In a long-overdue move, African Parks has acknowledged human rights abuses committed against the Baka people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. These violations, reported years earlier by Survival International and Congolese civil society organisations,[1] highlight the persistent challenges facing Indigenous and local communities living around the Congo Basin’s strictly protected areas.

It was only after an investigation by the Mail on Sunday that African Parks commissioned an independent investigation by the law firm Omnia Strategy. While this found that the abuses did take place the full findings have yet to be made public, raising concerns over transparency and accountability.

A first step, but not enough

Recognition is a crucial first step, but meaningful action must follow. The Congolese organisation Centre d’Actions pour le Développement (CAD) has outlined key recommendations to ensure justice for the Baka communities affected. These include establishing a transparent and accessible grievance mechanism, providing full compensation to all victims and ensuring accountability for the eco-guards responsible for the abuses.

Not an isolated case

Sadly, the situation in Odzala-Kokoua is not unique. RFUK and its partners have for years documented similar widespread abuses across the Congo Basin,[2] particularly in “fortress conservation” areas, strictly protected zones often enforced through militarised approaches. These models frequently result in the marginalisation, displacement and abuse of Indigenous and local communities.

While their subsistence and cultural activities are often brutally enforced by ‘eco-guards’, extractive industries are often tolerated in protected areas, as the recent decision to approve oil exploration in the Conkouati-Douli National Park shows.

Conservation funders and agencies have made some progress on human rights in recent years, but the rhetoric often does not match the reality on the ground. RFUK’s Righting Wrongs report, developed in collaboration with Congo Basin civil society organisations, found that most protected area grievance mechanisms in the region were not functioning and sets out practical recommendations for how to improve accountability to local populations.

Time for a rights-based shift in conservation

The conservation sector must undergo a fundamental shift: away from top-down, exclusionary models and toward rights-based, community-led approaches. This includes respecting the rights of Indigenous and local communities to their lands, resources, self-determination and traditional knowledge. Community forests can offer a proven and sustainable alternative, delivering better outcomes for both people and nature than strictly protected areas.

[1] CAD’s declaration of 1 May 2025 and Survival International’s article: Prince Harry’s charity African Parks confirms multiple abuses, following the investigation of 8 May 2025.

[2] See RFUK’s news piece of 13 January 2025 on the Ntokou-Pikounda National Park in RoC: CAD calls for immediate action to prevent more rights abuses in the Ntokou-Pikounda National Park and another news piece by RFUK on the Salonga National Park in DRC of 13 January 2021: Huge leap in fight against impunity for conservation-related abuses in DRC as park rangers are sentenced for rape and torture - Rainforest Foundation UK.