S2 Ep: 1 part 2 Dominique Bikaba - Strong Roots, Eastern Lowland Gorilla Conservation

Welcome to the second part of my conversation with Dominique Bikaba, in this episode Dom talks about his personal relationship with the forest and his journey into conservation work having learnt about wildlife from his grandmother and his chosen Batwa 'mother' and setting up his first conservation organisation at the age of 20. Dom talks about the brutal eviction of forest peoples, including that of his family. We discuss the need to decolonise conservation – for the sake of biodiversity and to challenge racism towards black led organisations. Listen in to hear about successes within community based conservation work and indigenous leadership, including reversing the decline of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Glauer's Gorilla). Themes: Great Apes conservation - Forest habitats - Kahuzi Biega National Park - community based conservation – chiefdoms - indigenous knowledge - traditional ecological knowledge - illegal mining – wildlife trade - failed conservation models – culture - bio-cultural diversity - Batwa pygmy – culture - generational knowledge - politics of funding - Congo Basin - Democratic Republic of Congo - Eastern Lowland Guerillas – evictions - decolonising conservation – trauma – African philosophy