The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) works in and around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve to protect the endangered okapi and its rainforest habitat through a holistic approach to conservation.
Okapi are the only other living member of the giraffe family, surviving only in the forests of wartorn Democratic Republic of Congo. These forests are also home to elephant, leopard, forest buffalo, chimpanzee, many monkey species, and an ever-increasing human population.
OCP supports the national wildlife authority (ICCN – Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature), increasing their range and effectiveness. Its agroforestry programme provides seeds, seedlings and training for local people to improve sustainable farming. There is also funding for schools and health clinics, fresh water supplies and entrepreneurial Women’s Groups.
Species Protected: Okapi
Okapi Conservation
Okapi Conservation © Emily Higgs
Okapi Conservation
How Tusk works with Our Project Partners
We provide critical funding to enable our project partners to grow and increase their impact on habitat and wildlife, while also enabling, nurturing and supporting collaboration between them, for greater synergy and impact.
We help to increase awareness and wider support for our partners’ efforts, while also sharing important conservation messages, from the vital and varied roles of wildlife rangers, to the benefits of community-driven conservation, both within Africa and internationally.
Okapi Conservation Project has been a Tusk partner since 2015.
This Project Makes a Difference Through…
Human-Wildlife Co-Existence
Environmental Education
Endangered Species Protection
Habitat Protection
Local Population Employed: 58
Area Protected: 1,370,000 ha
