Kokolopori Bonobo Nature Reserve

The Kokolopori Bonobo Nature Reserve is one of the most important community-managed bonobo conservation areas in the world. Located in Tshuapa Province, within the heart of the Congo Basin rainforest, the reserve was created through strong collaboration between local communities, conservation organizations, and researchers to protect wild bonobo populations and their habitats. Kokolopori is internationally recognized for combining scientific research, indigenous stewardship, and conservation governance, making it a global reference for people-centered biodiversity protection. The reserve is vital for protection of wild bonobo populations (endemic to the DRC), community-led conservation governance over vast forest landscapes, long-term primate research and behavioral studies, forest carbon storage and climate regulation, and preservation of traditional forest livelihoods. It forms part of a wider bonobo conservation network including Lomako–Yokokala and Sankuru, strengthening landscape-scale protection.