Project/activity information

The objective of the project was to design, implement and monitor timber company and local community based ecosystem management systems in the contiguous Kabo, Pokola and Loundougou forest management units adjacent to the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. The project used an ecosystem approach for the management of the contiguous Kabo-Pokola-Loundoungou forest concessions adjacent to the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park northern Congo. The approach was innovative and required the collaboration of the major stakeholders in the co-management of the forest ecosystems: the Ministry of Forest Economy (Government of Congo), the Congolaise Industrielle des Bois - CIB - (private company) and the Wildlife Conservation Society - WCS ? (international environmental NGO) and local communities.

The project developed practical tools to assist the Republic of Congo in meeting the ITTO sustainable forest management objective while promoting biodiversity conservation within the context of a multiple-use forest production adjacent to a protected area. The main project achievements had been as follows: the report on the zoning system, following the wildlife management guidelines, had been developed and included in the Management Plan of CIB company’s forest management units (FMUs); the awareness raising campaign with the local population about the principles of sustainable wildlife management and protection had contributed to minimize the commercial and illegal hunting, in combination with a strong law enforcement programme that ensured adherence to hunting regulations and Congolese wildlife laws by local people and company employees; the support and promotion of alternative protein sources for the local population were provided in all project areas except near Loundogou FMU; demographic census and socio-economic surveys had been undertaken in villages near CIB’s FMUs in order to follow-up the hunting pressure in FMUs, as the rapid population increase in Pokola is a source of concern; ecological and socio-economic follow-up methodologies have been drafted and tested in order to develop a tool for the evaluation of the impact of forest management actions in the conservation of wildlife in FMUs; the norms of reduced impact logging techniques based on a GIS system had been tested and established for implementation in all CIB forest concessions; and a formal management system had been established to facilitate communications among the Government of Congo, WCS and CIB, in order to ensure that management strategies are officially incorporated into the CIB internal regulations and management plans that could serve as model to set national standards for forest management and wildlife conservation in forest concessions in the Republic of Congo.