March 8, 2007—At an International Conference on Sustainable Management of Forests held in Brussels on February 27-28, Environment Minister Didace Pembe Bokiaga solemnly committed the newly-elected Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to a revolutionary package of reforms to boost the country’s nascent conservation efforts, and focus attention on Africa’s imperiled forests.
“The DRC’s forests represent an inestimable natural richness, and are the planet’s last natural lungs,” said Armand de Decker, the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation and conference host in opening remarks.
“Saving the Congolese forest contributes to poverty reduction and also to protecting humanity’s ecological heritage.”
The event generated consensus on DRC’s critical governance reforms such as maintaining the moratorium on new logging, launching a legal review of existing concessions, and providing legal recognition for the rights of indigenous people. It also called for new financing mechanisms to bolster conservation, including payment for environmental services such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity protection.
The World Bank released a joint publication at the conference. “Forests in Post-Conflict Democratic Republic of Congo: Analysis of a Priority Agenda warns hard-won peace and unplanned roads can lead to chaotic development, further exacerbating pressures on forests.
The Brussels conference helped reveal a broader reform process – hitherto unheralded and unsung – that is gaining traction, thanks to an African-led push for better managing these priceless assets.
The good news is that not only has Africa caught up with other tropical regions, but as these examples show, it is also taking the lead in forest management, certification and fighting corruption and illegal logging:
Democratic Republic of Congo, just emerging from a fractious civil war, has canceled illegal forest concessions affecting over 25 million hectares, an area as large as the United Kingdom
Cameroon, the only African country to co-chair the G-8 Dialogue on Illegal Logging, has reduced forest harvests and improved governance while introducing a taxation system that channels over $12 million to local communities per year
Cameroon, DRC, Republic of Congo, and Gabon are positioning international, independent observers to help fight illegal logging and corruption
African Heads of State, Forest Ministers, and Parliamentarians and donors are networking and forging informal, regional alliances for strengthening collective actions to protect the forests
“Raising the bar in terms of environmental stewardship and governance is critical to protecting central Africa’s unique patrimony of forest assets,” said Philippe Ong Seng, Executive Director, who represents Congo basin countries on the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.
“African leaders have embarked on a new and ambitious generation of reforms, grounded in local realities, to stem the tide of destruction threatening the rainforests.”
Achieving Results
Opaque rules allow corrupt elites to exploit forests unsustainably. Aided by the power of the Internet, Cameroon has started an online public disclosure policy which includes lists of concessionaires, offenders, and forest tax statistics
To beat illegal loggers at their game, Cameroon, DRC, Gabon and the Republic of Congo are teaming up with World Resources Institute, Global Witness, and others using satellite imagery and ground presence to detect and deter illegal logging
Leading non-governmental organizations such as World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society are helping private companies embrace sustainable management approaches and fighting poaching
Progressive forest companies in Cameroon, Congo, Central African Republic, and Gabon have made huge investments that comply with new regulations affecting over 50 percent of commercial concessions
Congo basin countries have created over 6 million hectares of new protected areas in the past five years. Today, in the Congo basin, sustainable forest management is advancing more quickly than any tropical region.
Forest Management and Conservation Challenges
While the area set aside for parks and biodiversity reserves has grown dramatically, protected areas remain below 10 percent of land area in all countries and most of the forest and biodiversity are in forest concessions and rural areas. Forest conservation must therefore be pursued beyond the boundaries of national parks, through policies that discourage slash-and-burn agriculture, deter illegal logging and poaching while inviting forest communities to participate in forest management and in the sharing of benefits.
“Strengthening traditional rights of forest dependent populations and ensuring enforcement of laws and regulations in the forest sector are probably the most important ingredients for success,” says Hartwig Schafer, the Bank’s acting Vice President for the Africa region.
“Over the past two years we have seen the first forest companies achieving FSC certification proving that environmentally and socially responsible forest management is not only possible but economically feasible,” says Heiko Liedeker, Executive Director of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a Bonn-based non-profit eco-labeling organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests.
“These examples are inspiring forest management operations for FSC certification throughout the Congo Basin. Such private sector commitments are critical to support the efforts by African countries and the World Bank.”
“We are still at the beginning, but this is an entirely new ball game with all Congo basin countries moving forward, at differing paces and sometimes halting steps, toward the goal of better managing their forests,” said Giuseppe Topa, World Bank lead forestry specialist, Africa region.
“The lessons of experience learned from implementing the first phase of reforms provide a useful basis to scale-up, and scale-out the overall conservation effort with a focus on results that benefit people and the environment.”
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