Multisectorial Programme in Maniema Province - DRCongo

Expected impacts

• PIREDD Maniema will contribute to the objective of reducing emissions and increasing removals of greenhouse gases from the forestry, agriculture and land use sector.
• It also aims to benefit close to 10,000 people, improve the food security of the population, and directly increase the incomes of 3,000 people (50 village communities) by more than 10%.

Results as of 15 November 2023

Programme activities began in 2022, after a planning phase lasting 6 months in 2021.

Beneficiaries

• In terms of capacity building, 70 local organisations have benefited from equipment allocations and 128 local organisations (1,842 individuals) have benefitted from training on a range of topics such as environmental protection, improved access to markets and the organisation of crop-based sectors, accounting, gender, IT. A list of training courses is available here.
• In addition, 4,248 beneficiaries took part in training courses led by local NGOs on business and agriculture.
• 735 beneficiaries (including 569 women) benefitted from the establishment of 28 AVEC (French acronym for 'Village Savings and Credit Associations').
• 366 beneficiaries (including 303 women, 30 Indigenous women) benefitted from the establishment of small businesses (soap production, sewing and carpentry workshops).
• In total, 9,419 beneficiaries, including 2,860 women and 194 indigenous people (out of the 20,000 planned for the duration of the programme) directly benefited from various programme activities in the areas of agriculture, energy, forestry, land use planning and governance.

Governance

• Various technical departments (agriculture, rural development division, gender, land use planning, planning division, decentralization division, environmental coordination) have been strengthened and mobilised to support and monitor programme activities.
• 5 Provincial Strategies have been supported, covering wood energy, the inclusion of women, the fight against bush fires, communication and awareness-raising on REDD+, and support for the integration of indigenous peoples.
• 1,269 local governance structures have been supported since the start of the programme, with women's participation progressively rising to between 31 and 39%, reinforcing local governance structures.
• 75,000 individuals were informed of the importance of local governance (37.5% of 200,000 people total targeted over the course of the project).

Land Use Planning

• The first 3 Simple Land Use PLans (PSATs) covering an area of 1,166 ha have been developed in Mambwe, Lutala and Fataki, of which 120 ha are dedicated to activities related to the restoration of forest landscapes, 127 ha to reforestation activities for wood-energy purposes and 632 hectares for sustainable agriculture through the allocation of local subsidies. A map of the three areas can be found here.
• 61 PSATs are currently in the process of creating zoning plans (PSAT Sites Map).
• 5 local development plans (PDLs) have been established at sectoral level (PDL Ambwe, PDL Bangengele, PDL Wasongola, PDL Beia, PDL Maringa), which represents 50% of the 10 plans expected over the life of the project.
  • 42 green activities under these PDLs are supported, and 708 villages (approximately 840,000 people) will benefit, directly or indirectly, from these plans.
• 16 maps are now available to support the mapping of agricultural areas aiming to contribute to the development of two agricultural advisory systems. Their development has involved 45 local cartographers.
• As part of support for the rehabilitation, construction and maintenance of agricultural infrastructures supported by the programme, 34 km of agricultural land have been rehabilitated (details and photos are available here).

Forestry

• 7 Local Community Forest Concessions (CFCLs) have been set up, out of the 9 planned over the duration of project, including in Yenge and Ukuna in 2022 (local decrees available here).
• In total, 229,640 ha have been approved for new concessions (out of 350,000 ha and 10 CFCLs targeted over the life of the project).
• An MGP (Complaint Management Mechanism) for the Forestry Sector in the Province of Maniema has been developed and approved.
• 187 ha of degraded forest have already been restored, while more than 700 ha are already operational. The final target is to reforest 5,000 ha and create 50,000 ha of sustainably managed forest reserves.

Agriculture

Current support focuses on value chains for cocoa, coffee, palm oil, peanuts, soybeans, irrigated rice with fish, corn, beans, mushrooms, moringa, sunflower and beekeeping.

• 1426 ha of non slash-and-burn food crops (such as rice paddy-fish ponds), 377 ha of savannah perennial crops (palm, moringa, coffee, cocoa) and 695 ha of agroforestry (acacia with cassava, groundnuts, maize, beans, coffee with soy) have been established thanks to the program's support.
• A study of farming potential in the savannah zone and a Guide to Agroforestry Species are available. The total target is 20,000 ha of sustainable agriculture created (agroforestry and conservation agriculture) and 20,000 ha of indigenous and community heritage areas (APAC) protected.
• 439 individuals experienced an increase in revenue through community projects linked to green value chains.

Wood Energy

• A provincial wood-energy plan, including a wood-energy supply plan (Stratégie Provinciale de Bois-énergie) and a provincial savannah bushfire strategy (Stratégie de lutte contre les feux de brousse) have been created and approved.
  Nearly 2,000 "Mapishi Bora PIREDD" improved stoves and 4,000 kg of green charcoal have been sold on the Kindu market.

Areas of intervention

Maniema Province. The targeted territories are Kailo, Pangi, Kasongo and Kibombo.

Synergies

The intervention of the German cooperation in the environmental sector in Maniema is part of the German-Congolese cooperation programme "Environmental Policy, Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in the Republic of Congo", financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The "Programme to Maintain Biodiversity and Sustainable Forest Management" (BGF) serves as a host for this PIREDD programme. The PIREDD is implemented in synergy with bilateral cooperation projects (KFW) in Maniema, in particular the "Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Forest Management Programme" that covers 6 protected areas, including the Lomami and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks (located partly in Maniema Province).

As a multi-sectoral (called 'integrated') REDD+ programme, PIREDD Maniema contributes directly and indirectly to different milestones of objectives 1 (agriculture), 2 (energy), 3 (forestry), 5 (land management), 6 (land tenure), 7 (demography) and 8 (governance) of the Letter of Intent (LoI) between DRC and CAFI.