https://drcongo.wcs.org RSS feeds for WCS DR Congo 60 https://drcongo.wcs.org/Admin-Plus/News-Manager/ID/6628/Support-to-a-community-based-organization-contributes-to-bring-secondary-education-to-the-village-of-Manya.aspx#Comments 0 https://drcongo.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5971&ModuleID=11746&ArticleID=6628 https://drcongo.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=6628&PortalID=117&TabID=5971 https://drcongo.wcs.org/Admin-Plus/News-Manager/ID/6628/Support-to-a-community-based-organization-contributes-to-bring-secondary-education-to-the-village-of-Manya.aspx Two of CAFEC strategies to reduce deforestation and forest degradation and associated GHG emissions consist in supporting ecologically sustainable artisanal use of natural resources and promoting sustainable livelihood alternatives as a substitute for unsustainable practices. In the Ituri LS these two strategies are used to achieve the dual goal of reducing deforestation while improving the livelihood of local communities in the landscape through a small grant program to local community organizations. One initiative supported by this scheme is improving access to secondary education by establishing of a secondary school in the village of Manya.   The village of Manya   Located 15 km east of the town of Mambasa, Manya is the largest village in the Bapwele ‘groupement’, ‘collectivité’ of Babila-Bakwanza in the territory of Mambasa. With a population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants and 1,200 households, Manya has an estimated 600 children of school age, 400 of which are enrolled at a local primary school. Roughly 200 students are estimated to be of secondary school age. Until recently, Manya did not have a secondary school and children at secondary school-age had to travel at least 9 km to reach the nearest secondary. Instead of walking this distance twice daily, most students had to leave their families to live with relatives or family friends in places where secondary school were located. This is a common situation in most rural areas, but it significantly increases student dropout rates (up to 60% or more), especially for teenage girls who end up pregnant due to the lack of family support. A local community organization sought to bring a solution to this problem that was hindering the prospect of getting an education for the children of Manya.   CAFEC funded ADPB’s initiative to improve the exploitation of natural resources in Manya   The ‘Association for the Development of the people of Bakwanza’ (ADPB) is community-based organization created in 2001 with the goal of improving the livelihood of its members. One of the livelihood activities chosen by ADPB is oil palm cultivation and the processing of nuts to produce palm oil. In 2011, some ADPB members established manual palm oil presses in the village.     Figure 1. Manual palm oil press commonly used in rural areas. Here is one of those used in Manya prior to current initiative.   These presses require at least two people to turn their wheels. Young men are usually employed for this job and paid by a portion of the oil production. Running these presses is a time-consuming and labor-intensive business, and productivity is relatively low. In addition, these presses must be located near streams as water is used to maximize palm oil extraction rate, resulting in substantial pollution for these water bodies (Fig. 1).   To further push towards the accomplishment of its goal, ADPB approached the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with a project to establish a motor-powered oil palm press in Manya in 2013. After being judged financially viable and environmentally friendly, the project was funded for US$18,000 to purchase and install a motor-powered oil palm press in Manya (Fig. 2) and support the establishment of plantations of improved oil palm varieties.     Figure 2. ADPB’s motor-powered oil palm press in Manya. The press has a maximum capacity to produce 20,000 liters of palm oil per month.   The press was installed in July 2014 and it has produced approximately 12,700 liters of palm oil so far, well below its production capacity of 20,000 liters per month due to low production of nuts. A large portion of this production, 7,100 liters (56%), was owned by ADPB, while the rest belonged to individual households who utilized the services offered by the motor-powered press. The sale of the palm oil owned by the association earned it over US$5,300.   The community initiative serves to improve education in the village   In addition to the environmental impact of reducing the pollution of streams caused by manual palm oil presses in the village, the initiative has also shown important social and economic impacts. By using a motor-powered machine that is much more efficient than manual one, the project not only reduced the need for man power but it also improved the productivity of oil processing, increasing households return on investment in this activity. Furthermore, the association used part of the money earned to construct three classrooms and student desks for the local secondary school.   The support to the local secondary school is proving to be of tremendous importance for the community. A population survey conducted during the last school year showed there were roughly 200 students of secondary school age. Of these 50 (25%) were attending schools in nearby towns (Mambasa, Bunia, Beni, Butembo, etc.). These are primarily children of migrant families. Thirty-eight (19%) were enrolled   Figure 3. Classrooms and student desks constructed with financial support from ADPB initiative   at the local secondary school, and the remaining (56%) were dropouts. So the goal of the association is to reduce this high rate of dropout by offering full secondary education locally. Families will therefore have the opportunity to provide guidance and support to their children, instead of sending them away when they are still very young.   By improving access to secondary education, the initiative will also reduce the proportion of the individuals who will have no other choice than joining shifting agriculture when they become adults, eventually reducing pressure on forests by giving other opportunities and choices to the next generation.     Figure 4. Students of the Manya secondary school in front of their classrooms   The initiative is still in its infancy and the school only has three classes and 38 eight students and six (6) teachers this year. The project objective is to add a new classroom each year until the school has full program in 2017. This is an example of how well-organized artisanal exploitation of natural resources can contribute to improve local livelihoods while laying the ground for reducing pressure on forests in the long run. Amani Ngoma Tue, 17 Mar 2015 06:19:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:6628 https://drcongo.wcs.org/Admin-Plus/News-Manager/ID/6627/Local-initiative-for-sustainable-timber-exploitation-contributes-to-improve-household-standards-of-living-the-Banana-community-in-the-Ituri-Epulu-Aru-LS.aspx#Comments 0 https://drcongo.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5971&ModuleID=11746&ArticleID=6627 https://drcongo.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=6627&PortalID=117&TabID=5971 https://drcongo.wcs.org/Admin-Plus/News-Manager/ID/6627/Local-initiative-for-sustainable-timber-exploitation-contributes-to-improve-household-standards-of-living-the-Banana-community-in-the-Ituri-Epulu-Aru-LS.aspx The new DRC forestry law proposes several innovations to improve the management of natural forests and the impacts of forest exploitation on the livelihoods of forest dwelling communities. One such innovation is found in article 22 of this law which allows the allocation of forest concessions to local communities on the forestlands they claim by virtue of traditional rights. According to the government interpretation of the law, these forest concessions must be used primarily for small-scale timber exploitation following the Cameroonian model[1]. This concept being new in the DRC, it has been recommended to set up pilot project for testing the model before it is used at a larger scale across the country.     The Banana Community-Based Natural Resources Management   Through the CARPE program, community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) projects were started at three sites in the Ituri Forest. At each site a five member NR management committee was formed and trained in basic project management skills. These committees represent local populations in all decision-making process on the management of natural resources, particularly land allocation to outsiders for timber exploitation and agriculture.   One of the three CBNRM projects is located in the Banana community at the eastern limits of the Okapi Faunal Reserve along the RN4 road in the territory of Mambasa. The community is poverty-stricken with average household income below US$150 per year, where only 2% of households have tin-roofed houses. The community is composed of 962 households with average family size of 5.7 people[2]. The indigenous Mbuti pygmies account for approximately 27% of the total households.     Community timber exploitation initiative   In 2008 WCS started a process of acquiring a forest concession for the Banana community and initiated a community timber exploitation project with financial support from the IUCN NL Ecosystem Grant Program. The main objectives of the projects were to 1) generate revenue for community development projects and 2) train members of local communities in project management and the assessment natural resources.   The timber exploitation initiative started by the training of community members in forestry and botanical inventories during the selection the concession site. Then a management team, composed three people, was formed to run the timber exploitation initiative under the oversight of the CBNRM management committee. This team comprised a manager, a secretary, and a treasurer. Principles for revenue sharing were written with the participation of all stakeholders under the guidance of WCS, and revenue from timber sale were to be primarily utilized to run timber exploitation and fund community initiatives such improving education and health infrastructures. A small portion could serve to pay dues to the traditional authority.     Timber harvesting team cutting and sawing an African mahogany tree into planks in the forest   The next step was to equip the community with two chainsaws and associated equipment and materials for timber exploitation. A chainsaw expert was hired to provide practical training to four local youths in the use of chainsaw while kicking off timber production for the community project. However the management of the project posed serious problems soon after timber exploitation was underway. The problems were due to power struggle between the CBNRM committee and the timber exploitation management team. The situation was made worst by the attempt of traditional authority to dominate the decision-making process for the use of timber revenue. These difficulties brought the project activities to a complete stop towards the end of its first year.   Negotiations with all stakeholder resulted in the change at the head of the natural resources committee of the CBNRM. The previous president, who was very old and less active, was replaced by a young and more educated candidate who quickly brought positive change to the management of the community timber exploitation initiative. All the sawn timber that was in the forest was transported to the village and sold. At the end of the first year,13 cubic meters of planks were produced and sold for US$ 2,065. Part of the profit was used to buy mattresses for the local clinic. In addition, 200 pieces of “chevrons”? were produced and used for a local initiative to improve housing conditions. “Chevrons” were sold at a reduced price to construct tin-roofed houses for individual community members who had the means to buy metal sheets. In June 2010, 16 houses were constructed or under construction.   These tin-roofed houses represent the highest quality and most durable housing type in the area. The 16 houses account for over 50% of all houses of this type in the community.   Accomplishments from the initiative have greatly contributed to raise awareness on the value of the forest, particularly timber resources. Costs for acquiring forest concessions for artisanal logging have substantially increased, reducing the number of artisanal logging in the area, and eventually contributing to reduce the rate of forest degradation and loss of biodiversity. [1] Cuny, P., P. Abe’ele, GM Nguenang, NA Eboule Singa, A Eyen Essomba & R. Djeukam. 2003. Etat des lieux de la foresterie communautaire au Cameroun. Ministère de l’Environnement et des Forêts, Cameroun. [2] Données de recensement WCS- DRC Forestry, Mai 2010 Amani Ngoma Tue, 17 Mar 2015 06:04:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:6627