Human Landscape
The Conkouati-Douli National Park covers two Districts, Nzambi and Madingo-Kayes, and two main roads (a coastal and a forest road) connect the Park with Congo's economic capital Pointe Noire, located 100km away.
Some 5,900 people live in 25 villages that surround the national park, of which about 2,750 in the 11 coastal villages of the District of Nzambi and around 3,150 in the 14 forest villages of the District of Madingo-Kayes. The coastal people are of Vili ethnic origin and settled in the area in the 13th Century, whereas people from villages along the forest road come from various forest ethnic origins. The forest tribes arrived with the industrial logging concessions and settled along the forest road less than 100 years ago. Some villages are less than 20 years old.
The coastal people make their living primarily from fishing and agriculture, whereas the forest people tend to rely more on agriculture, hunting and employment in the logging concessions. More than 50% of the population are aged under 16, while 80% of the people between 16 and 25 are unemployed.