The Rector of IFA-YANGAMBI and Director of ERAIFT visited the UCOFA robusta coffee plantation project in Isiro on Thursday 17 October 2024. Cooperation between UCOFA and IFA-YANGAMBI was discussed. The Director of ERAIFT also visited the UNDP office in Isiro with his colleagues from Nature+. Nature+ (a Belgian NGO) and ERAIFT have joined forces to carry out a diagnostic mission in Watsa Territory, Haut-Uélé Province, to support the ‘Integrated Program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Haut-Uele Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.

IFA-Yangambi and ERAIFT thank UCOFA, Nature + and UNDP for their trust and their warm and efficient welcome.

From 08 to 10 October 2024, ERAIFT participated in the second edition of the Regional Learning Forum of the Congo Basin on the theme "Land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), nature conservation and forest carbon market: What can we learn from the DRC?" , held at the Naomie Lounge of the Béatrice hotel in Kinshasa. This edition was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD in french), the Support Centre for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests (CAGFDT in french) and the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Network for Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEAC in french), with support from Tenure Facility (TF).

The main objective of this edition was to strengthen and promote the participation of IPLCs, including women in conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and to establish a sustainable support mechanism for them. Specifically, the aim was to: (1) share and exchange knowledge and experiences on existing and emerging conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and the challenges and opportunities they represent for IPLCs land rights, as well as how these initiatives affect their women and men differently; (2) Facilitate discussions and reflections on land rights of IPLCs and how they can be integrated into existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (3) propose policy and practice actions to enhance and integrate IPLCs rights and traditional knowledge with a gender perspective in existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (4) provide a networking platform to improve understanding and collaboration between project partners and key stakeholders, such as governments, donors and other development partners.

This meeting was attended by government authorities and political actors of the DRC, representatives of local and indigenous organizations, women’s rights organizations in the DRC, NGOs, donors and development partners, and representatives of academic and research institutions in the Congo Basin.

ERAIFT sincerely thanks the MEDD for having been associated to this experience sharing meeting, and expresses its gratitude to the European Union and AGRINATURA for the support.

Garoua (EFG) since the end of July 2024, for a six (6) month period of specialization. Theoretical lessons alternate with field trips (Lagdo, Garoua Zoological garden, Tchéboa, etc.) and practical work in protected areas. After 2 months of theoretical courses at EFG, twenty-three (23) ERAIFT students from eight (08) African countries will go on a field trip to the Benue Biosphere Reserve (Cameroon) from October 11 to 31, 2024. The main objective of this field trip is to enable GAP/GRB learners to link theory to practice through a good understanding of the realities of the field in a protected area.

This protected area was created in 1932 as the Bénoué Wildlife Reserve and classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1980. It is surrounded by zones of hunting interest, co-managed hunting zones and transition zones. Since its creation, this protected area has seen the displacement of certain populations, and poaching, gold panning and transhumance pressures threaten its integrity. This site is a real field of experience for the twenty-three (23) ERAIFT students. They have received their individual field equipment (Photo 1).

Photo 1: learners in field uniform unload and check individual field equipment

The main stakeholders in this field mission are conservation NGOs, civil society organizations, local elected officials, conservation service managers, etc. Teaching activities will focus on working groups, household surveys, interviews with key players, wildlife inventories, use of drones, camera traps and navigation tools.

This sub-regional mobility was supported by AGRINATURA through funding from the European Union. We sincerely thank these two institutions for their ongoing support for the training of protected area managers. We also thank the Ministry of Forests and Fauna and the conservation services of this protected area. 

The Director of ERAIFT, Professor Baudouin Michel, is taking part in the ATIBT 2024 General Assembly and Forum being held in Antwerp from 3 to 4 October 2024. The participants discussed a range of topical issues relating to forest management, including the European regulation against deforestation. They will discuss the tropical forestry sector's preparedness for this regulation, forest management in the Congo Basin in the context of market developments, sustainability and innovation, and sustainable forest management as a means of preserving biodiversity in the tropical forests of the Congo Basin.

ERAIFT is a member of ATIBT, and the President of ATIBT is a member of the ERAIFT Board of Directors. ERAIFT thanks ATIBT for the invitation and expresses its gratitude to the European Uni

On Thursday 25 September 2024, ERAIFT was honored by the visit of His Excellency, the Deputy Minister for Customary Affairs, Mwami Ndeze Katurebe Jean-Baptiste. After a warm welcome in the office of ERAIFT's director, Professor Baudouin Michel, Mwami Ndeze Katurebe was invited to meet the teaching staff, assistants and students currently on the school site during a plenary session in ERAIFT's main hall.

In a brief presentation of ERAIFT, H.E. Deputy Minister Mwami Ndeze outlined the history of the school, its main teaching principles and its current and future projects. A group of some fifteen students from five countries, including Gabon, Cameroon, Senegal, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo, also attended the event, and enjoyed a fruitful exchange of views with Mwami Ndeze Katurebe.

Following this exchange, the VM for Customary Affairs was invited to visit the school's facilities, including classrooms, the geomatics laboratory and student accommodation. The morning ended with the planting of the tree of the Vice-Minister for Customary Affairs in the ERAIFT mini forest, the signing of the guest book, a family photo and a tasting of local produce.

This important visit is part of the central involvement of traditional customary authorities in the integrated management of forests and forest areas. Discussions were also held with the governing authority on the subject of fundraising and the diversification of financial resources, which are essential to the smooth running of the school, and the importance of resuming the process of activating decentralized territorial entities (ETD).

This morning of contact initiated by ERAIFT is one of the activities of the project to build the capacity of biodiversity practitioners, scientists and political decision-makers for the sustainable management of protected areas and forest ecosystems in Africa. This project, which is being implemented in the Congo Basin sub-region and West Africa, is funded by the European Union and ERAIFT is a category 2 center under the auspices of UNESCO.

ERAIFT would like to extend its warmest thanks to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and all its partners, who make it possible for these important meetings to generate innovative, sustainable and relevant projects.

On Friday, September 20, 2024, the conference room of ERAIFT hosted the public defense of the doctoral thesis titled "Taxonomy, Biology, Ecology, and Exploitation of Fish of the Genus Marcusenius Gull 1862 (Mormyridae) from Pool Malebo, Congo River." This thesis is the 23rd since the establishment of ERAIFT and the 20th since 2010. It was defended in presence and by videoconference by Mr NTUMBA MABEDI Jean-Métis, of Congolese nationality, before an international jury composed of professors from ERAIFT, the University of Liège, the University of Namur, the University of Burundi and the Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales (ISTM/Kinshasa). The thesis provided a better understanding of the taxonomy, biology, ecology and current exploitation of the genus Marcusenius Gull 1862 from the Melebo Pool in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Research perspectives were proposed to the researchers present during the defense, with the aim of improving taxonomic knowledge and the sustainable exploitation of fish in Pool Malebo. This thesis received the distinction of "great distinction" for its scientific quality. Additionally, it is worth noting that 24 doctoral candidates are currently undergoing training at ERAIFT.

ERAIFT thanks the Ministry of Higher Education and University for allowing it to organize the doctoral program. It also expresses its gratitude to the members of the jury for their commitment and support in evaluating this doctoral thesis. ERAIFT also thanks the University of Liège, the University of Namur, the University of Burundi, and ISTM Kinshasa for their collaboration.