Current projects
Sustainable Production and Resilience for Food Crisis Prevention in the Yangambi Landscape project (FORETS-Food)
Strongly anchored within the CIFOR-ICRAF’s larger and long-term engagement in the Yangambi Engagement Landscape – targeting improved incomes and biodiversity conservation – the 2023–2026 FORETS-Food project is an emergency response to increase food security by improving production and harvests of widely grown crops, promoting crop diversification, and implementing post-harvest measures. Read more about the project here.
Formation, Recherche et Environnement dans la Tshopo II (FORETS II)
2021 – 2025
Donor: European Union
As a direct follow-up to FORETS, FORETS II is designed to make a substantial contribution to the integrated development of the Yangambi Landscape. It targets specific objectives relating to the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, while contributing to the sustainable development of local populations. The activities defined in the Yangambi Landscape, in the Tshopo Province, involve not only support for local communities through awareness-raising, extension and mentoring activities, but also the strengthening of national human resources, notably through formal university training of the LMD type.
Promouvoir et formaliser l’exploitation artisanale du bois d’œuvre en Afrique centrale (PROFEAAC)
2019-2023
The project aims to legalize and rationalize artisanal logging by targeting three specific objectives:
1. A better understanding of the impact of small-scale logging on the forest cover;
2. The formalization of the sector to increase the contribution of this activity to the sustainable development of rural areas;
3. Support the regeneration of resources in non-permanent fields.
Visit PROFEAAC’s website to learn more.
Past projects
Yangambi Pôle Scientifique (YPS)
2017-2022
Donor: Kingdom of Belgium, European Union
The project aimed to promote the participatory management of the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve for the benefit of the local populations and the national and international scientific community. Its objective was to unleash the potential of Yangambi to become a scientific hub for the study of forest carbon storage, biodiversity, and climate change – all while supporting the creation of new livelihood opportunities and promoting the preservation of natural resources. YPS also coordinated the installation of an eddy covariance flux tower to deliver continuous and accurate data on greenhouse gas exchanges between the atmosphere and the forest.
Visit Congoflux’ website to know more.
Nouveaux Paysages du Congo (NPC)
2020-2022
Donor: European Union
NPC’s general objective was to convert the largely degraded and unproductive landscape of Yangambi into a center of sustainable development based on conservation, the development of agronomic activities and the production of renewable energy.
Governing Multifunctional Landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa (GML)
2018-2021
Donor: European Union
The project addressed key knowledge, technical and policy gaps related to forest and land governance, trade in informal and legal timber products, deforestation-related commodity-based agribusiness, wood fuel and ultimately sustainable forest and land-use management and improvement of livelihoods. In Yangambi, GML focused on two main activities:
1. Researching poor nutrition outcomes for women and children in forest communities and guiding interventions to reduce malnutrition in the region.
2. Developing more sustainable wood fuel value chains that can positively contribute to livelihoods.
Visit GML’s website to learn more.
Formation, Recherche et Environnement dans la Tshopo (FORETS)
2017-2021
Donor: European Union
The project, funded with resources from the XI European Development Fund, worked towards an integrated development of the landscape around the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve. Its specific objectives were conservation and the sustainable use of the biodiversity and ecosystem services alongside local economic development in the area. It also supported local capacity building though formal university training programs.
Download our project brochure to learn more.
FCCC
2013-2016
The project supported capacity-building and applied research efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo to reduce deforestation and forest degradation and thereby mitigate climate change. The FCCC project comprised both academic and applied components.
Visit the FCCC project to learn more.
REFORCO
2009-2016
The project aimed to improve the economic governance of natural resources, the sustainable management of protected areas, and the preservation of the biodiversity of the Democratic Republic of Congo. More specifically, it sought to improve the management capacity of ecosystems by initiating conservation actions for the four protected areas most representative of the country’s biodiversity.
Programme de relance de la recherche agricole et forestière en République Démocratique du Congo (REAFOR)
2007-2010
Donor: European Union / Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The REAFOR project, coordinated by CIFOR, supported the Democratic Republic of the Congo to relaunch agricultural and forestry research activities, vital to improve the country’s food security and to preserve its natural resources.
In partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the National Institute for Agronomic Study and Research (INERA) and the University of Kisangani (UNIKIS), CIFOR supported 13 PhD and 35 MSc students to earn a degree in sustainable forest management.
