Pitch
Indigenous women restore biodiversity in community forests through planting and sound management of edible caterpillars trees in Mwenga
Description
Summary
The territory of Mwenga has a serious problem of destruction of its forest ecosystem as a result of uncontrolled logging, particularly the irrational logging of trees in community forests bordering the Itombwe Natural Reserve in Mwenga territory for the production and sale of embers to Bukavu. This situation contributes to the significant destruction of forest biodiversity, particularly the scarcity of edible caterpillars, to the detriment of indigenous girls and women who depend on these forest products. This bad practice is also the cause of climatic disturbances, food insecurity and the accentuation of poverty in 7 groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve whose forests are overexploited and degraded at Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu in Mwenga territory east of DR Congo.
It is in this context that our project contributes to restoring the biodiversity of community forests through the planting and the rational management of edible caterpillar trees by indigenous girls and women, since the use of caterpillars as The food product makes it possible, on the one hand, to compensate for the loss of crops and food insecurity, and on the other hand to create a source of income for indigenous girls and women to improve their socio-economic conditions in the 7 groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve whose forests are overexploited and degraded at Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu in Mwenga territory east of DR Congo. These indigenous girls and women are also trained in the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forest blocks as well as the management of an income-generating cooperative through the sale of edible caterpillars.
Is this proposal for a practice or a project?
Project
What actions do you propose?
The proposed and outstanding actions to be undertaken are:
1) Identify and select project beneficiaries in the seven riparian groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve in Mwenga territory;
2) Organize sensitization sessions for the participation of indigenous girls and women in the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forests in the seven riverine groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve in Mwenga territory;
3) Organize days of identification and participatory selection of fast-growing tree species and hosts of caterpillars in the seven riparian groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve in Mwenga territory;
4) Organize a capacity-building workshop for 35 indigenous nursery girls and women in rehabilitation techniques of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forests in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve for 3 days in Mwenga center in Mwenga territory;
5) Establish seven fast-growing tree nurseries (caterpillar hosts) by indigenous girls and women trained and grouped into a local committee of nurseries of edible caterpillar trees in the seven riparian groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve in Mwenga territory;
6) Organize the campaign of planting edible caterpillar host trees by indigenous girls and women over an area of 350 ha divided into seven community forest blocks of 50 ha each for the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve;
7) Organize a capacity-building workshop for 35 indigenous girls and women (forest protection monitors) on the monitoring of community forest blocks in the seven riparian groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve;
8) Establish and support technically indigenous girls and women in the formation of seven Local Forest Monitoring Committees in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve in the territory of Mwenga;
9) Organize a training workshop for 40 indigenous girls and women in the management and maintenance of a Revenue Generating Revenue Activity for the sale of edible caterpillars for 3 days in Kamituga in Mwenga territory;
10) Establish and provide management support for an Aboriginal Cheese Tracks Cooperative in the Mwenga area;
11) Organize monitoring and evaluation missions of project activities.
The pilot period for this project is 24 months. Monitoring missions are being carried out by PIFEVA with a view to establishing and periodically updating the restored (autochthonous) community forest mapping in the seven riverine groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga. The process of appropriation of the achievements of the project are outstanding by the beneficiaries of the project by their participation in the activities of restoration of biodiversity by planting caterpillar trees.
On a technical level, this project sequenced in three phases:
1) First phase: This phase started with the identification and selection of beneficiaries, the identification and participatory selection of caterpillar tree species, the establishment of caterpillar nurseries, and the holding of community sensitization sessions. indigenous, followed by the organization of the different capacity building workshops of different actors who will be involved in the implementation of the project.
2) Second phase: This phase focused on the organization of the campaign of planting edible caterpillar host trees, the setting up and technical support of the Local Forest Monitoring Committees , as well as the setting up and support management consultancy of Cooperative with Edible Caterpillars (Revenue Generating Revenue from Edible Caterpillars) in Mwenga;
3) Third phase: This phase will be devoted to the measurement of achievements through project monitoring and evaluation activities as well as the definition of new orientations related to the sustainability of the project.
The implementation of this project raises the awareness of indigenous girls and women on the merits of the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forests in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
Our project is facing the problem of deforestation caused by lawless logging, particularly irrational logging of trees in the community forests of Mwenga for the production of ember to Bukavu. This contributes to the significant destruction of forest biodiversity, particularly the scarcity of edible caterpillars (to the disadvantage of young and indigenous women who depend on these forest products). The planting of host trees of caterpillars by indigenous girls and women contributes to the restoration of biodiversity by the latter in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve.
The expected effects will be sustained through the maintenance of project activities by the local nursery growers' committee, the local Aboriginal Forest Monitoring Committees and the indigenous cooperative selling edible caterpillars in Mwenga territory. The existence of these local technical structures of implementation constitutes a solid device of appropriation and durability of the activities of the project in the medium and long term. Seeing the indigenous peoples, particularly the indigenous youth and women of Mwenga, ownership and active participation in the restoration, sustainable management of community forests and monitoring community forest blocks is an indicator of significant qualitative change. which will result from this project in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve in Mwenga territory. The beneficiaries of this project will also be trained in the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forest blocks and the management of a cooperative / AGR (Income Generating Activity) for the sale of caterpillars.
We are in the process of setting up and technically supporting seven Local Forest Monitoring Committees (CLMFs) in the seven riparian groups of the Itombwe Nature Reserve which will ensure that the trees planted during this intervention are not felled at the site. profit from products offering an income higher than that of edible caterpillars.
To respond to the threats that these women and girls face as a result of the exploitation of forests, we intend to increase the awareness of local communities and local advocacy with local leaders and decision-makers to improve forest governance in the area. project intervention.
However, communities are called upon to support the efforts of indigenous girls and women in Mwenga, particularly by participating actively in the mechanisms put in place to protect the forest blocks restored by these indigenous girls and women.
Who will take these actions?
The actions of this project are financed by IPAF / IFAD and outstanding by PIFEVA (Pillar of Active Vulnerable Women in DR Congo) which is a Congolese NGO with competent and experienced staff in conception, implementation, monitoring and project evaluation) for the indigenous people of South Kivu in eastern DRC where they have an operational inker appreciated for having conducted many similar successful activities.
The management structure is composed of a project technical supervisor who is based locally in Mwenga, a monitoring and evaluation officer, an administration and finance officer and a project manager with the Assistance Mechanism for indigenous peoples.
Given the dynamic nature of the context in which this project is taking place, it is planned to continuously measure its evolution and, in a timely manner, its effects through monthly monitoring missions and collect data on the ground. Project performance monitoring falls within the joint responsibilities of the PIFEVA technical team and the indigenous girls and women beneficiaries of the project. PIFEVA's technical team carries out supervision missions in the project's radius of action to enable us to adapt our actions and thus promote the achievement of the results of our project.
Of the $ 31,100 expected, this project has already benefited from the trust of some international donors and donors, particularly IFAD, which has already granted a portion of $ 17,500 for the start of project activities. We estimate that the $ 10,000 expected for this COLAB competition allowed us to maximize the chances of overall execution of this pilot phase of the project.
Where will these actions be taken?
The actions of this project are still carried out in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga in South Kivu , east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They directly benefit 1400 indigenous girls and women (direct beneficiaries) and at least 9800 indirect beneficiaries who are family members of Indigenous youth and women indirectly targeted in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda I Kalundu). , Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
Indigenous girls and women, very poor, live at the expense of forests and their lives seem to be threatened by the multitude of activities surrounding the exploitation of forests in all its forms in Mwenga territory. Community forests are subject to increasing deforestation due to uncontrolled logging and soil depletion through unsustainable agricultural practices. The project aims to combat deforestation by rehabilitating local plant species, particularly the planting of host trees of edible caterpillars that allow a restoration of forest biodiversity.
In addition, specify the country or countries where these actions will be taken.
Congo [DRC]
Country 2
No country selected
Country 3
No country selected
Country 4
No country selected
Country 5
No country selected
Impact/Benefits
What impact will these actions have on greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapting to climate change?
The project impacts are environmental, climatic, social and economic:
1) Environmentally and climatically: tree planting in community forests in Mwenga territory will reduce pressure on community forests, thereby contributing to biodiversity conservation. On the climate front, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the rate of forest cover and reducing the rate of deforestation. It will eventually contribute to building up carbon stocks and reducing global warming. In Mwenga territory, the reduction in the net CO2 emissions / removals balance will be 90% between 2019 and 2030, the annual rate of this decrease will be around 9%. In the change in biomass stock, the balance sheet will change from a sequestration level of 3.729 Gg in 2019 to an emission level of 5.763 Gg in 2030.
2)On the socio-economic level: the use of caterpillars as a food product makes it possible on the one hand to compensate for the loss of crops and food insecurity, and on the other hand to create a source of income for young girls and women. indigenous women in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga. This project will contribute to the empowerment and improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the beneficiaries and indigenous families will be improved by access to the caterpillars in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi- Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
What are other key benefits?
This project is consistent with the current policy guidelines for the DRC forest sector (Forest Code 2002, National Forest and Nature Conservation Program, Priority Agenda for the Revival of the Forest Sector). Beyond the field of forest policy, this project also makes a relevant contribution to the Framework Law on the Environment (Law No. 11/009 of 9 July 2011) and to the 2006 National Environmental Action Plan. in the DRC.
The project makes it possible, on the one hand, to compensate for the discrimination suffered by indigenous peoples in decision-making processes related to logging, and on the other hand to strengthen the consideration of the specific rights of indigenous peoples in related sectoral policies. to the REDD program in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Seeing indigenous girls and women in Mwenga take ownership and active participation in the restoration, sustainable management of community forests, and monitoring of community forest blocks is an indicator of significant qualitative change that strengthens the power of the community. women to benefit their communities in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
Costs/Challenges
What are the proposal’s projected costs?
1) The set of activities proposed during this pilot phase of 24 months costs $ 39,100 (financed by IPAF / IFAD), but to achieve the expected results, this type of projects should be planned in the medium and long term, where the need to be able to mobilize additional partners and donors to consolidate the achievements of this project in the medium and long term.
2) The comprehensive and integrated information management system that brings together the carbon, social, governance, environmental and economic data at the local level of this project is not yet complete. The process of establishing data and local reference level is being updated for the project area.
3) The issue of gender parity is considered important in this project. The representation and participation of men and women is systematically required to facilitate the sustainability of the actions undertaken in this project; the forthcoming implementation strategy must recognize the role of women in both deforestation and the search for new ways to mitigate and adapt local communities to climate change in Mwenga territory.
4) Progress in terms of gender has been very limited. The main constraint seems to be the lack of understanding of gender issues rather associated with 'vulnerability' and the lack of capacity to deal with gender issues at the local level. The program has nonetheless achieved positive results because this project decided to work with women from the beginning, which justifies the strong involvement of girls and women from the beginning of the process, and their number is still increasing. This is a positive impact of the project.
Timeline
Medium-term impacts:
1) Identified indigenous girls and women participate in the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forests in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme , Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga;
2) Community forests are restored from their biodiversity by planting host trees of caterpillars by indigenous girls and women in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme , Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga;
3) The socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal beneficiaries and families are enhanced by access to the caterpillars and the establishment of an aboriginal cooperative for the sale of caterpillars in Mwenga territory.
Long-term impacts:
1) This project will contribute to the empowerment and improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the beneficiaries and indigenous families will be improved by the access to the caterpillars in the seven groups bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
2) The use of caterpillars as a food product makes it possible, on the one hand, to compensate for the loss of crops and food insecurity, and on the other hand to create a source of income for indigenous girls and women in the seven groupings bordering the Itombwe Nature Reserve (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
3) Our project is an initiative designed and implemented by Aboriginal women. This project is led by a woman and raises the awareness of indigenous girls and women on the merits of the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and the rational and sustainable management of community forests in the seven groups bordering the Natural Reserve. Itombwe (Basimweda 1st-Kalundu, Irangi-Ilibo, Kigogo, Bawandeme, Bingili-Bazala, Byonga and Kitutu) in the territory of Mwenga.
These impacts will begin to be perceptible at the end of the pilot period of this project.
About the author(s)
The authors who contributed to the design and who participate in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this project are:
1) BULAYA BIHIZI Veronique:
She is a Congolese (DRC) and is the project manager.
She is the coordinator of the projects of the Congolese NGO PIFEVA (Pillar for Vulnerable Women in DR Congo) based in Bukavu, South Kivu in eastern DRC. Veronique BULAYA has always made the difference in her fight for the rights and the improvement of the living conditions of women and shows creativity, courage and an exceptional commitment in the realization of actions for sustainable development in the DRC. Veronique BULAYA has sufficient technical and managerial skills in managing projects funded by partners and international donors for the environment, agriculture, education, health, protection against sexual violence and socio-economic reintegration of women and girls in eastern DRC.
2) BADISUNGU AKILIMALI :
He is a Congolese(DRC) and is the technical supervisor of the project.
He specialized in ecological farming practices and climate change mitigation and resilience techniques in eastern DRC. He is the head of the "Environment, Food Security and Economic" program of the Congolese NGO PIFEVA (Pillar for Active Vulnerable Women in DR Congo).
3) Merveille CIZA:
She is of Congolese(DRC) and is the accountant of this project.
She has good experience in accounting and financial management of projects funded by international partners and donors. She deals with the administrative, financial and logistical issues of the Congolese NGO PIFEVA (Pillar for Active Vulnerable Women in DR Congo).
4) Innpcent OMBENI:
He is the local community mobilizer( Mwenga, DRC) of the project. He is passionate about climate issues and is very committed to raising the awareness of local communities to take ownership of this project alongside indigenous women and girls in Mwenga.
Related Proposals
The other Climate CoLab proposals related to this proposal are:
1) Mitigating climate change in LDCs by adopting sustainable measures. / Vimal Dhiman:
The proposal contains suitable sustainable measures for better preparedness for the ever changing climate.
2) Slavery and Climate Bioremediation by mlkybabe02:
Illegal logging has created a loss of CO2 in the world, but many of them are carried by slavers.
3) Restoring Ecoengineering Infrastructure to Promote AdMit & DRR in Bangladesh by MahbuburRahmanImrulKayesSaidurRaj:
Eco-friendly approach to promoting coastal climate vulnerable people.
4) Center for Climate Change and Poverty Reduction by BiogasinCameroont.
References
Scientific articles, policy studies, journalist reports or any other source providing support for remarks are:
1) Participatory Analysis Report of Mwenga Indigenous Vulnerability on Climate Change in South Kivu, PIFEVA 2018;
2) Annual report SOCEARUCO (Environmental and Agro-Rural Civil Society of Congo, 2018
3) Report of the South Kivu Provincial Environmental Coordination, 2018
2) Climate change in the Democratic Republic of
Congo: state of play and perspectives in the context of the ANCR, 1017;
3) Report Ministry of the Environment, Initial National Communication of the DRC, 2018
Ministry of the Environment, National Adaptation Program of Action of
the DRC climate change (In press);
4) M. K. Ntombi, Climate change in the DRC: state of play and perception by the
population, Ann. Fac. Saws Unikin, (In press).
5) WMO, UNEP, IPPC Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and
Adaptations.
By:
PIFEVA DR Congo
