Batwa communities were forcefully removed from their land in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) without further accommodations. Evictions have harmful consequences for these communities. Particularly for indigenous groups that have cultural ties and foraging practices that are connected with the forest. Despite the importance of the national park as an established home to Batwa communities, the…
Category: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mbuti vs. Virunga National Park
Like Basongora in Uganda and other Batwa groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many indigenous Mbuti face discrimination and landlessness after eviction from their ancestral land due to “militarized conservation.” Photo credit: Michael Christopher Brown
Mbuti in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is home to indigenous Mbuti hunter-gatherers who help protect native species of the forest. Mbuti livelihoods are being threatened, though, by illegal poaching, mining and deforestation. Photo Credit: Monusco Photos
Luba and Batwa Conflict
A conflict between Batwa group members, a marginalized hunter-gatherer group, and Luba members, a Bantu ethnic group, has resulted in hundreds of deaths, thousands of displaced peoples and ethnic tension in the former Katanga Region. Photo Credit: Thomas Nicolon (Mongabay)