Tervuren, Belgium. 29 April 2019 – Belgium’s Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) has launched a new wood biology laboratory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Located in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, at the heart of the Congo Basin, it will be used by Congolese and international scientists to conduct top-notch research on wood anatomy and dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) to better understand forests’ contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“This wood biology laboratory is unique in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its state-of-the-art microscopes and other equipment will allow us to study the functioning of trees on-site,” said Hans Beeckman, Head of the RMCA’s wood biology service, during an inauguration ceremony that took place on 28 April in Yangambi, DRC. “The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest, and plays a crucial role storing carbon and controlling temperature. Therefore, understanding local trees’ growth patterns, vegetation history and wood properties, will help us protect this important ecosystem,” he added.
The laboratory, which is supported by the FORETS project (Formation, Recherche et Environnement dans la Tshopo), funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), will benefit Congolese academic institutions such as the INERA (Institut National pour l’Étude et la Recherche Agronomiques) and the University of Kisangani.
“Master’s and PhD students at the University of Kisangani will have access to the laboratory to conduct their thesis research,” explained Mélissa Rousseau, Scientific collaborator at the RMCA and responsible for the laboratory. “We expect it to become a meeting place for international and local scientists to exchange ideas and expertise and promote academic collaborations.”
To ensure the sustainability of the initiative, the RMCA is training Congolese scientists to operate the laboratory. It will become autonomous by the end of the FORETS project in 2021.
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About FORETS:
The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has remarkable biodiversity, but it is increasingly threatened by the overexploitation of natural resources by local communities who depend on them for their livelihoods. The FORETS project is working to protect this valuable ecosystem by promoting local development, fostering entrepreneurship, and advancing research activities and capacity-building.
More information: www2.cifor.org/forets
About the RMCA’s Wood Biology Service:
This research group studies tropical African trees to contribute to forest ecology and support sustainable wood production in tropical Africa. The xylarium managed by this service is a reference collection with more than 80,000 wood samples belonging to 13,000 different species from around the world. It offers unique study material for a wide series of contemporary projects focused on forest conservation, responsible management and sustainability.
More information: https://www.africamuseum.be/en/research/discover/biology/wood_biology
Media contacts:
Ahtziri Gonzalez
Communications Officer for Central Africa
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
a.gonzalez@cgiar.org
+237 (6) 80800382
Languages: French, English, Spanish
Eline Sciot
Responsible for Science Communication
Royal Museum for Central Africa
eline.sciot@africamuseum.be
+32 (0)276 954 81
Languages: English, Dutch, French
Mélissa Rousseau
Scientific collaborator
Royal Museum for Central Africa
melissa.rousseau@africamuseum.be
+32 (0)2 769 5612
Languages: French, English