Community Development

Over 12,000 people live on the periphery of Odzala-Kokoua. Within these communities, there are nine major ethnic groups and a broad range of cultures including the Bakouélé in the north, the Mboko in the south and the Bangombé, Banguili and Bokiba to the east of the park.

Recognising the importance of wildlife laws and community rights, Odzala partners with the Congolese NGO Cercle des Droits de l’Homme et de Développement (CDHD). The CDHD conducts regular missions across the park periphery engaging communities on national wildlife laws and their rights. This collaboration ensures continuous and open dialogue on human rights between the park and local residents, reinforcing a multifaceted approach to community engagement.

National legislation is upheld in Odzala, ensuring that communities retain access to natural resources and cultural sites. The Land Use Plan process and social mapping initiatives being carried out by the park aim to identify all sites of cultural relevance to local communities, such as ancient villages and sites where traditional ceremonies are celebrated, to ensure access to these are maintained.

Community Engagement

In addition to regular community meetings, since 2010, Odzala has implemented a key aspect of its management strategy by establishing governance groups called Associations de Surveillance et de Développement Durable (ASDDs). In each village, four ASDD members are democratically elected from a selection of community members, and include a village elder, sage, women’s representative, indigenous representative and youth representative. The ASDDs play a crucial role in the park’s human-wildlife coexistence and allow meaningful, targeted and collaborative community project developments as well as park governance, with two members sitting on the Odzala-Kokoua-Lossi Foundation Board.

With these initiatives, communities define boundaries, agricultural areas, hunting zones, and infrastructural needs, fostering a comprehensive understanding of community challenges and aspirations.

In addition, to help gain a better understanding of the social context of indigenous people around Odzala, reduce the risk of human rights abuses and ensure use-rights are protected, a specialist Baka anthropologist has been contracted to develop and improve engagement with the local Baka community.

Eco-Teams

Launched in 2022, the Eco-team project has over 20 young people, known as eco-ambassadors, from five villages around the park.  With their main role being the collection of data for biodiversity conservation management, these previously unemployed community members have also become a crucial connection between the park and the villages.

In the south of the park, the Eco-team near Ebana village monitors a previously habituated gorilla group, while the team in Bossouaka collects human wildlife conflict data in the area. More Eco-teams have been launched in the east and north, collecting data to better understand resource harvesting, bushmeat trading and human-wildlife conflict around local villages.  

 

© Irene Galera
Environmental awareness raising and education is an important part of community development in Odzala

Education and Environmental Awareness

More than 1,000 students engage in environmental education programmes every year. Scholarship programmes have begun with eight students receiving support, and 20 teachers’ salaries supplemented. During school holidays, children have the opportunity to visit the park and learn about biodiversity conservation through games and practical activities.

Odzala’s education and healthcare programmes benefit over 6,000 people annually.

Sustainable Enterprise Development

Income-generating activities focus on sustainable agriculture, artisanal crafts and sustainable use of natural resources. Youth education as well as learning skills, trades, apprenticeships and ecotourism help to address unemployment. Enterprise projects include producing cacao, black pepper and wild mango, as well as beekeeping and vegetable gardening.

As part of the goal of sustainable access to natural resources, Odzala-Kokoua signed the Mambili Fishing Protocol, allowing fishing within the eco-development zone of the park’s largest river. Although a long-accepted practice, a protocol for the cultural practice of women’s pond fishing was also established as a trial project in 2023, formally enabling 57 women to fish for several weeks in the park’s core zone.

© Marcus Westberg
Infrastructure development in the park supports park management efforts and community development

Community Infrastructure Development

Infrastructural developments across the park’s communities are managed through the Local Development Fund and Village Development Plans. Village Development Plans involve community votes on infrastructure needs, while the Local Development Fund supports these visions through tourism revenue which has financed nine community projects so far to improve access to water and education. In 2023, the Mobile Clinic treated over 1,100 people in 12 villages, while 2,835 people were treated in the Odzala-Kokoua infirmaries in Imbalanga and Kokoua.

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) mitigation mechanisms have been trialled in Odzala for several years, with mixed success. For example, chilli fences and intervention teams as a crop-protection strategy required significant human effort, so a system of heavy barriers for long-term crop protection was adopted; this includes the Mbomo electric fence and a series of 20 ha community agriculture plots surrounded by a two-metre-wide trench. While the number of HWC incidents remained the same as in previous years, those involving elephant declined from 91% in 2022 to 77% in 2023. Monitoring and data collection will continue to determine if this trend is a valid observation.