Effect of Site Size, Armed Group Presence, Conservation Model and Governance Mode on the Conservation Return on Investment across Selected Conservation Areas in the Grauer’s Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) Range in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
The forests of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are among the most biodiverse in the world. They are home to many endangered and endemic species, such as the Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri). Governmentally protected areas (GPAs) in Grauer’s gorilla range face challenges to limit or halt poaching and bushmeat extraction, and it is unclear whether alternative community conservation models can overcome some of these challenges. Here, we examine how protected area (PA) size, conservation models (CM), mode of governance (GM), and the presence of armed groups relate to Return On Investment in land (ROIL) across selected PAs. As proxies of ROIL, we solicited information on the site coverage (area patrolled as a percentage of total surface area) and the level, extent, and trend of poaching or hunting from the [ecosystem or conservation] managers of 11 PA sites to Grauer’s gorillas, of which five were GPAs and six were community based protected areas (CPAs). We found substantial differences in apparent ROIL across PAs. CPA often had higher ROILs than GPA due to the former’s high site coverage, low levels, and decreasing trends in poaching or hunting, and a relatively low presence of armed groups. This suggests that community forests in Grauer’s gorilla range in eastern DRC may have the potential to help address and overcome some of the conservation management challenges currently facing the subspecies. However, follow-up studies are needed to explore the extent to which our findings can be attributed to factors such as the relatively smaller size of community forests, their specific geographical locations, differences in management models or ecosystem attributes (e.g., the presence of other fauna), or aspects related to the involvement of local communities.
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