Traditional Land-use Practices for Bonobo Conservation

Pan paniscus is among Africa’s most endangered primates (Lacambra et al. 2005, IUCN 2004. Butynski et al. 2000, Hilton-Taylor 2000, Oates 1996). They are endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo (Lacambra et al. 2005, IUCN 2004, Butynski et al. 2000, Hilton-Taylor, 2000, Oates 1996), the only country where they are found. The bonobo’s survival is dependent on the human condition in a nation ravaged by long periods of economic devastation, unmanaged exploitation of natural resources, and civil insecurity punctuated by spasms of violence (Institute Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature 2006, Lacambra et al. 2005, Miles et al. 2005, Thompson 2003, Thompson et al., 2003b Ilambu 2003, Draulans and Van Krunkelsven 2002, Dupain and Van Elsacker 2001, Van Krunkelsven 2001) at the heart of bonobo range (Thompson et al. 2003a). The rural Congolese people have a rich heritage of living alongside bonobos. The range of bonobos is commensal with the Bantu culture, which may account for particular uniformity in human traditions across the bonobos range. Overlooking traditional customs that regulated the villag- ers’ communal relationship with natural resources has compounded the inability of central government to reach adequate protection levels.