For nearly four decades, the Okapi Conservation Project has protected one of Africa’s rarest mammals while helping safeguard the ancient rainforest ecosystem that allows it to survive.
The Okapi Conservation Project has spent nearly four decades protecting one of the world’s most elusive mammals. Founded in 1987, the organization safeguards the okapi and the ancient rainforest it calls home in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Local communities remain central to that mission, working alongside rangers and conservation partners to protect both wildlife and the forest that sustains it.
Often called the ghost of the forest, the okapi looks like a striped cross between a zebra and a giraffe, though it is actually the giraffe’s closest living relative. Western science only identified the species in 1901, making it one of the last large mammals discovered in Africa. Today, roughly 10,000 okapi remain scattered across the forests of the DRC, and that number continues to decline each year.
Poaching, illegal mining, and deforestation are the main drivers behind the species’ decline. Armed conflict in parts of the country adds another layer of danger for both wildlife and the rangers who protect it. These combined pressures have made securing okapi habitat increasingly difficult.
The Okapi Conservation Project sits at the center of efforts to address these challenges. In 1992, the organization helped establish the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, a 13,700-square-kilometer area of the Ituri Rainforest that became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Within that reserve, an estimated 3,000 okapi survive, representing a significant share of the species’ remaining wild population.
Rangers form the backbone of daily conservation efforts. The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), the DRC’s government wildlife agency, deploys roughly 330 trained rangers across the reserve. They patrol the forest on foot, remove poachers’ snares, and confront illegal mining activities that threaten okapi habitat.
That sustained protection has produced measurable results. According to the organization, poaching incidents inside the reserve have dropped by more than 60 percent in recent years.
Fewer snares in the forest mean fewer okapi, elephants, and other wildlife caught in traps intended for smaller game. Protecting okapi habitat is important far beyond the reserve’s boundaries. The Ituri Rainforest helps regulate rainfall and temperature patterns across a large part of Central Africa. Losing major sections of this forest would create wider impacts, disrupting weather systems that farming communities depend on. The work to save the okapi is therefore also a fight to preserve one of the planet’s most valuable ecosystems.
Community programs are an equally important part of the effort. More than 50 initiatives currently support agroforestry, clean water access, healthcare, and women’s empowerment in villages near the reserve. These programs provide local families with sustainable alternatives to poaching and mining while reducing pressure on the surrounding forest.
The Okapi Conservation Project runs more than 50 community programs near the reserve, supporting agroforestry, clean water, healthcare, and women’s empowerment as sustainable alternatives to poaching and mining. Photo courtesy of the Okapi Conservation Project.
Education is also becoming an increasingly important part of conservation. Lessons about wildlife protection reach thousands of students and young leaders each year, creating awareness that extends beyond any single anti-poaching patrol. Young generations who grow up understanding the value of the forest are more likely to protect it for the future.
Partnerships extend the project’s impact far beyond the borders of the DRC. More than 20 global partners, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, provide funding, training, and technical expertise. This collaboration helps the Okapi Conservation Project maintain its conservation work even during periods of regional instability, when many programs would otherwise struggle to continue.
John Lukas, who founded the organization, has described the okapi as a living link stretching back roughly seven million years and as a species whose disappearance would remove one of the DRC’s clearest natural symbols. Conservation leaders in the country share a similar view, describing okapi protection as a matter of national identity as well as biodiversity.
The stakes extend far beyond one species or one country. A healthy Ituri Rainforest supports carbon storage, disease prevention, and freshwater systems that matter well beyond Central Africa’s borders. Protecting the okapi, in this sense, means protecting a piece of the planet’s shared natural infrastructure.
Nearly 40 years after its founding, the Okapi Conservation Project continues to combine ranger-led protection with community investment. That balance, more than any single conservation tactic, has helped keep the ghost of the forest from disappearing entirely.
