The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) covers 60 percent of the 3.6 million km2 Congo Basin Forest, which spans six countries of the African region. Indigenous Pygmy Peoples live by, and from the forests and have maintained ancient, intense and deep cultural, social and economic links with nature for millennia. Some areas of these forests are now protected by DRC in the name of conservation of fauna and biodiversity. This has resulted in Indigenous Pygmy Peoples’ dispossession of their traditional land for the benefit of conservation without compensation or indemnification for any of their lands.
