with funding from USAID and the MacArthur Foundation and partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), launched a project to support the Bugobe CCC. The project used the conflict-sensitive conservation (CSC) approach to address issues such as human settlement in the park, park demarcation, farming expansion, and bamboo cutting, prioritizing the latter.
• The WCS project successfully reduced illegal woodcutting near Bugobe and improved relations between the community and ICCN by opening dialogue and raising awareness of park laws. However, because poverty remains a primary driver of illegal extraction, the project team implemented a financial and agricultural microcredit program to support local livelihoods.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Supporting Community Conservation in Kahuzi Biega National Park. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-kahuzi.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Supporting Community Conservation in Kahuzi Biega National Park. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-kahuzi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Supporting Community Conservation in Kahuzi Biega National Park |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-kahuzi.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndsupporting, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Supporting Community Conservation in Kahuzi Biega National Park}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc-stories-kahuzi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }