Protect Forest Habitats
Reversing the loss of Earth’s tropical rainforests is the fastest, most affordable, and most effective way to address the climate crisis and protect the world’s biodiversity.
GRACE Aspirations for Conserving Forests
We believe the Congo Basin forests are vital to our planetary health
We believe in the need to preserve our extraordinary biodiversity
To protect Grauer’s gorillas we must protect their forest homes
We seek an economic conservation model that allows communities, biodiversity, and forests to flourish simultaneously
The Congo rainforest is known for its high levels of biodiversity, including more than 600 tree species and 10,000 animal species. Some of its most famous residents include forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi, leopards, hippos, and lions.
GRACE is honored to work in one of the planet’s top biodiversity hot spots in primary tropical forest. We lead the protection of over 500,000 acres of spectacular primary forest habitat. This area provides important habitat for critically endangered Grauer’s gorilla, Okapi and forest elephant. It is not possible to save gorillas without protecting their forest habitats
Thanks to the incredible remoteness of our operational area, these forests still show a high degree of intactness. The remoteness of these forests also make for adventurous operations. Travel by foot and river crossings are all in a day’s work.”
DID YOU KNOW? Trees in the Congo Basin tend to be larger and further apart than trees in the Amazon, even though both are tropical forests. This is because Africa has large mammals (eg, forest elephant, gorillas, large herbivores) which opens pathways in the forests. This limits undergrowth competition and allow trees to grow taller.
Focus Projects
Community-led conservation is the basis for all of our projects. Specially hired and trained community members protect, explore, study, and perform biomonitoring of these community-led nature reserves.
Tayna Nature Reserve
(Réserve Naturelle de Tayna)
This 282,000-acre nature reserve is Democratic Republic of Congo’s first community-led reserve. The reserve is managed by a body of respected community members who were elected by their peers.
Tayna Nature Reserve is in North Kivu Province in dense tropical forest. It is prime habitat for critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas as well as many other rare and precious species like forest elephants, pangolins, and chimpanzees. The reserve is part of the east Afromontane biodiversity hotspot.
Tayna is one of four priority areas for conservation outside of national parks within the entire Albertine Rift region.
In 2020, GRACE undertook the first biodiversity survey of the entire Tayna Nature Reserve. We found a healthy wild population of between 150 – 300 Grauer’s gorillas. We support ongoing forest guardian programs to help protect and monitor Tayna Nature Reserve.
Usala Conservation Corridor
(Réserve des Gorilles d’Usala Conservation Corridor)
GRACE is working to secure this vast 284,801-acre conservation corridor. It connects two key protected areas, Tayna Nature Reserve and Maiko National Park. This forested area is an important Grauer’s gorilla stronghold.
The corridor is home to other endemic and rare species like forest elephants and chimpanzees. Other project benefits include maintaining wildlife connectivity, carbon storage, and water quality regulation.
The corridor project grants land ownership to the local forest communities. GRACE is helping the Usala community establish three Local Community Forest Concessions (CFCLs). CFCLs are a legal mechanism for securing traditional land rights for local communities. The community receives ownership in return for sustainable land management.
By The Numbers
500,000+ acres of primary rainforest managed
Forest habitat to at least 7 endangered and critically endangered mammal species
96 two-kilometer transects surveyed in Tayna Nature Reserve
80 local community members hired and trained for gorilla protection and monitoring
40+ animal species observed, including endemic and threatened species
63+ plant species recorded from wild gorilla diet
3 Congolese organizations partnering to protect this key habitat
Did you know?
- The Congo Basin is the second-largest rainforest in the world.
- The Congo Basin holds 7% of Earth’s carbon resources, making it one of the largest forest carbon stocks in the world.
- The Congo’s forests host more primates than any other country, including three species of great apes: gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. It is also home to forest elephants, the okapi, and over 1,000 bird species.
- Tropical forests represent 23% of the solution to keep warming below 1.5°C. There is no meeting this goal without preserving our tropical forests.