Brussels, 20 June 2019 – The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-protected forest area located in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is fast going back to its roots and taking its place as one of the world’s top research centres for the study of Central Africa’s forests. The projects FORETS (Formation, Recherche, Environnement dans la Tshopo) and YPS (Yangambi Pôle Scientifique), a €30 million investment by the EU and Belgium, led by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) with several partners, are working with Congolese institutions to ensure that first-rate climate change and environment research is conducted in the reserve.
During the European Development Days (EDD), which took place in Brussels on 18-19 June 2019, CIFOR and its partners presented early results on how these development and scientific initiatives are creating jobs and reactivating the local economy.
Through its participation, CIFOR showed how inequality aggravates the exposure of people to climate change and other environmental threats. Some of the most vulnerable groups are those depending on natural resources for their livelihoods – such as the communities living around the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve. Logging, hunting, agriculture and woodfuel production are the main activities in the area, but unsustainable exploitation, growing population, and changing weather threaten the availability of these resources.
“We are pushing for local entrepreneurship to provide alternative sources of livelihoods that do not deplete the natural resources and reduce people’s vulnerability,” said Paolo Cerutti, CIFOR senior scientist. “Our objective is to break the vicious cycle of inequality and climate change.”
For more information on CIFOR’s participation at the EDD, please contact Ahtziri Gonzalez (a.gonzalez@cgiar.org).