On 7 February 2025, ERAIFT organized a conference-debate on ‘The local timber market in Central Africa: Problems of timber identification, species selection and matching timber properties to uses - A case study of the city of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo’. The lecture was given by Mr Mbusa Wasukundi, a doctoral student at ERAIFT under joint supervision with the University of Liège. The 40 students in the 6th year of the regional master’s program, as well as doctoral assistants and post-doctoral students, took an active part in this scientific morning.
The speaker focused on several key points: the challenges of selective timber harvesting, the problem of identifying timber on the local market, the types of timber used in Kisangani, and the importance of diversifying the species harvested for sustainable forest management.
The participants were satisfied with the debate and realized the need to promote research into secondary species to clarify their quality and improve their commercial value. Adding value to these species would thus provide an opportunity for sustainable management of Congolese forests. This underlines the importance of continuing research in this field, not only in Kisangani, but throughout the Congo Basin.
ERAIFT thanks the European Union, AGRINATURA and the USFS for their financial support and renewed confidence. ERAIFT also thanks PhD student Mbusa Wasukundi for this scientific sharing.