BCI's programs support a two-way flow of information between locals and visiting conservationists, Congolese and non-Congolese. A vigorous hybrid of local and imported concepts and practices is less likely to be ignored or resisted than the narrower and didactic approach of instructing local populations without first taking into account what they might know or be able to contribute to species conservation.

Learn more about our programs by linking to the Library of Congress Webcast. [Click]

(when you arrive at the cybercast page, please click the title:Forest Peoples and Indigenous Knowledge: Keys to Preserving Africa's Threatened Wildlife.)

Sponsored by the African and Middle Eastern Division and theScience, Business and Technology Division at the Library of Congress

Dr. Alden Almquist, BCI board member, and Albert Lokasola, President of Vie Sauvage, discuss the wildlife conservation programs in Congo's Lac Tumba and Maringa-Wamba-Lopori landscapes. They review the critical importance of combining traditional and sacred wisdom and scientific knowledge in order to achieve lasting success. Talks describe the Bonobo Conservation Initiative's conservation programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and how, through supporting and respecting local people and involving traditional indigenous practices, BCI has achieved success and gained recognition as the leader in bonobo conservation efforts.

As forests and species around the world disappear, we find pristine forests in the heart of the Congo, still rich in biodiversity, perhaps only as a result of local respect for these sacred forests. This presentation addresses new conservation models of how the sacred and science are combined to map and protect forests, which are home to bonobos and other rare and endangered species.

In addition, Albert Lokasola provides a summary of the proceedings of a UN Sponsored Indigenous Peoples' Led Expert Meeting on Traditional Forest Related Knowledge (TFRK) held in Costa Rica, where he had been selected to represent the people's of the Congo Basin's Cuvette Centrale. Central to discussions in this event were national government actions related to their international commitments to protect and promote TFRK.

BCI teams have regularly been collecting bonobo stories and songs from villagers, and are currently developing programs to support and promote the dissemination and sharing of this "traditional wisdom." [Learn More]

BCI Survey & Information Exchange teams recently completed work in Lilungu, and learned how belief systems and attitudes can impact zoning for bonobo protection. [Learn More]

The people of the DRC are the stewards of the forests. Please help us help them protect bonobos and the rainforests. [Contribute now]