1. Management of Congo Basin
forest resources
The quest for sustainability
Robert Nasi
Sustainable Forest Management in Central Africa
Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Hilton Hotel Yaoundé, 22-23 May 2013

2. Contents
 Evolution of the international
agenda and related paradigm
changes
 Policies and practices
– Wood products
• Timber
• Domestic wood
• Wood energy
– Non wood products
– Environmental services
 Policy recommendations

3. Agenda and paradigm changes

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

< 1960: ?
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
 Segregation
 Sustained timber
production
 Sustainable timber
production
 Sustainable
production of
multiple goods
 Sustained provision
of ecosystem
services
 Ecosystem approach

4. International, formal
timber

5.  Colonial forestry
(1890-1960)
 Timber rush (19451975)
 Silviculture and
resource assessment
(1950-1990; CTFT,
FAO, OFI)
 Forest management
(1965, 1993-present;
CIRAD, CIFOR)
 Certification /Legality
(1995, 2002- present;
CIRAD, CIFOR)

6. State of Forests 2010

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

8. Logs
Congo Basin
Africa out of Congo
Basin
Asia-Pacific
Latin America /
Caribbean
Total production
(ITTO)
Sawn wood
Plywood
7,815 (3 %)
1,524 (2 %)
117 (1 %)
10,248
3,077
290
94,413
29,346
12,834
122,615
31,941
4,282
235,091
65,888
17,523
State of Forests 2010

9. Source: COMTRADE database

10. Domestic, informal timber

11.  Total ignorance till the
mid 90s
 Initial studies (19952005)
 Empirical research by
CIFOR (2007 present)
 Policy recognition but
inadequate legal
frameworks

12. State of Forests 2010

13.  > 50,000 full time
jobs (more than the
formal sector)
80 000m3
12 000m3
6 000m3
150 000m3
 Turn over of about 40
billion CFA/year ($80
million/year)
 Affordable building
material for
populations (80%
cheaper than export
sawn wood)

14. Wood energy

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

16. 75,446
17,664
3,200
Cameroon
1,315
CAR
Congo
190
DRC
1,070
Equatorial
Guinea
Gabon
 Kinshasa: 4,700,000 m3/yr
 Kisangani: 200,000 m3/yr
 Formal timber sector for
DRC: < 300,000 m3/yr
State of Forests 2010; Makala project

17. Before and after?
Degraded lands, Bas Congo
Luki forest reserve, Bas Congo
In 28 years, the quantity of
carbon stored in the
vegetation around Kinshasa
has decreased by 29%
Makala project

18. Non wood products

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

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

21. Estimates of the
bushmeat trade range
from US$42 to US$205
million per year in WestCentral 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

22. 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

23. Raised awareness
 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…)
 Still lacking for bushmeat and fish as well as in terms
of gender equity…

24. Environmental services

25.  Background noise since
Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment
 Recognition:
Biodiversity, water, carbon
(REDD)
 Payment for Environmental
Services offers potential
 Infancy stage in the region
and realization is unknown

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

27. Total Carbon
(millions tonnes)
% C Total
27 299
59.3
1 761
3.8
3. Sub-mountain forests (900-1500m)
770
1.7
4. Mountain forests (>1500m)
119
0.3
29 949
65.1
Closed deciduous forests
2 791
6.1
Mosaic forest/croplands
3 955
8.6
Mosaic forest/savannas
3 403
7.4
Deciduous woodland
4 149
9.0
Grassland, shrub land, sparse trees
1 770
3.8
46 016
100.0
Land cover(LC)
1. Closed evergreen lowland forests
2. Swamp forests
Humid dense Forest (1-4)
Congo basin sub-region (TSR)
State of Forests 2008

28. Economics are not good…
 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 or
plantain)
State of Forests 2010; FORAFAMA project

29. Policy recommendations

30.  The quest for a globally accepted definition of
sustainable forest management is pointless
 Management should be:
– defined by societal demands
– designed across sectors at the landscape level imagining new
forms of land-uses
 Outcomes should be monitored based on agreed
objectives; unrealistic, unachievable or vague targets
are of little use
 Informal sectors should be recognized and proper
regulatory frameworks developed to manage these
resources
 Private-public sector collaboration should become the
norm rather than the exception

31. OBSERVATOIRE DES FORETS DE L’AFRIQUE CENTRALE
De Wasseige C., D. Devers, P. de Marcken, R. Eba’a Atyi, R. Nasi, P.
Mayaux, Eds (2009) Les Forêts du Bassin du Congo – Etat des
Forêts 2008. Office des publications de l’Union Européenne.
Luxembourg, 426 p.
Les forêts du bassin du Congo - Etat des Forêts 2010. (2012) Eds :
de Wasseige C., de Marcken P., Bayol N., Hiol Hiol F., Mayaux Ph.,
Desclée B., Nasi R., Billand A., Defourny P et Eba’a R..– Office des
publications de l’Union Européenne. Luxembourg. 276 p.
http://www.observatoire-comifac.net/