This week marks the second anniversary of a collaboration between WCS Batéké Project, and the National Afforestation Service of the Congo’s Forest Ministry. The collaboration was set up in September 2014 to promote alternative livelihoods for the populations living in the periphery of the Lefini Wildlife Reserve in central Congo. ...
Say 'Congo' and most people will think of thick, impenetrable forests. Few people realise that one third of Congo's surface area is covered by savannah. The WCS Batéké project works in the area around the Lefini reserve in central Congo. Trees cover only about 20% of the landscape, meaning that the wooded areas are increasingly under pressure from a growing human population. The reserve was...
Nested in the Batéké Plateau of Southern Congo, the Lefini Wildlife Reserve is surrounded by villages and agricultural land. The reserve is under pressure from unsustainable hunting and demand for fuel wood yet remains a key potential tourism site for the country. On the northern border of the reserve, people living in a small village called Mpoh, well aware of the importance of conservation for...