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FORESTS AND THEDEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

O P P O R T U N I T Y I N A T I M E O F C R I S I S

DEANNA M. WOLFIRE, JAKE BRUNNER & NIGEL SIZER

With Catherine J. Karr and Daniel Nielsen

A Contribution to theForest Frontiers Initiative

June 1998

WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTEFOREST FRONTIERS INITIATIVE

CAROL ROSEN

Publications Director

HYACINTH BILLINGS

Production Manager

Each World Resources Institute report represents a timely, scholarly treatment of a subject of public concern.WRI takes responsibility for choosing the study topics and guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of inquiry.

It also solicits and responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert reviewers.Unless otherwise stated, however, all the interpretation and findings set forth in WRI publications are those of the authors.

Copyright © 1998 World Resources Institute. All rights reserved.ISBN 1-56973-232-9

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 97-81349Printed in the United States of America on Recycled Paper.

W O R L D R E S O U R C E S I N S T I T U T E 1 F O R E S T F R O N T I E R S I N I T I A T I V E

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Opportunity in a Time of Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Threats to the Forest’s Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

BOXES

Box 1: Priorities for Development Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Box 2: Lessons from Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20


BOARD OF D IRECTORS

Maurice F. Strong Manuel Arango Jane Lubchenco Jonathan LashChairman President

John Firor J. Alan BrewsterVice Chairman Senior Vice President

Frances G. Beinecke C. Payne Lucas

Robert O. Blake William F. Martin

Derek Bok Julia Marton-Lefèvre

Bert Bolin Matthew Nimetz

Robert N. Burt Paulo Nogueira-Neto

David T. Buzzelli Ronald L. Olson

Deb Callahan Peter H. Raven

Michael Deland Florence T. Robinson

Sylvia A. Earle Roger W. Sant

José María Figueres Stephan Schmidheiny

Shinji Fukukawa Bruce Smart

William M. Haney, III James Gustave Speth

Calestous Juma Meg Taylor

Yolanda Kakabadse Mostafa K. Tolba

Jonathan Lash Alvaro Umaña

Jeffrey T. Leeds Victor L. Urquidi

Pieter Winsemius

Walter V. ReidVice President for Program

Donna W. WiseVice President for PolicyAffairs

Kenton R. MillerVice President and Director ofProgram in BiologicalResources

Marjorie BeaneSecretary-Treasurer


WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

he World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent center for policyTresearch and technical assistance on global environmental and developmentissues. WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect

Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations ofcurrent and future generations.

Because people are inspired by ideas, empowered by knowledge, and moved tochange by greater understanding, WRI provides—and helps other institutionsprovide—objective information and practical proposals for policy andinstitutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitabledevelopment. WRI’s particular concerns are with globally significantenvironmental problems and their interaction with economic development andsocial equity at all levels.

The Institute’s current areas of work include economics, forests, biodiversity,climate change, energy, sustainable agriculture, resource and environmentalinformation, trade, technology, national strategies for environmental and resourcemanagement, business liaison, and human health.

In all of its policy research and work with institutions, WRI tries to build bridgesbetween ideas and actions, meshing the insights of scientific research, economicand institutional analyses, and practical experience with the need for open andparticipatory decision-making.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

he authors would like to thank the Central African Regional Program forTthe Environment (CARPE) funded by the U.S. Agency for International

Development, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and

Development (BMZ), and the AVINA Foundation for supporting this study.

Special thanks also go to the following who reviewed the manuscript and

provided valuable input: Ambassador Robert Blake, David Wilkie of Associates

in Forest Research and Development, Jim Graham of USAID, Robert

Winterbottom and Juan Sève of the International Resource Group, Amy Vedder

of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Jeffrey Gray of Africare as well as to

WRI colleagues Paige Brown, Rob Day, Roger-Mark De Souza, Laura Lee

Dooley, Marta Miranda, and Walt Reid. And, to our publications staff, Carol

Rosen, Carollyne Hutter, Hyacinth Billings, Maggie Powell, and Valerie

Schwartz, we are most grateful.


FOREWORD

n early 1997, the world DRC harbors half of But there are oppor- More data on DRC’sIlooked on as the Africa’s, and an eighth of the tunities to lessen the risk forests should be collectedDemocratic Republic of world’s, remaining dense posed by development within and disseminated. Local non-

Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire) moist forest. DRC’s forests, and increase governmental organizationsunderwent an immense As vital as the forests are the likelihood for better- should also help to increasepolitical change. It was, and to the people and government managed forests and better the scope of existing research,continues to be, a tragic war of DRC, if the forest resource living conditions for the such as the forest inventoriesstory of ravaged communities is poorly managed it will pose people. conducted in 1982 and 1989. and devastated people. The great environmental risk and This publication also makessmoke in DRC is just imperil the country’s long- pointed suggestions to thebeginning to clear, and the term economic security. development assistanceworld continues to watch with Commercial logging, an community about howhope for signs of stability and activity known to threaten support should be channeledjustice. Even as DRC forest biodiversity and the to meet these objectives.struggles to recover, its regrowth of certain timberneighbors in the west and species, is not currentlynorth—the Republic of causing excessiveCongo and Central Africa degradation in DRC. But, itRepublic, respectively—were is considered a major threatrecently enmeshed in armed as increased numbers ofconflict. On DRC’s eastern transnational loggingflank, Rwanda and Burundi companies seek to operate inpick up the pieces from the the Congo Basin. Roads builtruinous unrest that left by loggers and miners arehundreds of thousands dead, used by commercial huntersan enormous population of with high-powered guns andrefugees crossing and snares to supply growingrecrossing borders, and markets with bushmeat. scattered outbreaks of These roads are also traveledviolence. by migrants who carve

Most people in and agricultural plots along thearound DRC, whether they borders of the forest frontiers. were profoundly or People’s dependence onmarginally affected by the bushmeat for protein depletesrecent devastation, continue populations of seed-to turn to the dense moist disbursing animals, so thatforests that engulf this country the regrowth of forests isfor shelter, food, fuelwood threatened. Reliance onand other support. The fuelwood for energy createsgovernment also continues to halos of fragmented forestrely on forest products: around urban areas andrevenue from commercial mandates ever longerlogging helps to fill the excursions to supply a never-national coffers as it did ending demand.before the war.

This publication, Forestsand the Democratic Republicof Congo: Opportunity in aTime of Crisis, highlightsthree promising opportunitiesfor DRC’s development. First, DRC’s new governmentcan take advantage ofopportunities for long-termconservation and sustainable Time of Crisis is part of theuse of forests. Second, the World Resources Institute’sdevelopment assistance five-year Forest Frontierscommunity can play an Initiative—a multi-important role in support of disciplinary effort to promotemeasures to conserve forests. stewardship in and around theThird, the government and world’s last major frontierthe development assistance forests. By working withcommunity can collaborate to governments, citizens’get forest policy high on groups, and the private sectorDRC’s development agenda. in Amazonia, Central Africa,

This publication juxta- Indonesia, North America,poses DRC’s opportunities and Russia, the initiativewith possible threats to its seeks to influence investment,forests. It recommends nine policy, and public opinion.specific measures that could We sincerely thank thebe realistically undertaken by USAID funded CentralDRC’s new government. African Regional Program for

For example, the the Environment (CARPE),government should assess the the German Federal Ministryexisting logging and mining for Economic Cooperationlicenses for irregularities. If and Development (BMZ),found to be irregular as a and the AVINA Foundationresult of coercion and for supporting thiscorruption, licenses should be publication. revoked. An environmentallysound national infrastructure Jonathan Lashplan should be developed to Presidentincrease the likelihood that World Resources Instituteinvestment in infrastructurewill promote sustainedeconomic benefits withminimal environmentaleffects.

Forests and theDemocratic Republic ofCongo: Opportunity in a


1PRIORITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Strategic priorities for devel-opment assistance agenciesinclude the following steps:

Channel support tostrengthen the capacities of non-governmental organizations(NGO).

Encourage effectivegovernment agencies, such asthe national mapping agency,Service Permanent d’Inven-taire et d’Aménagement

Forestier (SPIAF), throughmonetary and technical support.

Overhaul ineffectiveagencies.

Promote administrativerehabilitation at both thenational and local levels so thatauthority, rights, andresponsibilities are matched.

Place forest policy higher onthe policy agenda and, whereappropriate, link it witheconomic planning.

Bolster research and anational consultative process forland-use planning, including thecollection of remote sensingdata.

SUMMARY

he Democratic The advent of the new The report concludes that By demonstrating that it isTRepublic of Congo government, and the potential DRC has alternatives to the serious about managing its(formerly Zaire) houses for foreign aid and private development path it is taking, forests and other resources

a wealth of biological investment, represent an and that forests, as a stimulant responsibly, the newdiversity within large tracts of opportunity to explore fresh of economic growth, play a government will be better“frontier” forest—relatively policy options and priorities. role. Various institutions also positioned to solicit,undisturbed, original forest have roles. International negotiate, and obtaincover. Yet, this country still organizations in particular international funding and1

struggles to recover from five must assist the government of investment for both resourcecenturies of ruthless and DRC to implement these conservation and exploitation. bloody colonial exploitation alternatives. International By involving its citizens infollowed by three decades of investment is necessary to the design and implementa-corrupt dictatorship under encourage DRC’s tion of environmentalMobutu Sese Seko, an era so population—its government policies, DRC can also showextreme that it led to the and citizens—to adopt its respect for democraticcoining of the term policies and practices that principles, which will win“kleptocracy.” Against this will lead to development broad international support,backdrop, the country faces without putting its natural including potential access tothe enormous challenge to resources at risk. concessional funding and debtachieve short-term economic forgiveness from the Worldgrowth and alleviate poverty Bank and the Internationalwhile preserving natural Monetary Fund.resources for futuregenerations. This task isespecially daunting in acountry that focussesdevelopment on its primarynatural resources: timber,minerals, and hydropowerpotential.

Forests and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo:Opportunity in a Time ofCrisis was written primarilyfor senior policy-makers inthe Democratic Republic ofCongo (DRC) and thedevelopment assistancecommunity. The publicationhighlights the significance ofthe forests and the majoremerging threats to them, andsuggests ways to addressthese issues. (See Box 1.)

OPPORTUNITY IN A T IME OF CRISIS


TABLE 1Key Economic and Social Indicators

Population (million, 1995) 45

Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births) 120

Real GDP growth (%, average annual 1990-94) -8.9

Inflation (%, annual average 1990-95) 3,558

Source: United Nations Department of Public Information. 5

“The DemocraticRepublic of Congois the country inAfrica where the

gap between what’sbeing produced and

what could beproduced is the

greatest.”– Mining Company

Executive

n May 12, 1997, the ADFL promises to rebuildOarmed forces of the the country’s destroyedAlliance of transport infrastructure and

Democratic Forces for the social services. To help raiseLiberation of Congo (ADFL), the necessary capital, theled by Laurent Kabila, government has closed dealsentered Zaire’s crumbling with several foreigncapital, Kinshasa, and companies to redevelop theoverthrew ailing President lucrative mining sector. DRCMobutu Sese Seko, who fled holds huge deposits of cobalt,the country. ADFL took over copper, gold, and diamonds. a country in ruins, renaming it There is also vast hydropowerthe Democratic Republic of potential. According to oneCongo (DRC). mining company executive,

Thirty-two years of “The Democratic Republic ofkleptocratic misrule, fed by Congo is the country in Africaforeign assistance during the where the gap betweenCold War from the United what’s being produced andStates, Europe, and the World what could be produced is theBank, drove the vast majority greatest.”of Zaire’s population into According to the Unitedconditions of extreme Nations Human Develop-poverty. Under Mobutu, the ment Index, which combineseconomy shrank to 1958 life expectancy, adult literacy,levels, with a population three and income, DRC is rankedtimes larger. 141 out of 174 countries.

The government strains undera US$13.1 billion debt load,including $1.4 billion in loansfrom the World Bank. (SeeTable 1.)

2

A WEALTH OF FORESTRESOURCES

The majority of DRC’spopulation depends directlyor indirectly on forestresources. DRC contains halfof Africa’s, and one eighth ofthe world’s remaining densemoist forest—the mostbiologically rich terrestrialecosystem —which covers3

half of the country’s territory. (See Map.) The rate ofdeforestation in DRC—lessthan 1 percent annually—hasbeen low for three primaryreasons: the gradualdisintegration of the roadnetwork; agriculturalexpansion outside of forestareas; and political andregulatory disincentives toinvest in the country. As aresult, 86 percent of Congo’soriginal forest cover remains. 4

(See Table 2.)

But DRC’s forest are not limitless. On a per dense moist forest cover than Republic of Congo orresources, while substantial, capita basis it has much less either the neighboring Gabon. Outside of the

6


TABLE 2Dense Moist Forest Cover and Deforestation Rates in Central Africa

DENSE MOIST FOREST AVERAGE ANNUAL DEFORESTATION RATE

REGION1993

thousand km21993

ha/capita1980-90

(% of Total)1990-95

(% of Total)

Cameroon 180 (39%) 1.44 0.6 0.6

Republic of Congo 237 (69%) 9.88 0.2 0.2

Democratic Republic of Congo 1,108 (47%) 2.69 0.7 0.7

Equitorial Guinea 100 (60%) 5.54 0.4 0.5

Gabon 214 (81%) 17.83 0.6 0.5

Sources: Deforestation rates from World Resources Institute. Forest cover data from Tropical Ecosystem Environment9

Observations by Satellite Project (TREES). 10

Note: The figures in parentheses give the percent of forest cover in each country.

seasonally flooded central Many people depend on This report focusses on Potential short-termbasin (the cuvette), wheremost of DRC’s intact forestsare located, pressure to clearforest is growing.

Properly managed,DRC’s forests can contributeto sustained economic growthover the long term. But thiscan be achieved only if soundforestry policies are institutedsoon. ADFL has expressedits desire to generate morerevenue from forest assets,which is a valid need. Butforests are valuable for otherreasons besides fillingnational coffers.

the forests for their basic the choices DRC’s solvency may be lesslivelihoods. Approximately government must make attractive than it appears at70 percent of DRC’s related to its forests. ADFL first glance. Most of thepopulation—31.5 million out must choose between selling country’s forests are currentlyof a total population of 45 Congo’s forests for short- inaccessible and of very lowmillion in 1995—live outside term economic gain, or commercial value, so theof urban centers; many of sustainably managing them opportunity cost involved inthese people use timber and for the use of future conservation and in takingnontimber forest products for generations. Though history time to plan carefully forfood, shelter, and artisanal clearly shows that simply development, is small. Theproducts. In 1994, both mining trees and minerals new government has the7

urban and nonurban dwellers does not bring wealth to a chance to invest in the forest,collected fuelwood and nation, ADFL seems poised agriculture, transport, andcharcoal from the forest at a to continue the pattern of other related sectors to ensurerate of 42.6 million cubic resource exploitation that will that resources are exploitedmeters annually. Wildlife is only lead to further economic sustainably and protected8

a large part of the national stagnation for the country. areas remain unencroached.diet.


ADFL must choosebetween selling

Congo’s forests for short-term

economic gain, orsustainably

managing them forthe use of future

generations.

A BRIEF HISTORY OFCOMMERCIAL OPERATIONS

DRC’s history ofcommercial operations withEurope began in the latefifteenth century whenPortugal established relationswith what was then thecoastal Kongo Kingdom toexport slaves, ivory, andcopper. In the 1600s, theregion was the principalsource for slave markets inthe Middle East and the NewWorld.

In 1885, the Conferenceof Berlin granted KingLeopold of Belgium the areaand established the CongoFree State. Africans wereforced into labor to provideivory and rubber to thecolonial monopolies.Construction of transportationnetworks and more intensiveexploitation of mineralresources then began. TheBelgian king seized all so-called “vacant lands” anddeclared his government to bethe owner of all forestproducts.

International outcry over European mining and logging expanded 120 km per year,Leopold’s brutality led companies. for improved loggingBelgium in 1908 to assume Today, commercial operations.direct control of the colony, operations follow the samehenceforth called the pattern as they did under“Belgian Congo.” The Mobutu. In the miningcolonial government shared sector, the U.S.-basedadministrative responsibility American Mineral Fieldsand business interests in (AMF) vies with Southmining and plantations with Africa’s Anglo-American forthe Roman Catholic Church. a majority stake in a copperContinued exploitation of and cobalt retreatment projectnatural resources was a and zinc mine in the Shabapriority and agricultural province, with an estimatedexports grew. At value of U.S.$8-13 billion.independence in 1960, Evidence suggests that AMFminerals and agricultural has financial connections tocommodities (including forest the most expensive miningproducts) made up 60 percent disaster in U.S. history, inand 40 percent of total which cyanide was used toexports respectively. extract sulphide ores in

In 1965, military In the logging sector,strongman Mobutu Sese Seko many concessions—noneseized power. The country considered examples ofdeclined economically as responsible forestcorruption and mismanage- management—are stillment took hold. Agricultural operating as they did duringcommodities decreased to 15 the Mobutu period, includingpercent of total exports. By the German-ownedthe mid-1970s, mining was SIFORZAL, a subsidiary ofthe pillar of the economy, Danzer. This concessionaccounting for 75 percent of covers some of the mostexport earnings and close to isolated rainforest in the45 percent of government world and is one of the largestrevenues. The lack of trained in Africa, with a huge 2.7staff forced the central million hectares ofgovernment to settle for operations. It is interesting toindirect management of note that it contains the best-resource exploitation through maintained roads in DRC,

11

southwestern Colorado.12

Anglo-American’s dealingsare also questionable; foreignnews reports indicate that anephew of DRC’s Minister ofthe Economy is on the payrollof both Anglo-American andthe ministry. 13

14

W O R L D R E S O U R C E S I N S T I T U T E 1 0 F O R E S T F R O N T I E R S I N I T I A T I V E

DRC’s rainforests make up about half thatfound in the whole of Africa and one

eighth of all tropical forests onEarth—only Brazil and Indonesia have

larger areas of rainforests.

THREATS TO THE FOREST ’S SURVIVAL

THE IMPORTANCE OF THEFOREST

s indicated in Table 2,ADRC contains morerainforests than all of

the other five countries inCentral Africa. DRC’srainforests make up abouthalf that found in the whole ofAfrica and one eighth of alltropical forests onEarth—only Brazil andIndonesia have larger areas ofrainforests.

As a result of its size andphysical and climaticvariability, DRC harbors anunusually wide range ofhabitats, including tropicalmoist forest, woodlandsavannas, grassland savannas,and, to a lesser extent,montane forests, seasonallyinundated savannas, dryevergreen forests, and drywoodlands. In terms ofspecies diversity, the countryis ranked first among Africancountries for severaltaxonomic groups. It houses409 species of mammals,1,086 species of birds, 216species of amphibians, 280species of reptiles, 48 speciesof butterflies, and 10,000species of angiosperms ofwhich 3,000 are endemic.15

DRC also harbors Although forests have the four major protected areasstrategic mineral resources, potential to play a role in the covering about 38,300 km inincluding most of the world’s economic development of the east: the Virungas, thecobalt (an essential DRC, a variety of internal and Kahuzi-Biega, the Maikoingredient of jet engines), external pressures could build national parks, and the uniqueand large deposits of rapidly in the coming years. uranium, zinc, and copper, as These pressures— includingwell as diamonds, gold, and weak protected area systems,silver. Most of the mines are commercial logging, andin the eastern part of the expanding infrastructure—arecountry; gold mines, in reviewed in the sectionsparticular, border the forest below. frontier. (See Map.)

DRC’s 45 million peopledepend upon the forests forfood, energy, housingmaterials, and income. The16

forests also house geneticmaterial that could lead toadvances in medicines andagricultural breeding,although not much screeninghas taken place. Moreover,the forests serve as a carbonstore, helping to ward offglobal climate change bymitigating increasingtemperatures, changes inlocal and global precipitationpatterns, and associatedenvironmental changes, suchas rising sea levels.

WEAK PROTECTED AREAS

In 1925, the Belgiancolonial governmentestablished a system ofnational parks and reserves toprotect the region’s uniquebiodiversity. Protected areasnow cover 180,000 km , or2

7.69 percent of the country, ahigher percentage than mostcountries have achieved.

Most of these protectedareas are located in theeastern forests, which coverabout 175,000 km and2

stretch from the Zaire Riverto the volcanic chain thatborders Uganda, Rwanda,and Burundi. These forestscontain fauna and flora ofsignificant conservationconcern, including many largemammals restricted to theregion. Currently, there are17

2

Okapi Wildlife Reserve. (SeeMap.)

Most of DRC is sparselysettled. At its eastern limit,however, are some of themost fertile and denselypopulated areas in CentralAfrica. Over the last tenyears, the availability of openland and gold panningopportunities have attractedmigration into the easternforests at an unprecedentedrate. This trend acceleratedduring the past two yearswhen ADFL’s militaryoffensive broke up Rwandanrefugee camps and drovehundreds of thousands ofrefugees into the forest. Human populations in theforest have always beendynamic, but currentpopulation growth differsfrom earlier expansions inthat it is politically motivated.


Urgentinterventions toprotect DRC’s

national parks andwildlife reserves

are not enough. Amajor review of

conservationlegislation and

forest managementboth within and

outside protectedareas is needed.

In the face of this massive Tourism can be successful A new model formigration, the reserves have only if wildlife populations conservation projects islittle protection. Currently, are maintained. Elephant needed. Long-term supportless than 150 active guards poaching is common in the to DRC’s protected areas willare assigned to the Okapi Kahuzi-Biega National Park still require foreignReserve and the Maiko and and has resumed in the Okapi assistance. An analysis by theKahuzi-Biega national parks Wildlife Reserve and Maiko Wildlife Conservation Societyin eastern DRC, with an National Park after having (WCS) of four Worldaverage guard density of less ceased following the Heritage Sites in easternthan 1 guard per 200 km . Convention on International DRC (Virunga National Park,2

Official pay is low and is Trade in Endangered Species Kahuzi-Biega National Park,often not delivered. In some (CITES) ban on ivory in Garamba National Park, andcases, park rangers and 1989. Both gorillas and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve)wardens depend on kickbacks chimpanzees are hunted in showed that the boldest andfrom illegal hunting and the Kahuzi-Biega National most creative conservationmining to survive. In terms Park. However, an efforts were undertaken byof providing revenue, tourism assessment of the impact of trained national staff basedis an option, but it is likely to current human activity in the on-site.generate income in only three area showed that densities of This study, conductedareas: Virunga (mountain large mammals are much after the sites were seriouslygorillas), Kahuzi-Biega higher in the protected areas damaged by the looting(elephants), and Garamba than in their hinterlands, Zairian army as it fled before(white rhinoceros). In 1989, indicating that, despite illegal the rebel advance, suggestedtourism accounted for occupation and exploitation, At a development that the morale of local staff$820,000 in government the legal status of the assistance round table in depended to a great extentreceipts, an increase of 40 protected areas is important. Kinshasa in July 1997, it was upon financial and technicalpercent from 1988. proposed that the Okapi assistance from international18

19

Wildlife Reserve be upgraded non-governmentalto a national park as a show organizations.of government commitment tobiodiversity conservation. Urgent interventions toprotect DRC’s national parksand wildlife reserves, such asOkapi, are necessary, but notenough. A major review ofconservation legislation andforest management bothwithin and outside protectedareas is needed. Without thisreview, the country’sprotected areas, as well as alarge portion of its forestdomain, risk being strippedand degraded before theirlong-term value can besecured.


Although logging is currently not causingexcessive degradation in DRC, it is

considered a major threat as increasednumbers of transnational logging companies

seek to operate in the Congo Basin.

The best way to conserve A 1991 World Bank protected-areas management. potential was carried out inthe country’s natural assessment of the Congolese 1987. It reported an annualresources is to train the Institute for Nature logged area of 100,000national staff and develop Conservation (ICCN), the hectares yielding an averagestrong site-based agency that manages DRC’s of 5 m per hectare. Suchconservation programs. protected area system, selective logging can beWCS recommends showed that 75 to 85 percent relatively benign. It typically“establishment of a fund that of its budget is spent in involves extraction of noprovides for continued Kinshasa and that decisions more than one to two high-professional development and are highly centralized. In value trees per hectare andsupport for field activities by July 1997, the United Nations can damage less than 10protected areas staff.” Development Programme percent of the canopy as a20

21

(UNDP) submitted a two- result of felling sites, dragyear $20 million proposal to strips, log parks, and the roadthe Global Environment network. Species with lowerFacility (GEF) to restructure market value are not cutand strengthen DRC’s because their export price isprotected-areas management. not high enough to cover the

The objective of the In 1995, DRC producedproposed project is to about 300,000 m of logs andstrengthen institutional ranked twenty-first in thecapacities for decentralized world, far behind neighboringmanagement of natural Cameroon (2.7 million m )resources. Because it will be and Gabon (2.1 million m ),difficult for ICCN to absorb ranked sixth and eighthsuch a large sum of money in respectively. One third ofa short time, UNDP-GEF DRC’s logs were exportedmust pay close attention so and two thirds consumedthat the funds are not used to domestically.reinforce the existing The most recentcentralized approach to assessment of DRC’s logging

GROWTH OF LOGGINGACTIVITIES

Commercial logging is anactivity that puts forests atrisk. Although logging iscurrently not causingexcessive degradation inDRC, it is considered a majorthreat as increased numbersof transnational loggingcompanies seek to operate inthe Congo Basin.

3

3

3

22

23

3

24

cutting and transport costs.


...industrial logginghas provided little

net governmentrevenue and

contributed onlymarginally to ruraldevelopment. Most

foreign loggingcompanies that

have operated inthe Congo Basin

have gonebankrupt.

Although selective Because of the poor state Exports to Asia fromlogging does not destroy the of the transport network, log Gabon of okoume and ozigo,forest, it is a leading cause of exports cannot grow rapidly; two of the most popularforest degradation, because this could change. In DRC, timber species, grew from 2.2the roads built to extract the logs are often carried from the percent to 52 percent andtimber open the area to interior of the country either from 1.5 percent to 60commercial hunting and by river on privately owned percent of total exportsagricultural encroachment. boats and ferries to the respectively between 1990

In 1988, more than 21 Kinshasa-Matadi railway line, and 1995. It is anticipatedmillion hectares of the or by road. The Kinshasa- that Asian loggers will seekcountry were designated for Matadi railway is the greatest logging rights in DRC astimber production. If transport bottleneck well. Asian logging25

logging proceeded on only the restricting log exports. companies operating in12 million hectares that have Together, this railway and the Central Africa often cut abeen inventoried, this could Republic of Congo’s greater range of species thanproduce 2.4 million cubic Brazzaville-Pointe Noire European operators. Somemeters a year, worth about railway used to carry the European firms, such as$422 million. It has been majority of the region’s Danzer, are also starting to26

estimated that timber exports to ocean ports. The market to Asia and couldproduction could increase collapse of the railways increase their range of species20-fold by the year 2000 (50 greatly reduced this trade. cut. This method of loggingmillion hectares producing 10 Until the civil war in the clears large tracts of land,million cubic meters). On Republic of Congo erupted in DRC and its neighbors potentially causing greater27

the basis of these figures, a June, the Brazzaville-Pointe have viewed their forests as impact on forests thansubstantial increase in timber Noire railway was in the inexhaustible resources to be selective cutting.production in DRC over the process of being privatized. exploited in an effort to boost Artisanal logging for localnext few years is predicted. Once privatized, the World economic growth. But, furniture-making and

Bank believes that the service almost without exception, construction, which is poorlycould be operating at full industrial logging has monitored, consumes threecapacity within 2 to 3 years. provided little net times more timber thanA similar prognosis applies to government revenue and industrial logging for export. the Kinshasa-Matadi link. contributed only marginally to Most artisanal loggers28

rural development. Most operate at the edge of forestsforeign logging companies and therefore do not increasethat have operated in the access to forests. However,Congo Basin have gone farmers often clear thesebankrupt. areas once artisanal loggers

European logging have removed the largestconcerns have operated in the trees. Traces of forestCongo Basin region since degradation are noticeable incolonial times. Recently, lower DRC, where artisanallogging companies from Asiahave also acquiredconcession areas inneighboring Cameroon,Congo, and EquatorialGuinea.

29

30

logging has occurred. (See31

Map.)


Road constructionis both good andbad; although itoften reinforces

market links, it alsoputs pressure on

forests as loggers,farmers, and

developers moveinto the frontiers.

EXPANDINGINFRASTRUCTURE

The second largestcountry in sub-SaharanAfrica, DRC has a dilapidatedtransportation network. In1987, the Congo River and itstributaries were supplement-ed by 41,000 km (2,400 kmpaved) of roads, but morethan half of this limitednetwork is still in disrepair orpassable only in the dryseason. Road systems arealmost nonexistent in mostareas of the country.32

The infrastructurenetwork must be improved,upgraded, and expanded toencourage economicdevelopment in DRC and theregion. ADFL hasrecognized this need and hastargeted road building as apriority. In July 1997, thegovernment announced a $2.5billion project to rebuild28,000 km of road. A part ofthe plan is to rebuild the 500-kilometer Goma-Kisanganiroute, which will link twomajor markets.33

Road construction is both By concentratinggood and bad; although it investment in agriculturaloften reinforces market links areas, such as the highlandsfor development, it also puts of eastern DRC and Kasai,pressure on forests as loggers, the government willfarmers, and developers move maximize the economicinto the frontiers. In the opportunities and incentivesAmazon Basin, for instance, for small farmers to invest inroads have played a large role more intensive and morein opening up vast areas of profitable agroforestry-basedintact forest to a wide range farming systems, whileof economic activities and minimizing the negativedeforestation. Similarly, environmental effectsduring the construction of the associated with building newTransgabonais railway across roads through frontier forests.the sparsely populated centerof Gabon, it was estimatedthat 8 to 10 hectares weredeforested for every kilometerof railway. Within DRC, the collapse34

of infrastructure andgovernment services in ruralareas at the end of colonialrule contributed to the direconditions facing manyfarmers. They were pushedto clear and cultivate largerareas on marginal landsbecause it was difficult tomigrate to more fertileareas.35


TABLE 3Decline of Key Exports, 1961-95

Exports in MetricTons 1961

Export Earnings1961 US$ (thousands)

Exports in MetricTons 1995

Export Earnings1995 US$ (thousands)

Palm Oil 154,000 35,000 700 140

Rubber 38,000 21,000 7,000 8,000

Coffee 34,000 14,000 61,000 100,000

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization. FAOSTAT. Rome: 1997. Available from < http://www.fao.org>.

DEFORESTATION FROMAGRICULTURE

An effective forest policyin DRC must be linked toefforts to increase agriculturalproductivity.

The heavily forestedCentral Basin generallycontains poor soils, which arecharacteristic of tropicalrainforest. Nevertheless,roughly one third of DRC’sland is considered suitable foragriculture. Of the country’stotal area of 234 millionhectares, 4.5 percent iscultivated annually, with afurther 13 percent lyingfallow. Most agricultural36

production takes place insavannah lands in thesouthern part of the country,but the richest soils are foundin the upper DRC and Kivuprovinces.

Seventy percent of the Industrial-scale In 1988, at least 40population relies on plantations for export of cash percent of the 300 non-subsistence farming, clearing crops (such as coffee, tea, governmental organizationsabout 2 million hectares of rubber, and palm oil), and (NGOs) operating in DRCland annually, much of it land livestock ranches occupy provided training andthat had been fallow with about one third of the land technical assistance insecondary regrowth forest. used for cultivation, but only improved natural resourceAlthough this is 20 times the about 20 percent of this land management, encompassingarea that is logged each year, is actually cultivated. Few soil and water conservation,only a small fraction of the plantations are now livestock, and agroforestry.cleared land is permanently operating, and palm oil and A lack of internationaldeforested. rubber exports—important assistance has likely37

In areas of the country commodities—declined contributed to a decrease inwith denser populations, significantly between 1961 the number of local NGOs. decreasing availability of and 1995. Not all Compared to the scale of thefertile lands has resulted in commodities experienced problem, NGOs are not ashortened fallow periods and such dramatic reductions; significant force. Givengreater cutting of primary coffee exports peaked at adequate support, however,forest areas. 130,000 metric tons in 1986 they could play a much more

38

before falling to 61,000 active role in agriculturalmetric tons in 1995. (SeeTable 3.)

The economic collapsehas driven more of the ruralpopulation into subsistenceagriculture characterized byshifting cultivation and lowproductivity, often in areasthat were forested.

39

extension, providing a realalternative to the governmentbureaucracy.


Commercialpoaching has

become a thrivingbusiness throughout

the Congo Basin,because wildlife

provides anastonishing 80percent of the

protein consumedin DRC.

PRESSURE FROM FUELWOOD MINING AND ENERGYHUNTING COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Commercial poaching has Almost 80 percent of Mining is an importantbecome a thriving business energy consumption is from source of revenue for DRC,throughout the Congo Basin, fuelwood. Electricity and accounting for 75 to 80because wildlife provides an other energy sources are percent of export earnings. astonishing 80 percent of the expensive, scarce, and usually Most of the significant miningprotein consumed in DRC. available only in urban areas. areas form a crescent around40

Although poaching does not Fuelwood harvests amount to the largest forest areas. directly lead to deforestation, as much as 30 times that of However, certain mining sitesit does disrupt basic forest industrial wood production. in the east (portions of theecology through local Despite huge potential wood Kivu and upper DRCextinction of the larger supplies, many households do regions) and south (part of thespecies, such as primates, not have access to, or cannot Shaba region) overlap withthat serve as the seed- afford, adequate supplies of biologically rich areas so thatdispersal agents for most tree charcoal and fuelwood. A industrial activities arespecies. Poaching has recent report from Cameroon affecting the forests. Forincreased because of the on periurban fuelwood example, mine wastes areavailability of powerful collection shows that the contaminating rivers andfirearms and snares. majority of the fuelwood lakes in the Shaba region. Poachers move along mining collected comes from fields Artisanal mining is also aand logging roads, selling being cleared for crop concern in some areas; in thesmoked or fresh meat in production. It may be that a Ituri forest, gold prospectingmarkets and villages and to small amount of fuelwood has led to some degradation.laborers working in mining comes from natural forestsand logging camps. In more that are not being cleared forsparsely populated areas, other purposes. such as protected areas,poaching is the greatest threatto forest health.41

42

43

In areas of higherpopulation density, however,demand for fuelwood mayoutstrip supply as a result of alack of land. In 1988, themarket for charcoal inKinshasa alone was estimatedat $70 million per year. Fuelwood demand in urbanareas has surpassed the levelthat can be sustainablysupplied from the immediatesurrounding areas undercurrent conditions. Encroachment anddeforestation, driven by thisdemand, threaten manyprotected areas. Potentially,small farmers with fast-growing woodlots could earnincome from selling fuelwoodnear urban areas.

44

45

46


The Congo River and its tributaries carry avolume of water second only to the AmazonRiver. The potential of the river is estimated

at 100,000 megawatts—half the hydroelectricpotential of the entire African continent—but

only 1 percent of this potential has beentapped thus far.

Any increase in mining The history of damactivities would result in the building in those regions isconstruction of new replete with horror stories ofinfrastructure. It is likely that massive environmentalexisting companies and any destruction through thenew endeavors will pressure flooding of pristine habitats,the government to improve large-scale resettlement ofroads and railways, which local communities, andcould increase access to disappointing returns on theforest frontiers. investments because of poor

In addition to mineral and planning and management.forest resources, DRC hasvast hydropower potential. The Congo River and itstributaries carry a volume ofwater second only to the Amazon River.The potential potential has been tapped

of the river is estimated at thus far. Before any major100,000 megawatts—half the investments in hydropowerhydroelectric potential of the are approved, ADFL shouldentire African continent—but consider experiences in otheronly 1 percent of this tropical regions.

47

48


To promote forest stewardship and soundenvironmental management, certain

elements of democracy are key: clearprovisions for civic participation;

strengthening human resource capacity,particularly at the NGO and localgovernment levels; and greater

transparency in decision-making.

RECOMMENDATIONS

RC’s valuable frontier Beyond this minimalDforests face pressures approach to protection,from population longer-term, more

growth, industry, sophisticated efforts shouldinfrastructure, a lack of be developed—with supportenergy alternatives, and from internationalinstitutional needs. ADFL’s mechanisms such as thechallenge is to manage these Global Environmentpressures so that forests will Facility—to design linkagescontinually contribute to between the protected areaseconomic growth. To do this, and to integrate conservationmany issues that reach and development outside ofbeyond the forests need to be the core reserves. Theaddressed. NGOs can assist UNDP-GEF proposal forADFL in identifying and strengthening protected areasimplementing policies that should be carefully reviewedaddress these issues. The to reduce its tendency toforeign assistance community Placing the environment Below, nine promote a highly centralizedcould make a difference by and natural resources in a recommendations for the approach. supporting policies that are priority position on its policy foreign assistance communitybased on lessons learned from agenda, and linking them to and DRC policy-makers arethe field and experiences of broad-based development, highlighted. Theseneighboring countries. The provides the government recommendations do notcase of Uganda is an apt with opportunities to present a prescriptive plan ofillustration. (See Box 2.) promote democratization, action, but rather point to the

boost government revenues, scope of issues that need tofoster long-term economic be addressed and why.security, and assume regionaland global leadership. Decisions as to who controlsthe valuable naturalresources, how they shouldbe used, and who will benefitfrom their use are prioritiesin sustainable forestmanagement.49

1. REINFORCE THE NATIONALSYSTEM OF PROTECTED AREAS

A fundamental first stepin national developmentplanning is to ensure thatrepresentative types ofecosystems are protected atthe national level. Thisserves as a basic “insurancepolicy” for biologicaldiversity, and the traditionalapproach is to forbid peopleto enter protected areas.

2. ENCOURAGE THEDEVELOPMENT ANDPARTICIPATION OF NON -GOVERNMENTALORGANIZATIONS TO HELPCONSERVE FORESTS

To promote foreststewardship and soundenvironmental management,certain elements ofdemocracy are key: clearprovisions for civicparticipation; strengtheninghuman resource capacity,particularly at the NGO andlocal government levels; andgreater transparency indecision-making.


2LESSONS FROM UGANDA

Uganda has adoptedmajor reforms to address theenvironmental damageresulting from 15 years ofpolitical chaos. WhenPresident Museveni came topower in 1986 following awar-torn period involvingsix presidents, includingruinous despots MiltonObote and Idi Amin, Uganda’s economy was at astandstill. Governmentservices, including roads,hospitals, schools, andpower supplies, had falleninto utter disarray. The mostbasic of manufacturedgoods, such as salt, sugar,and soap, were luxury items,and there was a chronicshortage of gasoline. Forestshad been heavily exploited. Both black and white rhinoswere poached to extinction,and the elephant populationwas reduced by 80 to 90percent. Government

departments were rife withcorruption and ineptitude.

After Museveni tookoffice, sustained reformsreversed the country’sfortunes. Kampala andother major towns are nowthriving with an emergingmiddle class. Governmentoffices and ministries havebeen physically rebuilt andcompetently staffed. Gamereserves, such as the KibaleForest, have been upgradedto national parks. Ecotourism—with mountaingorillas a particularattraction—is picking up andis expected to rise to100,000 tourists by the endof the century.

What caused this turn-around in the country’ssituation? Museveniacknowledged that soundmanagement of naturalresources and economicdevelopment are linked

through investment, trade,and tourism. Hisgovernment hasimplemented nationalpolicies that encourage co-management of protectedareas, with authority andresponsibility given to localgovernments. Participationin decision-making isexplicitly mandated in suchdocuments as the 1996Wildlife Statute. Protectedareas are monitored forunauthorized activities, suchas poaching and thecollection of fuelwood.

What can PresidentKabila’s government learnfrom Uganda? Thegovernment mustacknowledge the importanceof sound environmentalpolicies integrated witheconomic developmentobjectives. Environmentalministries in Uganda, oncemaligned for their

uselessness and corruption,are now actively supportingthe conservation andsustainable use of forests. Increased participation in thepolitical process, includingdiscussion of contentiousissues such as land tenure,has resulted in a flourishingNGO sector.

Sources: Uganda Ministryof Natural Resources, Stateof the Environment Reportfor Uganda. (Kampala,Uganda: 1994); AlbertMumma, “A Review ofEmerging Trends in theLaws on CommunityManagement of NaturalResources in East Africa”(World Resources Institute:1996); Speech by PresidentYoweri Kaguta Museveni,1997.


Effectiveenvironmentalmanagementrequires thatgovernment

understand theneeds of local

inhabitants andbusinesses. The

NGOs can help inthis endeavor.

Effective environmental Communities can alsomanagement requires that benefit from the linkages thatgovernment understand the NGOs provide toneeds of local inhabitants and government agencies,businesses. The NGOs can international groups, andhelp in this endeavor. Ten other NGOs. Funding,years ago, there were more technical support, andthan 300 NGOs in DRC, training from developmentalmost half of which focussed assistance programs canon rural development and allow NGOs to improve theirnatural resources. It is not own resources and contribute50

clear how many remain today, more actively to ruralprobably very few. But, with development andsome encouragement and environmental programs.small grants fromdevelopment assistanceprograms, the number wouldgrow quickly. In policyimplementation, NGOs canincrease the reach ofgovernment initiatives bypromoting them in local At the same time, therecommunities. They can often should be a balance betweenprovide services more local and central decision-directly and efficiently than making, with the nationalpublic agencies. government working to

3. MOVE TOWARD MOREDECENTRALIZED CONTROL OFNATURAL RESOURCE USE ANDCONSERVATION

DRC is a vast countrywith distinct regionalidentities and characteristics. The colonial government andMobutu’s administrationwere highly centralized andpermitted little input byregional or localgovernments and citizens. Decentralization can aid thedesign and implementationof resource management. The provision of servicesshould build on localinitiatives, which are arisingspontaneously in response tothe almost completebreakdown of governmentservices under Mobutu.

ensure that national needscontinue to be met, perhapsthrough a representativenational network of protectedareas.

4.COLLECT AND SHARE MOREINFORMATION ABOUT FORESTRESOURCES AND BIODIVERSITY

A key plank instrengthening civilparticipation is more effectiveinformation collection andsharing. Some informationabout forest resources andbiodiversity already exists, asdoes some capacity todisseminate it. Two forestinventories for the wholecountry were carried out inthe 1980s. The 1982assessment produced a CarteSynthèse Forestière du Zaireat scales of 1:400,000 and1:250,000. The 198951

assessment produced a land-use database at 1:1 million,which has since been updatedusing data for 1993 and moresophisticated data processingtechniques. The U.S. multi-52

agency Landsat Pathfinderproject is processing satellitedata for the Congo Basinacquired in the 1970s, 1980s,and 1990s to produce aforest-cover database at eachpoint in time. The resultsshould be available in 1998and will be used to generatethe first reliable estimates ofdeforestation in the Basin.


A soundinfrastructure planshould ensure thatroads constructed

by logging andmining companies

are compatiblewith protected area

boundaries andcoincide with

routes to marketsand distant

villages.

Persistent cloud cover inthe Congo Basin hashampered forest inventoriesthat use remotely sensed dataacquired in opticalwavelengths, but longerwavelengths in the radarportion of the electromagneticspectrum can penetrate thecloud cover to provide largearea coverage on a regularbasis. The first space-borneradar system suitable forterrestrial applications wasthe Japanese EnvironmentalResources Satellite (JERS-1). By downloading data to asatellite-receiving station inLibreville, JERS-1 acquiredcomplete coverage for theCongo Basin in the wet anddry seasons in 1996. Radar53

allows for distinguishing roads, clear-cut areas, closed Forest and land coverforest, agricultural fields, and data should be madeother landscape featuresrelevant to land-usemonitoring in DRC.

available to the ServicePermanent d’Inventaire etd’Aménagement Forestier(SPIAF) and other analysts,both in DRC and cooperatingcountries, as soon aspossible. Analysts will beable to use these data toproduce information tosupport policy research anddevelopment issues. SPIAF,which managed to maintain ahigh quality of analysis ofenvironmental data indifficult times, should also bestrengthened.

5. DEVELOP AN ENVIRON - 6. STRENGTHEN LOCAL MENTALLY SOUND NATIONAL AND TRADITIONAL PROPERTYINFRASTRUCTURE PLAN RIGHTS

The new government has Local communitya broad mandate and wide development is the key tolatitude to initiate reforms to national economic growth. strengthen the country’s Although rural householdsphysical infrastructure. are dependent on forestForeign assistance and products, there are no legallyprivate funds are likely to recognized gathering rights,become available to upgrade and traditional landroads, ports, hydroelectric ownership is not recognizedfacilities, and railways. With by the state. This hasmore complete data, resulted in expulsion andeconomic and environmental migration to neighboringassessments, and forest lands, includingcomprehensive land-use protected areas. Evidenceplanning, infrastructure suggests that communityinvestment can promote ownership of landssustained economic benefits encourages conservation ofwith minimal environmental wildlife. Property rights thateffects. A sound allow users to receiveinfrastructure plan should medium- and long-termensure that roads constructed economic benefits wouldby logging and mining encourage local groups tocompanies are compatible conserve and improve landwith protected area and resources.boundaries and coincide withroutes to markets and distantvillages. The plan should bebased on internationalstandards, including fullenvironmental and socialimpact assessments and localconsultation, with specialcare given to avoidingbiologically and sociallysensitive areas.

54

55

56


Until forestmanagement

improves, foreignassistance could

fund conservationactivities.

7. ASSESS THE STATUS OF 9. PROMOTE REGIONALMINING AND LOGGING INITIATIVESCONTRACTS AND PROMOTERESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

Many industrial-scalenatural resource extractionagreements in DRC may havebeen awarded on the basis ofcoercion and corruption. Licences should be reviewedand, if found to be irregular,revoked. They should then beauctioned in a transparentfashion, with someprequalification of eligiblebidders based on a proventrack record of responsibility. This system would encouragemore responsible investmentin those sectors. Such areview, as well asclarification of propertyrights, tax reform, and generalmodernization of theeconomy, may enable DRC toattract responsible investorswho currently perceive thecountry as an unfriendly placeto do business.

8. HAVE REALISTIC GOALS FORREVENUE COLLECTION FROM the World HeritageFOREST-BASED ACTIVITIES

Properly managed, DRC’sforests can contribute tolong-term, sustainedeconomic growth. Inaddition to industrial logging,greater attention is neededfor community and artisanalforestry. Tourism also haspotential. During the 1980s,the number of visitors tonational parks in DRC rose,but further growth wasslowed by poor infrastruc-ture, limited access,encroachment and poaching,and a lack of well-trainedstaff. Other African57

countries, such as Zimbabweand South Africa, are earningsubstantial income fromforeign visitors. In DRC,hunting reserves and sporttrophy hunting may havesignificant tourism appeal.

In the near future, theforests of DRC are not goingto be an engine of nationaldevelopment because ofinaccessibility, low investorconfidence in the country, andpoorly developed markets forforest products. Recognizingthis situation, however,reveals an opportunity toconserve the country’s forestsat a low cost until the capacityand confidence have beencreated to allow responsibleexpansion of extractionactivities to occur. Untilforest management improves,foreign assistance could fundconservation activities.

Investments in loggingand other activities willcontinue to grow and, toassure that resourceexploitation benefits DRCand its citizens, ADFL shouldreform the resource allocationprocess and tax structure. This reform might includesimplifying the tax structure,making auction processestransparent, and elevatingtaxes on resource extractionindustries.

DRC is a forest andbiodiversity superpower thatshould play a leadership rolein African forestconservation. It is a signatoryto major internationalagreements on biologicalresource conservation,including CITES, the AfricanConvention for theConservation of Nature, and

Convention.By being more active in

implementing existingagreements and promotingregional cooperation in theseareas, DRC can demonstrateits commitment. It shouldbuild on existing nationalefforts, such as the abandonedNational Forestry ActionPlan, as well as continue todevelop a NationalEnvironmental Action Planand implement other international commitments. Consideration should begiven to building upon theWorld Conservation Union’s(IUCN) Conference onEcosystems of Dense HumidForests in Central Africa(CEFDHAC), a regionalministerial level initiative toaddress environmentalopportunities and concernswithin the Congo Basin. Movement toward a CongoBasin Treaty for forest andbiodiversity conservationshould also be considered.


The onus is onADFL to take stepstowards moving the

country toeconomic stability

through soundenvironmentalmanagement.

CONCLUSION

he causes of forest The debate over what ADFL has the opportunityTclearance and poor constitutes sound forest to update and build on thesenatural resource policy in DRC is not starting early initiatives. The foreign

management in DRC lie in from scratch. The development community’suncertain land tenure, a development of a Tropical interest in DRC’s economicmassive influx of refugees, Forest Action Plan (TFAP) growth is high, as is that ofthe government’s lack of was begun in 1987. It was neighboring countries. ADFLsolvency, and the nation’s approved in 1990 and should look to its neighbors,need for economic followed by foreign pledges such as Uganda, for examplesdevelopment. These totaling $160 million. on how to approach priorityproblems do not have quick However, in 1991, assistance issues. The onus is on ADFLand simple solutions, so to the TFAP was cut, to take steps towards movingpolicies that promote sound creating a lull in forest policy the country to economicforest management are development and stability through soundchallenging to develop and implementation. environmental management.implement.


NOTES

1 Dirk Bryant et al., The Last 10 P. Mayaux, E. Janodet, C. 24 David S. Wilkie, et al.,Frontier Forests: Ecosystemsand Economies on the Edge,(Washington, D.C.: WorldResources Institute, 1997).

2 James C. McKinley, Jr.,“Zairian Rebels’ New Allies:Men Armed With Briefcases,”The New York Times, April 17,1997.

3 Dirk Bryant et al., The Last Planning in Biological DiversityFrontier Forests: Ecosystems and Tropical Forestry Issuesand Economies on the Edge,(Washington, D.C.: WorldResources Institute, 1997).

4 Dirk Bryant et al., The LastFrontier Forests: Ecosystemsand Economies on the Edge,(Washington, D.C.: WorldResources Institute, 1997).

5 Earnest Harsh,“Reconstruction a Priority forCongo,” Africa Recovery(United Nations Department ofPublic Information), Vol. 11,No. 1, July 1997, p. 19.

6 This publication refers to theDemocratic Republic of Congoas “DRC.” Its neighbor, theRepublic of Congo, is referred toas “Congo.”

7 World Resources Institute,World Resources Report 1996-97 (New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1996).

8 Food and AgricultureOrganization of the UnitedNations (FAO), Forest Products1994 (Rome: FAO, 1996) p. 17.

9 World Resources Institute,World Resources Report 1998-99, forthcoming report. (NewYork: Oxford University Press). million respectively. The total

M. Blair-Myers, and P. Legeay- “Mechanized Logging, MarketJanvier, 1997, Vegetation Map Hunting, and a Bank Loan inof Central Africa at 1:5,000,000, Congo,” 1992.Tropical Ecosystem; and, S. Hall, “Status of EasternEnvironment Observations by Zaire’s Forest Parks andSatellite (TREES) Project,Publication Series D, EUR17322, European Commission,Luxembourg. Derived using 1km AVHRR-LAC data acquiredin 1992/93, available from<http://wwwmtv.jrc.it/projects/treeswww/trees2.html>; and,FAOSTAT, (Rome: Food andAgriculture Organization, 1997)available from<http://www.fao.org/>.

11 Mining Journal, Vol. 328, 27 David S. Wilkie, et al.,No. 8432, June 6, 1997, and “Mechanized Logging, MarketHoward W. French, “In Africa, Hunting, and a Bank Loan inWealth Often Buys Only Congo,” 1992, pp. 570-80.Trouble,” New York Times,January 25, 1998.

12 “Friedland’s Cronies LootAfrica for Its Mineral Wealth,” Bank, June 16, 1997).Drillings and Tailings, Vol. 2,No. 13, July 7, 1997, publishedon-line by PROJECT underGROUND at<http://www.moles.org/>

13 Howard W. French, “InAfrica, Wealth Often Buys OnlyTrouble,” New York Times,January 25, 1998.

14 Virginia Luling and DamienLewis, “The Scramble forAfrican Timber,” MultinationalMonitor, September 10, 1992, p. 10; and, David S. Wilkie, JohnG. Sidle, and Georges C. Boundzanga, “MechanizedLogging, Market Hunting, and aBank Loan in Congo,”Conservation Biology, Vol. 6,No. 4, December 1992, p. 11.

15 J. A. McNeely et al.,Conserving the World’sBiological Diversity (Gland,Switzerland and Washington,D.C.: World Bank, WorldResources Institute, InternationalUnion for the Conservation ofNature, ConservationInternational, and World WildlifeFund, 1990).

16 World Bank, SocialIndicators of Development 1996

(Baltimore, MD: The JohnsHopkins University Press, 1996).

17 John A. Hart and Jefferson

Reserves,” ConservationBiology, Vol. 10, No. 2, April1996, pp. 316-23.

18 Ned Seligman, ed., AnOverview of Zaire for Strategic

(Washington, D.C.: WorldWildlife Fund, 1991) p. 87.

19 John Hart and Jefferson S. Hall, “Status of Eastern Zaire’sForest Parks and Reserves,”1996.

20 John Hart and Terese Hart,“Conservation and Civil Strife:Two Perspectives from CentralAfrica,” Conservation Biology,Vol. 11, No. 2, April 1997, pp. 308-9.

21 United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, GlobalEnvironment Facility ProjectBrief: Rehabilitation ofProtected Areas Managementfor Biodiversity Conservation inthe Democratic Republic of theCongo, draft document, 1997,Annex 7, p. 33.

22 International TropicalTimber Organization (ITTO),Annual Review and Assessmentof the World’s Tropical TimberSituation 1996, (Yokohama,Japan: ITTO, 1997).

23 The exported logs wereworth an estimated $17.1million. Sawnwood and veneerexports were valued at anadditional $13.8 million and $4.5

earnings from timber exportsamounted to $35 million. Incomparison, exports fromCameroon and Gabon earned$503 million and $486 millionrespectively. ITTO, AnnualReview and Assessment of theWorld’s Tropical TimberSituation 1996, (Yokohama,Japan: ITTO, 1997).

25 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development(Washington, D.C.), ZaireForest Policy Review, draftdocument, October 1988, pp. iv,70.

26 This assumes a yield of 5m /ha and a 25-year cutting3

cycle.

28 World Bank, Congo PovertyAssessment, Report No. 16043-COB (Washington D.C.: World

29 John Witte, “Deforestationin Zaire: Logging andLandlessness,” in MarcusColchester and Larry Lohmann,eds., The Struggle for Land andthe Fate of the Forests (London: Humanities Press International,1993) p. 191.

30 Nigel Sizer and DominiquePlouvier, The Emerging Threatfrom Transnational LoggingCompanies in the LoméConvention Countries (workingtitle), forthcoming report. (World Resources Institute andWorld Wildlife Fund, to bepublished in 1998).

31 Ned Seligman, An Overviewof Zaire, 1991, p. 129.


32 Steve Carapetis et al., “The 44 Department of Land Affairs,Road Maintenance Initiative:Building Capacity for PolicyReform,” (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1991) p. 76; JohnWitte, “Deforestation in Zaire,”1993, pp. 190-91; NedSeligman, An Overview of Zaire,1991, pp. 87-8; FederalResearch Division, Zaire: ACountry Study (Washington,D.C.: American University,1993) p. 189.

33 Helen Vesperini, “KabilaRoad Plan to Open UpDemocratic Congo,” ReutersNews Service, August 13, 1997.

34 Biodiversity SupportProgram, Central Africa: GlobalClimate Change, (Washington,D.C.: Biodiversity SupportProgram, 1993).

35 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development,Zaire Forest Policy Review,1988, p. 57.

36 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development,Zaire Forest Policy Review,1988, p.7, Table 1.

37 John Witte, “Deforestationin Zaire,” 1993, p. 181; Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute for

Environment and Development, Canadian InternationalZaire Forest Policy Review,1988, p. iii. Conservation (Zaire) and the

38 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and the 1988, p. 9.International Institute forEnvironment and Development,1988, pp. 9, 14.

39 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development,1988, p. 20.



42 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development,1988, p. iv.

43 Adrienne Déménou, LaPlace du Bois de Feu dans unSystème Agroforestier(Yaoundé, Cameroon: IITA/CIFOR, 1997). This reportis based on a survey of 250 ruralhouseholds in nine villages in theoutskirts of Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Environment, and Nature

International Institute forEnvironment and Development,Zaire Forest Policy Review,

45 World Conservation Union(IUCN), Environmental Profile:Zaire, (Switzerland: IUCN,1993), p. 14.

46 John Witte, “Deforestationin Zaire,” 1993, p. 195.


48 William Ascher and RobertHealy, Natural ResourcePolicymaking in DevelopingCountries: Environment,Economic Growth, and IncomeDistribution. (Durham, NC:Duke University Press, 1990).

49 Ned Seligman, An Overviewof Zaire, 1991, p. 140.

50 Department of Land Affairs,Environment, and NatureConservation (Zaire) and theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development,Zaire Forest Policy Review,1988, p. iv.

51 Executed by Zaire’s ServicePermanent d’Inventaire etd’Aménagement Forestier(SPIAF) with the support of the

Development Agency. This wasbased on the interpretation ofLandsat MSS images for theperiod 1976-84, supplementedby aerial photography and limitedfield work.

52 Prepared by the EuropeanUnion’s Joint Research Centerusing NOAA/AVHRR data for1988-90.

53 These data are currentlybeing processed, and a 100mresolution Basin-wide land coverdatabase should be available inJanuary 1998.

54 John Witte, “Deforestationin Zaire,” 1993, p. 185.

55 United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, GlobalEnvironment Facility ProjectBrief, 1997, p. 3.

56 Simon Metcalfe, “TheZimbabwe Communal AreasManagement Programme forIndigenous Resources(CAMPFIRE),” in DavidWestern and R. Michael Wright,eds., Natural Connections:Perspectives in Community-based Conservation, (Washington, D.C.: Island Press,1994) p. 190.



ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Deanna M. Wolfire is a WRI Associate and coordinates activities in CentralAfrica. Prior to joining WRI, she was a consultant and Peace Corps volunteerfocussing on business development in Africa and Russia.

Jake Brunner is a Senior Associate at WRI in the Natural Resources InformationManagement Program. A specialist in geographic information systems andremote sensing, he was previously affiliated with Oxford University andLondon’s Imperial College.

Nigel Sizer is a WRI Senior Associate and Team Leader of the Forest FrontiersInitiative. He also coordinates work in the Amazon countries and on global forestpolicy. Prior to joining WRI, Dr. Sizer was affiliated with the National Instituteof Amazon Studies (INPA) in Brazil and with King’s College, University ofCambridge.

Daniel Nielsen is a Geographic Information Systems Analyst at WRI andmanages the Institute’s GIS lab.

Catherine J. Karr is a doctoral candidate at Duke University. She specializes inpolitical economy of the environment.


FOREST FRONTIERS INITIATIVE

he World Resources Institute Forest Frontiers Initiative (FFI) is aTmulti-disciplinary effort to promote stewardship in and around the world’slast major frontier forests by influencing investment, policy, and public

opinion. The FFI team is working with governments, citizens’ groups, and theprivate sector in Amazonia, Central Africa, Indonesia, North America, andRussia. We also take part in pressing international discussions on forest policy.

We are motivated by the belief that there is a responsible way to use forests. Wealso see growing interest in finding alternatives to forest destruction that takeadvantage of the full economic potential of forests, not just immediate revenuefrom logging and forest clearing.

For each frontier forest region, FFI builds a network of policy-makers, activists,investors, and researchers to promote policy reform. Efforts to minimize thenegative impacts of road-building and forest-clearing for agriculture, and to stopillegal logging are part of this work.

In collaboration with a variety of partners, WRI is creating Global ForestWatch—an independent, decentralized, global forest monitoring network—whichwill facilitate the collection of all relevant information on forests and how theyare being used as well as provide mechanisms for making this informationavailable to anyone with a stake in the forest.

Business has a leading role to play. WRI is working with the forest productsindustry and others to create greater production and demand for goods from well-managed forests. We are developing case studies with innovative firms todemonstrate to others the business impacts and opportunities that sustainabilitypresents.

To get access to information about FFI findings and activities and to find out how to participate, contact:

Forest Frontiers InitiativeWorld Resources Institute 1709 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20006

Telephone: 202/638-6300 Fax: 202/638-0036 Email: [email protected] Wide Web: http://www.wri.org/wri/ffi/

forests and the democratic republic of …pdf.wri.org/drc_eng.pdfworld resources institute 1 forest...

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