Wise Ancestors launches Congo Basin conservation crowdfund for Bosenge tree

Wise Ancestors has launched an Indigenous-led conservation challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo to raise $24,000 for the first annotated reference genome of the Bosenge tree and to plant 100 seedlings near Botsike Village. The project ties biodiversity research to habitat restoration, edible caterpillar production, and local food security.

Why it matters: - The project connects genomic science with on-the-ground restoration in a region where forests near villages are shrinking. - Bosenge trees support edible caterpillars, a key food source and income stream for Indigenous communities in the Ingende Territory. - The effort is designed to advance food sovereignty, habitat recovery, and local participation in biodiversity research.

What happened: - Wise Ancestors launched Conservation Challenge #8 with Indigenous communities of Botsike Village and surrounding areas in Ingende Territory, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. - The challenge aims to raise $24,000 on the Wise Ancestors Platform. - Funding will support the first annotated reference genome for Bosenge tree, also known as Uapaca guineensis. - The project also will sponsor planting 100 seedlings near the village for habitat restoration and food security. - The public can donate to Conservation Challenge #8. - African-based sequencing facilities and bioinformaticians can apply as collaborators for DNA and RNA extraction, long-read sequencing, Hi-C, and RNA-seq work. - Collaborators will be compensated for their work.

The details: - If fully funded and completed, the project would produce the first reference genome for the genus Uapaca. - The work would fill a gap in the Earth Biogenome Project, which aims to record genome sequences for all eukaryotic life forms. - The project follows African BioGenome Project protocols, so the technical work will be completed in Africa. - Wise Ancestors said only a few caterpillar tree species have been genomically characterized, and none within the Uapaca genus. - The conservation effort emerged after Wise Ancestors first met Mardoche Bokonga, coordinator of APAGEC-RDC, at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, in November 2024. - Wise Ancestors partnered with APAGEC-RDC, a Kinshasa-based NGO, on the challenge. - Jean-Léon Kambale, a botanist at the University of Kisangani’s Center for Biodiversity Surveillance, was hired to work directly with the Indigenous communities of Botsike Village, Likata, and Bokatola. - Consent was established through community practices, including food offerings and invitations to enter the forest, rather than through documents or contracts. - During the first meeting, community members invited the team into the forest to help collect Bosenge saplings for replanting closer to Botsike Village. - At a March 2026 meeting, eggs were offered as a sign of acceptance. - Kambale said the eggs were a strong symbolic sign of consent. - Bokonga said industrial wood exploitation has cut down almost all the trees and that increased caterpillar production would support food self-sufficiency. - Bokonga said APAGEC values the shared goals of biodiversity protection, nature conservation, and traditional knowledge. - Dr. Ann Pace, Wise Ancestors co-founder and executive director, said this is the organization’s first non-pilot Conservation Challenge and the effort took more than a year and a half of relationship building. - Dr. Solenne Correard, Wise Ancestors’ genomic director, said Bosenge would have been sequenced long ago in wealthier nations and described the project as a push for equitable research. - Katie Jones, Wise Ancestors’ community engagement director, said the team views the project as a new relationship, not a one-off effort. - The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of six Congo Basin countries, and the Congo Basin is the world’s second-largest rainforest and one of its most important carbon sinks after the Amazon. - Global Forest Watch data show that by 2025, the country had lost 11% of its 2000 tree cover, equal to 14 gigatons of CO2 emissions. - Wise Ancestors said forests in the Ingende Territory face serious danger from deforestation linked to timber and agriculture. - Bokonga said he no longer sees lions, elephants, chameleons, and leopards during hunts. - Bokonga also said caterpillar trees have disappeared from the area.

Between the lines: - The challenge pairs conservation financing with community-led genomics, a model that may be easier to scale when local groups help decide which species matter most. - The emphasis on Indigenous consent and in-Africa technical work signals an effort to keep scientific benefits and economic value closer to the communities most affected. - The project also reflects a broader push to make biodiversity research more equitable by focusing on species that are important locally but overlooked globally.

What's next: - Wise Ancestors will seek full crowdfunding for the $24,000 target. - African sequencing and bioinformatics partners may join to complete the genome work. - Once funded, the project will move toward sequencing, annotation, and planting Bosenge seedlings near Botsike Village. - The organization expects the challenge to open the door to additional projects in the area.

The bottom line: - Wise Ancestors is using Indigenous-led crowdfunding to link genome science, tree planting, and food security around a tree that matters to both local diets and Congo Basin biodiversity.