A million trees to energize DR Congo's rainforest

In 2018, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) with local partners launched an EU-funded restoration initiative to bring degraded lands back into productivity in the Yangambi landscape at the bend of the Congo River near Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Careful and large-scale tree growing is one of its main pillars. And the planting of the millionth tree, in late April 2021, just after you generously started supporting this project, marked a key milestone toward our goal of restoring 10,000 hectares of land by 2025. Indeed, we had planted 1.8 million trees by November 2021. Thank you so much!

“Restoration is ultimately about creating opportunities for people”, says Paolo Cerutti, the project manager.

Describing an area where slash-and burn has long been a tradition, he explains that “People burn the forest today because what they burned yesterday provides them no option to remain: fertility and productivity decrease, improved crop varieties are not readily available, and there are no extension services supporting farmers willing to intensify and diversify on the same piece of land.”

“Together with the local population,” says the senior scientist at CIFOR, “we try to break this cycle through multiple activities, including seasonal tree planting in agroforestry schemes and improved agricultural practices which provide better local livelihoods and foster the diversification of incomes."

In the last three months of 2021, thanks to donations from people like you, more than half a million seedlings were planted on 557 hectares of land across Kisangani, Yanonge and Yangambi. This employed an estimated 655 people in roles that range from taking care of seedlings at the nurseries, to planting them, to guarding the trees against bush fires.

Furthermore, at least 10 local associations received support in establishing nurseries, the seedlings from which which will be transplanted onto their customary land. Once grown, these trees will provide a much-needed source of energy in the form of charcoal, sparing primary forests and providing an additional source of income.

As the say goes, "planting is easy, it's maintaining trees in the ground that is the difficult part"! For this reason, our team on the ground continually conducts preparatory activities, such as "farmers days" that prime local farmers to adopt improved agroforestry techniques, working with extension services, and spreading the word via community radio programmes. Some of these activities are documented in the images we have attached.

A heartfelt and big thank you to all our donors through GlobalGiving!