Innovative forestry mgt schemes adopted for Congo basin

The Congo Basin is a vital economic resource in the region: over 40% of its 200 million hectares is under concession. With the high population living in or around the forest thus the management of the forest has a direct impact at the local level.

Italian-based Bioversity International in collaboration with CIFOR, IRAD, IRET and UNIKIS in Cameroon, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo presented findings of the 40-month research project executed in the Congo Basin.

The main objective of the project, dubbed "Beyond the wood: reconciling the needs of industry with those of forest-dependent peoples of the forest”, was to come up with innovative forest management approaches in the Congo Basin by increasing its multifunctionality in order to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem, while enhancing sustainable standard of living of the local people.

A workshop to present the findings and recommendations from the research to government and civil society representatives from countries of the Congo Basin held in Bali, Douala, on November 14. In attendance were Faustin Toengaho, Rector of the University of Kisangani, Raymond Mbitikon, COMIFAC Secretary as well as Laura Snook, Programme Leader of Bioversity International, among others.

Laura Snook said a very large percentage of the forest (60%) is under concession. This means that governments of the Congo Basin have made available a very large proportion of the forest to the timber industry for a period of time. Cameroon has a nine-year concession with the timber industry.

The research found out that people living in or around the forest collect caterpillars, oils, fruits, medicines, and trees for construction directly from the concessions. The potential conflicts of the people living in the forest and the concessions are high because the concessions have the legal rights to use the forest. She noted that sometimes the villages obtain the income generating materials from the same trees the concessions are using.

Sapelle, for example, which is widely exported from the Basin, has caterpillars eaten by the local people. “Caterpillars have much more value than timber which is used just one time. We are particularly concerned about nutrition because the countries concerned are suffering from malnutrition,” she stressed.

The recommendation was made that concessions should speak with the local communities and with governments to support this kind of dialogue, and governments and COMIFAC should use the information to make changes and decisions.