# Kinshasa Botanical Garden

The Kinshasa Botanical Garden (French: Jardin botanique de Kinshasa), formerly known as the Fernand De Boeck Park, is a botanical garden located in Gombe, Kinshasa, in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Covering seven hectares, It is strategically positioned opposite the Kinshasa Zoological Garden on Kasa-Vubu Avenue. The botanical garden houses a diverse collection of 286 plant species, including nurseries, a seed collection, an arboretum of native species, and a herbarium. Established in 1933, It is managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature; ICCN) and serves as a hub for environmental education activities, boasting over 100 arboreal species.

## History

The Kinshasa Botanical Garden was originally established as the "Parc de Bock" in 1933 by District Commissioner Fernand De Bock in then-Léopoldville (now metamorphosed into the modern Kinshasa). The area featured a zoo and a botanical garden opposite its premises and was entrusted to the Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge (IPNB; now ICCN) upon its inception. After the nation's newfound autonomy, the IPNB was rebranded as the Zaire Institute for Nature Conservation (IZCN) on July 22, 1975, coming under the jurisdiction of the Congolese Ministry of Agriculture.
In consonance with the epochal tenets of Mobutu Sese Seko's Authenticité policy, the botanical garden was renamed "Parc de la Révolution" with the vision of transforming it into a multifaceted hub for political, cultural, scientific, and sporting activities. On October 2, 1968, it hosted a public meeting where Pierre Mulele was declared guilty of committing crimes against the nation by Mobutu and was subsequently arrested before the end of the speech. In 1978, the name was changed to "Jardin Botanique de Kinshasa" as part of the Zoological and Botanical Garden Institute of Zaire through presidential order No. 078/215 of 05/05/1978. Following Mobutu's regime, the botanical garden was subjected to the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Tourism and the Ministry of Finance during the tenure of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. The garden underwent significant enhancements, including the addition of internal and external parking, a spacious room, a fountain complemented by rock gardens, an administrative edifice, and an intricate plant systematics.
The Second Congo War hampered conservation efforts within the botanical park, posing an insurmountable conundrum in safeguarding the biodiversity of the DRC. It was unmaintained for an extended period until 2008, when a revitalization effort commenced with support from various organizations such as the European Union, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the National Botanical Garden of Belgium, and the NGO Friends of Nature and Gardens.
In August 2021, the Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonds de Promotion du Tourisme), established by Decree No. 09/65 of December 3, 2009, provided the botanical garden with ten bungalows. The bungalows were consecrated in a ceremonial rite presided over by the Minister of Tourism, Modero Nsimba Matondo, on July 31, 2021, with a parenthetical note heralding forthcoming plans to erect an additional 20 bungalows alongside a gastronomic establishment augmenting the site's fiscal viability and allure.