In July 2024, CAF Foundation travelled to Bukavu in eastern DRC to visit partners working in the region. One of the most profound experiences of that trip was spending time with the park rangers of Kahuzi-Biega — a team of men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting the Eastern Lowland Gorilla and the ancient rainforest it calls home.
Armed with knowledge, resolve, and the essential tools of their trade — including the machetes used to carve paths through dense primary forest — these rangers operate in conditions that demand extraordinary courage. Kahuzi-Biega sits at the heart of a region that has experienced decades of conflict, and the park itself has not been immune to the instability around it.
Why it matters
The Eastern Lowland Gorilla — also known as Grauer's gorilla — is found exclusively in the DRC. It is critically endangered, with estimates suggesting fewer than 3,800 individuals remain in the wild. Their survival depends entirely on the integrity of the forests that the rangers protect every single day.
"This forest is not just the gorillas' home. It is the source of water, of food, of life for every community around it. When we protect the forest, we protect everything."
The rangers face real dangers. Poachers, armed groups, and the pressures of illegal mining and logging all threaten the park. And yet they continue — often without adequate equipment, reliable pay, or the international recognition their work deserves.
CAF Foundation with rangers at Kahuzi-Biega National Park · Eastern DRC, July 2024
The role of community conservation
What struck us most was how deeply the rangers understood that conservation and community are inseparable. The communities surrounding the park depend on the forest for water, for food, for their livelihoods. When the forest is healthy, the communities thrive. When it is degraded, everyone suffers.
This is the model of conservation CAF Foundation believes in — one that places local communities at the centre, that sees the people who live alongside nature as its most committed stewards, not its adversaries.
Eastern Chimpanzee descending from a tree at Kahuzi-Biega National Park, DRC · 2024
What CAF Foundation is doing
Through our partnership with Asili — an initiative delivering clean water, healthcare and sustainable agriculture to communities surrounding the park — we are supporting the conditions that make community-based conservation possible. When people have access to clean water and reliable food, they are less likely to turn to the forest for survival.
We are also amplifying the stories of the rangers themselves — because visibility matters. International attention, funding, and political will are all shaped by narrative. If the world knows these guardians exist, it is more likely to support them.
