The people

Mathieu Messamela, Bagyeli pygmy, Chief of Nkongo village

We don't live anymore like we used to. Before we could eat many times during the day, today, there is less meat, and we must go to the market and buy fish," complains Mathieu Messamela, a Bagyeli pygmy and the chief of the Nkongo village.

This is a major change in the life of Bagyeli pygmies. Now they need money. The period of self-sufficiency is over. They harvest forest fruits and make nets with rattan and beds with bamboo to generate revenue.

There are more and more immigrants in the vicinity of Nkongo. They all work in the HEVECAM plantations, a few kilometres away. These immigrants hunt and fish themselves, which contributes to the decline of pygmies' traditional natural resources.

"Because of this competition, the creation of the national park was bad news for us, as access to a great part of the forest we used to utilize is now denied to us," says Mathieu Messamela.

Bagyeli pygmies would like the park to remain accessible for them. If this is not possible, they ask for new hunting grounds. "Our activities are based on traditions that have never jeopardized the balance of nature," the Chief adds.

As part of WWF's initiative, negotiations have started with the park's conservation office. This is a turning point for the pygmies. "The other NGOs never came to talk with us in our village, but WWF immediately organized meetings," he said. "For us, this marks a change, and we now hope that previous promises will be kept, and that our expectations will be met."