These cloned eucalyptus plantations, covering 42 000 ha and belonging to the Eucalyptus du Congo company (ECO s.a.), are located in the coastal Kouilou Region on what was sandy savannah land considered unsuitable for agriculture.
The presence of a deep-water port not far from the stand (at Pointe-Noire) is a major advantage for export operations (the most distant plantations are 60 km away). The plantations are managed to produce paper pulp and electricity and telephone poles. The beneficiaries are the company’s shareholders and also the population of Ponte-Noire and the surrounding area whom it supplies with fuelwood and wood for charcoal. The inhabitants of neighbouring villages are also involved in plantation protection through the tenant farming system. Thus they help in surveillance of the plantations, receiving payment for this from the company.
Management of the plantations started in 1978. Eucalyptus forests were established after a lengthy outlook study. They receive ongoing upstream support from a research unit (the Research Unit on the Productivity of Industrial Plantations). Research-and-development is dynamic and internationally respected, encompassing genetics, silviculture, sustainability and technology. Fertilization is intensive.
These plantations use plant material that can be improved and renewed through the ongoing creation of increasingly productive clones. This is now allowing the conversion of old and relatively unproductive clones (12 m3/ha/yr) with the new Uro-grandis clone (25-30 m3/ha/yr). Since November 2001, 500 ha have been replanted per month.
Methods for the vegetative multiplication of clones have been mastered, as has regeneration through coppicing or replanting methods. Surveillance measures to guard against fire and illegal cutting have been put in place, while those against erosion are now being established (roads and tracks on contour lines).
The annual production of woodpulp is between 300 000 and 500 000 m3. These forests also meet almost 80 percent of the domestic energy requirements of the population of Pointe-Noire, thus helping to reduce unauthorized extraction from the islands of natural forest in the zone. Subcontracting has been professionalized with 800 to 3 000 workers, and this has helped to improve access to villages and develop the road infrastructure. The use of eucalyptus wood to build houses and make furniture (started, but then abandoned) should be taken up again. In the case of houses, for example, it can be used as an alternative to particleboard, which is obtained from ilomba wood (Pycnanthus angolensis Exell).
These plantations are a good example of the application of research into silviculture on plantations in degraded zones. They use silvicultural practices for the rehabilitation of degraded zones with forest plantations (established on what was savannah land previously considered unsuitable for agriculture). The Congo has been and still is a leader in cloned eucalyptus plantations and the genetic improvement of eucalyptus.
Nomination proposed by:
Yves R. Gokanat, Directeur Général
B.P. 1227, Pointe-Noire, Congo
Tel: (+242) 948358
Fax: (+242) 944054
E-mail: [email protected]
Further information available from:
Maurice Goma, Directeur Technique
B.P. 1227, Pointe-Noire, Congo
Tel: (+242) 941551/235320
Fax: (+242) 944054
E-mail: [email protected]
This 22-ha agroforestry plantation, located at Uvira in Sud-Kivu Province, belongs to the NGO Action Center for Integrated and Sustainable Development in the Community and the local population. It is managed by the NGO and a village management committee. The beneficiaries are the disadvantaged local people, who also participate in its management and in decision-making.
Management started in 1995 with the objectives of soil and watershed protection and the production of fruit and fuelwood through agroforestry. Management involves the local population in both management and decision-making. And the advantages and benefits generated by the plantation are passed on to the population concerned, which is also constantly made aware of the usefulness of trees and the need to protect them.
A nursery for forest and agroforestry seedlings has been set up (producing 10 000 seedlings per season). A permit from the management committee, made up of ten people elected from among the various stakeholders, is required for cutting or mutilating trees, picking fruit and harvesting other products. Trees are cut according to a plan, with a view to conservation. A meeting is held each month at which the committee members report on their management to the population concerned, and this provides a framework conducive to the exchange of ideas and the people’s participation.
This initiative has also improved the socio-economic conditions and well-being of local society, representing one of the main sources of cash for the 400 beneficiary households. It is a vital element in the development of their economy in this period of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when some parts of the forest are inaccessible because of the intense fighting taking place there and the anti-personnel mines that have been laid, thus depriving the population of its traditional landholdings. Hence the need to maintain the sustainability of these products for future generations.
Nomination proposed by:
Gisèle Masoka
B.P. 6306, Bujumbura, Burundi
Tel: (+257) 242258
Fax: (+257) 242258
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Further information available from:
Kasukulu Songolo
B.P. 6306, Bujumbura, Burundi
Tel: (+257) 242258
Fax: (+257) 242258
E-mail: [email protected]
This 200-ha forest planted in 1933 is located on Ruhande hill in Rwanda’s Butare Province at an altitude of about 1 700 m and belongs to the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Rwanda, a public structure. The plantation is made up of 148 deciduous species and 56 conifers, encompassing a mixture of exotic and indigenous species. A number of primates are found in the forest.
The Institute of Agricultural Sciences is responsible for managing the arboretum for research purposes and for the selection of more productive forest and agroforestry species suited to local conditions prior to their extension, as well as for biodiversity conservation. The ministry responsible for forests and/or the environment is involved in decision-making regarding management.
Management was established in 1993. The plantation is made up of deciduous and conifer species of various origins. The exotic species are suited to local conditions and meet the local population’s fuelwood needs. The indigenous species of the natural forest are conserved and their behaviour monitored. The arboretum is thus a tool in forest research and helps in the production of seed and seedlings of scientific value. Timber species are harvested for the urban population.
The working plan is respected and covers the whole area of the arboretum. Most of the plots are managed for trial or observation purposes, with study subjects varying from plot to plot (agroforestry, indigenous species, etc.). There is also a protected bushland that is self-regenerating.
The silvicultural approach adopted consists of thinning, lopping, coppicing, etc. Harvesting covers seed, fuelwood and sometimes timber. The local population respects the upkeep of the plots and permanent tracks, which are not threatened by wandering domestic animals. The arboretum provides jobs for ten villages in the area, as well as wood (kindling) for cooking purposes.
The arboretum is of national, regional and international importance, for it acts as a granary for forest and agroforestry seed. Several seed stands have been established within it, and the seed is used by a number of countries, especially in Africa. All the forest nurseries in Rwanda and the various current development projects obtain their seed from the Ruhande Seed Station today.
Students and teachers at the National University of Rwanda (particularly the Faculties of Agricultural Science and Science and Technology) appreciate the arboretum for teaching and research purposes, as do members of a number of foreign universities and research institutions.
The Ruhande Arboretum is an example of the possible application of research on forest management and ex situ biodiversity conservation practices.
Nomination proposed by:
ISAR, Station du Ruhande
B.P. 617, Butare, Rwanda
Tel: (+250) 530308
Fax: (+250) 530644/211
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Further information available from:
Jean R. Gapusi, Chef de station
B.P. 617 (ou 532), Butare, Rwanda
Tel: (+250) 530308/531388
Fax: (+250) 530644/211
E-mail: [email protected]