Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Perception and Lifestyle Compatible with Peatlands Conservation in the Lake Tumba Periphery, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo - 2026
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Perception and Lifestyle Compatible with Peatlands Conservation in the Lake Tumba Periphery, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo
Congo Basin peatlands; Indigenous peoples; local communities; traditional ecological knowledge; biocultural conservation; Lake Tumba; Democratic Republic of Congo
Abstract :
[en] The Congo Basin peatlands, the world’s largest tropical peatland complex, are critical for global carbon storage yet remain poorly understood from a human dimension’s perspective. This study explores the perceptions, lifestyles, and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around Lake Tumba, Democratic Republic of Congo, to identify practices supporting peatland conservation. Using a mixed-methods approach—household surveys (n = 320), focus groups, and statistical analyses including chi-square tests and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA)—the study reveals a predominantly Indigenous agrarian society with limited formal education and strong reliance on peatlands for food (93.7%), construction materials (79.0%), and medicines (75.9%). While regulating services such as carbon storage were seldom recognized, traditional ecological knowledge was evident in sacred species protection, ritual plant and animal uses, and intergenerational knowledge transfer, mainly father-to-son. However, 95.3% of respondents cited religion as the main barrier to this transmission. MCA confirmed that livelihoods, village status, and ritual practices form an integrated socio-cultural system aligned with conservation. These findings stress the role of endogenous governance in sustaining peatland-compatible lifestyles. Conservation efforts should move beyond carbon-centered or top-down approaches to reinforce land tenure, traditional governance, and knowledge transmission, thereby protecting both peatlands and the cultural identities sustaining them.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Essouman, Pyrus Flavien Ebouel ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Département de Foresterie, Faculté D’agronomie et des Sciences Agricoles, Université de Dschang, Dschang P.O. Box 96, Cameroon
Besisa Nguba, Timothée ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wamba, Franck Robéan ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Musavandalo, Charles Mumbere ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Unité Biodiversité, Ecosystème et Paysage (BEP), Teaching and Research Center (TERRA), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, P.O. Box 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Bamenga, Louis Pasteur Bopoko ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Makanua, Isaac Diansambu ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques et Environnement, Université Président Joseph Kasa Vubu, Boma P.O. Box 314, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mweru, Jean-Pierre Mate ✱; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 127, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Michel, Baudouin ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs ; Ecole Régionale Postuniversitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 15.373, Democratic Republic of the Congo
✱ These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Perception and Lifestyle Compatible with Peatlands Conservation in the Lake Tumba Periphery, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo
Alternative titles :
[fr] Perception et mode de vie des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales compatibles avec la conservation des tourbières dans la périphérie du lac Tumba, province de l'Équateur, République démocratique du Congo
EU - European Union AGRINATURA ERAIFT - Regional Post-Graduate Training School on Integrated Management of Tropical Forests and Lands OIF - Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
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