Congo Shipping Project

Encouraging agriculture isn’t often seen as a conservation measure. But, all too often, AWF has witnessed that the abandonment of farming can reap havoc on other precious resources. Just look at the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Years of civil war destroyed the infrastructure that allowed farmers along the banks of the Congo and Maringa Rivers to bring their crops to market. Desperate farmers and residents fled deeper into the forest in search of food, causing great destruction to the forests. Locals even began hunting bonobos in search of meat, taking a huge toll on the population of this threatened species.

To help farmers return to their fields – and, therefore, lessen their impact on the forests – AWF has helped initiate the return of a cargo boat to the Congo and Maringa Rivers. Now, farmers have a reason to farm again, giving the bonobos a break.

Set amongst the waters of the Lopori and Maringa Rivers, the Congo Heartland boasts the second-largest contiguous moist tropical forest in the world. The forests are home to a wealth of African wildlife, including the endangered bonobo and Congo peacock. The rivers provide a home to more than 400 fish species. And, along the river banks, rich soils provided farmers with great crops of coffee, cocoa, rubber and palm oil.

For years, the people of the region enjoyed the benefits of healthy crops. And, the bonobos and other precious wildlife living amidst the trees remained untouched. But, desperate times seek desperate measures, and impoverished farmers were forced to abandon their fields and seek out food deeper in the forest, including threatened wildlife.

As part of an Agricultural Reactivation Project that aimed to reduce pressure on forests, AWF conducted a socio-economic study from July to October 2004 to gather feedback and insights from Congolese farmers in hopes of finding a solution to help restore agricultural activity and encourage them to return to their fields. Farmers indicated that the lack of access to markets was the primary factor preventing them from selling their agricultural products.

AWF has since, with the support of USAID-CARPE, been working on participative land-use planning landscape-level conservation in the Maringa Lopori Wamba landscape in northern DRC. One of the lessons AWF has learned is the importance of integrating livelihood enhancement into the conservation program. USAID has provided AWF with three years of funding – the SOIL Project – to support the achievement of biodiversity objectives through the integration of livelihoods into conservation actions.

The SOIL (Sustainable Opportunities Improving Livelihoods) Project aims to increase household well-being by providing alternative economically-sustainable livelihoods that lessen the negative environmental impacts of current livelihood strategies, such as forest conversion and degradation.

USAID provided AWF with a boat, consisting of a pusher and a barge with a capacity of 250 tons, to help in the movement and evacuation of agricultural goods from the forest landscape to the DRC’s main markets in Kinshasa and Mbandaka. To increase profitability, another barge with a 350-ton capacity was added to allow the boat to carry 600 tons of products from the landscape.

The cargo barge’s round trip journey takes approximately two months and covers 3,200 kilometers. The boat stops in multiple ports and collects agricultural goods from the local communities to sell in the capital, Kinshasa, and other major markets. AWF alerts communities to the boat’s schedule and provides them with empty sacks to ship their crops.

As this cargo boat makes its way up and down the Maringa and Congo Rivers, things are looking up for locals. The boat is delivering much-needed humanitarian supplies and bringing farmers agricultural goods to market for the first time in years. Communities who sign the agreement with AWF will be able to sell their upcoming production at a good price, and the population will see an increased income. Likewise, agriculture production that is not sustainable for the people or wildlife will lessen. In time, the return of river transport will help farmers re-establish their livelihoods, while reducing the destruction to local forests and wildlife.