Fondation Bombo Lumene is a non-profit organisation that works in partnership with the ICCN to manage Domaine et reserve de Bombo Lumene in order to protect its unique ecosystem, its biodiversity, and support the surrounding communities that depend on it. Our partnership with the ICCN allows us to assist in any capacity possible, be it scientific, technical, financial, or managerial. In October of 2021, Fondation Bombo Lumene signed a contract with the ICCN to take over the management of the reserve.

The foundation was created in early 2021 in response to the rapid growth of Kinshasa and the accompanying pressure this was putting on Bombo Lumene’s natural resources. Due to years of poor management and lack of funding, the reserve suffered gravely from human encroachment, illegal logging, charcoal production, the illegal sales of land belonging to the reserve by local authorities, slash and burn agriculture, and the poaching of its fauna. We quickly realised that these threats will only continue to increase as the population of nearby Kinshasa skyrockets upwards of 25 million, and that the time to act is now.

Fondation Bombo Lumene approaches these challenges head-on with an emphasis on developing ecotourism, developing the reserve’s infrastructure, supporting community development and education, supporting the reserve’s rangers and anti-poaching efforts, inventorying and monitoring fauna, and by contributing to food security. Together we aim to transform Bombo Lumene into an ecologically, socially, and financially sustainable reserve which is able to simultaneously alleviate poverty in the region and protect a unique ecosystem.

Our goal is for Bombo Lumene to survive and thrive despite the population growth of Kinshasa and its accompanying challenges, and become a model for ecotourism, conservation, and development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is our mission to preserve this unique landscape and its biodiversity for generations to come.