Helping Safeguard Biodiversity & Enhance Communities

We are excited to announce that this August, the anti-poaching units working in Olam Agri’s woods business - Congolaise Indusrielle des Bois (CIB) concessions received technical equipment from the “Projet Paysage Forstier Nord Congo” (PPFNC). This project, spanning four years (2020-2024), aims to safeguard the biodiversity of Northern Congo’s forests while enhancing the quality of life for local communities and indigenous populations that inhabit the areas surrounding the forest concessions. This will be achieved by establishing environmentally friendly and income-generating activities by empowering the local population.
 

The equipment was handed to the eco-guards to boost their efforts in safeguarding the forestry concessions situated on the outskirts of the Nouabale Ndoki National Park and the Mimbeli-Ibenga concession. The business has maintained a strong partnership with the Ministry of Forest Economy and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) since 1999 to ensure sustainable management of the ecosystems around the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Centre, the Nouabale Ndoki National Park. It’s worth noting that in 2022, the PPFNC had previously provided two vehicles to the CIB anti-poaching units.

The project implementation is supervised by the Ministry of Forestry Economy of the Republic of Congo, with primary funding coming from the French Development Agency (AFD). The French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM) also collaborates with WCS and the forestry companies benefiting from the project to contribute to its financing.