La gestion durable des ressources naturelles dans le contexte de la conservationpar expulsion dans la partie haute altitude du Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega à l’Est de la RDC

Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) faces significant challenges in sustainable conservation management, particularly because Indigenous communities were evicted from territories containing the park’s natural resources. This displacement deprived these communities of their traditional livelihoods and severely limited their participation in the sustainable management of the park. Another challenge concerns the limited alignment of some PNKB management tools with international conservation mechanisms to which the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), the official manager of PNKB, has been committed for more than thirty years.

This study focuses on the Indigenous Batwa, who were among the earliest inhabitants of the PNKB area and who now live on the margins of the park’s high-altitude zone. Data were collected through preliminary studies, focus groups (N = 30), field walks and visits (N = 11), semi-structured interviews (N = 21), participant observation, stakeholder workshops (N = 2), participatory mapping, three-dimensional mapping, and Whakatane evaluation meetings (N = 4).

The findings reveal that the Batwa have developed 21 community-based resilience initiatives, including 6 endogenous and 15 exogenous initiatives. Endogenous resilience initiatives have had a more significant impact on the livelihoods and way of life of Batwa Indigenous residents than exogenous initiatives. In their zones of influence beyond the current park boundaries, as well as in other concessions located in the hinterland, Batwa communities occupy 102 land areas on a precarious basis and regularly access 112 land areas, including harvesting sites and conservation zones. The highest spatial land-use index is 0.6941 hectares per person, which is far below the 5.2 hectares of forest per person provided for under Congolese law in the event of possible accompaniment or resettlement linked to the PNKB.

Ten years after the implementation of the Development and Management Program, known as the PAG, revised in 2013, most of the activities planned under this framework have not been carried out. Although the Batwa are formally consulted through park-community dialogue structures, these mechanisms are largely non-operational. As a result, the Batwa remain weakly involved in governance and decision-making processes and have limited opportunities to influence conservation policies. Complaint management and information-sharing mechanisms are also poorly defined.

More broadly, the study shows a relationship between the flow of actors involved in sustainable natural resource management and the well-being of Batwa Indigenous communities. Stakeholder involvement in natural resource management appears to be less pronounced within the PNKB than among Indigenous communities themselves. However, supporting institutions have so far struggled to clearly identify the real challenges affecting the well-being of Batwa Indigenous residents.

The results also indicate that the content of some principles in the PNKB’s 2009–2018 management tool, particularly the revised 2013 version of the PAG, theoretically aligns with the requirements of the new conservation paradigm. These principles include community participation, benefit-sharing from park conservation, gender promotion, and conflict resolution. However, other essential dimensions of the new conservation paradigm remain insufficiently addressed. These include the promotion of Batwa Indigenous rights, the recognition and valorization of their cultures and traditions, fair and equitable sharing of tourism benefits, and access to and use of customary lands.

The study inventoried 34 former Batwa encampments within the PNKB, along with other cultural spaces, including places of refuge, hunting areas, exchange sites, and commercial barter zones historically occupied by Batwa communities. These findings demonstrate the existence of customary land rights within the park. The return of some Batwa to the park, motivated by the perception that authorities failed to keep their promises, followed traces of former customary occupation in 54.5% of cases.

The study concludes that a cultural development plan is necessary to reconcile conservation objectives with the rights, livelihoods, and cultural identity of Batwa Indigenous residents in the PNKB. Such a plan would help address ongoing conflicts while promoting a more inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable conservation model.

Keywords: access to territory, access to natural resources, livelihoods, participation, new conservation mechanisms, Indigenous peoples, eviction-based conservation.