The Peripheral Ecosystem Management Project (PROGEPP) in the Republic of Congo has become the reference initiative for the concept of conservation that empowers local communities. The program, now celebrating 25 years of success, was initiated and implemented as a joint venture in 1999 by the Ministry of Forest Economy, Congolaise Industrielle de Bois (CIB) of Olam Agri, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. This approach to the management of ecosystems, developed within the framework of the project over the past two decades, will be expressed in concern for the sustainable use of resources, the protection of endangered species, and obligations taken on board by the local communities in the sphere of all-around nature conservation.
PROGEPP occupies 1.3 million hectares in the space of the buffer zone of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, which is the most ecologically important area. The main aim of this project is to protect species of global concern while also ensuring that local communities benefit sustainably from their environment. In fact, by conserving, PROGEPP has realized the protection of approximately 24,000 gorillas and 6,000 forest elephants; the poaching menace in the area has been drastically reduced. Of course, poaching of elephants has greatly reduced from 33 carcasses recovered in 1999 to only three in 2024.
One of the most significant achievements of PROGEPP is the reduction of illegal hunting and poaching, practices that result in high losses for wildlife. Over the years, the project has collected 850 illegal weapons, destroyed more than 110,000 metal snares, and released more than 1,400 animals back into the wild. These efforts have not only saved the wildlife from poachers but also helped to ensure the security of the area in general. PROGEPP has kowtowed to participatory implementation. The project has created sustainable jobs for local residents through more than 165 established contracts and inducing more than 400 micro-enterprises. Beyond that, PROGEPP has facilitated the operations of more than 42 savings groups, benefitting 650 people in diversified livelihoods and lessened their dependency on hunting and other unsustainable practices.
Scientific research has been most critical to the conservation approach of PROGEPP; it has contributed to a range of publications, including the guidelines for minimizing the impact of commercial logging on great apes in Western Equatorial Africa. Informed by this research, not only has practice been based on critical grounds within the region, but it has also been to provide important insights to a number of practitioners and other like-minded initiatives around the world.
The strength of PROGEPP is the public-private-conservation partnership framework that it applies, with fine collaboration among local communities, government agencies, and private sector partners. PROGEPP achieved outstanding levels of conservation result in due respect to sustainable development through participatory and inclusive management of the project, ensuring that the benefits of conservation are equitably distributed among all stakeholders.
As PROGEPP looks ahead, it remains committed to the potential of the Ndoki-Likouala landscape to sustain economic growth and the improved livelihoods of the people who live in and around it. The ongoing work of the project will continue to play a highly relevant part in the protection of wildlife and in the promotion of sustainable development in the Republic of the Congo.
Source: Olam Ari