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Research Articles Reconciling multiple forest uses in the Congo Basin

Reconciling multiple forest uses in the Congo Basin

In their 2015 annual report, the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry highlights the achievements of Flagship 2, Management of Forest and Tree Resources, in research conducted on diversified forest management in the Congo Basin.

In their 2015 annual report, the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA) highlights the achievements of Flagship 2, Management of Forest and Tree Resources, in research conducted on diversified forest management. Below is an article originally published in the report, available to download on the FTA website.

A good example comes from the Congo Basin, the second largest expanse of tropical forest in the world. Multiple demands on its 200 million hectares of forests often lead to conflict among users. As some of the uses are informal or illegal, they are not accommodated within the framework of forest management administered by the State. Widespread timber concessions granted to industries compete with agriculture, hunting, small-scale logging and, it has been suggested, with the gathering of non-timber products by local people who live in or near the forests.

 

Going forward, the researchers suggest that concessions should not be dedicated solely to timber exploitation, but be seen as part of a broader landscape for sustainable multiple resource-based development. 

Further achievements in 2015

  • Recommendations about concession boundaries have been used in the forest management plans in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • At the 15th Conference of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) ministers endorsed FTA recommendations on bushmeat.
  • The work on social outcomes of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in the Congo Basin (with FTA's Flagship 5, Global governance, trade and investment) has been instrumental in showing that certified concessions have more positive impacts than non-certified concessions.

Download the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry Annual Report 2015 and visit their website foreststreesagroforestry.org

Bioversity International’s forest research contributes to the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry: Livelihoods, Landscapes and Governance.