Development of village goat farming for the preservation of the Bonobo of Basankusu – Bolomba

The Forests, located in Equateur Province, northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are home to an endemic primate species, the Bonobo (Pan paniscus, EN). Bonobo populations are threatened by intensive hunting for bushmeat.

The project, led by the Basankusu and Bolomba Ecosystem Conservation Support Group, (GACEBB), which has been working in the region since 2009, is taking place in 8 forest villages, (200 km²), located near Basankusu, 500 km from the capital of the Province, Mbandaka. The main objective of the project is to protect wild fauna and the bonobo in particular, by directly associating traditional hunters and vendors for the production of domestic goat meat, as an alternative to bushmeat. This project will directly benefit 250 people.