THE CHALLENGES
Poverty
Poverty, lack of infrastructure, lack of education, and food insecurity are some of the main challenges faced by the majority of the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene. They are the root cause and main driving factors behind the threats to the survival of Bombo Lumene and its ecosystem.
Charcoal
Perhaps the biggest threat to Bombo Lumene is the deforestation of its last remaining primary forests to produce charcoal. Only about 19% of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s population has access to electricity, meaning the primary source of energy for most households is charcoal and fuel wood. With the population of nearby Kinshasa exploding, the demand for charcoal is skyrocketing. Both local people from neighboring communities and organized groups from Kinshasa have been venturing into Bombo Lumene, destroying large swathes of forest and using the wood to produce charcoal. This has devastated Bombo Lumene’s gallery forests, so much so that only a very tiny area of forest is still intact. These forests are not only essential in the fight against climate change and increasing air pollution from Kinshasa, they are also the most biodiverse areas of the reserve. This deforestation also alters weather conditions and destroys soil quality (which in turn threatens food security on the plateau), causes erosion, decimates animal populations, and releases massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Slash and Burn Agriculture and Intensive farming
After areas of forest have been cleared, and the wood harvested and turned into charcoal, the remaining vegetation is burned. The burnt vegetation temporarily increases soil quality for the local populations to grow crops. However, after a season or two of growing crops, and after the rains then wash away all the remaining nutrients into the nearby rivers, the exposed earth is left completely degraded. This practice is also done in the savanna areas of Bombo Lumene and is rapidly destroying important habitats for the reserve’s remaining wildlife.
More recently, immense portions of Bombo Lumene’s wilderness are being turned into large plots of farmland. Much of the land is illegally sold by local authorities to people from the neighbouring communities and to wealthy individuals from Kinshasa. This land is then quickly destroyed to make room for agriculture which usually involves poor practices.
human encroachment
In order to produce charcoal and farm within Bombo Lumene’s boundaries, large groups of people have been settling and establishing villages in the reserve. As the villages grow, so does the scale of ecological destruction. Other religious groups, and even NGOs have also installed settlements within the reserve itself. This is somewhat self-contradictory considering the majority of the rest of the Bateke Plateau is not yet intensely colonised by people. However, it is likely that the presence of Bombo Lumene’s forests and wildlife attracts people who are looking to exploit these natural resources.
poaching
There are two main types of poaching that occur in Bombo Lumene. The first type could be classified as expatriate poaching. This is practiced by wealthy expats from Kinshasa who hunt for sport. They target primarily large mammals such as forest buffalos and large antelopes. By doing this they often break several national laws such as hunting without a permit, hunting without a valid license, hunting protected species, hunting in an integral reserve, hunting from vehicles, and hunting at night. While this form of hunting has decimated most of the populations of large mammals, it has almost completely halted over the last five years.
The second type, and main form of poaching that threatens the reserve and its wildlife today, is poaching for bushmeat by the surrounding local populations. While originally subsistence hunting was allowed in the ‘hunting domain’ section of the Bombo Lumene, it has today become highly commercialized. This hunting is often done using illegally obtained rifles, handmade guns, as well as snares. They target almost all mammal species from pangolins and porcupines, to primates and antelopes. The meat is then transported to either local bushmeat markets such as in the town of Mbankana or it is destined for the larger markets in Kinshasa. Poaching has not only resulted in declines of many of the reserve’s wildlife populations, but it is also the primary reason why animals in Bombo Lumene have become very skittish and mostly nocturnal. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in poaching which has been captured on our camera traps.
THE CHALLENGES
Poverty
Poverty, lack of infrastructure, lack of education, and food insecurity are some of the main challenges faced by the majority of the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene. They are the root cause and main driving factors behind the threats to the survival of Bombo Lumene and its ecosystem.
Charcoal
Perhaps the biggest threat to Bombo Lumene is the deforestation of its last remaining primary forests to produce charcoal. Only about 19% of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s population has access to electricity, meaning the primary source of energy for most households is charcoal and fuel wood. With the population of nearby Kinshasa exploding, the demand for charcoal is skyrocketing. Both local people from neighboring communities and organized groups from Kinshasa have been venturing into Bombo Lumene, destroying large swathes of forest and using the wood to produce charcoal. This has devastated Bombo Lumene’s gallery forests, so much so that only a very tiny area of forest is still intact. These forests are not only essential in the fight against climate change and increasing air pollution from Kinshasa, they are also the most biodiverse areas of the reserve. This deforestation also alters weather conditions and destroys soil quality (which in turn threatens food security on the plateau), causes erosion, decimates animal populations, and releases massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Slash and Burn Agriculture and Intensive farming
After areas of forest have been cleared, and the wood harvested and turned into charcoal, the remaining vegetation is burned. The burnt vegetation temporarily increases soil quality for the local populations to grow crops. However, after a season or two of growing crops, and after the rains then wash away all the remaining nutrients into the nearby rivers, the exposed earth is left completely degraded. This practice is also done in the savanna areas of Bombo Lumene and is rapidly destroying important habitats for the reserve’s remaining wildlife.
More recently, immense portions of Bombo Lumene’s wilderness are being turned into large plots of farmland. Much of the land is illegally sold by local authorities to people from the neighbouring communities and to wealthy individuals from Kinshasa. This land is then quickly destroyed to make room for agriculture which usually involves poor practices.
human encroachment
In order to produce charcoal and farm within Bombo Lumene’s boundaries, large groups of people have been settling and establishing villages in the reserve. As the villages grow, so does the scale of ecological destruction. Other religious groups, and even NGOs have also installed settlements within the reserve itself. This is somewhat self-contradictory considering the majority of the rest of the Bateke Plateau is not yet intensely colonised by people. However, it is likely that the presence of Bombo Lumene’s forests and wildlife attracts people who are looking to exploit these natural resources.
poaching
There are two main types of poaching that occur in Bombo Lumene. The first type could be classified as expatriate poaching. This is practiced by wealthy expats from Kinshasa who hunt for sport. They target primarily large mammals such as forest buffalos and large antelopes. By doing this they often break several national laws such as hunting without a permit, hunting without a valid license, hunting protected species, hunting in an integral reserve, hunting from vehicles, and hunting at night. While this form of hunting has decimated most of the populations of large mammals, it has almost completely halted over the last five years.
The second type, and main form of poaching that threatens the reserve and its wildlife today, is poaching for bushmeat by the surrounding local populations. While originally subsistence hunting was allowed in the ‘hunting domain’ section of the Bombo Lumene, it has today become highly commercialized. This hunting is often done using illegally obtained rifles, handmade guns, as well as snares. They target almost all mammal species from pangolins and porcupines, to primates and antelopes. The meat is then transported to either local bushmeat markets such as in the town of Mbankana or it is destined for the larger markets in Kinshasa. Poaching has not only resulted in declines of many of the reserve’s wildlife populations, but it is also the primary reason why animals in Bombo Lumene have become very skittish and mostly nocturnal. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in poaching which has been captured on our camera traps.
THE CHALLENGES
Poverty
Poverty, lack of infrastructure, lack of education, and food insecurity are some of the main challenges faced by the majority of the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene. They are the root cause and main driving factors behind the threats to the survival of Bombo Lumene and its ecosystem.
Charcoal
Perhaps the biggest threat to Bombo Lumene is the deforestation of its last remaining primary forests to produce charcoal. Only about 19% of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s population has access to electricity, meaning the primary source of energy for most households is charcoal and fuel wood. With the population of nearby Kinshasa exploding, the demand for charcoal is skyrocketing. Both local people from neighboring communities and organized groups from Kinshasa have been venturing into Bombo Lumene, destroying large swathes of forest and using the wood to produce charcoal. This has devastated Bombo Lumene’s gallery forests, so much so that only a very tiny area of forest is still intact. These forests are not only essential in the fight against climate change and increasing air pollution from Kinshasa, they are also the most biodiverse areas of the reserve. This deforestation also alters weather conditions and destroys soil quality (which in turn threatens food security on the plateau), causes erosion, decimates animal populations, and releases massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Slash and Burn Agriculture and Intensive farming
After areas of forest have been cleared, and the wood harvested and turned into charcoal, the remaining vegetation is burned. The burnt vegetation temporarily increases soil quality for the local populations to grow crops. However, after a season or two of growing crops, and after the rains then wash away all the remaining nutrients into the nearby rivers, the exposed earth is left completely degraded. This practice is also done in the savanna areas of Bombo Lumene and is rapidly destroying important habitats for the reserve’s remaining wildlife.
More recently, immense portions of Bombo Lumene’s wilderness are being turned into large plots of farmland. Much of the land is illegally sold by local authorities to people from the neighbouring communities and to wealthy individuals from Kinshasa. This land is then quickly destroyed to make room for agriculture which usually involves poor practices.
human encroachment
In order to produce charcoal and farm within Bombo Lumene’s boundaries, large groups of people have been settling and establishing villages in the reserve. As the villages grow, so does the scale of ecological destruction. Other religious groups, and even NGOs have also installed settlements within the reserve itself. This is somewhat self-contradictory considering the majority of the rest of the Bateke Plateau is not yet intensely colonised by people. However, it is likely that the presence of Bombo Lumene’s forests and wildlife attracts people who are looking to exploit these natural resources.
poaching
There are two main types of poaching that occur in Bombo Lumene. The first type could be classified as expatriate poaching. This is practiced by wealthy expats from Kinshasa who hunt for sport. They target primarily large mammals such as forest buffalos and large antelopes. By doing this they often break several national laws such as hunting without a permit, hunting without a valid license, hunting protected species, hunting in an integral reserve, hunting from vehicles, and hunting at night. While this form of hunting has decimated most of the populations of large mammals, it has almost completely halted over the last five years.
The second type, and main form of poaching that threatens the reserve and its wildlife today, is poaching for bushmeat by the surrounding local populations. While originally subsistence hunting was allowed in the ‘hunting domain’ section of the Bombo Lumene, it has today become highly commercialized. This hunting is often done using illegally obtained rifles, handmade guns, as well as snares. They target almost all mammal species from pangolins and porcupines, to primates and antelopes. The meat is then transported to either local bushmeat markets such as in the town of Mbankana or it is destined for the larger markets in Kinshasa. Poaching has not only resulted in declines of many of the reserve’s wildlife populations, but it is also the primary reason why animals in Bombo Lumene have become very skittish and mostly nocturnal. Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in poaching which has been captured on our camera traps.
