Alain Billand

The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forest 2010

Meat from wild terrestrial or semi-terrestrial animals, termed „bushmeat‟, is a significant source of animal protein in Central African countries, and a crucial component of food security and livelihoods in rural areas. Estimates of bushmeat consumption across the Congo Basin range between 1 million tonnes (Wilkie and Carpenter 1999) and 5 million tonnes (Fa et al. 2003) and harvest rates are estimated to range from 23 to 897 kg/km 2 /year (Nasi et al. 2008). Many sustainability assessments focusing on tropical forest wildlife in the region have warned about the increasing unsustainability of hunting and associated ecological impacts (e.g. examples within Bennett and Robinson, 2000).The term “value chain” is useful to understand the activities involved in bringing a product from the forest, through processing and production, to delivery to final consumers and ultimately disposal (Kaplinsky & morris, 2000). Value chain analysis is a conceptual framework for mapping and categorizing the economic, social and environmental processes. It helps to understand how and where enterprises and institutions are positioned in chains, and to identify opportunities and possible leverage points for upgrading. This analysis encompasses the organization, coordination, equity, power relationships, linkages and governance between organizations and actors. Photo 7.1: Kola nuts (Cola acuminata) for sale in a market in Kisangani, DRC

Les Forêts du Bassin du Congo. Etat des Forêts 2013

Le rôLe de La faune dans Le cadre de La sécurité aLimentaire en afrique centraLe : une menace pour La biodiversité ?Au cours des vingt dernières années, les six pays forestiers du bassin du Congo ont conçu et adopté des politiques forestières dans le but, d’une part, de réduire la pauvreté notamment en milieu rural et, d’autre part, de contribuer à l’amélioration de leurs économies nationales et de promouvoir la gestion responsable de la diversité biologique. En effet, dans la région, la gestion des forêts intervient dans un contexte de pauvreté rurale généralisée : on estime que plus de 58 % de ces populations vivent en dessous du seuil de pauvreté (avec 2

A First Look at Carbon Stocks and their Variation in Congo Basin Forests

/jour), la majorité d’entre elles habitant dans des zones où la forêt tient une place prédominante (World Bank, 2010). Au fil des années, les nouvelles lois ont permis d’améliorer considérablement les méthodes de gestion des forêts. On a constaté une forte augmentation du nombre de concessions forestières gérées au moyen de plans d’aménagement forestier et, surtout, un accroissement des impôts collectés par le Trésor public (Eba’a Atyi et al., 2009). Cependant, la grande majorité de ces réformes politiques se sont concentrées sur les activités forestières industrielles et orientées vers l’exportation, en négligeant la production par sciage artisanal, à plus petite échelle et vendue en grande partie sur les marchés intérieurs et régionaux. Les titres d’exploitation à petite échelle qui autorisent les citoyens à abattre un nombre limité d’arbres, généralement pour leurs besoins personnels et à des fins non commerciales, sont en effet inclus dans tous les cadres légaux de la région. Cependant, ils ne sont pas adaptés aux besoins actuels des scieurs artisanaux et, à ce titre, ils sont rarement sollicités. Par conséquent, le secteur domestique du bois reste en grande partie informel en dépit de son importance. Ses impacts économiques, écologiques et sociaux sont méconnus des ministères et ne sont pas pris en compte dans les statistiques nationales et internationales. Par exemple, pour l’année 2007, les statistiques officielles faisaient état d’une production de bois en Afrique centrale d’environ 8,4 millions de m3 (Eba’a Atyi et al., 2009), le Gabon et le Cameroun étant les plus gros producteurs et la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) le plus petit d’entre eux. Cependant, l’ensemble des données nationales et internationales, notamment celles de la FAOSTAT, de l’UN Comtrade22 ou de l’OIBT, ne concernaient que la production du secteur forestier industriel et orienté vers l’exportation.

Environmental filtering of dense‐wooded species controls above‐ground biomass stored in African moist forests

For this chapter the term biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Central African humid forests. This includes diversity within and between species and among ecosystems types (Hooper et al., 2005).For this chapter the term biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Central African humid forests. This includes diversity within and between species and among ecosystems types (Hooper et al., 2005).The Kyoto Protocol allows for only afforestation and reforestation under its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The rules and modalities established under the Marrakech Accords allow developing countries to sell CDM certified emission reduction to developed countries up to a limit of 230 millions metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the period 2008-2012 (about 45 million metric tons of CO2 per year on average). At the same time the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that 1.7 billion metric tons of CO2 are released annually to the atmosphere because of land use change and largely from tropical deforestation, dwarfing the possible impact of possible forest CDM projects. The magnitude of the emissions from deforestation not included in the Kyoto Protocol triggered the Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to initiate a two-year process to address issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries. This process peaked during the COP13 in Bali in December 2007 with the Decision 2/CP.13 “Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action.” It is interesting to note that it took more than 10 years for the international community to accept that reducing emissions from deforestation or sequestering carbon from standing forests is more effective than through planting trees and reintroduce this topic to the international climate negotiations. It will probably take another five years to have the rules and modalities in place but some countries and donors are eager to get an early start. Put simply, without entering the innumerable arguments ongoing about baselines or financial mechanisms, the idea behind the concept of reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is to provide financial incentives to help developing countries voluntarily reduce national deforestation rates and associated carbon emissions below a baseline. Countries that demonstrate such reduced emissions would be able to sell carbon credits on the international carbon market or receive financial compensation in one way or another for their good behavior. No matter which final REDD mechanism is chosen, we will need to know as accurately as possible how much carbon (C) is: stored in different standing vegetation types • (especially forests) and soils; released through AFOLU (agriculture, forestry • and other land use) activities. In this chapter we will try to bring the best possible answers to these two questions without entering into much scientific complexity, but at the same time avoiding oversimplification. We will start with some definitions and explanation of terms. To determine the existing C stocks by vegetation type we will present the respective area and C content per hectare of each vegetation type. Then to have an estimation of past and present human activities, we will give estimates of deforestation and degradation linked to agriculture, forestry (logging) and other land uses. We will briefly expose the state of knowledge about C fluxes through ecological processes and what we can reasonably deduce for Congo Basin forests. Finally we will conclude with a note of caution describing the uncertainties in the estimations presented in this chapter. ChAPTeR 12 A fiRsT look AT CARbon sToCks And TheiR vARiATion in Congo bAsin foResTs