1. Management of Congo Basin
forest resources
The quest for sustainability
1st International Conference on Biodiversity in the
Congo Basin
UNIKIS – Kisangani, 8 June 2014
D. Andrew Wardell, Robert Nasi, Paolo Cerruti,
Guillaume Lescuyer, Richard Eba’a Atyi et al

2. “C’est donc, en tout premier
lieu, en perfectionnant
l’agriculture indigene que
l’on assurera l’avenir de la
foret” (p. 77)
Tondeur, G., 1938
An early landscape approach?

3. Contents
 Forestry as a science of empire
 Post-independence paradigm shifts
 State of the Forests
 Policies and practices
– Wood products
• Timber
• Domestic wood
• Wood energy
– Non wood products
– Environmental services
 Future directions

4. Forestry as a science of empire
 The King’s Rain Forest (1601 – Trinidad and
Tobago)
 The ‘empire forestry mix’ w/e 1855 (Barton,
2002; Grove, 1995 and 1997; Rajiv Rajan, 2006;
Wardell, 2006)
– National networks of protected areas (forest reserves,
national parks, game controlled areas etc)
– Extraction of timber as a source of revenue (after 1900
- to help pay for colonial administration)
– ‘Scientific forestry’ – regulation of timber and woodfuel
extraction, ‘control’ of bushfires, reforestation etc
 Congo Belge – shaped by experiences of other
(European) colonial powers and after WW II also
influenced other colonial forestry departments in
Anglophone and francophone Africa

5. Congo Belge
 Exploration and prospections (1899-1938 – De Wildeman,
Delevoy, Lebrun, Leplae et al)
 L’Union Professionnelle des Producteurs de Bois du Congo
Belge (w/e 1933)
 Les Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge (w/e 1925)
 Arrete royal du 29 juin 1933 (l’organisation administrative
de la colonie)
 Decret du 4 avril 1934 sur l’exploitation des forets
domaniales
 Reserve Floristique de Yangambi (w/e 1939)
 Decret du 14 avril 1949 relative au regime forestier
 Commission d’Etude des Bois du Congo (1950)
 Ordonnance legislative No. 52/66 du 7 February 1958 sur
le regime forestier du Congo Belge
 L’Exposition universelle et international de Bruxelles
(1958) – “..un nouvel age du bois” (Peche, 1958)

6. Post-independence paradigm shifts
 1962: “Silent Spring”
 1972: Stockholm
 1983: AIBT
 1986: OIBT
 1987: “Our Common Future”
 1992: Rio
 1993: FSC
 1994: AIBT (2)
 2002: Rio +10
 2005-7: REDD
 2011: AIBT (3)
 2012: Rio +20
 2013: Global Landscapes Forum,
Warsaw
 Timber production
 Sustained timber
production
 Sustainable timber
production
 Sustainable production
of multiple goods
 Sustained provision of
ecosystem services
 Ecosystem approach
 Landscape approach
but focus still on
timber

7. State of the Forests
• Primary forest clearing increased by a factor of two between 2000‐2005 and 2005‐2010
• Forest degradation (2000‐2010) within logging permit areas was 3.8 times higher
• Forest degradation (2000‐2010) within protected areas was 3.7 times lower
• (Zhuravleva et al, 2013)
• Annual rates of primary forest loss (1990‐2000) were double post‐conflict decade (2000‐
2010) (Nackoney et al, 2014)

8. International, formal
timber

9.  Colonial forestry –
timber (1890s-1960)
 Timber rush (1941-
1975)
 Silviculture and
resource assessment
(1950-1990; CTFT,
FAO, OFI)
 Forest management
(1965, 1993-present;
i.a. CIRAD, CIFOR)
 Certification /Legality
(1995, 2002-
present; i.a. CIRAD,
CIFOR)

10. State of Forests 2010

11. Impact of management and certification
on harvest intensity
Cerutti et al. 2011
Managed and certified
concessions have a
significantly reduced
harvesting intensity

12. Social impacts of certification
 Congo Basin - largest area of certified tropical forest certified in
the world (ca. 5.3 million ha) but only ca. 7-13% of all FMUs in
the region
 FSC certification requires setting and monitoring multiple
criteria with annual evaluations, and has resulted i.a. in:
 Improved working and living conditions in sawmills, during
forestry operations and at bases vie
 Facilitating the legitimacy and effectiveness of active local
institutions to ensure a continuous dialogue with
concessionaires
 Existence of clear and more equitable benefit sharing
mechanisms
 BUT the presence of an FSC certified FMU has not been
associated with any significant changes in (customary) local
agricultural, hunting and NTFP collection practices
Source: Cerruti, P., Lescuyer, G. et al, 2014. Social impacts of the Forest Stewardship Council Certification. An
assessment in the Congo Basin CIFOR Occasional Paper #103.

13. Domestic, informal timber

14.  Total ignorance till the
mid 90s
 Initial studies (1995-
2005)
 Empirical research by
CIFOR (2007 - 2014)
 Policy recognition but
inadequate legal
frameworks

15. Estimations des volumes de sciages
consommés sur 12 mois
Volumes de bois (m3/an) Cameroun Gabon Congo RDC RCA
(Ydé, Dla, Bta) (Libreville) (P‐N, Bzv) (villes) (Bangui)
Production de sciages informels
pour les marchés domestiques
662 000 50 000 99 000 850 000 33 000
Production de sciages informels
pour l’exportation officieuse
60 000 0 0 112 000 6 000
Production totale de sciages
informels
722 000 50 000 99 000 962 000 39 000
Production de sciages formels
(provenant de déchets industriels
ou de petits permis) pour les
marchés domestiques
198 000 20 000 10 500 62 000 34 000
Exportations officielles de sciages
industriels
343 000 150 000 93 000 29 000 41 000
Production totale de sciages légaux
(consommation intérieure +
exportations officielles)
541 000 170 000 104 500 91 000 75 000
Production informelle / production
totale (%)
57 23 49 91 34

16. 80 000m3
6 000m312 000m3
150 000m3
 > 50,000 full time
jobs (more than the
formal sector)
 Turn over of about 40
billion CFA/year ($80
million/year)
 Affordable building
material for local
population (80%
cheaper than export
sawn wood)
CIFOR – Cameroon, 2001; Gabon, 2011; RCA, 2014 and DRC, 2014

17. Wood energy

18.  A non issue in the humid
part of the region
 Early warnings (mid 70s;
CTFT)
 Full blown but localized
problem (empirical
research in DRC; i.a.
CIRAD, CIFOR)
 Still not really recognized
and remains a ‘wicked
problem’ and poor
people issue

19.  Kinshasa: 4,700,000 m3/yr
 Kisangani: 200,000 m3/yr
 cf. Formal timber sector for
DRC: < 300,000 m3/yr
17,664
3,200 1,315
75,446
190 1,070
Cameroon CAR Congo DRC Equatorial
Guinea
Gabon
State of Forests 2010; Makala project; Schure, 2014

20. Before and after?
Luki forest reserve, Bas Congo
Degraded lands, Bas Congo
In 28 years, the quantity of
carbon stored in the
vegetation around Kinshasa
has decreased by ca. 30%
Makala project

21. Non wood products

22.  A non issue before the 80s
 “Discovery” and overselling
(1990s)
 NTFP Domestication (1990-
present; ICRAF)
 Bushmeat crisis (2000 –
present; BCTF, NGOs, ZSL,
CIFOR)
 Management Plans still
focus on timber
 Inappropriate legal
frameworks

23. 613,600,000
378,641,309
12,197,503
8,089,580
4,040,000
2,874,928
2,799,330
1,574,661
989,504
847,182
730,325
585,586
430,639
284,013
269,083
249,938
244,420
171,175
124,489
94,803
61,105
31,500
18,000
11,868
5,911
78.9
1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 100,000,0001,000,000,000
Fish (Silures & other species)
Fuelwood (wood, charcoal & sawdust)
Gnetum africanum, Gnetum bulchozium
Irvingia gabonensis, Irvingia wombulu
Acacia senegal, Acacia polyacantha
Prunus africana
Bushmeat
Raphia spp.
Dacryodes edulis
Pausinystalia johimbe
Ricinodendron heudelotii
Voacanga africana
Cola nitida
Rattans
Cola acuminata
Garcinia kola
Apiculture: beeswax
Garcinia lucida
Tetrapleura tetraptera
Rauvolfia vomitoria
Apiculture: honey
Chinconia spp.
Kigelia africana
Baillonella toxisperma
Carpolobia lutea, Carpolobia albea
Piper guineensis
US$ (2010 equivalent)
Annual market value of key NTFPs in Cameroon
State of Forests 2010

24. Estimates of the
bushmeat trade range
from US$42 to US$205
million per year in West-
Central Africa.
Current harvest in
excess of 5 million
tonnes annually
30 to 80% of the
protein intake of many
rural populations
Looming food security
issue

25. Gender issues
• NTFP play a disproportionately
important role in the livelihoods and
well-being of women (and children)
• The collection of fuelwood or other wild
products is often a task for women and
children
• Women play an important role in the
different value chains of these products
and derive crucial income from the
sales
• Women generally invest back their
income into household food and
wellbeing; men more into non essential
goods
Ingram et al, 2014

26.  Regional guidelines for the sustainable management
of NTFPs developed for the 10 member countries of
COMIFAC).
 Adopted by the Conference of Ministers of COMIFAC
– This in turn has resulted in raising the status of NTFPs within
the forestry administration in most countries.
 Gabon and Cameroon have now created directorates
within their forestry administration for the design
and implementation of all policies related to NTFPs
(FAO, ICRAF, CIFOR…)
 But still lacking for bushmeat (and fish)
Raised awareness

27. Environmental services

28.  Background noise since
Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment
 Recognition: Biodiversity,
water, eco-tourism, carbon
(REDD)
 FSC – Certification of
Ecosystem Services (see
special guide -
http://bit.ly/HCVForCES)
 Payment for Environmental
Services offers potential
 But infancy stage in the
region and market(s) at
scale not realized (inc.
forest carbon)

29. Forest Good or
Service (in
discounted US$/ha
or in US$/ha/yr)
General
(Pearce &
Pearce 2001)
Cameroon
(Lescuyer
2007)
Gabon
(National
Park)
(Lescuyer
2006)
Cameroon
(community
forests)
(Akoa Akoa,
2007)
Timber 200 ‐ 4,400 560 98 25‐78
Fuelwood 40 61 NA 165
NTFPs 0 ‐ 100 41 ‐ 70 3 172
Genetic resources 0 ‐ 3,000 7 1< Na
Recreation 2 ‐ 470 19 4 34
Watershed benefits 15 ‐ 850 54 ‐ 270 0 998
Climate benefits
(carbon)
360 ‐ 2,200 842 ‐ 2,265 211 632
Option values 2 ‐12 3 NA NA
Non‐use values 4,400 19 ‐ 32 24 NA

30.  Conservation concessions:€ 13 million per year
for the Ngoyla Mintom forest (Karsenty, 2007);
€ 10 million for the forest reserve of Dzanga-
Sangha (Lescuyer, 2008)
 Certification has yet to provide the expected
“premium” on the sensitive markets
 REDD+ (carbon) although the obvious
candidate of choice does not stand against
opportunity costs of agro-business
development (e.g. oil palm)
The economics are not good…
State of Forests 2010; FORAFAMA project

31. Future directions

32.  Competing land uses – agriculture, bio-energy, mining
 Large-scale land acquisitions (Gabon, Cameroon and DRC)
 Mining including oil and gas reserves (e.g. Virunga NP,
North Kivu, DRC)
 New end markets partic. in the Asia-Pacific region
(declining timber exports to the EU)
 Global capital flows and new South-South investments
– 32% share of global capital flows to emerging economies in 2012 (cf. 5% in 2000)
– US$1.9 trillion in “South-South” foreign investments between emerging economies
 New trans-boundary regulations (e.g. FLEGT-VPA and EU-
TR, Lacey Act)
 The undelivered ‘promise’ of (forest) carbon finance
 Focus remains on timber…and the continuing challenges of
promoting multiple use forest management and intensifying
smallholder production systems
Emerging trends in the Congo Basin

33. Focus still remains on wood supplies.....

34. e.g. Gabon – supplied logs to China
• Investment Charter, 1998; Private Investment Promotion
Agency (APIP), 2000 and new Forest Law, 016, 2001
• Gabon – largest African supplier of logs to China until
logging ban introduced in 2010
• Chinese companies currently own 121 concession
permits (out of total of 500 active permits) to manage
and log 2.67 million ha of forested land esp. in the
Province of Ogooue Ivindo (half of these belong to 5
companies)
• Annual timber exports ca. 1 million m3 (70% of total)
• Timber investments by private companies and
individuals (not known if backed by Chinese
development banks or not)
• Special Economic Zone has not attracted new
investments

35. Conclusions
 The quest for globally acceptable definitions of
sustainable forest management (SFM) (or forest
degradation?) is pointless
 SFM should be defined by societal demands and
designed across sectors at the landscape level
whilst accommodating new forms of land-use
 Outcomes should be monitored based on agreed
objectives; unrealistic, unachievable or vague
targets are of little use
 Informal sectors should be recognized and clear
regulatory frameworks established notably for
domestic timber, woodfuels and bushmeat
resources
 Private-public sector collaboration should become
the norm rather than the exception

36.  Improved governance and law enforcement with clearly-
defined short, medium and long-term targets
 Equitable burden and benefit sharing between national and
sub-national governments
 Strengthen capacity building efforts notably wrt land use
planning, exchange of information (up, down and across)
and to re-build a professional cadre
 Increased transparency in decision-making notably wrt land
administration (e.g. identification of truly-available land
with local communities) and investments (domestic/FDI)
 Progressively remove perverse incentives and introduce
more positive incentives for farmers to forgo deforestation
 Develop and monitor forest-friendly supply chains with
robust social and environmental safeguards
Multiple interventions are needed

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deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, as did a decline in the
demand for new deforestation.
Hansen, M.C. et al, 2013. ‘High resolution global maps of
21st-century forest cover change.’ Science Vol 342, 15
November 2013
“The tropical dry forests of South America had the highest rate of
tropical forest loss….”
Reducing deforestation in Brazil

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40.  Thank you – Merci