The Goma region is the most densely populated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a situation exacerbated by wars and other tragic events of the past 15 years. Forest resources, already stretched, are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of local people, which led to a significant increase in the costs of wood / charcoal (pressure on households) and a dependence of the supply on illegal and unsustainable logging of the forests of Virunga National Park (PNVi), which is the oldest park in Africa, as well as the richest in biodiversity, and a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, but which has suffered from an alarming rate of deforestation over the last years.
The main reasons why farmers and owners currently do not invest in plantations are:
- Insecurity: people are not sure that they will be able to harvest what is planted;
- Lack of invest capital: A plantation of Eucalyptus takes 3 years before the first returns on investment;
- Lack of know-how.
The estimated needs of Goma city in wood energy under the present conditions represent about 476.000m3/year, which corresponds to approximately 20,000 to 25.000ha well managed eucalyptus plantation. The community reforestation project EcoMakala (from the Kiswahili word “Makala”, meaning charcoal) has the objective of creating at least 4000 to 5.000ha of plantations in five years. The project therefore is not trying to meet the energy needs of Goma by itself, but rather to address the reasons why reforestation is currently not taking place and in particular to demonstrate that private sector forestry is an economically attractive activity with the help of revenues from CDM, even accessible for relatively small scale - farmers (with assistance in the beginning), as well as to disseminate know-how within organizations and local populations. The project is thus aiming to create an independent dynamic due to inherent economic interest in the activity in the region. Moreover, it has to be noted that EcoMakala project is coupled with an ambitious project for the dissemination of improved stoves at Goma in order to reduce the demand for wood fuel.
Although a limited collaboration with a few large scale - owners is planned, the project will give priority to small farmers with up to a few hectares to be reforested (and often much less), in order to have a strong impact on the fight against poverty and on local development. The objective of the project is both social and environmental (avoided deforestation and biodiversity conservation).