Management of Congo Basin forest resources

The quest for sustainability

Sustainable Forest Management in Central Africa

Yesterday, today and tomorrowHilton Hotel Yaoundé, 22-23 May 2013

Robert Nasi

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

Agenda and paradigm changes

< 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

International, formal timber

Colonial forestry (1890-1960)

Timber rush (1945-1975)

Silviculture and resource assessment (1950-1990; CTFT, FAO, OFI)

Forest management (1965, 1993-present; CIRAD, CIFOR)

Certification /Legality (1995, 2002- present; CIRAD, CIFOR)

State of Forests 2010

Impact of management and certification on harvest intensity

Cerutti et al. 2011

Managed and certified concessions have a significantly reduced harvesting intensity

Logs Sawn wood Plywood

Congo Basin 7,815 (3 %) 1,524 (2 %) 117 (1 %)Africa out of Congo Basin 10,248 3,077 290

Asia-Pacific 94,413 29,346 12,834Latin America / Caribbean 122,615 31,941 4,282

Total production (ITTO) 235,091 65,888 17,523

State of Forests 2010

Source: COMTRADE database

Domestic, informal timber

Total ignorance till the mid 90s

Initial studies (1995-2005)

Empirical research by CIFOR (2007 - present)

Policy recognition but inadequate legal frameworks

State of Forests 2010

80 000m3

6 000m312 000m3

150 000m3

> 50,000 full time jobs (more than the formal sector)

Turn over of about 40 billion CFA/year ($80 million/year)

Affordable building material for populations (80% cheaper than export sawn wood)

Wood energy

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

Kinshasa: 4,700,000 m3/yr Kisangani: 200,000 m3/yr

Formal timber sector for DRC: < 300,000 m3/yr

Cameroon CAR Congo DRC Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

17,664

3,200 1,315

75,446

190 1,070

State of Forests 2010; Makala project

Before and after?

Luki forest reserve, Bas Congo

Degraded lands, Bas Congo

In 28 years, the quantity of carbon stored in the vegetation around Kinshasa has decreased by 29%

Makala project

Non wood products

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

Fish (Silures & other species)Fuelwood (wood, charcoal & sawdust)

Gnetum africanum, Gnetum bulchoziumIrvingia gabonensis, Irvingia wombulu

Acacia senegal, Acacia polyacanthaPrunus africana

Bushmeat Raphia spp.

Dacryodes edulis Pausinystalia johimbe

Ricinodendron heudelotiiVoacanga africana

Cola nitidaRattans

Cola acuminataGarcinia kola

Apiculture: beeswaxGarcinia lucida

Tetrapleura tetraptera Rauvolfia vomitoria

Apiculture: honeyChinconia spp.Kigelia africana

Baillonella toxispermaCarpolobia lutea, Carpolobia albea

Piper guineensis

10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 100,000,000 1,000,000,000

613,600,000378,641,309

12,197,5038,089,580

4,040,0002,874,9282,799,330

1,574,661989,504

847,182730,325

585,586430,639

284,013269,083249,938244,420

171,175124,489

94,80361,105

31,50018,000

11,8685,911

79

Annual market value of key NTFPs in Cameroon

US$ (2010 equivalent)

State of Forests 2010

Estimates of the bushmeat trade range from US$42 to US$205 million per year in West-Central 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

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

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…

Raised awareness

Environmental services

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

Forest Good or Service (in

discounted US$/ha or in US$/ha/yr)

General(Pearce &

Pearce 2001)

Cameroon (Lescuyer

2007)

Gabon (National

Park)(Lescuyer

2006)

Cameroon (community

forests)(Akoa Akoa,

2007)

Timber 200 - 4,400 560 98 25-78

Fuelwood 40 61 NA 165

NTFPs 0 - 100 41 - 70 3 172

Genetic resources 0 - 3,000 7 1< Na

Recreation 2 - 470 19 4 34

Watershed benefits 15 - 850 54 - 270 0 998

Climate benefits 360 - 2,200 842 - 2,265 211 632

Option values 2 -12 3 NA NA

Non-use values 4,400 19 - 32 24 NA

Land cover(LC)Total Carbon

(millions tonnes) % C Total

1. Closed evergreen lowland forests 27 299 59.3

2. Swamp forests 1 761 3.8

3. Sub-mountain forests (900-1500m) 770 1.7

4. Mountain forests (>1500m) 119 0.3

Humid dense Forest (1-4) 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

Congo basin sub-region (TSR) 46 016 100.0

State of Forests 2008

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)

Economics are not good…

State of Forests 2010; FORAFAMA project

Policy recommendations

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

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/