On Friday 14 June 2024, ERAIFT/UNESCO organized a conference-debate on the potential of rubber cultivation as a sustainable economic and environmental alternative in Sankuru at the Université Notre Dame de Kasayi in Kananga (Central Kasai province in the Democratic Republic of Congo). This conference-debate was led by Mr Joël Mobunda, Mr Ange Valaure and Ms Camille Gourmet, respectively doctoral student, and research assistant at ERAIFT, master's student at Gembloux Agro Bio Tech at the University of Liège and master's graduate at Gembloux Agro Bio Tech at the University of Liège, under the supervision of Professor Joséphine BITOTA, Rector of Notre Dame de Kasayi University in Kananga. Each speaker addressed the issue from the angle of his or her research project. Joël Mobunda focused on the integrated development of rubber cultivation as a driving force for the local economy and for the preservation of the Salonga National Park. Ange Valaure presented an in-depth analysis of the rubber value chain. Finally, Camille Gourmet explored the various possibilities offered by agroforestry systems based on rubber cultivation.
The main aim of this conference-debate was to raise awareness among students and teaching staff at Notre Dame de Kasayi University of the issues involved in the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, especially as Sankuru is a forestry province and home to one of the world's largest tropical forest reserves, the Salonga National Park (SNP). The forest habitat of this protected area is highly diversified, favouring the presence of a whole series of remarkable animal and forest species, such as the Bonobo (Pan paniscus), a species endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and fully protected. The speakers drew attention to the fact that, despite the international interest in this national park, its biodiversity is being compromised by the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, including poaching, timber exploitation and slash-and-burn agriculture. These activities are the main threats to the ecological balance of this ecosystem. With a view to reducing these various threats to the Salonga National Park (SNP), the speakers emphasised sustainable forest management tools, including the rehabilitation of old rubber plantations in Sankuru as a driving force behind the local economy and the protection of the park.
In addition, the speakers presented to the audience the various opportunities for obtaining a scholarship in general, and more specifically the procedure for obtaining a scholarship at ERAIFT, explaining all the eligibility criteria and how to submit an application via its website.
More than 300 participants, including academic authorities, students, and teaching staff from various faculties at Notre Dame de Kasayi University, took part in this conference-debate. They also included visiting professors from Canada and Kinshasa.
ERAIFT sincerely thanks the Université Notre Dame de Kasayi through its management committee and Rector Joséphine Bitota DIAMBA for facilitating this conference-debate. ERAIFT would also like to express its gratitude and appreciation to the European Union and ENABEL for their financial support.
