Partner: CIFOR

Key thematic areas

i. encourage and sustainably enhance agricultural, fishery and forestry production through training, applied research and the dissemination of good practices for the benefit and socioeconomic development of rural populations around the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve.
ii. mitigate deforestation of natural ecosystems, one of the main causes of climate change at the global level, and increase CO₂ sequestration through action to protect, restore, enhance and sustainably manage natural resources in and around the area.
iii. strengthen the efforts of land-use planning and the commitment of local politicians in the landscape approach, using the “pilot” effect to extend the NPC project to other areas of the province (even to areas with similar characteristics in other provinces).
These are inextricably linked within the Yangambi Landscape.

Challenges

Whether it is the production of fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, spices or products such as rice, cowpeas, cassava or plantain bananas, the agri-food sectors require restructuring and improvements, from production to the final consumer – especially for urban consumers in Kisangani. The productivity of the landscape can only be improved with the development of value-addition and support for improved production requirements, such as energy capacity.

Goal

The general objective is to convert the largely degraded and unproductive landscape of Yangambi (peripheral to a protected area and near a major urban centre) into a pole of sustainable development based on conservation, development of agricultural and agroforestry sectors, and productive forestry and renewable energy.

Approach

The project incorporates a three-fold approach:
i) a strategy towards sedentary agriculture and reforestation
ii) a development strategy for productive sectors
iii) a strategy for sustainable energy.

The project aims to ensure food security, the substitution of slash-and-burn agriculture, the productivity of land assets, and the economic viability and improvement of quality of life for households through value addition.

Specific actions

The project aims to develop 2,100 ha of agroforestry and biomass plantation, creating a carbon sink of 250,000 tons, 600 green jobs with 64% for women, and around 40 small and medium-sized enterprises. In the long term, agricultural intensification will cover an area of 12,000 ha. The project also aims to establish and strengthen local forest governance using a combined approach of community forestry and support to legal artisanal logging, from which timber will be transformed and dried. The installation of a biomass power plant will strengthen local capacities for renewable energy production and make it possible – once completed – to avoid 47,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.