12 November 2025 – The Mangrove Marine Park (MMP), officially protected since 1992, is now facing a slow death under the pressures of private interests and the impunity of a state guilty of inaction. A joint investigation by PPLAAF and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) reveals the extent of the damage: massive logging, illegal ports, fuel trafficking, palm oil plantations within the protected area… all occurring under a culpable silence.
Mangroves are a major ecological asset—carbon storage, coastal protection, and biodiversity habitat. Yet the MMP, meant to be a conservation model, is in reality left exposed to exploitation. According to the park’s former director, Kim Rebholz: “What’s most shocking is that there is virtually no activity that doesn’t happen there or around it, even though it’s supposed to be strictly protected.” Satellite images confirm the presence of stacked logs, oil spills, and illegal plantations within the park boundaries.
Among the actors involved, the Chinese company Congo Dihao Sarlu is cited for its “illegal” port used to traffic timber to China, contributing to the park’s erosion. The company counters that it inherited an existing port and claims it only engages in river and land transport, emphasizing that logging is not part of its mandate. But this defense highlights the core issue: formal legality masking an environmental disaster. When “existing” ports are used to export logs and fuel from inside a protected area, the debate shifts from administrative compliance to systemic impunity.
The role of the Congolese state in this matter is equally troubling. Protected by a ministerial decree, the park suffers from a severe lack of oversight. Eco-guards, few in number, cannot monitor thousands of hectares. Complaints go unanswered, and authorities turn a blind eye to activities that should be sanctioned. When an administration tolerates—or indirectly collaborates with—private actors violating the rules, the status of a “protected area” becomes an illusion.
The plundering of the MMP is not just ecological damage: it directly affects local communities. “It’s in these rivers that we fish and draw drinking water… we are already consuming toxic products,” confides a resident. The disappearance of mangroves leads not only to biodiversity loss, with buffalo and endemic species most affected, but also to increased vulnerability to extreme weather events. It undermines the environmental social contract: nature is no longer protected for citizens but exploited for the benefit of a few.
As attention turns to COP30, the Democratic Republic of Congo must move from words to action. Transparency must become the rule: permits, concessions, and exploitation authorizations related to the MMP must be published. Whistleblowers should be protected rather than forced into exile. Violations must be sanctioned, and local communities involved in park management, as they are its primary guardians. Mangroves, essential for climate regulation, must be recognized as a national asset, not merely an ecological backdrop.
The Mangrove Marine Park stands at a crossroads: between symbolic conservation and genuine protection. For many Congolese, the time for declarations is over. The time for action has come. The mangroves can no longer wait for the state to choose between private interests and the public good.
By Kilalopress