Protecting forests, transforming Lives? Exploring the human dimensions of conservation in Kahuzi-Biega National Park

Reconciling biodiversity conservation with human well-being remains one of the central challenges of the Anthropocene. Protected areas, while essential for halting ecosystem degradation, frequently generate socioeconomic trade-offs that undermine their long-term legitimacy among forest-dependent communities. Here, we investigate the human dimensions of conservation in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), Democratic Republic of Congo a globally significant biodiversity hotspot through a structured household survey (n = 150) conducted in a 5-km buffer zone. Although awareness of conservation objectives is near-universal and ecological benefits such as improved water quality and reduced soil erosion are broadly recognized, households report severe livelihood costs that they attribute to conservation restrictions: 80% of households report income decline, 78% experience disruption to economic activities, and 99.3% have received no compensation. Cultural adaptation dominates community responses (96%), whereas proactive strategies such as economic diversification and agroforestry remain marginal (<15%), constrained by institutional neglect and a near-total absence of capacity-building support (9.3%). An exploratory analysis further indicates that the presence of a shared management agreement co-occurs with more frequently reported community-manager conflict; because the data are cross-sectional, the direction of this relationship cannot be determined: co-management may give rise to conflict, but such agreements may equally have been established where tensions were already high. We argue that achieving durable conservation outcomes in biodiversity-rich, resource-dependent landscapes requires moving beyond institutional formalism toward governance grounded in equity, recognition of customary rights, and substantive community inclusion.