Can we manage forests formultiple uses in the Congo

Basin?

Robert Nasi, Alain Billand, Manuel Guariguata

Yaoundé, 22/05/2013

Timber• RIL and beyond…

+ Biodiversity• Use ecology, life history, consider

wildlife… + Non Timber Forest Products

• Trade-offs but possible

+ Ecosystem services• Trade-offs but possible; appears in

certification schemes (HCV); seriousaccountability issues…

+ Carbone• Several risks, trade-offs and issues

…Against threats?• Climate change, invasive species, land

conversion….

The “Compatibility Continuum”

Inactive Active

Coincident

Timbermanagementtoolsmitigatesdamagetootheruses(roads,skidtrails,timberinventorying)

Timberextractionbenefitsothervalues(logginggaps,directionalfelling)

ExplicitlymanageforbothtimberandNTFPvalues

Modes of Interaction

Independent (spatially segregated, or when there isno conflict of use for tree species with NTFP value)

Competitive—e.g., extraction of tree species withboth NTFP value for different stakeholders orexclusion of a given group of stakeholders

Complementary—e.g., logging enhancesgrowth/regeneration of NTFP (all else being equal)

Main Issues Many tropical tree species have both timber and

non-timber values that accrue to differentstakeholders

Current certification schemes diverge for timberand NTFPs

Forestry education and training biased towardstimber

Legal and regulatory frameworks dictatedseparately for timber and NTFPs

Best harvesting practices/management protocolsfor NTFPs have little validation

Multiple-uses in the CongoBasin

Wood

OFAC, State of Forests 2010

Other goods

Source: OFAC, State of Forests 2010

Timber, management andbiodiversity

Landuse km2

“Ordinarylands” 448,801

Loggingconcessions 595.381

Communityforests ≈11.000

Protectedareas 444,973 Source:Nasietal,2011

Source:Mégevand,2013

Selective logging in the CongoBasin

Timber remains the sole managed commodity

Highly selective, few individuals (less than 2) of fewcommercial species (less than 5) represent more than75% of the volume harvested (less than 10m3/ha)

Rotation cycles of about 25-30 years; Minimum cuttingdiameter rules; No post-harvest silviculture

The area under proper management and certification isincreasing

Nasi et al. 2006; OFAC, State of Forest 2008, 2010

Impactofcertificationonharvestintensity

Ceruttietal.2011

Certified concessionshave a significantlyreduced harvestingintensity

Harvestingintensityandresidualstands

Nasi&Forni,2006

543210

Are

a im

pact

ed (%

)

30

20

10

0 Rsq = 0.9427

Numberoftreesharvested/ha

Graphique symétrique

(axes F1 et F2 : 54.36 %)

GroupeIndépendant

International

Aménagement en cours

Aménagé

Certifié

Non aménagé

2

3

4 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

20

21

22

23

26

1

-1.5

-1

-0 .5

0

0 .5

1

1.5

-1.5 -1 -0 .5 0 0 .5 1 1.5

F1 (44.24 %)

F2

(1

0.1

2 %

)

Variables supp. Observations

- Actions concrètes +

+

D

iffic

ulté

s r

encontr

ées

-

- Ni les méthodes

- Ni les capacités

actuellement

- Malgré

quelques actions

- Vise la certification

- Souhaite maintenir

ses efforts

- > 30 essences

exploitéees

Pas encore

de résultats

More Biodiversity activities ++

Mo

re p

rob

lem

s

ex

pre

ss

ed

++

Sust. Mangt Plan under way

No Plan

With PlanCertified

No methodsNo capacitiesLimited activities

Basicintentions,Limited results Activities limited to

legal requirementLimited results

Motivated CEO andsome staffLong term effortsEffective field activities

Billand et al. 2009

Pro-biodiversity activities in loggingconcessions

Only certifiedconcessionsshow significantactivities in favorof biodiversity

Estimates of the value of thebushmeat trade range from US$42to US$205 million per year inWest-Central Africa.

Current harvest in Central Africaalone may well be in excess of 5million tons annually, couldrepresent more than 20 million hadeforested for pasture!

30 to 80% of the protein intake ofmany rural populations

Bushmeat huntingin Congo Basin

Why a landscape approach?

High mobility of wildlife (migration, dispersal, extensiveterritories…)

Conserving Protected areas alone, will not be enough toconserve large sized/highly mobile species with hugeranges (e.g. Elephants) or locally rare plant species

The contribution of production forests to biodiversityconservation is increasingly recognized (e.g. North Congo wheregorilla densities are higher in logging concessions than in the neighbouringNP)

Protected areas and loggingconcessions : surprisinglyclose neighbors

OFAC, State of Forest 2008

NationalParks

LoggingConcessions

Huntingareas

Parks, Concessions, Hunting areas : where are flagship species ?Some surprising assessments

Numberofapenests/km2

OFAC, State of Forest 2008

New land-usetypes

Combine several land usetypes (e.g. loggingconcession, protected area,CBFM…) in one land-usemanagement unit that wouldbecome an:

Integratedproduction/conservationlandscape

Environmentalservices

Localincomes

Taxes,fiscalrevenues

SustainruralpopulationMixedarea:protectedareaand

conservationenterprise

ProtectedArea

Certifiedlogging

concession

Communityforest

Municipalforest

Agro‐industry

Hunting,Gathering,Informalsectors

Urban,socialspace

Billand & Nasi 2006

Realize the economic potential of theconservation side

Manage informal sectors like hunting, fishing orNTFP extraction for local livelihoods

Use part of the income generated by theindustrial production side for the conservationarea for reciprocal benefits

Foster certification (not limited to timberconsiderations)

Basic rules

Enabling conditions

Starting funds are needed to cover initial transactioncosts

The willingness of the production sector to engageinto certification or other biodiversity friendly practices

The willingness of the conservation community tocollaborate, share experiences and support theprivate sector in integrating conservation concerns inmanagement practices

A proactive political support (creating specific land-use units with specific instances for decision making)or, at least, neutral (no undue interference from theState).

Set of key attributes

Complexity

Authenticity

Continuity

Heterogeneity

Proximity

Redundancy

Resilience

Uniqueness

Gustafsson,Laumonier,Nasi2009

Management principles

Maintain landscape heterogeneity Maintain large structurally complex patches of

natural vegetation Create buffers around sensitive areas Maintain or create corridors and stepping stones Use appropriate disturbance regimes in

management Maintain functional diversity Manage for keystone species Consider endemic, rare and threatened species

The Congo Basin has identified 12 Landscapes designed for sharedproduction and conservation management of forests

Actors (public,private sectors)are aware aboutthe necessity toimprovecollaboration forconcerted orintegratedmanagement

But experiencesat field levelremain limited

Source : Carpe

Some implications for tropicalforestry research

“Our major disciplines have long ago ceasedto be effective as separate, have in fact

searched for ways of coming together…butare restrained by institutional resistance and

lack of vision” (Ron Burnett 2005)

New disciplines

SocialSciences

BiologicalSciences

“CONSILIENCE: the methods and assumptions of any field of studyshould be consistent with the known and accepted facts in other

disciplines” E.J. Wilson.

AnthropologyEconomyPolicySociology…

BotanyEcologyGeneticsZoology…

LandscapeecologyEcologicaleconomyPoliticalecologyLandusechangeHumanecology

TransdisciplinarySciences

Some final comments Search for a globally accepted definition of sustainable

forest management is pointless Management should be defined by societal demands Outcomes and results should be monitored based on agreed

objectives for management; unrealistic, unachievable orvague targets are of little use

Good management can never be attained throughbureaucratic procedures alone.

Best practices require able and motivated managers areavailable on site to address concerns on a day-to-day basis:capacity building and training are keys!

Sound judgment remains the foundation of goodmanagement. Data can inform this judgment, but is not anend in itself

Search for universally agreed definitions is pointless(forests or sustainability)

Strive for continuous improvement to better outcomeswhen the “best” is unachievable

Scale research appropriately to the research question

Classical forest science has peaked! Grainger (2009) calls for a “new global forest science’” Burley (2004) believes that forest science can be

“restored” with “new interdisciplinary approaches thatintegrate the work of biophysical scientists and socio-economic researchers”

Research /Science