location: Central Africa

location: Central Africa

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Ebola responders persevere in the DRC as Uganda nears end of outbreak
- Community leaders and local radio stations are fighting widespread misinformation, while resistance to safe burials has fueled attacks on Ebola treatment facilities.
- The current Ebola outbreak has become the fastest-growing outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 3,360 reported cases and nearly 1,487 deaths in about two and a half months.
- Aid workers say funding cuts have weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and logistics at a time when the response is already constrained by armed conflict.
- According to WHO, in Uganda, the last confirmed patient was discharged from care on July 16, and the 42-day with no new Ebola cases countdown necessary to declare the end of that country’s outbreak has started.

Central African Republic’s Dzanga-Sangha tests the promise of wildlife tourism
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In the Central African Republic, a country often seen mainly through the lens of instability, a different story is unfolding in its southwest. In March, Mongabay Africa program director David Akana and I spent time in and around […]
‘We couldn’t breathe’: DRC villagers revive protest against Perenco over pollution
- Residents of Kitombe, in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, accuse multinational oil giant Perenco, controlled by the French Perrodo family, of causing severe air and soil pollution linked to oil extraction activities.
- Villagers reported respiratory problems, dizziness, diarrhea and crop failures after a major gas release from a crude oil storage facility in April 2025.
- A parliamentary investigation supported residents’ claims and flagged missing evidence at the site after the incident.
- One year later, communities say they received no medical support or compensation and environmental remediation hasn’t been done. Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities in May, temporarily disrupting oil operations.

Pangolin DNA study links local wild meat markets to global trafficking networks
Pangolin scales and other body parts trafficked internationally appear to come from the same areas that supply the animals for local wild meat markets, a new study has found. It created a DNA database and location-prediction model for three threatened species: the white-bellied (Phataginus tricuspis), Sunda (Manis javanica) and Chinese (Manis pentadactyla) pangolins. Pangolins are […]
WHO evacuated health workers from Ebola treatment center due to armed clashes
On July 15, gunfire erupted between armed groups near an Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Nyankunde (or Nyakunde), located 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Bunia in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following the fighting, medical personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC and the NGO Samaritan’s Purse evacuated from Nyankunde, […]
Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin: Interview with activist Pascal Mirindi
- Pascal Mirindi is a Congolese environmental activist fighting oil exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- In 2022, as the Congolese government promoted new oil blocks in eastern DRC, Mirindi and his friends created a movement to raise community awareness of the dangers of fossil fuel exploitation.
- In late 2024, the Congolese government initiated a green corridor extending from the eastern to the western side of the country, aiming to establish the “largest protected tropical forest in the world,” yet a few months later, the country launched new oil blocks covering 60% of the country’s surface.
- Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June about his activism and the future of the DRC.

New colobus monkey, ‘Likweli’, confirmed in DRC
In 2008, wildlife researchers surveying a massive, underexplored forested region in the Democratic Republic of Congo photographed a black monkey. That region eventually became Lomami National Park. And now, nearly 20 years later, the team has confirmed in a study that the black primate is a new-to-science species of colobus monkey. The monkey isn’t well […]
How birders in Chad ‘found’ the rusty lark, a bird lost to science for nearly a century
- In February, French ornithologists and their Chadian colleagues spotted a bird not seen, heard or recorded by scientists in nearly a century while surveying water birds in Chad’s wetlands.
- The team, which included birders Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard, photographed the rusty lark, a wetland species native to the Sahel, producing the first images of this mysterious bird.
- Though known to science for more than a century, the bird has remained an enigma, with little known about its life cycle, habitat or the threats it faces.
- Bird enthusiasts say they hope this accidental rediscovery could help Chad secure the money it needs for conservation in a game reserve devoid of the charismatic megafauna associated with Africa.

Clinical trials begin in DRC epicenter of Bundibugyo strain of Ebola
- Clinical trials that aim to establish a standard treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is driving the current outbreak, began on July 2.
- The trials are being conducted in Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak.
- Dr. Placide Mbala of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), is in charge of clinical trials, said the trials could take between three and six months, depending on how the disease evolves on the ground.

Can selective logging help the Congo Basin store more carbon?
- A recent study created a machine-learning program that estimated the amount of carbon dioxide already stored, and sequestered annually, by rainforests in Central Africa’s Congo Basin, the planet’s largest forested carbon sink.
- They found that managed logging concessions, which remove a small number of large trees annually and strictly control other human activities, made up more than half of the net carbon removed by Congo Basin rainforests.
- The authors say these results suggest that expanding logging concessions could help the Congo Basin sequester more carbon while also providing locals with a source of income.
- Other experts, however, argue that addressing local conflicts that lead to illegal forest clearing would be a better way to benefit these forests.

Seizures reveal macabre grey parrot blood trade in Cameroon
- A grim, illicit trade in the blood of endangered African grey parrots is emerging near Cameroon’s Lobéké National Park, a stronghold for the species, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trafficking monitoring NGO.
- This trade first came to light in 2025 when forest authorities apprehended individuals caught illegally trapping grey parrots in the park. During interrogation, the poachers said that blood was extracted from trapped birds and likely used for medicine and religious practices.
- These intelligent birds are in demand as pets worldwide; their skulls and colorful feathers are used in belief-based practices, as a cure for speech problems and as decor. Decades of trade has pushed African grey parrots to the brink of extinction.
- Not a lot is known about this blood trade, but conservationists say it points to a general trend where wildlife traffickers are shifting to hard-to-detect products, making it challenging to combat illegal commerce.

Before tourists can see bonobos, trackers must earn their trust
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers and trackers are working to habituate a group of about 60 bonobos. The aim is to help the great apes accept a limited human presence, first for […]
Demand for vultures in West Africa threatens Central African populations
Conservationists warn that vulture populations in central African countries like Chad are increasingly at risk due to belief-based use in Nigeria and Benin. Abiola Sylvestre Chaffra, a research fellow at the International Bird Conservation Partnership, told Mongabay he was out in Chad, photographing vultures, when a man offered to help him capture the birds. Vultures […]
Conservation efforts by families displaced for national park sees success in DRC
Descendants of families forcibly displaced during the creation of Maiko National Park in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo back in the 1970s are now leading a new wave of community-led conservation. Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr., from one such displaced family, is the head of the Bamasobha Local Community Forest Concession (CFCL), […]
Protect Antarctic krill to preserve the health of Africa’s coastal communities (commentary)
- African leaders must demand an end to industrial krill fishing in the Southern Ocean while at the Our Ocean Conference this week, before irreversible damage is done, Angola’s Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources warns in a new op-ed at Mongabay.
- Antarctica and the ocean systems upon which Africa depends rely on krill — the tiny crustacean that gathers in huge swarms and which whales, seals, penguins and fish species feast upon — so letting business interests dictate how the base of this important food chain, that millions of people also benefit from, is irresponsible, she writes.
- “What happens in Antarctica affects the global ocean. That means the whales migrating along African shores, the resilience of our coastal communities, and the health and livelihoods of our coastal communities,” the minister argues. “Please join me in calling for an end to krill fishing now.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

As human Ebola cases climb in DRC, critically endangered gorillas are at risk
- Gorillas are vulnerable to communicable diseases that infect humans and other nonhuman primates, including the Ebola virus.
- A new Ebola outbreak was announced in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May, but so far, there have been no reported cases of gorilla infection. Previous outbreaks have devastated western lowland gorillas.
- Armed conflict hampers both conservation and efforts to monitor both Grauer’s and mountain gorilla populations in DRC. They also impair the public health response, which has also been seriously impacted by cuts in U.S. funding under the Trump administration.
- Gorillas are highly social animals, which facilitates spread of infectious disease. Infants and females are disproportionately affected, which has serious consequences for recovery of devastated populations.

Four years to earn their trust: Habituating bonobos in DRC’s Salonga National Park
- In the heart of Salonga National Park, one of Africa’s largest protected areas, researchers are trying to earn the trust of wild bonobos, one of the continent’s most endangered great apes.
- Conservationists say that habituation is a critical tool for protecting the species, allowing scientists to monitor their health, behavior and populations while strengthening long-term conservation efforts.
- As the Democratic Republic of Congo confronts a renewed Ebola outbreak in its eastern region, park officials acknowledge the ever-present risk of zoonotic disease transmission. However, when conducted under strict biosecurity protocols, bonobo habituation offers significant conservation, scientific and ecotourism benefits that outweigh the risks.

Mongabay Africa’s most-read stories so far in 2026
From human-elephant coexistence to an alternative conservation model from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from teen innovators in Kenya to Guinea’s complicated experience with mining, the stories that attracted the most readers in the first five months of 2026 reflect the richness of Mongabay’s Africa coverage on World Environment Day, June 5, 2026. They also […]
Local indigenous people get more land in a DRC community forest
Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo granted 31 community forest land titles to farmers in May, bringing a total of more than a million hectares of forest in Tshopo under the legal stewardship of local Indigenous peoples. Bantu and Indigenous Mbuti communities have lived in the province for generations, but without official […]
Confinement and disinfected bedding: An ape sanctuary in DRC responds to Ebola
- The Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center, located in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has gone into lockdown to protect its primates.
- Primatologists say Ebola transmission from infected wild primates to humans has been documented repeatedly but there are no recorded cases of transmission from humans to great apes.
- Emergency plans have also been activated to limit the spread of the virus in the protected areas of the Greater Virunga Landscape, a transboundary area shared among the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda.
- As of May 27, the World Health Organization has already recorded 223 suspected deaths linked to the current outbreak.

Can deforestation predict Ebola outbreaks? Q&A with CDC’s Carson Telford
- In 2024, a group of researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) used machine learning to analyze 24 Ebola outbreaks between 2001 and 2022 to isolate which geographic and other variables they shared in common.
- They found that forest loss and fragmentation are among the most important predictive factors for where Ebola outbreaks occur.
- Carson Telford, who led the research, told Mongabay modeling like this can strengthen communication and readiness for outbreaks like the one taking place in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Descendants of people pushed out for DRC national park lead forest conservation efforts
- Gangala Yafali Mangusa Jr. is a descendant of one of the families that had to leave the forests of what is today in and around Maiko National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Now, he heads the management committee of the Bamasobha Local Community Forest Concession (CFCL) and works with communities to protect biodiversity through local conservation efforts.
- According to experts, the sustainability of conservation efforts depends largely on the ability to balance biodiversity protection with improving the living conditions of Indigenous peoples and local communities.
- According to satellite imagery from Global Forest Watch, forest loss in the Bamasobha CFCL was reduced from 940 hectares in 2024 to 120 hectares in 2025.

World Peatland Day honors a crucial ecosystem in the fight against climate change
Peatlands are boggy wet ecosystems found from boreal forests in the Russian Arctic to the tropics of central Africa. Typically, when vegetation decomposes it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, when that same organic matter falls in a bog and is covered with water, carbon gets trapped and becomes sequestered there, sometimes for millennia. […]
‘People kept dying’: Interview with Dr. Macky Mbavugha on DRC’s latest Ebola outbreak
- The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a new Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.
- More than 1,000 suspected cases and more than 238 suspected deaths have already been recorded in the DRC, while the disease has also spread into neighboring Uganda.
- Armed groups, population displacement and intense mobility around gold mining areas are accelerating transmission risks, says Dr. Macky Mbavugha of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
- Mongabay spoke to Dr. Mbavugha about why it took so long for authorities to identify the rarer Ebola strain, and how USAID funding cuts have severely weakened disease surveillance, community outreach and emergency response capacity.

Report alleges élite ties behind logging permits in Cameroon’s Ebo Forest
- A report by a Swiss advocacy group says a timber company logging Cameroon’s Ebo Forest is tied to a wider network of political élites in Yaoundé.
- The company, Sextransbois, is part of a network of logging and agriculture interests owned by prominent businessman Aboubakar Al Fatih.
- Corporate registry documents analyzed by the group show that Sextransbois was incorporated by relatives of President Paul Biya’s eldest son before being transferred to Al Fatih’s half-brother in 2014.
- Environmental groups have accused a number of companies owned by or linked to Al Fatih of breaking Cameroonian law.

Carbon cowboys and unpaid pledges: Ex-Gabon environment minister Lee White on conservation in Africa
- In an interview with Mongabay, the former Gabon environment minister Lee White makes the case that the Congo Basin should be treated as “critical national infrastructure” to be protected for Africa’s future water and climate security.
- He also defends nuclear energy as a “necessary evil” to generate the energy that Africa needs while avoiding catastrophic climate and water crises across the continent.
- White says weak governance, not mining itself, is the main driver of environmental destruction linked to mineral extraction.
- He criticizes the current carbon finance system, saying developed countries failed to honor their pledges to pay developing ones like Gabon for protecting their forests.

‘Corporate capture’ of critical minerals risks repeating DRC’s extractive past, warns indigenous leader
- From May 13-15, the Cobalt Institute, a London-based organization, hosted a conference in Madrid to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the cobalt industry.
- Cobalt has emerged as a critical mineral in the global transition to green energy: widely used in electric vehicles, smartphones and battery technologies, about 70% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Robert Agenong’a, an Indigenous politician and civil society leader from Ituri Province in northeastern DRC, near the border with Uganda, attended the Madrid conference to better understand how multinational corporations are positioning themselves within the country’s rapidly expanding critical minerals sector. He criticized the conference as an example of “corporate capture,” where the business interests of the mining sector dominate.
- “The concern is that everyone is interested in getting Congolese cobalt to the world market because it is of very high quality,” he said. “But nobody pays attention to the environmental harms, the social impacts, and the communities’ grievances.”

Gunmen kill two rangers in latest deadly attack in DRC’s Virunga National Park
Gunmen have killed two rangers in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the latest deadly attack in a region roiled by militia violence. Park sources said a heavily armed group opened fire on a control post at Kamuhororo, on the southern shore of Lake Edward inside Virunga, early on May 21. Kasereka […]
Ebola outbreak reaches major cities in DR Congo, Uganda amid fears of regional spread
The Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was officially confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 15. Less than a week later, the death toll is rising with at least 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths linked to the disease, as well as 51 […]
He survived a deadly attack, now he is calling for better working conditions for rangers in DRC
- The international community has set ambitious goals to protect nature, the latest aiming to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030. Rangers are at the center of this effort. According to the International Ranger Federation, they play a crucial role in protecting protected areas and achieving global conservation targets.
- But in many protected areas, rangers are increasingly exposed to violence, often confronting armed groups with limited support, particularly in unstable regions such as eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
- For Emmanuel Bahati Lukoo, this reality is not abstract — it is deeply personal. In 2018, he narrowly survived an attack by Mai-Mai fighters (an armed group operating in the DRC). Unlike many rangers who have lost their lives protecting nature in eastern DRC, he survived. More than 100 rangers are believed to have been killed in Virunga National Park over the past decade.
- Seeking to shed light on the realities and working conditions of rangers in the DRC, Bahati recently published a book titled Conservation at the Cost of My Youth: The Survival of a Ranger, in which he recounts the life of a ranger in eastern DRC.

Tensions rise in DRC mining region as community leaders arrested over protest
Civil society groups have denounced the “arbitrary” arrests of 11 community leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo following a peaceful protest over the impacts of mining operations on local communities. Authorities made the arrests on May 1 in the country’s southeastern Lualaba province, prompting calls by local and international NGOs for the “immediate and […]
At least 65 dead in latest Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo
A new Ebola outbreak has been declared in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement made by The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on May 15. Sixty-five people have died and around 246 suspected cases have been identified so far, mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health […]
Agriculture drives most tropical peatland loss in Indonesia, Peru and DRC: Study
Agriculture is the biggest driver of peatland loss in Indonesia, Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the largest expanses of tropical peatlands in the world, a recent study has found. Peatlands are crucial in the fight against climate change: They cover less than 3% of the world’s landmass, but sequester more carbon […]
New Congo oil find highlights Africa’s energy paradox amid Hormuz crisis
On April 13, 2026, TotalEnergies EP Congo announced it had discovered hydrocarbons on the Moho permit, offshore of the Republic of Congo. The company estimates the find could amount to nearly 100 million barrels of recoverable resources, though observers warn that the windfall won’t likely reach many Congolese citizens, roughly a third of whom live […]
Forests, fires and fragile gains: Interview with WRI’s Elizabeth Goldman
- According to Global Forest Watch data released by the World Resources Institute (WRI) on April 29, tropical primary forest loss declined by 36% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
- While GFW’s data show that more than 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) of tropical forest was cut down, this still represents the steepest single-year decline in two decades and offers a rare moment of optimism after consecutive years of forest destruction and record-breaking wildfires.
- Much of the improvement stems from Brazil, where renewed political will and enforcement under President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva played a decisive role.
- But while the decline suggests that protective policies and favorable weather can slow the destruction of the world’s forests, GFW’s Elizabeth Goldman warns that the progress is fragile.

DRC copper exports to US set to surge amid warnings of corruption risk
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is planning to export 500,000 metric tons of copper to the United States, a fivefold increase in the export commitment made in January by state-owned miner Gécamines SA. “The Congolese government’s intention, through Gécamines, to start exporting its own copper is becoming a reality,” said Jean-Claude Mputu, spokesperson […]
UN report flags disproportionate costs of clean energy transition
A new report published by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) warns that wealthy nations’ push toward cleaner energy comes with high environmental and social costs in mineral-producing countries. The investigation links the extraction of transition minerals used in green energy technologies like solar panels and rechargeable batteries to acute […]
A “good year” for forests changes less than it seems
- Tropical primary forest loss saw a significant drop in 2025, but the decline likely represents a temporary reprieve driven by favorable weather rather than a fundamental shift in the root causes of deforestation.
- The reduction was largely due to a decrease in fire-related losses following the extreme droughts of 2024, highlighting how forest health is increasingly dictated by climate variability and rainfall extremes.
- While policy-driven successes in Brazil and Indonesia offer a blueprint for enforcement, these gains remain fragile and vulnerable to shifting political dynamics and weakening governance.
- The resilience of recent progress faces an imminent test in 2026, as forecasts for a returning El Niño threaten to bring back the dry conditions that historically trigger catastrophic forest loss.

‘True success’ is a DRC that no longer needs outside help: Interview with EU envoy Fabrice Basile
- The European Union’s top envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo says he hopes to see less foreign presence in the DRC as a sign the country can drive its own development and ensure its people benefit from its resources.
- The DRC holds vast reserves of critical minerals such as cobalt, coltan, copper and lithium, and is also home to the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest rainforest and a key carbon sink.
- Fabrice Basile says the EU is working with the DRC government to improve natural resource management, emphasizing transparency, traceability and local value creation through approaches tailored to local realities.
- In an interview with Mongabay, he says the EU will support a U.S.-brokered DRC-Rwanda agreement on critical minerals, while stressing that lasting stability depends on governance reforms and pointing to conservation efforts like Virunga National Park as reasons for cautious optimism.

Angola’s highest mountain and its unique wildlife are now protected
Angola has declared its highest mountain, Mount Moco, part of a new conservation area to protect its threatened Afromontane forests. The Serra do Moco Conservation Area, which includes a complex of elevations, slopes and valleys in the municipality of Londuimbali, Huambo province, will now be under “a special regime of environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and […]
Tropical forest loss falls in 2025, but world still off track on deforestation goals
- Tropical primary forest loss fell sharply in 2025, down 36% from 2024, but the decline may reflect fewer fires rather than sustained progress.
- Despite the drop, the world still lost an area of tropical primary forest larger than Switzerland last year, leaving countries far off track from their 2030 goal of ending deforestation.
- Smaller forest-rich countries are losing remaining forests fastest, while major forest nations like Brazil show gains linked to stronger enforcement.
- Climate-driven fires, weak governance and commodity pressures continue to drive forest loss, making recent gains fragile and uncertain.

What it takes to make conservation work in Central Africa: Luis Arranz’s 46-year journey
- Luis Arranz has spent more than four decades managing protected areas in Central Africa, taking a field-based approach shaped by long tenures in places like Zakouma, Garamba, Dzanga-Sangha, and Salonga.
- He argues that conservation is less about new plans than about execution—maintaining teams, logistics, and consistent operations in remote and difficult terrain.
- Success depends on aligning conservation with local livelihoods, through mechanisms such as tourism and other income-generating activities tied to protected areas.
- Progress is fragile: parks rely heavily on external funding, operate in unstable security contexts, and can quickly deteriorate without sustained presence on the ground.

Amid conflict and poaching, tech helps boost mountain gorilla numbers
- Mountain gorillas face serious threats as they lose habitat and are stalked by poachers, but populations have jumped by 73% since 1989, now numbering an estimated 1,063.
- A mobile tool called SMART is helping forest guards and conservationists collect data to better track and protect the apes and other wildlife.
- But budgets are tight; more staff, field equipment and data collection devices are needed, conservation experts say.
- The current security situation across the transborder region between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a significant concern, both for forest rangers and gorillas.

Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park: “If conservation creates hardships, it won’t work”
- Emmanuel de Merode, Director of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, believes that conservation can succeed only—and exclusively—if it improves the living conditions of local communities. Protecting nature without addressing poverty and basic needs often leads to resistance and conflict.
- Drawing on the experience of Virunga, he explains how investments in hydroelectricity, access to electricity, and local economic opportunities have helped reduce reliance on charcoal, alleviate pressure on forests, and build trust with neighboring communities.
- Despite the progress made, de Merode acknowledges that challenges persist—notably insecurity, poverty, and continued reliance on charcoal—emphasizing that conservation and development must go hand in hand.

DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?
- Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi aims to leverage the ambitious Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor to transform a war economy into an economy of hope.
- The Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor—an idea first publicly announced during the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos—aims to create one of the largest protected areas in the world, connecting Goma in the country’s east to Kinshasa in the west.
- Proponents of the project, environmentalists, and other observers have hailed the concept, while acknowledging that many questions remain unanswered—particularly regarding the management of mining, oil, gas, agricultural, and conservation concessions.
- On paper, the project could create over 500,000 jobs—particularly for young Congolese people—preserve more than one million hectares of land, and help transport vital food supplies from the east to the massive consumer market of Kinshasa, home to over 20 million inhabitants.

Studying the world’s largest gathering of forest elephants with sound and field observation
- At Dzanga Bai in the Central African Republic—one of the few places where forest elephants gather in large numbers—researchers can observe behaviors that are otherwise difficult to document in dense rainforest.
- Ivonne Kienast leads long-term research combining direct observation with acoustic monitoring, building a detailed record of elephant behavior, social structure, and change over time.
- Her work highlights how sustained presence, local collaboration, and incremental data collection shape understanding of both elephants and the broader forest system they inhabit.
- Kienast spoke with Rhett Ayers Butler, Mongabay founder and CEO, and David Akana, director of Mongabay Africa, over two weeks of conversations in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo during March 2026. Her responses have been edited and consolidated.

Virtus Minerals signs first major deal under US-DRC critical minerals partnership
In a major advance for the U.S. push to secure critical minerals and compete with Chinese firms in Central Africa, U.S.-based Virtus Minerals has signed a megadeal for copper and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After lengthy negotiations that reportedly included heavy behind-the-scenes pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on […]
Can nature outcompete war in Eastern Congo?
- In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, pressure on Virunga National Park reflects deeper economic and governance dynamics, where conservation competes with immediate livelihood needs tied to charcoal production and agriculture.
- Emmanuel de Merode frames environmental decline as a consequence of how people earn a living, arguing that protecting biodiversity requires addressing energy access, jobs, and local economic systems.
- Virunga has developed an integrated model built around renewable energy, small business development, financial access, and localized security, aimed at shifting incentives away from conflict-linked and extractive activities.
- The proposed Green Corridor extends this approach across a national scale, testing whether a viable economic system can be built that depends on maintaining forests rather than clearing them, despite ongoing conflict and political constraints.

Living with wildlife, bearing the cost
- Communities living alongside wildlife bear immediate and recurring costs—from crop loss and injury to disrupted routines—while the benefits of conservation are often diffuse and global in scope.
- These burdens are disproportionately carried by rural and Indigenous communities, many of whom are excluded from decisions about land use and conservation, despite being most affected by them.
- Conservation efforts are increasingly incorporating rights-based approaches, compensation schemes, and conflict mitigation strategies, but their effectiveness remains inconsistent and often insufficient to offset real losses.
- The long-term success of conservation depends on whether it can align ecological goals with the stability and wellbeing of local communities, rather than relying on unequal sacrifice to sustain protected areas.

From Virunga to Kinshasa, the DRC embarks on a bold conservation gamble
- More than a year ago, Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi announced the Green Corridor, a conservation initiative that may stretch across the country, create 500,000 jobs, conserve over 540,000 km2 (208,500 mi2) of land, and improve infrastructure along the Congo River.
- According to people familiar with early discussions, the concept grew in part from Virunga National Park’s efforts to tackle an illegal war economy in North Kivu province and to try delivering alternative benefits to surrounding communities, including energy, agriculture and livelihoods.
- With uncertainty lingering over the conflict in eastern Congo, the government is now seeking to adapt elements of the Virunga conservation-and-development approach to a much larger landscape.
- While praised by some, observers, conservation groups and advocacy organizations caution that significant questions remain, particularly around the management of existing concessions — including agriculture, logging, oil and hydrocarbon blocks — as well as the protection of communities’ rights.

The little-known story of emerging ecotourism in the Central African Republic
- Though conflict and instability have shaped much of the Central African Republic’s recent history, Dzanga-Sangha in the country’s southwest is experiencing a modest rise in ecotourism centered on forest elephants, western lowland gorillas and the dense Congo Basin rainforest.
- Officials say about 800 tourists visited Dzanga-Sangha in 2025, generating roughly $1 million in revenue, with local guides and lodge workers reporting gradual growth linked to improved stability.
- Tourism is bringing some benefits, including income sharing, cultural tourism and small economic opportunities, though some involved in the country’s ecotourism ecosystem say job creation remains limited and uneven.
- While optimism is growing, challenges such as poor infrastructure, limited access and questions about equitable benefits mean Dzanga-Sangha’s ecotourism remains a work in progress.

‘I like impossible missions’: A conservationist’s mission to turn around Salonga’s fate
- At age 70, Luis Arranz has taken on a new mission aimed at helping turn around the fate of Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo: he became its co-director in 2022.
- Unlike his previous assignments, including his work in the DRC’s Garamba National Park marked by school kidnappings and violence by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, Arranz now faces a different type of challenge in Salonga.
- Undeterred, he says he enjoys “impossible missions” and is motivated by the prospect of protecting Salonga while improving livelihoods for communities living around the park.

Why conservation needs stories of progress
- Conservation progress often unfolds through sustained, incremental efforts by rangers, communities, and researchers, demonstrating that meaningful gains are still possible even in difficult contexts.
- Solutions journalism seeks to complement crisis reporting by examining what is working, under what conditions, and with what limitations, offering a more complete and actionable picture of environmental challenges.
- Evidence suggests that stories of credible progress can counter news avoidance, restore a sense of agency, and help practitioners and policymakers adapt successful approaches across regions.
- The launch of Mongabay’s Solutions Desk reflects this shift, writes Rhett Butler, the founder and CEO, in this commentary, aiming to document and disseminate effective conservation strategies alongside investigative reporting.

A human rights center opens a path to justice for Indigenous Peoples in the Central African Republic
- In Bayanga, a forest town on the edge of the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas complex, a small human rights center is restoring hope to the Ba’aka, one of the best-known Indigenous peoples of the Congo Basin.
- Established in 2015, the center helps resolve conflicts within local communities, promotes access to justice, provides human rights training and awareness, and helps the Ba’aka community participate in political and societal life. It also assists residents in obtaining administrative documents such as birth certificates and identity cards.
- The center has already handled 880 cases, ranging from financial disputes over loans or wages to physical violence and sexual abuse.
- Thanks to the trust it has earned from the communities, it plays a role in preserving social peace in this forested region.

A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could boost Central Africa’s green transition (analysis)
- As the global economy shifts toward greener, more sustainable models, the Congo Basin has a unique opportunity to position itself within this landscape by building a resilient bioeconomy that prioritizes local value creation while preserving critical ecosystems.
- Despite its rich natural endowments, this region often faces a paradox: while conservation protects, extraction exploits, and agreements frequently stall.
- “Promoting innovative approaches to biodiversity value creation directly supports efforts to enhance innovation and competitiveness, while emphasizing the need for durable, inclusive systems that capture long-term value for local communities,” a new analysis argues.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

A unique clearing in Central Africa draws elephants from the dense forests
- Dzanga Bai is an exceptional forest clearing where hundreds of elusive forest elephants gather, offering scientists and visitors opportunities to observe their behavior, social interactions and family dynamics in the open.
- Mineral-rich soil and shallow pools draw elephants and other wildlife like bongos and forest buffalo, making the clearing a unique ecological hotspot and a valuable site for long-term research on a little-understood species.
- Dzanga Bai is a growing tourism spot for the Central African Republic, but growth remains limited by difficult access, infrastructure constraints and perceptions of insecurity.

Far from home, a Rwandan doctor fulfills her calling among CAR forest communities
- Alphonsine Colombe Irahali is a Rwandan doctor stationed in Bayanga, a remote outpost near Dzanga-Sangha National Park in the Central African Republic.
- Her daily routine consists of traveling from village to village to provide care to communities that rarely have access to it.
- She says she fully embraces her calling as a doctor in communities that are virtually excluded from the formal health care system, with very positive results.
- Through mobile clinics, her team conducts tuberculosis and HIV screenings, raises awareness among the population and encourages vaccination, thereby helping to improve the health conditions of the people living around the protected area.

Talks to reduce funding for overfishing remain stalled at WTO meeting
- Delegates at a recent World Trade Organization summit in Cameroon agreed to continue “Fish Two” negotiations aimed at a deal to curb government subsidies that support unsustainable fishing, but progress remains limited, with just three countries blocking consensus despite broad support.
- The first phase of the deal, “Fish One,” entered into force in September 2025 and now has 116 ratifications; but key fishing nations, including India and Indonesia, have not joined.
- Disputes over Fish Two center on fairness: Developing countries argue the draft text disadvantages them, particularly through sustainability-based exemptions that favor wealthier nations with better scientific capacity.
- A four-year “sunset clause” triggered by Fish One’s entry into force now puts pressure on talks: If a full agreement is not reached by 2029, the entire deal, including Fish One, risks collapsing.

A ‘big book’ documenting Cameroon’s sharks & rays fills critical conservation gap
- Between 2015 and 2023, researchers working with fishers recorded more than 7,000 sharks and rays caught at sea and landed along Cameroon’s coast.
- The recorded animals represent 45 species, of which 13 are critically endangered.
- Their research found that most sharks and rays landed in Cameroon’s fisheries are juveniles, raising serious concerns about population recovery.
- The data help scientists better understand species composition, catch trends and conservation priorities along Cameroon’s coast.

‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study
- A new study finds that lakes are likely releasing carbon that’s been held in the peatlands of the Congo Basin for thousands of years.
- Scientists know these lakes release carbon dioxide, which until now was thought to result from recently decayed plant matter.
- A team of researchers radiocarbon-dated carbon from water samples to show that some of the CO₂ probably has much older origins, reporting their findings in a new study.
- The authors says more work is needed to understand the implications of this ancient carbon release for carbon dynamics and climate change.

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