The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) works with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature to protect okapi in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR). This 13,700 square kilometre portion of the Ituri Forest is home to the largest population of okapi (3,000-3,500) in the DRC, along with chimpanzees, forest elephants, leopards, and a huge diversity of birds and plants. OCP supports ecoguards in the OWR, which collect snares, evict miners, pursue and detain poachers, and monitor biodiversity and human encroachment. All of the OCP’s initiatives respect the contribution that the indigenous Mbuti and Efe people can make to the management of the OWR and their forest home.

The okapi is considered Endangered under the IUCN Red List, with between 10,000 – 15,000 left in the wild. Okapi are threatened by habitat loss due to logging and mining, illegal hunting for meat and skins, and the presence of illegal armed groups in and around key protected areas, which prevent effective conservation action.

In 2021, the OWR recruited, trained and welcomed 59 new ecoguards, bringing the total number of ecoguards to 253! OCP also provides medical care at their clinic in Epulu, and at 20 rural clinics around the OWR, helping to keep ecoguards, their families and local communities healthy.