The @African Wildlife Foundation recently convened a high-level workshop in Kinshasa to launch the project “Countering Wildlife, Timber and Other Natural Resource Trafficking in the DRC (INL DRC 2024).” The initiative brings together African Wildlife Foundation, JUREC, Conserv Congo, OGF, ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature), and Angola’s INBAC to tackle the rise in environmental crime along the Lobito Corridor and other cross-border trafficking routes. Environmental crime in the DRC, particularly wildlife and timber trafficking, continues to threaten biodiversity, undermine governance, and fuel illegal economies. This project addresses these challenges through a coordinated approach focused on strengthening enforcement, improving species identification, streamlining @CITES permit systems, and enhancing cross-border collaboration between DRC and Angola. The Kinshasa workshop introduced the project’s implementation framework and helped align government ministries, conservation agencies, law enforcement, and civil society around a common strategy. It also served as a platform for knowledge exchange and discussion on best practices in tackling organized natural resource crimes. This initiative reflects a growing shift toward African-led conservation responses, rooted in regional cooperation and local capacity building. By strengthening institutional frameworks and improving enforcement on the ground, the project aims to reduce illegal trade and improve the protection of natural resources across one of the continent’s most critical ecological corridors. Read more about the partnership here - https://bit.ly/43XAqTD (fb)

Today, on #WorldFemaleRangerDay, we honour the resilience, strength, and quiet leadership of women like Lakili Anja Isabel, and the many others across Africa who wear multiple hats, yet still choose to protect the continent’s natural heritage. Isabel is a 30-year-old single mother of three, serving as an eco-guard in the remote Bili-Uélé landscape of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her path into conservation wasn’t carved by privilege or ease, but by purpose. Raised in Bondo, where she spent her childhood tending livestock, Isabel knew from an early age the importance of caring for nature. That early connection to the land became her compass, leading her to join the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation in 2022. With support from the African Wildlife Foundation and the European Union, Isabel trained in biodiversity monitoring and ecological data collection, tools that gave her voice, confidence, and visibility in a male-dominated field. But her greatest strength may be the one least often measured: empathy. It is her warmth, her lived experience, and her ability to connect with communities that have made her an ambassador not just for wildlife, but for coexistence. Her story is not an outlier, it is a reflection of many women across Africa who balance motherhood, family, community leadership, and ranger duties with unwavering commitment. These women are transforming conservation from the ground up, challenging stereotypes and ensuring that Africa’s future remains wild, protected, and inclusive. On this day, we celebrate Isabel, and with her, the countless women who prove every day that protecting nature is not a role reserved for a few. It’s a calling. And when women answer it, the impact reaches far beyond the forest. Read more about her amazing journey as a female ranger here - https://bit.ly/45wOdSl (fb)