On April 10, 2015, the U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, James Swan, accompanied by USAID/DRC Mission Director Diana Putman, officially handed over the keys of a newly constructed USAID-funded checkpoint and housing facility for the guards of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park to the Deputy Governor of South Kivu province, Gabriel Kalonda Mbula. 

“You, as park rangers, are doing a remarkable job of self-sacrifice. Your work is important for the DRC and for all mankind. We came to tell you how much we admire your courage,” Ambassador Swan said to the park rangers.

In the last 20 years, nearly 15 park rangers have been killed by armed groups and poachers while on duty in Kahuzi-Biega. About 150 park rangers work there. 

The construction of the checkpoint and the housing facility for the guards was funded by USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE).

The ceremony was attended by Mwami Désiré Rugemaninzi II, Chief of Kabare Chiefdom, Gérard Kitungano, Chief of Kabare Territory, Germaine Buhendua, Provincial Director of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), Radar Nishuli, Director of Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

USAID also supports the Kahuzi-Biega National Park through the development and provision of technologies like the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), which helps rangers collect data on wildlife and poaching activity, informing patrolling strategies and improving patrolling effectiveness by targeting critical areas in the park and protected areas.