Conservation rumors circulating around the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo are frequently dismissed as superstition, but researchers argue these narratives serve as vital expressions of local resistance and demands for equitable economic benefits. According to a study published in Environmental Sociology by Fergus O’Leary Simpson and co-authors, rumors about a scientific tower extracting oxygen highlight deep-seated grievances tied to a history of colonial extraction and modern economic inequality in the Congo Basin.
How Oxygen Extraction Rumors Spread in Yangambi
In 2020, villagers near the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve in Tshopo province began sharing a claim that a newly built scientific tower was extracting oxygen from the rainforest and shipping it to Europe for profit. According to the study, this narrative evolved when an acacia-planting initiative was linked to the tower, with locals claiming the trees were grown to supply more oxygen for extraction. During an unusually hot spell in May 2024, the rumor resurfaced on social media in Kisangani, accusing the tower of causing extreme heat by depleting the atmosphere.
https://x.com/Evebazaiba/status/1789425795103887398
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s then-environment minister, Ève Bazaiba, publicly attributed these claims to ignorance and superstition, releasing a video to demonstrate that the CongoFlux tower measures greenhouse gas exchanges rather than extracting oxygen. However, researchers emphasize that treating these narratives merely as factual errors overlooks their deeper social function. Academic literature consistently interprets such rumors as covert forms of resistance where communities lack formal channels to challenge powerful environmental authorities.
The Impact of Rumors on Conservation and Local Trust
Rumors can trigger tangible disruptions for conservation projects, undermining trust and fueling noncompliance. According to researchers, these narratives provide a shared vocabulary of injustice that can escalate into active resistance. In Yangambi, this dynamic manifested when electrical cables connected to the CongoFlux tower were severed, newly planted acacia trees burned, protected forests cleared, and facilities looted. Turumbu youths also erected a barricade to block researchers from reaching the tower.
The stakes intensified in May 2024 when a crowd exceeding 300 people gathered after a speaker urged individuals to travel to Yangambi and dismantle the tower. Beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo, similar conspiratorial narratives appear globally. Farmers in southern Chile have blamed state wildlife authorities for introducing pumas, while opponents of wolf conservation across France, Norway, and Greece attribute wolf populations to covert releases by environmentalists or government agencies, according to studies cited by the authors.
Demanding Reciprocity and Addressing Historical Inequality
Despite instances of resistance, researchers note that Yangambi’s rumors are rarely simple rejections of conservation. Instead, they voice demands for redistribution and reciprocity. International conservation funding flows into the region while local communities remain impoverished with limited employment. The oxygen-extraction narrative offered a logical explanation for this contrast: if the forest holds immense global value, outsiders must be extracting something tangible while leaving locals behind.
This framing echoes a longer history of dispossession. Established under Belgian colonial rule in 1939, the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve incorporated lands belonging to the ancestral estate of the Turumbu people, who argue they were never adequately compensated. Concurrently, colonial conservation operated alongside a vast socio-developmental apparatus that employed roughly 10,000 people and provided housing, healthcare, and schooling. Memories of those economic opportunities shape ongoing expectations that contemporary conservation initiatives should deliver direct local benefits.
Did you know? The Congo Basin is Earth’s second-largest tropical rainforest, spanning six countries and storing more carbon than the Amazon. However, a study analyzing 26 restoration projects across five countries found that many initiatives rely on planting non-commercial, non-native tree species rather than restoring natural ecosystems, according to EnviroLink reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CongoFlux tower in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
The CongoFlux tower is a scientific installation in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve that measures exchanges of greenhouse gases between the rainforest and the atmosphere to help scientists understand global climate regulation.
Why do conservation rumors spread in local communities?
According to researchers, conservation rumors serve as covert forms of resistance and mechanisms for local populations to demand a fairer share of economic benefits in regions marked by historical inequality and limited formal channels for grievance.
How do historical factors influence modern conservation conflicts?
Memories of colonial dispossession combined with past economic provisions—such as jobs, housing, and services tied to earlier conservation and agricultural projects—shape local expectations that communities should directly benefit from current environmental initiatives.
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