Congo (Democratic Republic)
Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park protects a primary tropical forest that is one of the last refuges of the critically endangered Eastern Lowland Gorilla.
The Eastern Lowland Gorilla is the largest subspecies of the Gorilla and the largest living primate. The park reaches high altitudes at Mounts Kahuzi (3,308 m) and Biega (2,790 m). where sub-alpine vegetation has developed. Its bird list holds 349 species, including 42 endemic.
Community Perspective: There have been no recent reviews of this site, though it is regularly visited as it is easily accessible from the Rwanda border.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park (ID: 137)
- Country
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Status
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Inscribed 1980
Site history
History of Kahuzi-Biega National Park
- WHS Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- x
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- kahuzibiega.wordpress.com — Kahuzi-Biega NP blog
News Article
- Dec. 30, 2020 france24.com — Rangers at DR Congo wildlife haven protest over pay
- July 21, 2019 theguardian.com — Clash between Pygmies and DRC gorilla sanctuary rangers leaves one dead
Community Information
- Community Category
- Wildlife habitat: Fauna
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits -
Over 100 mammal species
The Park protects 136 species of mammal… -
Centres of Plant Diversity
Af28 Kahuzi-Biega - "the Park was desig…
Connections of Kahuzi-Biega National Park
- Geography
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Congo River Basin
west of Lake Kivu
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- Ecology
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Swamps and Marshes
"The Park also contains plant formations, rare worldwide, such as the swamp and bog altitudes and the marshland and riparian forests on hydromorphic ground at all altitudes." (OUV) -
Chimpanzee habitat
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Bovines
Forest buffalo -
Rainforests
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Gorilla habitat
Eastern lowland gorilla; has habituated groups (only 1 left so it seems in 2023 - see link)See www.bbc.com
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Over 100 mammal species
The Park protects 136 species of mammals (OUV Crit X) -
Elephants
bush elephant -
Critically endangered fauna species
Mount Kahuzi Climbing Mouse - "It is known from just two specimens collected from localities 100 m apart" (see link); & Eastern Gorilla -
Strepsirrhini
dwarf bushbaby -
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Area
Congo Basin
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- Damaged
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Poaching
Bushmeat commerce, involving almost all vertebrate species, is very intense and thus affects the biodiversity values of the park. Forest elephants are under intense pressure from ivory poachers with probably only few individuals left in high altitude. Gorillas were heavily poached during the wars (mainly for bushmeat) and probably continue to be hunted in the low altitude sector.
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- World Heritage Process
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Inscribed on a single criterion only
x. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
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- Human Activity
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Indigenous groups expelled
Twa. “The expulsion of the Twa from their forests had already begun before the establishment of the National Park, at the end of the 1960s, and was conducted by staff from the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) with the support of the armed forces. Starting around 1967, the Twa who were living in what was the Kahuzi-Biega Reserve were forced out of the area on the orders of the provincial authorities” (WHS-IPR) -
Pygmy Peoples
Batwa peoples were evicted when the park was created in 1975
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- WHS on Other Lists
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IUCN Conservation Outlook Assessment Critical
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World Heritage Forest Programme
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Alliance for Zero Extinction
Dendromus kahuziensis: Mount Kahuzi African Climbing Mouse -
WWF Global 200
Terrestrial, Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests: (4) Northeastern Congo Basin Moist ForestsSee web.archive.org
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Centres of Plant Diversity
Af28 Kahuzi-Biega - "the Park was designated as a centre of diversity for plants by IUCN and WWF in 1994, with at least 1,178 inventoried species in the highland zone, although the lowland yet remains to be recorded."
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- Timeline
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Early Pleistocene
"Straddling the Albertine Rift and the Congo Basin" - "The current course of the Congo River formed 1.5-2 million years BP, during the Pleistocene"
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- Visiting conditions
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Red Zone Travel Advisory
DRC fully off-limits
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- WHS Names
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Named after a Mountain
"A vast area of primary tropical forest dominated by two spectacular extinct volcanoes, Kahuzi and Biega"See en.wikipedia.org
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News
- france24.com 12/30/2020
- Rangers at DR Congo wildlife haven…
- theguardian.com 07/21/2019
- Clash between Pygmies and DRC gori…
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.Community Reviews
Show full reviews
Kahuzi Biega national covers several varieties of the African wild life. I have visited the park two month ago and it was a pleasure to see Gorilla for my first time. The security situation is becoming better as rebellions are leaving the park and local population have now noticed the importance of the forest.
I love tourism in the natural area, It could be nice if decision and strategies can be make to upgrade the status of the world heritage site in RDC. Its painful surveying the status of all protected areas, animals are being killed, trees are cut, etc
Please if you are reading me and in any kind you can sensitize people around you, tell them that the parks is all left for us as natural places in world filled with big building, industries, modern staff and so on. so please let conserve it.
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I am a Congolese currently living in South Africa where I am studying Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape. I am coming precisely from the South Kivu region where the Kahuzi-Biega national Park is located.
I leaved in Lwiro where I was doing Biodiversity and Nature Conservation, a degree that unfortunately I didn't finish.
In 2005, I went in the Kahuzi-Biega National park several times. This park is a real heritage that our planet still have, to save it or to protect is species both it fauna and flora is to guaranty the humankind a fresh air and new filed of research during this critical time that the planet if facing due to climate change and pollution.
Let together save the flora and fauna of the Kahuzi-Biega national park.
Thanks to all those who have invested their time and money for the protection and conservation the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
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I am a field research working with the neighboring community around The kahuzi Biega National park (KBNP). In the moment we are a running a Centre for Environmental education in Katana.
The project aims to achieve long-term conservation of the park by increasing awareness and appreciation towards the KBNP among visitors from urban and peri-urban areas as well as neighboring rural communities.
Dealing with the Community based conservation approaches, it targets to establish the basic framework of a regional Environmental Interpretation Service in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project focuses on information dissemination and awareness building through a Four-sided approach:
• Establish a functioning environment information and public awareness program
• Establish infrastructure for the program ( housing, visual communication equipment
• Build adequate capacity to run the awareness program.
• Empower the youth from ground levels to preserve, protect and conserve natural resources for their promising future: creating a small Child Forest Environmental Education
The main components of the project consist of Education and awareness campaigns for the local people, preparation of varied resource materials for wider dissemination among all members of the community, including pupils, teachers, as well as researchers, students and in a various non-formal education activities for children above 3 years old, young people and adults, and to increase the capacity building of the park staff and guides and tours operators by means of training.
Therefore the Centre seeks to engage a highly trained team to run activities involving technicians in Environmental Sciences, Teachers, …
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I was born within this park and there are now 13 years, I am working for its conservation through the Pole Pole Foundation (POPOF), a local NGO that we have created to involve local communities in the park's conservation.
Since 1996, successive wars started by the eastern DR Congo and have badly affected the park's ecosystem. The mark of this park is that it is an habitat of many endemic species of plants and animals. While efforts are being made to protect the Mountain gorillas in the Virungas, few people around the world know about the other sub-species of the Gorillas that live only in the Kahuzi-Biega national Park region; the Goriila gorilla graueri. Researchers have reported that their population have been declined to 70% the ten years ago.
The present state of this World Heritage Site needs more efforts from international and national levels to save some of the remained individuals in the forest.
It is a bit difficult to provide all the information in a short letter of fews words like this one. If specific information are needed, we will be pleased to provide some, if requested at popofdrc@yahoo.fr
With very best wishes,
Bikaba.
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