ATLANTA, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This Earth Day, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund commemorates 25 years of conservation leadership in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by securing official recognition for an additional 700 square kilometers of community-managed forest in the Nkuba Conservation Area, a biodiversity hub and carbon sink located within the Congo Basin. The achievement bolsters wildlife safeguards for critically endangered species, creating a continuous corridor of protection.
The expansion is significant for wildlife residing in the eastern DRC, especially for Grauer’s gorillas, a critically endangered species listed among the top 25 most endangered primates. Unlike their close cousins the mountain gorillas, the majority of Grauer’s gorillas live outside of formally protected areas, such as national parks – instead residing in community forests. Expanding community conservation forests provides greater protections for Grauer’s gorillas while also establishing an economic model that improves the livelihood of local residents.
Despite formidable challenges, including accelerating civil unrest, poor infrastructure, illegal mining, regional outbreaks and global pandemics, the Fossey Fund and local residents continue to prove that community-led conservation works, creating a sanctuary where wildlife and people can thrive together.
About Community Forest Concessions
The expansion is made possible through a legal framework known as Concessions Forestières des Communautés Locales, or CFCLs. In the DRC, a CFCL is a formal legal recognition of land rights granted to a local community in perpetuity. This allows communities to legally control their ancestral lands, provided they apply sustainable management practices.
Unlike a national park, which is managed by the state, community forests are managed by local residents, who are then also permitted to sustainably extract essential resources to support their livelihood, such as water or medicinal plants. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund offers hands-on support to help communities secure long-term rights to their ancestral lands under the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s legal framework.
“The most effective custodians of the land are those whose futures rely on it,” said Urbain Ngobobo, Country Director, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. “The community-led model aligns local landowners’ rights to develop their local economy with their inherent interest in maintaining a healthy forest for generations to come.”
Conservation at Scale in Nkuba
The Nkuba Conservation Area has more than tripled in size over the last 15 years, growing to 2,400 square kilometers as more local families join the project. Supported by a 25-year management agreement established in 2021, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund helps these communities navigate the multi-year journey toward official land recognition. With today’s announcement, 75 percent of the total area has now secured legal title from the Congolese government, with the final 25 percent in progress.
In the 15 years that the Fossey Fund has been working in Nkuba, the killing of gorillas has stopped. In addition, new populations of threatened species, including forest elephants, which had been locally extirpated by poaching in the 1990s, are returning to the area.
Under the Fossey Fund’s management, the Nkuba Conservation Area has also been named a Key Biodiversity Area and is under consideration as a model “Other Effective Conservation Measure” (OECM) for its community-led management structure.
“Dian Fossey taught us that conservation is a fight for the future. In the Congo Basin, that fight is being won by the people who call Nkuba home,” said Dr. Tara Stoinski, President and CEO and Chief Scientific Officer for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. “A community-led model proves that when people have the resources to protect their own land, the entire ecosystem – and everyone in it – can truly flourish.”
While the Fossey Fund expands its community-led model in the DRC, its historic work in Rwanda is being celebrated on the world stage. “A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough” premiered globally on Netflix on April 17, showcasing the history of the Pablo family of mountain gorillas in Rwanda and serving as a powerful tribute to the conservation legacy that began with Dian Fossey.
About The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is the world’s longest-running and largest organization dedicated to gorilla conservation. Established in 1967 by famed primatologist Dian Fossey, the Fossey Fund works in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect and study critically endangered wild gorillas and their habitats, and to support the people who share the gorillas’ forest home. For more, visit: gorillafund.org. Follow us on social @savinggorillas.