Yangambi Episode 1: a science palace in the heart of the forest

Audio 48:30

By: Céline Develay Mazurelle

More than two thousand kilometers from Kinshasa and one hundred kilometers from Kisangani, in the heart of the Congo Basin forest, hides an unexpected gem: Yangambi.

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In the province of Tschopo, in the northeast of the DRC, this immense scientific city, once the largest tropical research station in the world, was the seat during the Belgian colonization, of INEAC renamed from INERA, Institute national for agricultural study and research.

On the spot, between the mighty Congo river and the big centenary trees of the second tropical forest in the world, we travel among curious vestiges of colonial buildings, bricks and wood, with an extinct chandelier, but indeed still standing. And we discover treasures of knowledge and biodiversity, from the largest herbarium in Central Africa, to the immense research library, including the xylotheque or collection of tropical woods.

Although isolated, the places have traversed the tumultuous history of the country, from Belgian colonial and imperialist exploration by the Congo river to the intensive and deadly exploitation of the rubber tree, of which everyone remembers the dark hours. . Today, colonial appetites mixed with science have given way to a Unesco biosphere reserve of more than 250,000 hectares and to new projects supported by international donors. Long neglected, Yangambi is therefore slowly reborn, in particular thanks to the support of the European Union and Cifor, the Center for International Forestry Research. Little by little, the researchers find the path of the long corridors of its library and that of the tracks of the largest forest massif in Africa, the second green lung in the world after the Amazon that must be protected from deforestation. An international, colossal and vital issue. 

A series in 2 episodes by Élise Picon.

Useful links on Yangambi :
- Find the activities of CIFOR which, since 2017, has set up the FORETS project in Yangambi
- Discover the INEAC in pictures, at the time of the Belgian settlers
- The Meise Botanical Garden in Belgium participated with INERA agents for the digitization of Yangambi meadows
- Kabako studios in Kisangani launched the deforestation awareness project "Draw me a forest"
- More info on the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve. An article by Justin Kyale Koy.

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