Tayna Gorilla Reserve DRC

In 1998 traditional chiefs from the Batangi and Bamate tribes had a vision of creating a community based reserve. Wars, deforestation, and unregulated mining were destroying their forest to the East, and the chiefs wanted to preserve their remaining forest as well as improve their peoples lives.In November of 2000 an open general assembly was held to discuss and debate how the community would protect this land. On November 21st, the official documents were signed to establish the first step in creating the ONLY government authorized nature reserve managed by local communities in the DRC.The man responsible for making this dream a reality is Pierre Kakule Virashekeya. Pierre being a local chief himself, helped organize the other chiefs, who in turn developed a supportive team among the whole population. The Reserve is operated by Pierre as he is the coordinator-Director. He in turn reports to a board of Diretors, composed of the original founders and landowners.The Tayna Gorilla Reserve is the flagship project of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's "Comminity Conservation Program. A bprogram that empowers the local people to protect and preserve their heritage. Based on traditional land ownership, this initiative supports local chiefs and villages to create natural reserves that are managed and maintained by communities.Once the limits of these reserves are approved by the DRC Ministry of Environment, their strategic placement will form a biological corridor between two national parks, Maiko and Kahuzi-Biega. This area is rich in biological diversity and had been identified as one of the most important forest blocks in the Congo Basin.