Yangambi Biosphere Reserve

Yangambi Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Tshopo province.

Geography
Yangambi Biosphere Reserve lies north of the Congo River within the Congo River Basin. It is west of the city of Kisangani. Yangambi est une aire comprise entre le fleuve Congo   (au sud) et la rivière  Aruwimi (Nord  et ouest). La RBY est caractérisé par une superposition  de régimes fonciers  combinant l'existence de la Réserve de Biosphère  de Yangambi sur 225000ha  (RBY, 0.771°N, 24.527°E,  400m créée  été affectée sous  la gestion de l'Institut National d'Etude  et de Recherches Agronomiques, puis  déclarée publiquement  Réserve de Biosphère  de Yangambi  en 1979 par  l'Organisation  des Nations unies  pour l'éducation,  la science et  la culture et  placée sous  la gestion  du Comité  National  « Man and Biosphere »   (MAB-RDC).  Toutes ces deux  aires présentent  une importante  potentialité  en biodiversité faunique  et floristique, mais différemment  affectées par  les activités  anthropiques, dont environ 141 643 habitants vivent dans le paysage  de Yangambi.

Flora and fauna
Plant communities within the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve vary based on rainfall, soils, and human disturbance. They include secondary forests with Pycnanthus angolensis and Fagara macrophylla, semi-deciduous secondary rain forests, rain forests with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei, climax forests with Brachystegia laurentii and swamp forests.

The reserve is important for its biodiversity It is home to 32,000 tree species. Endangered and threatened tree species in the reserve include afrormosia (Pericopsis elata), iroko (Milicia excelsa), ilomba (Pycnanthus angolensis), and sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum).

It was also once home to African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), but they have now disappeared locally. In 2018, a study confirmed the presence of common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the area.

Conservation
The protected area was designated in 1939, covering 235,000 hectares. Yangambi was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1976, part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).

Human activities in the reserve include agriculture, hunting, fishing, making canoes, and gold mining. The forest is used for research and experiments in forestry and forest regeneration. Illegal activities, including logging and resource extraction, also take place in the reserve, and illegal hunting has depleted much of the local wildlife.