From 8 October to 3 November 2024, students in ERAIFT's Forest Management Techniques program were immersed in a professional experience at the CIB Olam forestry company in Pokola, Republic of Congo. During this experience, they benefited from the skills transferred by experienced professionals in several domains, such as the monitoring of forest dynamics, the identification of tree species, low-impact logging, forest management, forest site management, the organization of teams in the forest and professional behaviors in the forestry company. This internship brought together students from ERAIFT and Gembloux Agro Bio Tech from the University of Liège, as part of the North-South mobility program.

Photo: Skills transfer to ERAIFT learners by CIB Olam staff

This field experience forms part of the tropical forestry courses taught by Professor Jean-Louis Doucet of the University of Liège/Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, who also holds the chair at ERAIFT. This has been a key stage in the students' professional success in the future, enhancing their professionalization and employability.

ERAIFT sincerely thanks CIB Olam for the warm welcome, practical training and logistical support provided to its trainees. ERAIFT would also like to express its gratitude to Professor Jean-Louis Doucet for his support for the training course and for his efforts to ensure its success in the field. ERAIFT would also like to thank the European Union, AGRINATURA and Nature + for their support. 

A delegation of ERAIFT including PhD students and a postdoctoral fellow, coordinated by the Director Baudouin MICHEL, has travelled this Sunday, November 3 to Lisbon in Portugal, to participate in the first edition of the Tropical Summit, which will be held from 04 to 08 November 2024 at the Lisbon Congress Centre. This first edition is organized by the Tropical College (CTROP) of the University of Lisbon (ULISBOA) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa. (FARA).

Organized under the patronage of the President of the Portuguese Republic and with the support of the Institute for Cooperation and Language, this first tropical summit that provides answers to global challenges aims at: (1) promoting knowledge transfer; (2) stimulate multi-disciplinary and stakeholder networking, (3) and contribute to co-creation and innovative projects by capitalizing on and densifying existing collaborative initiatives and platforms.

The target audiences identified by the organizers include diplomatic, commercial and innovation, academic, cultural and non-governmental actors, among others. Thus, the diversity of participants' geographical and professional backgrounds will be a catalyst not only to stimulate dialogue but also to co-create tangible solutions that can meet the 2030 Agenda goals.

The participation in this tropical summit is thus an opportunity for young researchers of ERAIFT to present oral communications permitting the results of their work to be popularized before a very diverse and experienced audience; to participate in side events and workshops in order to share experiences; and to do networking for their future career as researchers.

ERAIFT congratulates and warmly thanks the CTROP of ULISBOA for having been associated to this important international meeting, as well as for the arrangements made to facilitate the participation of its young researchers. ERAIFT is also very grateful to the European Union and AGRINATURA for their support.

As part of their on-the-job training at CIB Olam in the Republic of Congo, the students in the Forest Management Techniques (TAF) course stayed in Loundoungou from 22 to 25 October 2024 to actively participate in the DYNAFFOR system's forest dynamics monitoring activities. This permanent system for monitoring forest dynamics in Central Africa aims to quantify the effects of the environment, timber exploitation and their interaction on forest dynamics. It also aims to improve the knowledge of public, private and scientific players about the future of the Congo Basin forest.

Students enhanced their knowledge of the botany of forest species during their trip. They participated in monitoring the growth and mortality of trees in 40 experimental plots covering around 40 hectares. This forestry activity also enabled the students to strengthen their skills in the installation of devices for monitoring forest dynamics and to understand its importance in the development and sustainable management of tropical forests. In addition, this field trip provided an important opportunity for skills transfer between the field experts and the trainees, through South-South cooperation. The involvement of professionals in the training of students enhances their professional development and then their employability.

Photo: Skills transfer to ERAIFT learners by CIB Olam staff in Loundoungou

ERAIFT sincerely thanks CIB Olam for the warm welcome, practical training and substantial logistical support provided to its learners. It also expresses its gratitude to Professor Jean-Louis Doucet for his support for the training and for his mobilization to ensure the success of this training in the field. ERAIFT would also like to thank the European Union, AGRINATURA and Nature + for their support.

On Saturday 26 October, the Rector of the IFA-YANGAMBI and Director of ERAIFT was received in audience by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kisangani. Professor Baudouin Michel was accompanied by Professor Jean Pierre Pitchou MENIKO TO HULU, Academic Secretary General of IFA-Yangambi and Professor at ERAIFT. On this occasion, the Democratic Republic of Congo President expressed his great interest in the Yangambi landscape, and all the actors involved, and his support for the efforts to develop this landscape.

IFA-YANGAMBI and ERAIFT thank the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo for his warm welcome, his attentive attention and his support.

From 8 to 17 October 2024, students from the ERAIFT's Forest Management Technique specialization and those from Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech were hosted by the CIB Olam forestry company in Pokola, Republic of Congo, as part of a joint training course on tropical forestry. This practical field training was led and supervised by Professor Jean-Louis Doucet from the University of Liège/Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, assisted by five supervisors.

During their trip, the twenty-two students benefited from the experience of several experts from various forestry sectors, including forest management, low-impact logging, social management, wildlife management within the forestry company, phenological monitoring and wood processing. Several visits were also organised, including the botanical trail, the timber production site, the timber processing units (sawing and finger-jointing) and the cogeneration unit producing electricity from timber processing waste.

As a continuation of the practical training begun in the Kisantu Botanical Garden, this course provided an excellent opportunity for African and European learners to exchange experiences, illustrating North-South cooperation in the training of forest ecosystem managers. It also provided an opportunity for exchanges of experience with the private sector involved in sustainable forest management.  It should be noted that ERAIFT students are continuing their in-company immersion in the timber management and production sector.

ERAIFT thanks CIB Olam for its warm welcome and logistical support. It thanks the faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech for its collaboration. ERAIFT also expresses its gratitude to Professor Jean-Louis Doucet for his support for the training course and for his efforts to ensure its success in the field. ERAIFT would also like to thank the European Union and AGRINATURA for their support.

The Rector of IFA-YANGAMBI and Director of ERAIFT visited the UCOFA robusta coffee plantation project in Isiro on Thursday 17 October 2024. Cooperation between UCOFA and IFA-YANGAMBI was discussed. The Director of ERAIFT also visited the UNDP office in Isiro with his colleagues from Nature+. Nature+ (a Belgian NGO) and ERAIFT have joined forces to carry out a diagnostic mission in Watsa Territory, Haut-Uélé Province, to support the ‘Integrated Program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Haut-Uele Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.

IFA-Yangambi and ERAIFT thank UCOFA, Nature + and UNDP for their trust and their warm and efficient welcome.

From 08 to 10 October 2024, ERAIFT participated in the second edition of the Regional Learning Forum of the Congo Basin on the theme "Land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), nature conservation and forest carbon market: What can we learn from the DRC?" , held at the Naomie Lounge of the Béatrice hotel in Kinshasa. This edition was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD in french), the Support Centre for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests (CAGFDT in french) and the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Network for Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEAC in french), with support from Tenure Facility (TF).

The main objective of this edition was to strengthen and promote the participation of IPLCs, including women in conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and to establish a sustainable support mechanism for them. Specifically, the aim was to: (1) share and exchange knowledge and experiences on existing and emerging conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and the challenges and opportunities they represent for IPLCs land rights, as well as how these initiatives affect their women and men differently; (2) Facilitate discussions and reflections on land rights of IPLCs and how they can be integrated into existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (3) propose policy and practice actions to enhance and integrate IPLCs rights and traditional knowledge with a gender perspective in existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (4) provide a networking platform to improve understanding and collaboration between project partners and key stakeholders, such as governments, donors and other development partners.

This meeting was attended by government authorities and political actors of the DRC, representatives of local and indigenous organizations, women’s rights organizations in the DRC, NGOs, donors and development partners, and representatives of academic and research institutions in the Congo Basin.

ERAIFT sincerely thanks the MEDD for having been associated to this experience sharing meeting, and expresses its gratitude to the European Union and AGRINATURA for the support.