In DR Congo, forest resource management is done in a post-conflict socioeconomic and policy context, which gives it a special and delicate nature. The 2000 decade, was characterized by a widespread insecurity and an arise of a survival economy that forced the majority of people to subsistence and informal activities more or less illicit / illegal. With the end of the war, logging in DRC was supposed to normalize but not much has improved in terms of forest governance despite a new legislation. On the contrary, an increased pressure on the forest by various actors, has confronted artisanal millers and local communities with the harsh realities of survival.

In this article the possible correlation between locally controlled forest enterprises and community development and environmental issues in the Kisangani region have been studied. Locally controlled forest enterprises can be divided into several subsectors. Given constraints in time and space the analysis has been done for six subsectors: timber, oil palm, baked bricks, biomass energy, rubber, and NTFPs such as fumbwa and rattan.

It was found that forest exploitation through small and medium enterprises in the Kisangani region contributes to a certain extent to the well-being of households, promotion of gender and energy and food security of households with income results, but also reduces unemployment rate in operating environments. Surveys showed that men, but especially women are very active in the marketing of forest products and gains provide an important support to the balance of households. However, the exploitation of products such as timber, charcoal, firewood, NTFPs and palm oil, although beneficial to local communities and farmers, affect the conservation of biodiversity and contribute to climate change in the region of Kisangani. Thorough studies in this area could provide quantified elements like the rate of forest degradation due to human activity in Kisangani region.

It is recommended that state services that collect taxes on small and medium forest enterprises in the region of Kisangani work an agreement with the environmental research centers, national and international NGOs, artisanal loggers and local communities to coordinate their actions as to ensure sustainable management of the Congolese forest.