Elisabethville Territory Total Game Reserve

The Elisabethville Territory Total Game Reserve is a strictly protected wildlife reserve located in the territory historically known as Elisabethville (present-day Lubumbashi and surrounding areas) in Haut-Katanga Province. Established to protect wildlife and habitats in southern DRC, the reserve is governed under a total protection regime, meaning human access is highly restricted. The reserve preserves Katanga's characteristic miombo and savanna ecosystems, which are increasingly threatened by urban expansion, mining, and agricultural pressure. Its peri-urban context makes it a strategic ecological buffer for the Lubumbashi region. Elisabethville Territory Total Game Reserve is important for strict wildlife and habitat protection in southern DRC, preservation of miombo woodland biodiversity, watershed and soil protection in the Upper Katanga plateau, and climate resilience and carbon storage through intact woodland systems.