The Democratic Republic of Congo has the largest forested area in Africa, an abundance of natural resources and one of the most important biodiversity areas on the planet. One region—the Maiko Tayna Kahuzi-Biega (MTKB) Landscape—covers 10.6 million hectares (26.2 million acres) and stretches from the biodiversity-rich Congo Basin to the Albertine Rift. The MTKB Landscape is home to 6 million people who depend heavily on its natural resources for their livelihoods. It is also home to a range of iconic and endangered species, such as the eastern chimpanzee, the forest elephant, Grauer’s gorilla, the okapi and the Congo peafowl.

Political instability following many years of civil unrest has exacerbated environmental threats to the region, including new agricultural settlements, clearing-and-burning practices, poaching, wildlife trafficking and illegal mining.

Degradation and overuse of natural resources are undermining climate change mitigation efforts as well as economic development and stability in the region. Unplanned exploitation and extractive activities endanger its forests, minerals, rivers and wildlife.

As an implementing partner of the USAID-funded Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), Conservation International (CI) heads the consortium that is assisting local

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conservation and development in a post-conflict region democratic republic of congo

communities and national park authorities in transitioning the MTKB Landscape—also known as Landscape 10—into a region where conservation training and well-managed ecosystem services foster sustainable economic development while safeguarding biodiversity.

Members of this consortium include WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), and the Union of Associations for Gorilla Conservation and Development in Eastern DRC (UGADEC). Although no longer part of the consortium, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) was a founding member.

CI and its partners promote local and national governance of natural resources aimed at preventing deforestation and biodiversity loss within the landscape. Primary activities include land-use planning, managing protected areas, monitoring biodiversity and threats, building capacity and engaging in small-scale development projects.

Current conservation efforts in the MTKB Landscape trace their history back to 2002 when, despite an ongoing civil war, 13 local traditional leaders created a land-use plan that focused on harmonizing conservation and development by laying out community-based nature reserves and economic development zones.

This land-use planning model was then strengthened through a partnership with the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) and local NGOs, who share the responsibility of managing the region. This successful collaboration has yielded a cascade of community associations.

The MTKB Landscape comprises the Maiko and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks and several community-based reserves. CI aids the ICCN in managing the national parks by training park staff, collaborating with law enforcement, holding stakeholder meetings, monitoring biodiversity and demarcating park limits.

In 2009, CI pioneered a landmark five-year agreement through which the Walt Disney Corporation committed

to financing a project in the Tayna and Kisimba-Ikobo reserves for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation “plus” conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+).

A key goal of this project is to establish long-term financing through an endowment mechanism that allows for the fair and legal distribution of carbon rights and revenues from carbon credit markets.

The Tayna Center for Conservation Biology, located near the Tayna Gorilla Reserve, is the nation’s first community-run university licensed to confer five-year degrees. It has trained more than 500 students in conservation biology, geology, economics, medicine, communications and information technology. The center creates local technical and scientific capacity, which in turn leads to alumni employment.

Ultimately, the MTKB model serves as a national and global example of integrated conservation and development in a region emerging from war and instability. CI envisions that the MTKB Landscape will transform into a vast network of protected areas and healthy ecosystems where forests, wildlife and other natural resources will revitalize both communities and the economy.

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For more information contact: Benoît Kisuki Mathe, Country Director, AMFD-DRC, b.mathe@conservation.org, +243 813 813 778www.conservation.org Photos leFt to Right: © Ci/Photo by Russell A. MitteRMeieR; © Ci/Photo by John MARtin

human well-beingn creating local technical and

scientific capacityn supporting the nation’s first community-run university

ecosystem servicesn avoiding carbon emissions through REDD+n corridor creation that reduces

erosion, improves freshwater provisions and secures watersheds

healthy ecosystemsn removal of illegal and unsustainable

pressures on 10.6 million hectares (26.2 million acres) of ecosystems

n protecting critical, iconic species

demonstrating how healthy ecosystems benefit human well-being in the Democratic Republic of Congo