I
n a country with a history of instability
and a present day underpinned by poor
infrastructure, weak governance, and
continued conflict, rural communities
and wildlife in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) face an uncertain
future. In the Congo Heartland, however,
conservation is charting a new path forward,
toward greater protection for wildlife and
economic development for communities.
On April 12, 2012, at the request of the
Iyondji communities of Yohala and Yokali,
the DRC's Ministry of Environment,
Conservation, Nature, and Tourism
officially established the Iyondji Community
Bonobo Reserve. The community-owned
reserve--created with support from AWF,
in partnership with Kyoto University's
Wamba Committee for Bonobo Research--is
similar to the LomakoYokokala Faunal
Reserve, which AWF helped established
in 2006. The Iyondji community's appeal
to turn the forested area near them into a
community reserve stemmed from a desire
to (1) reduce deforestation and (2) garner
the same economic opportunities that
are resulting from scientific research and
tourism in Lomako.
The new, 1,100-sq.-km reserve will also help
protect forest elephants, the Congo peacock,
and other wildlife. Together, bonobos and
people are forging a new future in DRC.
ForGinG
A neW FUtUre--
toGether
Congo's
Carbon Sinks
t
he world's second-largest rainforest after south
America's Amazon lies in central Africa, with two
thirds of this forest in the Democratic republic of
congo. Forests act as "carbon sinks," as trees remove
and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,
which in turn helps to mitigate global climate change.
since 2003, AWF has worked with communities in
the Drc to keep trees standing and alleviate poverty
by introducing sustainable agricultural practices,
facilitating participative land-use planning, and
developing alternative livelihoods, such as livestock
breeding programs and the sustainable harvesting of
non-timber forest products.
now, AWF is embarking on a reducing emissions
from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (reDD+)
project in the congo heartland. While currently in the
pre-feasibility stage, once implemented, this project
will measure the amount of carbon sequestered
by trees in the project area and sell credits of that
sequestered carbon on the carbon market to those
looking to offset their carbon footprint. Local people
will receive income for maintaining their forest and
habitat will remain intact for wildlife. Winwin.
u
The Iyondji Community
Bonobo Reserve, created
at the request of the
Iyondji communities, will
protect bonobos while
providing economic
opportunities for
residents.
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