Reconciling conservation and human rights
The future of biodiversity and the climate hangs in the balance in the rainforests of the Congo Basin. CAD is helping conservation take root in local communities.
Project Overview
Project FocusRainforest Defenders
Project Objective Protecting the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo
Activities Standing with local communities to ensure their human rights are respected
The list reads like a who’s who of endangered wildlife: gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants. Countless species of mammals, birds and insects make their homes in rainforests, peat forests, savannas and mangroves – the Republic of the Congo is blessed with a natural diversity few countries can match.
Strictly protected national parks are meant to safeguard these forests. But it isn’t that simple: thousands of people, including many Indigenous communities, live in them. Conservation organizations must respect the rights of those communities from the outset if protected areas are to endure.
Our partner CAD brings conservation and human rights together
In Ntokou-Pikounda National Park (NPNP) and Odzala-Kokoua-Lossi, this is not the case, say activists from the Centre d’actions pour le développement – the Action Center for Development (CAD).
Founded only a few years ago and based in Brazzaville, CAD fights corruption and environmental crime, exposes human rights violations through extensive research and supports Indigenous communities in asserting their rights.
Human rights are still not adequately considered in conservation measures,” says CAD director Trésor Chardon Nzila Kendet.
Measures presented as efforts to combat poaching often lead to harassment, arbitrary arrests and violence, he says – partly because many rangers are poorly trained. Instead of building support for protecting nature, they spread fear among local people.
CAD may be small, but it takes on the big players. Its research into violence in Ntokou Pikounda National Park (NPNP) has put the powerful WWF under pressure. WWF manages the protected area, which covers 4,572 square kilometers of forests and swamps that form part of the world’s largest peatland complex. Vast amounts of carbon are stored there, making its importance for climate protection hard to overstate.
“When one group’s fortune becomes another’s misery”
In March 2023, CAD accused rangers at Ntokou Pikounda National Park of human rights violations in its report “Quand le bonheur des uns impose la misère aux autres” – “When one group’s fortune becomes another’s misery.” The report described physical violence and the destruction of livelihoods, including those of smallholder farmers. Rangers reportedly used force to clear fishing camps, looted them and burned them down.
WWF commissioned an investigation into the allegations, acknowledged that many were well-founded, and pledged to give greater consideration to local people in the future.
Abuses in Odzala-Kokoua National Park
Local people face a similar situation in Odzala-Kokoua National Park. The park is home to western lowland gorillas and supports one of Central Africa’s most important forest elephant populations. Its 130 swampy forest clearings, with nutrient-rich soils, draw a remarkable range of wildlife. On the surface, it looks like paradise.
But in 2023, the organization Survival International and Indigenous communities raised serious allegations: park rangers were said to have systematically beaten, tortured and raped local people when they entered the forest to hunt, fish or forage.
CAD had been raising the alarm for years, but its warnings went unheard
In Odzala-Kokoua, the company African Parks shares responsibility with the government. A London law firm investigated the allegations. CAD contributed information, including testimony from those affected. In the end, African Parks acknowledged human rights violations and promised improvements: legal and disciplinary action against accused employees, an independent grievance body and better relations with local people.
CAD demands: national parks must respect human rights
CAD now wants to ensure that these admissions and promises bring real improvements for local people. This is where our collaboration begins: CAD staff regularly visit communities to explain people’s rights and the commitments African Parks has made. They also work to “ensure fair compensation that covers the different aspects of community life.” CAD is pressing for better ranger training and an end to further human rights violations.
CAD recognizes African Parks’ good intentions and expects concrete measures to ensure that victims receive genuine redress and safeguards to prevent these abuses from happening again.”
Campaign against oil projects
We first encountered CAD in a different context: the government in Brazzaville has authorized oil exploration in Conkouati-Douli National Park. Congolese and international organizations, including Rainforest Rescue, are opposing the plans. Our partner CAD is central to that effort.
Since 2023, Britain’s Prince Harry has sat on the Board of Directors, after serving as president of the organization from 2017 onward. The organization manages 22 additional protected areas in 13 African countries.
Notably, the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provide a large part of the park’s budget through the Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF). In December 2025, the funding was extended despite the allegations, though subject to conditions.
The firm is Cherie Blair’s Omnia Strategies. Cherie Blair is the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair.
African Parks has kept Omnia’s investigation report confidential.
