News
13 May, 2013Artisanal logging and legality verification in DRC: what are the options?
FSC certification is not the right instrument to improve forest governance in DR Congo at the moment. This was the conclusion of a network event organised by WWF and the Dutch Tropical Forest Association VTB the 23th of April at the WWF office in Zeist, the Netherlands.
23 April, 2013Frontrunners show the way how to make sustainable forestry business work
Sustainable forestry business is possible and examples of this abound, but to achieve sufficient credibility these business cases need to be scaled up . This was a major message emanating from the side event Good Business: Making Private Investment Work for Forests at the UNFF-10 on April 15 in Istanbul. The side event was jointly organized by World Bank/PROFOR, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Tropenbos International.
15 April, 2013Recovering the ancestral interpretation of the Amazon territory
Indigenous communities and territory come together as one, but the relationship implies a variety of visions and interpretations. From a traditional point of view, the territory is multidimensional: it considers not only the physical-geographical area or the political-administrative dimensions, but it also includes the shamanic, mythological and inter-ethnic aspects. These are some of the elements that TBI Colombia recovers in the publication Traditional cartography of the Yucuna-Matapí: The knowledge and management of the traditional territory.
Wood on the agenda: Artisanal logging in DR Congo
DR Congo - 2012
ISBN: 78-90-5113-109-3
Language: French
This book provides an overview of artisanal logging or small-scale timber exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, based on contributions from 33 researchers from a variety of national and international organizations and institutions. The objective is to provide insight in the basic conditions to be fulfilled by a revised legal framework on artisanal logging in context of the FLEGT process. It is our strong belief that revision of the legal framework should benefit from the availability of in-depth information on artisanal logging as it happens in the field. The chapters in this book provide information on local practices of artisanal logging, including the actors involved including local communities; the interplay between economic and political interests; logging impacts on the forest; the importance of artisanal logging in the region; and its relevance for international development and forest governance policies. The book identifies three major issues related to artisanal logging in DR Congo: (1) local conflicts resulting from the abuse of power by political and military authorities vis-à-vis the rural population and artisanal loggers, (2) the financial harassment of artisanal loggers, which reduces both cost-effectiveness of artisanal logging and its contribution to the treasury and (3) the absence of a forest management system that guarantees the sustainability of artisanal timber exploitation.
Le bois à l’ordre du jour. Exploitation artisanale de bois d’oeuvre en RD Congo: Secteur porteur d’espoir pour le développement des petites et moyennes entreprises.
Ce livre traite de l’exploitation artisanale de bois en RD Congo. Il contient les contributions de 33 chercheurs auprès d’organisations et institutions nationales et internationales diverses. Son objectif est d’explorer les préalables d’une révision du cadre légal pour l’exploitation artisanale qui réponde aux exigences du processus FLEGT. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que cette révision du cadre légal bénéficierait pleinement d’une connaissance plus approfondie des pratiques de l’exploitation sur le terrain. Ce livre traite donc de divers aspects : il recense les acteurs engagés dans l’exploitation artisanale de bois, évalue l’implication des communautés, les enjeux économiques et politiques, l’impact de l’exploitation sur la forêt, tout comme l’effet des politiques internationales et les processus liés à la gouvernance forestière au niveau régional. En parcourant les différents articles de ce livre et certains rapports externes, trois problèmes majeurs émergent dans la chaîne d’exploitation artisanale de bois : (1) l’abus de pouvoir des autorités politiques et militaires vis-à-vis de la population rurale et des exploitants, (2) les tracasseries qui réduisent la rentabilité de l’activité ainsi que sa contribution au Trésor Public, et (3) le manque d’un système de gestion de la forêt qui garantisse la durabilité de l’exploitation artisanale de bois.