Community Resilience & Development

The Congo Basin supports tens of millions of people across Central Africa; rural farming communities, fishing populations, forest-dependent communities, and Indigenous Peoples whose livelihoods, cultures, and food systems remain closely connected to the surrounding ecosystems.

The Basin’s landscapes are home to highly diverse cultural, ecological, and economic realities. Many communities depend directly on forests, fisheries, agriculture, rivers, and natural resources for both livelihoods and subsistence. At the same time, many areas remain heavily affected by poverty, displacement, insecurity, and limited infrastructure.

Conservation in this context cannot succeed without the communities who live alongside it. Where those communities have no viable economic alternative, the pressure on forests, rivers, and wildlife is relentless. Poaching, illegal charcoal production, and encroachment into protected areas are not simply failures of enforcement. They are symptoms of poverty and exclusion.

Long-term conservation success across the Basin depends on balancing ecological protection with economic resilience, local participation, and equitable development. Communities must see tangible benefits from conservation if they are to become its advocates. Local legitimacy is not a secondary consideration but a precondition for lasting impact.

 

The Virunga Alliance

The development programme built around Virunga National Park, has demonstrated at scale that sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and clean energy access can transform the economic conditions of communities living adjacent to protected areas. It is a proven model, and it is the kind of work we support. We work with partners across the Congo Basin to build the same foundations of community resilience in the landscapes they protect. In practice, that means supporting work across three interconnected areas.

Energy

Energy access is the enabler that makes everything else possible. Communities without reliable power depend on charcoal and wood fuel, with direct consequences for forest cover. We support partners working to bring clean, affordable energy to communities across the Congo Basin reducing that dependence and opening the door to broader economic development.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the foundation of rural livelihoods across the region. We support and help develop sustainable smallholder farming practices; improving productivity, strengthening local value chains, and ensuring that the economic benefits of agricultural production remain within the communities that generate them.

Agriculture

Fisheries represent one of the most significant and underinvested livelihood opportunities in the Basin. Freshwater fish are a critical source of protein and income for millions of people across the region, yet the potential of this resource remains largely unrealised.

We support partners working to strengthen fishing communities' ability to derive sustainable, lasting value from aquatic resources to improve livelihoods without increasing pressure on fish stocks.