Tshopo: Sustainable management of Yangambi forest ecosystems the focus of a workshop

Kisangani, June 2^nd, 2025 (CPA) – The sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve was the focus of a capacity-building workshop for managers and other stakeholders, which opened on Monday in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ‘We are here to consolidate the achievements of a flagship project launched in 2022, which aims to strengthen the sustainable management of this unique reserve, while integrating climate, biodiversity and local development issues’, said Mr Barreto da Rosa, UNESCO’s representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to Mr Barreto da Rosa, the discussions will focus on capacity-building for the reserve’s managers, members of the steering committee (Copil), MAB structures and savings and credit associations (ASECs). Other themes include raising awareness of the periodic evaluation of biosphere reserves, drawing up an updated management plan, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, and the financial and logistical management of environmental projects. ‘The Yangambi Reserve is not just a protected area of over 235,000 hectares of tropical forest. It was the first African site to be included in the UNESCO network of biosphere reserves in 1976, a global sanctuary for biodiversity’, he recalled. Referring to persistent challenges such as deforestation, pressure on species and global warming, Mr Barreto da Rosa stressed the importance of concerted action. ‘These alarming figures should not discourage us. On the contrary, they reinforce the urgency of our mission. Yangambi represents a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate that conservation and development can go hand in hand’, he stressed. Among the results achieved since the project was launched, UNESCO notes the creation of six functional ASECs in four groups in the reserve, the training of more than 300 members in agricultural entrepreneurship, the equipping of a research station with state-of-the-art drones, and the raising of awareness among nearly 6,500 people of the issues involved in research and the Man and the Biosphere program. ‘We have also rehabilitated three buildings, improved access to water and solar energy, and set up a joint research protocol on the Yangambi biosphere’, added the UNESCO representative. Some forty participants are taking part in the workshop, including managers of reserves and protected areas, representatives of NGOs, civil society, public institutions, environmental experts and technical and financial partners involved in conservation projects. The workshop will continue until Tuesday, with practical sessions and exchanges of experience between participants.