Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
approaches: one that the Congolese often see as colonial in attitude, whereby outsiders come with
money and impose change, and the other whereby outsiders integrate with local communities, re-
specting their values and supporting their leaders in order to achieve shared goals. However, con-
servation often requires a quid pro quo: the local people taking the pressure off the forests and wild-
life in exchange for new means of survival. Conservationists can foster trade, health care, educa-
tion, even law enforcement, and yet if they want to build a deeper sense of community investment,
they need insight not just into the problems that arise but into how those problems came to be. Part
of finding a new way of relating to people, Sally suggested, lies in seeing how much damage was
caused by the old way.
In telling me about BCI's projects, she spoke of the Bongandu, the Congolese ethnic group
with whom she'd worked primarily. She described their respect for bonobos and their knowledge of
the rainforest, emphasizing that we must not equate poverty with ignorance. As for bonobos, they
served as a flagship species, a concept that elevates the profile of one animal to protect the biod-
iversity of its habitat. The bonobos' charismatic nature made it possible for BCI to rally support
around them as a symbol of the rainforest.
Through 2010, I researched rainforest and bonobo conservation, and on several occasions, I in-
terviewed Sally by Skype. I listened carefully, trying to determine if BCI's projects could create
lasting change, and what could be learned from the solutions they were finding. In mid-2011, I
proposed accompanying them on an expedition to a bonobo reserve. I wanted to understand how
their model differed from those of other NGOs, and how building coalitions and social capital could
make up for a lack of funds. Sally told me that such a trip could be a stunning experience, but she
also emphasized that the reserve was set up with only the bare minimum, for the purpose of work.
And she warned me to budget well. Just getting to Kinshasa would be expensive since so few air-
lines served it. Then we would have in-country flights, and because there was little infrastructure
for trade, food and supplies would be costly.
BCI had been going through a difficult period, struggling to fund its operating costs. The con-
tinuing aftershocks of the global financial crisis had diminished the flow of charitable donations.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq exhausted the US economy and political will, and with the Arab
Spring, then the tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan, the media's attention wasn't on conserva-
tion. Not until late 2011 did BCI have the funds for its next expedition into the rainforest.
But in November, the DRC held its second free multi-party elections since not only the end of
the Second Congo War in 2003 but the country's independence in 1960. The Congolese were dissat-
isfied with their current leaders, and the media anticipated violence and conflict over ballot rigging
by each candidate's supporters. Given that we would be as far off the grid as possible, we needed
to be careful not to get caught in the rainforests if conflicts reignited. BCI's contacts in the reserves
said that the atmosphere was tense, with local politicians looking for ways to leverage power, and
they warned us to postpone the trip.
I was already overseas, and I flew by way of Doha, Qatar, to East Africa. I took my time in
Uganda and Rwanda, learning about conservation efforts there. Election results were announced
in December, and Joseph Kabila, the incumbent president since January 2001, was reelected to a
second term despite allegations of fraud. Though the DRC's security forces killed at least two dozen
protesters, and residents of the capital stoned a Westerner's car, blaming the election results on for-
eign intervention, the peace held. The Congolese, it seemed, were sick of war.
