Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)
Partner Snapshot
Partner
Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)
Location
Maiko National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
Category
- Protected Area Management
- Scientific Research
- Wildlife Conservation
Urgent Appeals
None currently
About ICCN
The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) is the Congolese government agency responsible for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national parks and reserves. Maiko National Park is one of the parks under ICCN’s direct management, covering more than 2.6 million acres of tropical rainforest in eastern DRC, one of the largest intact forest ecosystems remaining in the Congo Basin. Grauer’s gorilla, okapi, African forest elephant, chimpanzees, and several endemic primate species live within its boundaries. It is also among the most remote conservation landscapes in Central Africa, making its protection both critical and demanding.
Their Challenges
Maiko National Park faces a set of interlocking pressures: illegal mining, commercial and subsistence poaching, illegal logging, forest encroachment, bushmeat hunting, and the steady expansion of unauthorized activity deeper into the forest. Chronic insecurity, thin infrastructure, and difficult access to the park’s most remote sectors make each of these harder to contain.
Without strengthened protection, Maiko risks losing critical habitat for some of Africa’s most threatened wildlife—including the Critically Endangered Grauer’s gorilla and the Endangered okapi—while continued deforestation erodes the ecological integrity of one of the Congo Basin’s last great wilderness landscapes.
Their Approach
ICCN’s position differs from that of most conservation organizations: it carries direct, day-to-day responsibility for the park rather than advising on how it should be run. Rangers work year-round to prevent illegal activity, track wildlife populations, and maintain the State’s presence across the park.
Why They Need Your Help
Donor funding covers what patrols require: logistics, communications equipment, supplies, safety gear, and transportation. It also lets ICCN extend coverage into remote, high-risk sectors of the park that cost and distance currently put out of reach. Protection at Maiko has to be continuous rather than project-length, which is why sustained, multi-year support matters so much here. 100% of your donation goes directly to ICCN.