Louvain Coopération is taking part in a vast project for the restoration and sustainable management of mountainous agricultural ecosystems in South Kivu, initiated by the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation). The programme covers the territories of Kabare and Walungu, in the vicinity of the Kahuzi Biega National Park. Its aim is to improve development opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, as well as reforestation and the sustainable, community-based management of these resources.
During recent decades, deforestation in the DRC has increased considerably, from 0.17% per year between 1990 and 2000 to 0.52% between 2010 and 2014 (FAO, 2017). "There can be no rain without forests, but all the forests here in South Kivu are disappearing. The province is ranked sixth in the country in terms of deforestation and degradation, with 16,500 hectares per year", explains Olivier Matumaini, our SAD (Sustainable Food Systems) Project Manager in the DRC.
People are suffering from the economic crisis and the exploitation, sometimes illegally, of timber (wood and charcoal) and non-timber forest resources has become a source of income for some households. Today, the park is one of the rare ecosystem areas that has been relatively preserved from deforestation. We believe that its presence here contributes to the little rain we still get. The Kahuzi Biega National Park is an important ecosystem to protect, with rare characteristics in terms of biodiversity."
The role of Louvain Coopération within this project is to develop, with the people living near the park, profitable alternative economic activities that promote the restoration of forests and landscapes, and that can replace the income they earn from logging. 70 projects led by micro-enterprises in the fields of agriculture, livestock farming, handicrafts and agroforestry have been selected. The participants have already been trained, and they will receive funding and technical support to set up their economic activity. In the medium term, these micro-projects will also contribute to the restoration of the environment through reforestation, the protection of reforested areas, the improvement of community incomes and the use of agro-ecological techniques.