THE ROLES OF LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS IN RAINFOREST CONSERVATION AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF the CONGO

Abstract

Community-based local organizations should play key roles in both conservation and development, but local African organizations do not always function effectively on behalf of the local poor people. It is necessary to perform careful on-site investigations of how local organizations were formed, and of how they actually function. This article focuses on community-based local associations in villages adjacent to the forest reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The author demonstrates (1) the establishment, structure, membership, activities, and socioeconomic role of the local associations, (2) the intra- and intergroup relationships of such associations, and (3) the results of the development projects implemented by local associations. This study found that people in the research site are reorganizing their social structure by participating in the development and conservation practices of local associations during this difficult post-conflict period. It is necessary for conservation agencies to accept their trial-and-error approach and engage in continuous interactions undertaken from a long-term perspective instead of rendering judgments based on immediate results.