Community rights and governance

The MEDD-NEC has launched a participatory reform process based on an analysis of over 270 legal texts on wildlife and other environmental sectors, which was endorsed by the Government. A national wildlife policy is currently being developed with the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme’s support.

At the reserve level, the SWM Programme also contributes to the development of natural resource access guidelines (DARN) in the Okapis Wildlife Reserve. The DARN are a set of rules that have been designed in a participatory manner with the Reserve’s communities. They define the terms of use for natural resources in designated areas known as subsistence zones. Reserve managers and communities share responsibility for implementing and monitoring these rules. To this end, the SWM Programme is piloting the implementation of community-based natural resource management in two communities. Community governance groups have been identified, revitalized and are being trained in community-based natural resource management for their subsistence zones.

Adaptive wildlife management

Two natural resource governance groups, supported by thematic hunting subcommittees, have developed, with the support of the SWM Programme, hunting regulations tailored to the social and ecological context of the pilot communities. These hunting regulations and the methods for monitoring them, which will soon be implemented, are set out in sustainable hunting management plans for the subsistence hunting areas in these communities. In parallel, camera trap monitoring was carried out to estimate the abundance of wildlife in the subsistence zone and to inform management decisions.

Healthy and sustainable supply chains and consumption

The SWM Programme, in collaboration with the Epulu Agricultural and Pedagogical Technical Institute, has improved the availability of locally sourced alternative animal proteins through community training on poultry farming, providing support for semi-intensive poultry houses and by distributing equipment. Training in entrepreneurship and grants awarded to 458 members of local communities supported by the SWM Programme have led to the creation of 154 microenterprises. Finally, studies on the consumption of local animal protein continue to guide strategies for the sustainable consumption of bush meat within the reserve.