For the first time, Congolese NGO to manage a DRC protected area

For the first time in modern Congolese history, a local nonprofit organization will be entrusted with co-managing a protected area within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Dominique Bikaba, the founder of Strong Roots, a Congolese NGO, expressed her honor at receiving this responsibility. Strong Roots has been awarded the management of Itombwe Nature Reserve (RNI), situated in South Kivu province in northeastern DRC, through a public-private partnership.

The reserve will be managed by Strong Roots for the next decade, while the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN), the national body overseeing national parks, will maintain oversight of the park.

Bikaba believes the government selected Strong Roots due to their demonstrated commitment to conservation. The NGO has been working diligently for nearly a decade to secure land for both communities and wildlife, creating a 1-million-hectare (2.5-million-acre) corridor through community forestry concessions. This corridor connects Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Itombwe Nature Reserve. Strong Roots has already secured 23 community forest concessions, covering roughly 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of land.

Itombwe Nature Reserve consists of seven chiefdoms, and Strong Roots has been actively collaborating with four of them within the corridor. Bikaba noted her team's extensive knowledge of the reserve, their understanding of its problems, and their awareness of its needs. Bikaba also revealed that she is a member of an Indigenous community in the region that was previously displaced to make way for another protected area.