GalleryPhotographer Thomas Nicolon visited the Bayaka, who are now part of forest protection teams in the Congo Basin. Hunting was banned when a national park was created in Congo-Brazzaville, but many members of this indigenous group have found new jobs.
The indigenous Bayaka people have been deprived of the Congo Basin forest for decades. The second largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon, stretching over six countries, it is a vital part of the planet. It holds deep ancestral significance for the indigenous population.
The creation of protected areas between the 1970s and 1990s, without any consultation, deprived the Bayaka of their hunting grounds, leading to major local tensions and conflicts over land use. In the 2010s, investigations by Buzzfeed and the NGO Survival International accused the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) of funding and equipping rangers who committed human rights violations, particularly against the Bayaka, in several countries in the region.
Since then, the targeted NGOs have been working hard to restore their reputations. In the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, 12 Bayaka rangers have been promoted to research assistants, previously reserved for Bantus and expatriates, out of the 100 eco-guards employed by the park. In addition to their traditional tracking skills, they are now taking on more important roles and actively participating in protecting their territory.
Traditionally hunter-gatherers, the Bayaka saw their way of life change with the creation of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) in 1993 and the ban on hunting in the region. Today, almost all the residents of the village of Bon Coin are employed by the national park. While the hunting ban remains a source of frustration, the more modern lifestyle and access to education are widely appreciated. "I prefer my life now. Our children can read, they go to school," said village chief Michel Moyoua. "The Bantus no longer mistreat us, and WCS helps us with food."
Gaston Abea, 40, was one of the first Bayaka natives to be promoted to research assistant in the national park. "I'm very proud to be studying gorillas. Now I'd like the next generation of Bayakas to do the same." However, he regretted the loss of his culture: "We don't know what our ancestors did, what kind of hunting they did. There's no one left to teach the young [our customs]."
On the other side of the border, in Dzanga-Sangha, Central African Republic, the Bayaka receive income from WWF tourists, as well as support for school fees and health care.
Thanks to their ancestral knowledge of the forest, indigenous eco-guards are a major asset for Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo-Brazzaville. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Located on the edge of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) in northern Congo-Brazzaville, the village of Bon Coin is mainly inhabited by indigenous Bayaka people. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Florent Dede is one of the indigenous eco-guards of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. He believes that the Bayaka are now almost equal to the Bantu. "We live with them, we're no longer separated." THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Jean Lomé, 37, an indigenous eco-guard at Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park since 2014, stands with an elephant tusk in front of the Sangha River in the village of Bomassa. "I'm proud to do this work. We Bayaka know the forest inside and out, and now WCS has included us in conservation efforts. We have become the equals of the Bantu." THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Native eco-guard Jean Lomé (left) packs away elephant tusks seized in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »At the NNNP headquarters in northern Congo-Brazzaville, day laborers, most of them indigenous, wait to receive their pay. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which manages NNNP in partnership with the Congolese government, is the main employer for the inhabitants of several villages around the protected area. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Thanks to their knowledge of the forest, the Bayaka enable biologists to find and study gorillas. Trackers also spot dangerous forest elephants. Without them, the biologists' work would be impossible. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Gaston Abea, 40, is one of the first Bayaka natives to be promoted to research assistant in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Dominique Mamandele is one of the many indigenous trackers at the Mondika research station in the NNNP, Congo-Brazzaville. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Native trackers have also been trained to use cameras. They film the gorillas daily to collect data. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Research assistant Justin Ndambio (left) measures the circumference of a tree as part of a phenology study in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), Congo-Brazzaville. Once a tracker, Justin is now actively involved in scientific research, in a position that was previously inaccessible to local people. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Research assistant Justin Ndambio sets up a camera trap to study chimpanzees in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), Congo-Brazzaville. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Bernard Makania has been a piroguier for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) since 2016. He transports biologists, trackers and tourists to research stations in Congo-Brazzaville's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »As part of a tourist activity, Bayaka women engage in traditional fishing in the buffer zone of Dzanga-Sangha National Park, Central African Republic. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which manages Dzanga-Sangha, offers tourists the chance to immerse themselves in the Bayaka communities, providing an income for these often impoverished people. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Fish, crabs, shrimps... As part of a tourist activity, women from the indigenous Bayaka ethnic group gather the spoils of traditional fishing in the buffer zone of the Dzanga-Sangha National Park in the Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »As part of a tourist excursion, members of a Bayaka community perform a traditional dance in their forest camp in the Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Justin Ndambio is one of the few indigenous research assistants at the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) in northern Congo-Brazzaville. He symbolizes the changing mindset in wildlife conservation with the inclusion of Bayakas, who now hold scientific positions traditionally reserved for Bantus and Europeans. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Modebe Bosco, a member of a Bayaka community, smokes cannabis before going hunting in the buffer zone of Dzanga-Sangha National Park, Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »As part of a tourist activity, hunters set up their nets in the buffer zone of the Dzanga-Sangha National Park in the Central African Republic. Long dissatisfied with the creation of the national park, which bans them from hunting, indigenous communities are now joining forces with WWF to ensure that they too can benefit from the protected area. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »A woman collects the bark of a tree called Mobeyi, which is used to treat fractures, in the southwest of the Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Members of a Bayaka community prepare to leave their forest camp after a tourist excursion in the buffer zone of Dzanga-Sangha National Park, Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »A member of the indigenous Bayaka ethnic group, Mengonga Donatien has been working at the Mondika research site in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) for 12 years. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »Indigenous people gather before a meeting with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the village of Yandombe, on the edge of Dzanga-Sangha National Park, Central African Republic. THOMAS NICOLON FOR « LE MONDE »
You have 0% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
