Mongabay · Natuur

Conservation rumors reveal local concerns about climate projects in the Congo Basin

Researchers argue that rumors surrounding conservation projects, such as the CongoFlux scientific tower in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, should be taken seriously. These rumors, while factually inaccurate, offer insights into local attitudes, historical grievances, and demands for benefit-sharing from conservation efforts.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, rumors about a scientific tower became a vehicle for both resistance and demands to benefit from conservation. These reactions are rooted in a longer history of dispossession and extraction, but also in memories of the jobs and services once associated with conservation.

A rumor circulating in 2020 claimed a new scientific tower was extracting oxygen from the rainforest for export. This evolved in 2024 to suggest the tower caused extreme heat by removing oxygen. The DRC's environment minister publicly refuted these claims, explaining the tower measures greenhouse gas exchanges for climate regulation.

However, researchers argue that correcting the science is insufficient. Rumors can reveal how people contest conservation and make claims about who should benefit, shaped by the region's history of conservation, extraction, and development projects. Conservation rumors should be taken "seriously, but not literally."

Conservation rumors are not unique to the DRC and are often interpreted as covert forms of resistance, especially where formal channels for challenging authorities are limited. In Yangambi, rumors provided a way to express grievances as shared narratives of injustice, leading to consequences like the disappearance of cables, burning of trees, looting of facilities, and barricades.

Beyond resistance, rumors in Yangambi also expressed demands for reciprocity. Locals questioned why they did not receive a share of the benefits and why jobs went to others, reflecting stark inequalities between significant conservation funding and persistent local poverty. The acacia tree planting project also fueled frustration when expected economic relationships failed to materialize.

These rumors are rooted in Yangambi's history. Established in 1939, the reserve incorporated ancestral lands without sufficient compensation, echoing a colonial past of dispossession and extraction. Simultaneously, memories of colonial conservation projects that provided employment, housing, healthcare, and markets create expectations for local benefit.

Conservation authorities can learn from rumors by analyzing them qualitatively to understand local agency and historical experiences. Listening beyond factual claims reveals a population not simply rejecting conservation, but seeking to understand their place within it and what benefits they should receive in return.

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