A silent crisis unfolds amid the dense canopies of Central Africa’s vast tropical forests: deforestation. These unique ecosystems are known for their biodiversity and essential role in global climate regulation. Yet despite their critical importance, the region’s rainforests are increasingly threatened by agricultural expansion and illegal logging.
Whilst there has been a global increase in efforts and mechanisms to fund the conservation of forest ecosystems, investment in protecting and conserving Central Africa’s forest biodiversity remains critically insufficient, with funding for sustainable management solutions even more scarce. A 2019 study by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) revealed that only 11.5% of global development assistance for tropical forest conservation is directed towards Central Africa, with an outsize 88% funnelled to South America and Southeast Asia.
According to Richard Eba’a Atyi, CIFOR-ICRAF’s regional coordinator for Central Africa, this stark imbalance stems partly from the challenges local actors face in crafting project proposals that meet international standards. “This weak capacity is particularly apparent in the research and training sectors, which receive less than 1% of funding flows to Central Africa,” he said. “Research and training are a cornerstone of pursuing sustainable development.”
Capacity Building and Future Support
At the March 2023 One Forest Summit in Libreville, Gabon — which brought diverse actors together to explore solutions for protecting ecosystems that are vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity — that shortfall was in the spotlight.
“One of the key challenges identified at the Summit was the weak capacity of research centres in the sub-region to attract funding,” said Donald Midoko Iponga, the director of Gabon’s Research Institute for Tropical Ecology (IRET).
Follow-up meeting for projects based in Pokola, Congo. Photo by Laureanne Mefan CIFOR-ICRAF
“Reviewing the statistics has made it clear to our partners that our research centres and universities require significant support to effectively highlight the critical role of Congo Basin forests through their work on enhancing sustainable forest ecosystem management.”
In response to this challenge, CIFOR-ICRAF has launched an initiative under the ‘Applied Research in Ecology and Social Sciences in Support of Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa’ (RESSAC) programme. It focuses on strengthening the ability of researchers and their partners to attract vital funding through extensive and carefully-targeted training.
As part of this initiative, CIFOR-ICRAF held four training sessions in April and May of 2023 in Libreville and Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo). The sessions focused on upskilling participants on the project management cycle — a key component of designing and delivering projects that are appealing and ‘bankable’ for would-be international donors.
Around a hundred individuals took part, including scientists, government officials, and civil society representatives from the 11 member countries of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). In Brazzaville, the programme also collaborated with Marien Ngouabi University to pinpoint individuals and organizations poised to benefit from training on the management of Congo Basin forest resource-related projects.
Now, the training participants are receiving ongoing support to develop and submit research proposals that comply with funding requirements and meet international standards. It’s hoped that the resulting projects will influence public policies and sustainable development programmes in Central Africa, towards better management and conservation of the region’s vital forest ecosystems.
Funded by the European Union, this four-year programme aims to direct research towards the “operational solutions” that need to be invented and applied by stakeholders in the field who are confronted with the concrete challenges of sustainable management of natural resources as part of their duties or their everyday socioeconomic activities.
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