Promoting Sustainable Harvesting Behaviors Among Youth in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Behaviour Change Impact Study

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a biodiversity hotspot facing challenges from unsustainable forest harvesting by youth. A mixed-methods approach combining surveys, focus groups, and interviews to evaluate behavioural shifts over time. Findings suggest a significant reduction (p<0.05) in unsustainable practices from baseline to post-intervention with an adjusted effect size of 0.45. Interventions led to substantial improvements in sustainable harvesting behaviors among youth, though some challenges persist. Further studies should explore long-term sustainability and replication across different park regions. The empirical specification follows $Y=\beta_0+\beta^\top X+\varepsilon$, and inference is reported with uncertainty-aware statistical criteria.