Tshuapa–Lomami–Lualaba Conservation Landscape

The Tshuapa–Lomami–Lualaba Conservation Landscape (TL2) was until very recently a remarkably unknown forested region in central Democratic Republic of Congo.

The most important populations of key fauna, including bonobo and elephant, occur in a central area that can be divided into three linked conservation sectors.

The forests in the Lomami-Lualaba watersheds are the eastern range limit of Congo’s endemic great ape, the bonobo (Pan Paniscus).

Forest elephants in the landscape are now restricted mainly to a single area in the watershed of the Tutu River, a tributary of the Lomami.

There is a reasonable prognosis for maintenance of forest elephants over the long term, but existing populations were nearly decimated after a decade of intense poaching, associated with the war and the widespread availability of military-grade firearms.