tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58568415310469952662024-03-18T03:59:04.134+01:00Congo MasqueradeThe political culture of aid inefficiency and reform failureCongo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-54000132314919192532020-12-07T21:29:00.009+01:002020-12-09T09:49:20.564+01:00Bushmeat: supply and demand in the Kongo Central Province<p> <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXGtZfqdPkhu0BIyEC_zTiu4ZwVIM6-dMQfFQ0xN8xATWygqchgtrzmqDb4t4JAULWs5_NhcopBmlkFkQJelBKiNKZBAwOiRiNuIjdWsS129-3krRFF9XDpy3lRukvkEbaJVXd8mYiM8Y/s2048/5.JPG" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXGtZfqdPkhu0BIyEC_zTiu4ZwVIM6-dMQfFQ0xN8xATWygqchgtrzmqDb4t4JAULWs5_NhcopBmlkFkQJelBKiNKZBAwOiRiNuIjdWsS129-3krRFF9XDpy3lRukvkEbaJVXd8mYiM8Y/w320-h240/5.JPG" title="Roadside bushmeat stand" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These traders (it's a man's universe) are organized in a closely knit association</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Bushmeat is openly traded along the highway that runs through the Luki Biosphere Reserve in the Kongo Central Province. The most commonly sold species is cane rat but red river hog and antelope are sometimes available. These pictures were taken at a roadside stand on the outskirts of the town of Kinzau-Mvuete 6 December 2020. Traders wave down drivers of SUVs hoping to make a sale.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTet3W0YFOBQ8t3W2_N5NSmS_lHwlHYBT3sh1uORaYShVc-mau8WANKan5WDztqe5DCi9tEmNWykh6ietXDR6_Qlahd8HCkpvOwTsPKtzVkPfO4ZmeAD3WrX8ntCbeWH50oXznPLxXGzO/s2048/1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTet3W0YFOBQ8t3W2_N5NSmS_lHwlHYBT3sh1uORaYShVc-mau8WANKan5WDztqe5DCi9tEmNWykh6ietXDR6_Qlahd8HCkpvOwTsPKtzVkPfO4ZmeAD3WrX8ntCbeWH50oXznPLxXGzO/s320/1.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animals are smoked at the roadside stand</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnkb4oEFygfuAF10jcBwCk4Gu6J9SB5dlaxXi-fLMYdXeOz1kos4S9F2XJQQYRY4JquEVwLAnceNpH08hV576mCbiE2HtaBZPGe5QKbPkvpz-D9Ykl3gAutcQQgpyxB-q-NxZdPidJJDr/s2048/IMG_5321.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Freshly killed cane rat" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtnkb4oEFygfuAF10jcBwCk4Gu6J9SB5dlaxXi-fLMYdXeOz1kos4S9F2XJQQYRY4JquEVwLAnceNpH08hV576mCbiE2HtaBZPGe5QKbPkvpz-D9Ykl3gAutcQQgpyxB-q-NxZdPidJJDr/w320-h240/IMG_5321.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly shot cane rat: animals shot are said to taste better than </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;">animals snared because of fast death/slow death implications.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div>As wildlife levels diminish in the area, families see their nutrition options change. Children are particularly hard hit because those who consume forest foods have a higher nutrient density than children who do not. An estimated one billion poor people depend on bushmeat for protein, most of the B-vitamin complex and the minerals of iron and zinc. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudi0LQznXci4M_QAueVynMwKMQVV1QOSjZQT8e_JD7G9lnfx_KP7G49CEMklKPBctvHSTHK5DXvx-Ug_J6g5XhUlp-yzro1LtE5qE75iWJAYKnq1tRR5TYHtSgL9gp6Jp_vJzSYhVDpMF/s2048/6.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjudi0LQznXci4M_QAueVynMwKMQVV1QOSjZQT8e_JD7G9lnfx_KP7G49CEMklKPBctvHSTHK5DXvx-Ug_J6g5XhUlp-yzro1LtE5qE75iWJAYKnq1tRR5TYHtSgL9gp6Jp_vJzSYhVDpMF/s320/6.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Hunters say that the availability of motorcycles is a blessing because they facilitate getting their animals to the traders.<br /></span>A cane rat this size can sell for five times the price of a kilo of imported chicken thighs.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwI-QTRnvO87zh2Ke0eTMV2gPAsSX9_j09WITwGSC0XWfy5cigssANHUnIUHD23HioCEy75Mi1pv5JnV__MRNtqfe1bgbt88cP2oQdhEe34WcAYGY5GjyHFdKBP77AZ2NT5JCwzFw6t7G/s2048/9.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwI-QTRnvO87zh2Ke0eTMV2gPAsSX9_j09WITwGSC0XWfy5cigssANHUnIUHD23HioCEy75Mi1pv5JnV__MRNtqfe1bgbt88cP2oQdhEe34WcAYGY5GjyHFdKBP77AZ2NT5JCwzFw6t7G/s320/9.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoked cane rat splayed and smoked in a frame of light wood</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnR-GjBhNVpZY-sQ-CnEOnriyqgrtKtXCviVDCXwKYDjoZZYZAP1hJ4unauvelFim4uVTMjhOx4a45xlplcj8cm6kkvhfTDMKuefAQgMLjj6VkxXx2skYLYxZPCPP3A2oqLhc5tuwvsVCd/s2048/7.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnR-GjBhNVpZY-sQ-CnEOnriyqgrtKtXCviVDCXwKYDjoZZYZAP1hJ4unauvelFim4uVTMjhOx4a45xlplcj8cm6kkvhfTDMKuefAQgMLjj6VkxXx2skYLYxZPCPP3A2oqLhc5tuwvsVCd/s320/7.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8cVKv7Spnsuo3u2tMEIbvUvHmVTZsvSvM-Hg_cCYmCLUgUjBNqO5eJfsEX_4AJym6yT8rNrqeoeqb-3Bk2DewtHPGdojtXALfBJL0oLH5LwJjukhrrz5XPSp-AC_kC2OZ8uYMgSFF_lp/s2048/4.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8cVKv7Spnsuo3u2tMEIbvUvHmVTZsvSvM-Hg_cCYmCLUgUjBNqO5eJfsEX_4AJym6yT8rNrqeoeqb-3Bk2DewtHPGdojtXALfBJL0oLH5LwJjukhrrz5XPSp-AC_kC2OZ8uYMgSFF_lp/s320/4.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partially smoked duiker. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n2EQBTVwxtqbuMO363qwBzcrazcByzigD9DZGQ3WHZ3ZfrMt4UjjPnSgs1PXd5mmLLRBT3pc4nMIO1SW1EsKUfqO1XNPb6g5bmOda1vRs5z_bdUfI3Pc6nejEG313FwzLOXd1rGVtstK/s2048/3.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n2EQBTVwxtqbuMO363qwBzcrazcByzigD9DZGQ3WHZ3ZfrMt4UjjPnSgs1PXd5mmLLRBT3pc4nMIO1SW1EsKUfqO1XNPb6g5bmOda1vRs5z_bdUfI3Pc6nejEG313FwzLOXd1rGVtstK/s320/3.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQtunL0ukmslPYxe47UeLCwLKlRzf13E6YVTnx5gVLbBDNTfHnVLvtiA00sayfT7zIpHY_NCzFR48di7_tZJgXMTOADCE_9mrKK-AtGyA4yB4qiR6Tzv47krr7d1qUjG4a-85gvQYnlyG/s2048/2.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQtunL0ukmslPYxe47UeLCwLKlRzf13E6YVTnx5gVLbBDNTfHnVLvtiA00sayfT7zIpHY_NCzFR48di7_tZJgXMTOADCE_9mrKK-AtGyA4yB4qiR6Tzv47krr7d1qUjG4a-85gvQYnlyG/s320/2.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Farmers hunt cane rats, which in addition to providing cash, eliminates them from their fields. They are pests especially at harvest time as they can ravage entire crops. This is a commonly encountered example of human-animal conflict.</div><div><br /></div><div>The development of informal commercial networks for urban markets reduces local access to meat because individuals who combine farming and hunting prefer selling wild animals for money instead of putting it into the household pot. They say 'eating bushmeat is like eating money'. A farmer/hunter in the nearby village of Kifudi reported that when he shoots or snares a cane rat, he prefers selling it to buy cheap imported chicken, fish, rice, oil and condiments.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>This is a comprehensible paradox because if the family were to eat the cane rat, they wouldn’t have money to buy other foodstuffs. It comes down to selling a relatively small quantity of quality meat to a commercial trader to be able to buy a much larger stock of food that could last longer and feed more family members.</div></div></div>Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-75902736703214042522019-05-21T16:41:00.000+02:002019-05-21T16:41:15.285+02:00Urban bushmeat project<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZtdl-oH5ox4YVa-Mr9GhRMbceaHLi4bGksGuWxaaU4hiF9P9eGJRihIG2lhLakjnknoLlzEod6nbR0qwen5RCk7YBvDauYOKhHWUY28J0J37ruHiFY55hNC2DaOleZ4pf5OD8MBUSnBR/s1600/Mbandaka+market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZtdl-oH5ox4YVa-Mr9GhRMbceaHLi4bGksGuWxaaU4hiF9P9eGJRihIG2lhLakjnknoLlzEod6nbR0qwen5RCk7YBvDauYOKhHWUY28J0J37ruHiFY55hNC2DaOleZ4pf5OD8MBUSnBR/s320/Mbandaka+market.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocodiles, Mbandaka market, RDC</td></tr>
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In the framework of research at AfricaMuseum, Tervuren, I’m working on a project provisionally entitled ‘Bushmeat: The culture and economy of eating wild animals in central Africa’. The objective of the research is to study the urban appetite for bushmeat in a culturally sensitive way and to give voice to the hunters, transporters, traders, consumers and other protagonists in bushmeat crisis dynamics.
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This blog entry is a way of sharing my current research and inviting
colleagues to share their work in the event of common research interests. Any
collaboration on these themes will be welcomed. Please contact: theodore.trefon@africamuseum.be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IlzSdZV-XXF7oupbh81MjxrYML6QoqMa7Ei70-H-HIPuqHLwHCQqjjV0BdEbTOJifE5zYOF8cTUAkpyvhfXIcOfVmy5txQYlQX-8AjgXloGW7cZxhVP99lrssIhDLHGU10TDBmpUw5te/s1600/Market+Monkoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IlzSdZV-XXF7oupbh81MjxrYML6QoqMa7Ei70-H-HIPuqHLwHCQqjjV0BdEbTOJifE5zYOF8cTUAkpyvhfXIcOfVmy5txQYlQX-8AjgXloGW7cZxhVP99lrssIhDLHGU10TDBmpUw5te/s320/Market+Monkoto.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoked monkey meat, Mankoto, Salonga Park, DRC</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Wildlife conservation and the
illegal wildlife trade have become political priorities and a household concern
in much of the world. Elephants are being massacred with military weapons for
their ivory while rhinos are being poached to extinction for the perceived
medicinal and symbolic characteristics of their horn. Less well-known, but
equally serious, are the dynamics of over-hunting in central Africa to satisfy
urban demand for wild meat. Once sustainable, hunting has become a massive
commercial business to feed the region’s swelling cities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The ‘bushmeat crisis’ referred
to by conservationists is real: every year, central Africans consume
approximately half as much bushmeat as Brazil produces beef. Ecocide for
environmentalists, eating wild animals is just a way of life for many people in
Africa. Law enforcement, awareness-building and community involvement are some
of the measures being implemented but the slaughter goes on. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhPqgojHmZtnbtQAGTNHU9cpzC2_K0V9-IGg_h1N4FDIOnn8fyN9aL_Dub3MdTT9PQ6RowqOhhmZMXqt8CG8PP_H-_9Y63jRZKLeIAYnvl4lX_ZsToDcvbbHfR8BursdiVLyuoSONSQvP/s1600/bonobo+Kokolopori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="1500" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhPqgojHmZtnbtQAGTNHU9cpzC2_K0V9-IGg_h1N4FDIOnn8fyN9aL_Dub3MdTT9PQ6RowqOhhmZMXqt8CG8PP_H-_9Y63jRZKLeIAYnvl4lX_ZsToDcvbbHfR8BursdiVLyuoSONSQvP/s320/bonobo+Kokolopori.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonobo in natural habitat, Kokolopori, DRC</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IShOWat6FdoLgVho98hYpb0Novel-zXYHZV6eK_1Psi1_4eWXAJz1ezbnhTMu_OvtfQAQCGx8QeEC91DhyphenhyphenHInVtoq_P8ahaKQ0_5cnJoDE8hz8xlqT5w9ePbJl3XXn-i9LYJaMwIEM74/s1600/protected+species+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_IShOWat6FdoLgVho98hYpb0Novel-zXYHZV6eK_1Psi1_4eWXAJz1ezbnhTMu_OvtfQAQCGx8QeEC91DhyphenhyphenHInVtoq_P8ahaKQ0_5cnJoDE8hz8xlqT5w9ePbJl3XXn-i9LYJaMwIEM74/s320/protected+species+poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protected species poster, Equateur Province, DRC</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Cultural
attachment to bushmeat, its political economy, urban consumption trends and the
legal framework are the keys to understanding the challenges and solutions.
Based on extensive field interviews and a comprehensive review of the relevant
literature, this volume presents a startling account of one of the
Anthropocene’s catastrophes in the making.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7YGUAe2JlLWQtaSEvoDvOXBKJhBFNi2CevoyKedzHaZgO7_trkesJQngv2s_QCt29rL8JP4_-LSXUGMAA5p0KhyphenhyphenYZ-PUStGWq8BinyfiR80d8hzNsYZFDxQrnDJnNjwl_xfXMHUiRiUd/s1600/menu+chalk+board.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7YGUAe2JlLWQtaSEvoDvOXBKJhBFNi2CevoyKedzHaZgO7_trkesJQngv2s_QCt29rL8JP4_-LSXUGMAA5p0KhyphenhyphenYZ-PUStGWq8BinyfiR80d8hzNsYZFDxQrnDJnNjwl_xfXMHUiRiUd/s320/menu+chalk+board.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menu, Kisangani restaurant, DRC</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This research provides an interdisciplinary account of
bushmeat consumption in central Africa. Culture, economy, biodiversity, public
health and conservation law and enforcement are its main themes. Practically
all forms of wildlife from the largest emblematic mammals to the smallest
invertebrates are eaten. The shift from subsistence rural consumption to
commercialised urban use can be explained by the development of trade networks
(ranging from the small-scale and informal to the well-organized and
politically connected), urbanisation dynamics, cultural and symbolic attachment
and institutional constraints. All of these elements translate into soaring
bushmeat consumption on the urban landscape - be it at home, as street food or
in restaurants. It has direct consequences on biodiversity, local economies and
public health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This research is necessary
because it will contribute to wildlife management strategies</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> by informing policy decisions</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. Donors are investing
millions of dollars every year in the region to improve wildlife management in
and outside of national parks but they are only recently trying to implement
actionable ideas about the drivers and obstacles to behavior change regarding
bushmeat consumption. It is also necessary because of its compelling content.
It tells the story of a multifaceted global problem that is little-known - and
often ideological and judgmental. There is a biodiversity element. The Congo
Basin in home to the world’s second largest contiguous rainforest and wildlife
directly contributes to the sustainability of the forest. The ‘empty forest’
syndrome needs to be made known – without wild animals, forest dynamics suffer.
The urban bushmeat trade is an important contribution to local economies:
multiple levels of actors earn their livings from bushmeat. The research also reveals
a worrying public health dimension: the countries in the region have little or
no large-scale animal production or ranching industries so meat is either
imported or harvested from the wild. Studies show the importance of bushmeat to
both urban and rural diets. Another public health dimension relates to </span>animal-to-human diseases such as HIV and Ebola.</div>
<o:p></o:p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf50ximyJuYNuzcmWnT8gweNAq8UrEX3VvTbQa_20nuV4ho76ZKrQkp4ZtMg5pBAVnNGdaMTKtzT9z6pDlXsMVipG8Lta8Fs5YwiKwUOzgQBKVlCR_BM3JQMI4MbjTEm8HS4WFknzpvv5/s1600/4.+Tref+with+hunters_WEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf50ximyJuYNuzcmWnT8gweNAq8UrEX3VvTbQa_20nuV4ho76ZKrQkp4ZtMg5pBAVnNGdaMTKtzT9z6pDlXsMVipG8Lta8Fs5YwiKwUOzgQBKVlCR_BM3JQMI4MbjTEm8HS4WFknzpvv5/s320/4.+Tref+with+hunters_WEB.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with hunters, Luki Biosphere Reserve, DRC<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjVbpT3x51uhWsE3dRgZLFd_5zU2e6fOR4KQV8leZUFXEy7E04846b8cwciH9Q1JP77LHohsugLUojK7xk4myPFEeKZ7gVfCtxnATDgNLB1qQY8HE8EWcBhi3fgIUGuIqMmBMcHSU0mBZ/s1600/Cables+used+for+hunting+snares.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjVbpT3x51uhWsE3dRgZLFd_5zU2e6fOR4KQV8leZUFXEy7E04846b8cwciH9Q1JP77LHohsugLUojK7xk4myPFEeKZ7gVfCtxnATDgNLB1qQY8HE8EWcBhi3fgIUGuIqMmBMcHSU0mBZ/s320/Cables+used+for+hunting+snares.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wire cables for sale for hunting snares, Tshupa Province, DRC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-88687075601342083402018-08-30T14:16:00.000+02:002018-08-30T21:34:30.379+02:00Miss Ranger on the Frontline<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIQtiwLmW0HyCrGQWDFgB2cCn_GYQLMIwUbPVGnC2on1X8qKo2utoXMF1QPem8GJtTa7dljdFEFl6vCVYtvbzNbL3MgZOZXZwv7tAfqbxLNCV8YLf1amH2jYc5Jvt3KvVpJWY17Ph0DMb/s1600/IMG_2253%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIQtiwLmW0HyCrGQWDFgB2cCn_GYQLMIwUbPVGnC2on1X8qKo2utoXMF1QPem8GJtTa7dljdFEFl6vCVYtvbzNbL3MgZOZXZwv7tAfqbxLNCV8YLf1amH2jYc5Jvt3KvVpJWY17Ph0DMb/s320/IMG_2253%255B1%255D.JPG" width="240" /></a></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christlia
Nguidzi is a park ranger on a conservation mission – and the only female on a
team of 20 rough-and-tumble rangers. Single, 23 years old, 52 kilos, she rattles on
about face-to-face encounters with hippos, gorillas, snakes and angry
villagers. ‘Our training was tough! Paramilitary boot camp followed written
exams about conservation laws and wildlife. I came in first place in target
practice! Older, stronger men dropped out but I’m still here and proud to be
making a contribution.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She works
in the Lac Tele Community Reserve which was created in 2001 to manage the
area’s biodiversity-rich flooded savanna forest. I met Christlia at park
headquarters in Epena while on mission to lend environmental governance support
to the park’s community development team. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The </span>Reserve is located in the
Republic of Congo just across the Lac Tumba Reserve in the Democratic Republic
of Congo – the area constitutes the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/11/worlds-largest-peatland-vast-carbon-storage-capacity-found-congo">world’s largest peatland</a>. The American
environmental NGO <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> manages it in tandem with the
Congolese agency for nature conservation (ACFAP).</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1s7TsR_PO3L5l9eFSepB8jBmOrXT3FOZkYf9lxfvWipfiAdAvwL1F0uFFBEkkycoWWGCGMuiCBbr_8bwt7Jv8KLd5WcWXEMSpfUxp__TIStR_xSUJmDSZI_F-1_qa9T5CRKGuVhIANiA/s1600/IMG_2207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1s7TsR_PO3L5l9eFSepB8jBmOrXT3FOZkYf9lxfvWipfiAdAvwL1F0uFFBEkkycoWWGCGMuiCBbr_8bwt7Jv8KLd5WcWXEMSpfUxp__TIStR_xSUJmDSZI_F-1_qa9T5CRKGuVhIANiA/s200/IMG_2207.JPG" width="200" /></a>Population density is low – less than three inhabitants per square kilometer – which facilitates conservation efforts. Local communities in the reserve draw their subsistence mainly from fishing, and depending on the season, from hunting and farming. Harvesting of non-timber forest products such as caterpillars and mushrooms contribute to diets in the lean months from July to September when fish is scare. Dugout canoes, fishing nets, woven-rattan traps and harpoons are the symbols of community life. Other than selling fish and bushmeat, economic activities are limited, so families survive largely outside of the cash economy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Interviews
with villagers in the reserve revealed a common litany. ‘How are we supposed to get money to pay our kids’ school fees if we don’t hunt and fish? The reserve managers promised development options but so far haven’t delivered anything.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is indeed a pattern of frustration that started with skepticism but has
mutated into anger. WCS is promoting cacao production but villagers admit that
between the painstaking growing of cacao and hunting, the economic choice is
simple: ‘we only get 600CFA for a kilo of cacao whereas a duiker can fetch five
times as much’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A day in
the life of a park ranger is physically and emotionally exhausting. ‘A patrol
can last up to three weeks in the forest. I carry a gun and a heavy pack filled
with cans of sardines and corned beef, my tent, GPS and satellite phone in case
we have an emergency. We go days and days without washing up – and that’s no
joke. It’s never happened to me but colleagues have met up with family members
with guns and animals that are on our country’s protected species list. What
are they supposed to do? Uphold their conservation mandate or get into trouble
with the family?’ Tasks in this mandate according to Christlia are
anti-poaching, wildlife tracking and stimulating community awareness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There work is also dangerous. The 12 caliber shotgun is another
symbol in these parts. ‘I was really scared the day we found a pygmy hunter
with three elephant tusks and a gun. There are networks controlled by
influential people in the big cities behind elephant poaching. Another day,
angry villagers threw sticks and stones at us because we arrested a local poacher.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christlia
has the support of her family in her commitment to work as a ranger. ‘My nieces
think I’m doing something amazing and want to follow in my footsteps. I really
hope they will succeed. We need more independent women to do this work so they
won’t rely on their husbands.’<br />
<br />
She is one of six children so her parents are
grateful she can send some money at the end of the month. Her father is a
school gym teacher and her mother sells fish and banana at the market in
Impfondo. She says her earnings are low and complains that only five rangers
have government contracts. ‘Most of us are paid by WSC. What’s going to happen
to us when the project money dries up?’ But, she adds, with a smile: 'I'm content to carry on. God gives me the courage to do so, and anyway, I don’t
really have a choice.’<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGYwzpJYxMFD75mijEqJtKTKHgLu1n2fQ_mDlFCEe7ERRaX75q_Y8YHN6zl_F1S2lSGYargOr98f-5s6HlU3O2PY5SmAbB8jY430R6VaXaVcZTrHSBMwHJhRCkujCgXyqgG1irTVEMIuB/s1600/IMG_2192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGYwzpJYxMFD75mijEqJtKTKHgLu1n2fQ_mDlFCEe7ERRaX75q_Y8YHN6zl_F1S2lSGYargOr98f-5s6HlU3O2PY5SmAbB8jY430R6VaXaVcZTrHSBMwHJhRCkujCgXyqgG1irTVEMIuB/s400/IMG_2192.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flooded savanna is the dominant ecosystem of the Lac Tele Community Reserve</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjyCt5JDyUoQprNxyBK7zNwu90WnM8afzuyZO_aOOTvoQ_T70FUPgBNCUxrDkPU-5CPA4d6mj68JpgGBN-PRe_3DJrhRrIGX_pJ6tqmEfNil8ELn7R9_uKZ9Vv6LFeOIFxw1OyMp-aZjT/s1600/IMG_2230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjyCt5JDyUoQprNxyBK7zNwu90WnM8afzuyZO_aOOTvoQ_T70FUPgBNCUxrDkPU-5CPA4d6mj68JpgGBN-PRe_3DJrhRrIGX_pJ6tqmEfNil8ELn7R9_uKZ9Vv6LFeOIFxw1OyMp-aZjT/s400/IMG_2230.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign posts serve to showcase partner logos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzcVlBsewCOmhqXZCvr_fw7SSpc2D8nIEKFdDrmkAsKVTyyKDG920u8FZ0qFcxoA3mWy9XpHmriuKkE2bC1GIWhcC8WvRIBh1Ao7UGRlBkzRu2a7bbWM5FBeNa86Nbp4VHeism_TFvD6_/s1600/IMG_2136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzcVlBsewCOmhqXZCvr_fw7SSpc2D8nIEKFdDrmkAsKVTyyKDG920u8FZ0qFcxoA3mWy9XpHmriuKkE2bC1GIWhcC8WvRIBh1Ao7UGRlBkzRu2a7bbWM5FBeNa86Nbp4VHeism_TFvD6_/s400/IMG_2136.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grill used to smoke fish<br />
<br />
<o:p style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;"></o:p></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sDe0C8uNcGhyhNpnLVTrZbNy2w3KFig2ngPhsJ0asQpXzzXBoBEOdiKkyKdlCf7b3KVzNeptUIskLQ7TvQt-kJ5QO1o06yGCw5AE0oTXNdI9bAWYYFEtzl6DPdNH2m5IfrdYhnuiMuhp/s1600/IMG_2174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sDe0C8uNcGhyhNpnLVTrZbNy2w3KFig2ngPhsJ0asQpXzzXBoBEOdiKkyKdlCf7b3KVzNeptUIskLQ7TvQt-kJ5QO1o06yGCw5AE0oTXNdI9bAWYYFEtzl6DPdNH2m5IfrdYhnuiMuhp/s400/IMG_2174.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing traps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCpjpvvp1s-x8jxGjJ0z5-cB2kAMmKZIm6MIP48Blj2kUuB8QA8RaIJ-W3fBGEs2qC530_7iLhARynpgHb8pW43KfLwG7MtoDXtRIyahUlj19u0j5CNoRSFO9JdrvVYfs24xCHVnzO3Y5/s1600/IMG_2130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCpjpvvp1s-x8jxGjJ0z5-cB2kAMmKZIm6MIP48Blj2kUuB8QA8RaIJ-W3fBGEs2qC530_7iLhARynpgHb8pW43KfLwG7MtoDXtRIyahUlj19u0j5CNoRSFO9JdrvVYfs24xCHVnzO3Y5/s400/IMG_2130.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing camp near Bokatola</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlgxjLIB7Sp0KNnTeGTycnItZdxyiDxUWp8uEoIVSnfzEtnlv9dGklfSRykBt_6WLTsRYD5vCEoAJ-iGhEWEeUZYNrRpZDnhdYHlYlOjeZO5_T6txKf6Y39owFnGS7W-yjPhJbjSqYCy5/s1600/IMG_2133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: start;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlgxjLIB7Sp0KNnTeGTycnItZdxyiDxUWp8uEoIVSnfzEtnlv9dGklfSRykBt_6WLTsRYD5vCEoAJ-iGhEWEeUZYNrRpZDnhdYHlYlOjeZO5_T6txKf6Y39owFnGS7W-yjPhJbjSqYCy5/s400/IMG_2133.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harpoons are indicators of the presence of large fish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqkMG3ejeoMJOevSiwy8gqhjlHr7oKfYq21OTUhNmq66vfFvmVaK-nmItbUIoGRrFDICTUs7R706ABi36qLN-rB_suPhd9n3Im5QOk7viCMvGG511rY-UMZrwVEeDCp_RDlVk1aHQpthl/s1600/IMG_2138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaqkMG3ejeoMJOevSiwy8gqhjlHr7oKfYq21OTUhNmq66vfFvmVaK-nmItbUIoGRrFDICTUs7R706ABi36qLN-rB_suPhd9n3Im5QOk7viCMvGG511rY-UMZrwVEeDCp_RDlVk1aHQpthl/s400/IMG_2138.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dugout canoes are the main means of tranportation in these flooded grasslands<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLQwnLbsDPHOiN54Kkjr5b8_DGsWuuNykqEt9a8BTsMfM8nOVdFSmqRlV1UVINYjuxM7v6MdUXtkdKp4FKftMdYvVF1dLqw70orYubHI0JNeiV_YyUWjVVitrGlUA41EB__rmqrUchOvo/s1600/IMG_2139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLQwnLbsDPHOiN54Kkjr5b8_DGsWuuNykqEt9a8BTsMfM8nOVdFSmqRlV1UVINYjuxM7v6MdUXtkdKp4FKftMdYvVF1dLqw70orYubHI0JNeiV_YyUWjVVitrGlUA41EB__rmqrUchOvo/s400/IMG_2139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solar panels help villagers charge cell phones and listen to the radio </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFnDkZd8pCgnVJHxnd9kuVxCXpEfKPZ6YcIlIt4SviFQmSIio3s20hVP_BmYxvOD6ja5nU7MEAJk0S7g-rLHBxB2gG5YTBCgI3dPwtQK6Di4bq6DCvS7tXvrDed-IkgaTNSy3M9ATYAlt/s1600/IMG_2142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFnDkZd8pCgnVJHxnd9kuVxCXpEfKPZ6YcIlIt4SviFQmSIio3s20hVP_BmYxvOD6ja5nU7MEAJk0S7g-rLHBxB2gG5YTBCgI3dPwtQK6Di4bq6DCvS7tXvrDed-IkgaTNSy3M9ATYAlt/s320/IMG_2142.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fishing trap<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimYVgllyScnsSk2T6IYeonceWnQkMHw6SGhn_K_6LvP1ScjbUGSvLvoeJf3P5JLQ98Ub1zaNNWxJ4k2VGwwhS4RnpxSWphgqmCJdwgP_eRE0hRufYuDdf348kQ6dprXbGnafvW_1n1AYQN/s1600/IMG_2237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimYVgllyScnsSk2T6IYeonceWnQkMHw6SGhn_K_6LvP1ScjbUGSvLvoeJf3P5JLQ98Ub1zaNNWxJ4k2VGwwhS4RnpxSWphgqmCJdwgP_eRE0hRufYuDdf348kQ6dprXbGnafvW_1n1AYQN/s400/IMG_2237.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park managers support local development structures</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ldw5LfR6wusVYAPsvmiW6Fd7T8x3ich9calvgs5YHXJy2nPwrQbkSPuh0FQyQS0fLQ4B3VQvHvyYLzhqD-SGZEzrr50TuYvqPvt56TCPlDwL5pRNZw1JoCO4R0vHER4H4NG288u24-e7/s1600/IMG_2196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ldw5LfR6wusVYAPsvmiW6Fd7T8x3ich9calvgs5YHXJy2nPwrQbkSPuh0FQyQS0fLQ4B3VQvHvyYLzhqD-SGZEzrr50TuYvqPvt56TCPlDwL5pRNZw1JoCO4R0vHER4H4NG288u24-e7/s400/IMG_2196.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">local visionnaries contribute to forest conservation in their own way</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_5vrHeMFM5ujdphrg88jBKj_spSvlleQ8FCzgTb65eBeWywA_w8l99fxwyDaDggbI8QHVG39jTktXzlqfvryfVjBThrkcj2Uh9UFxKxOH0upTiG79iJKy2Gtni58BfzAjQDR6RuH2ioN/s1600/IMG_2219%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt_5vrHeMFM5ujdphrg88jBKj_spSvlleQ8FCzgTb65eBeWywA_w8l99fxwyDaDggbI8QHVG39jTktXzlqfvryfVjBThrkcj2Uh9UFxKxOH0upTiG79iJKy2Gtni58BfzAjQDR6RuH2ioN/s400/IMG_2219%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African bush plum is an important contribution to the local diet during the lean months<br />
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-25478652446264472572017-01-16T13:19:00.000+01:002017-05-12T16:33:40.924+02:00Photos from the Tshuapa and Equateur Provinces<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDlU5PO85sfO1qniqjtRnx9K6OdBXsYJcoORe_-JdUGB8XCZbBJh5Xgt-xzITIVBbQe6XXHyOC0hUZZHP2QoeiJW4M_UDEendrKZNW3sE6LMgncIi23UekLpU2oe4yXQyhnU_Vzvj9qlh/s1600/3.+Pont.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDlU5PO85sfO1qniqjtRnx9K6OdBXsYJcoORe_-JdUGB8XCZbBJh5Xgt-xzITIVBbQe6XXHyOC0hUZZHP2QoeiJW4M_UDEendrKZNW3sE6LMgncIi23UekLpU2oe4yXQyhnU_Vzvj9qlh/s640/3.+Pont.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rHvE_oYkA91FafCvus7trUlm94JweinoOZKaXUT_D8wEs_a1z7pSYldT2Oi1ehZpmXvSxvPfId2QKcu_JBE_dz9Tz8Gva9vEWCCVaJPgDxA1dhwrG9S1Wn-ur3GlsMidp3jvCBRfyN8Q/s1600/1.+TT+pont.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rHvE_oYkA91FafCvus7trUlm94JweinoOZKaXUT_D8wEs_a1z7pSYldT2Oi1ehZpmXvSxvPfId2QKcu_JBE_dz9Tz8Gva9vEWCCVaJPgDxA1dhwrG9S1Wn-ur3GlsMidp3jvCBRfyN8Q/s400/1.+TT+pont.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCs7NYtPQkbgr1FAadLK8gZPei2vJCqTl_7AhiiasVk32UpIPRZhNq4OkkxWn4zSEIYm7fGIS0ZhTD8ToTDLHwaYNR4HgOA76hrc1OB4cM5GUZTSlNVaHDpKFKOQWFhCrK0r42Swwuwcb/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCs7NYtPQkbgr1FAadLK8gZPei2vJCqTl_7AhiiasVk32UpIPRZhNq4OkkxWn4zSEIYm7fGIS0ZhTD8ToTDLHwaYNR4HgOA76hrc1OB4cM5GUZTSlNVaHDpKFKOQWFhCrK0r42Swwuwcb/s640/Picture2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yVvR29SFVcu0cbpnI3R0j_pXubeo9aWqQ8a9prad2BwQFe7lBaDi4bF2RPNasCcfBvMWCNPztfDwHc22Q29I5k0fRaXP9foOjonFnkClZh3IPx-Pvx4mklNOc0j2GZl0qv8yma6pcxX5/s1600/2.+crocos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yVvR29SFVcu0cbpnI3R0j_pXubeo9aWqQ8a9prad2BwQFe7lBaDi4bF2RPNasCcfBvMWCNPztfDwHc22Q29I5k0fRaXP9foOjonFnkClZh3IPx-Pvx4mklNOc0j2GZl0qv8yma6pcxX5/s640/2.+crocos.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocodiles for sale at the Mbandaka market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsipU2yWi174Pm8sNPIfYvTvKyGeSQ-xXYoMmfwsIE4FYWLIAsCAHegBflVHCpBiH7ezVOeSPaICotoTvC_LykYKDFuf594GBMuAAYmj9jF6R-hjaOW-VpCvEYSrECaj-RKOqJ1Ka8wUZ/s1600/4.+moto+pirogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsipU2yWi174Pm8sNPIfYvTvKyGeSQ-xXYoMmfwsIE4FYWLIAsCAHegBflVHCpBiH7ezVOeSPaICotoTvC_LykYKDFuf594GBMuAAYmj9jF6R-hjaOW-VpCvEYSrECaj-RKOqJ1Ka8wUZ/s640/4.+moto+pirogue.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bridge broken - we crossed with our motorbikes in a double dug-out canoe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3ZcT1G8HJyQZ9k8Cn6VRcON06YhlBqtmIuSjxqSd5DWrA8h3LGpsyrH3H4ycbnNxsMxu6s8xaUU1NWY5X1jp0NP8oJ4Yv1Kkr9xVGHfWbls97qD8RtpeimA4JEf5Mja04oNzG0fqE5i2/s1600/Picture47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3ZcT1G8HJyQZ9k8Cn6VRcON06YhlBqtmIuSjxqSd5DWrA8h3LGpsyrH3H4ycbnNxsMxu6s8xaUU1NWY5X1jp0NP8oJ4Yv1Kkr9xVGHfWbls97qD8RtpeimA4JEf5Mja04oNzG0fqE5i2/s640/Picture47.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauRSmkGDX7w2eoDvgjlbgeWJWvMDGL3chyphenhyphen8fhN6EW6vrNfOeSUmjUwJqDGtgTTSqXWYlwNF3DRtV0SVXtUHCt1erA9qh1gqchbWWiIZYPtvHAsgE_pb8lKWUTJYHNKHirXRX4jDxIGGGI/s1600/5.+Panaux+solaire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauRSmkGDX7w2eoDvgjlbgeWJWvMDGL3chyphenhyphen8fhN6EW6vrNfOeSUmjUwJqDGtgTTSqXWYlwNF3DRtV0SVXtUHCt1erA9qh1gqchbWWiIZYPtvHAsgE_pb8lKWUTJYHNKHirXRX4jDxIGGGI/s640/5.+Panaux+solaire.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">solar panels are increasing used </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcktTHjih5Bd4RDpbBvlKRaHCqBfpoLibWApJuTBwjIzgCMV7piRAGeyvXmuXZ-N9Ly3caMgBf-btp4gm7VTobHgsexMpLXo4p6n13lbvMf0Dww9QxgoSQ7rRnX_YLBNUjfwUx1ZixEWLE/s1600/6.+Corona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcktTHjih5Bd4RDpbBvlKRaHCqBfpoLibWApJuTBwjIzgCMV7piRAGeyvXmuXZ-N9Ly3caMgBf-btp4gm7VTobHgsexMpLXo4p6n13lbvMf0Dww9QxgoSQ7rRnX_YLBNUjfwUx1ZixEWLE/s640/6.+Corona.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">civil servants lack modern technology - but not good will</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEtMs4qcQ8dzv5C5DDYFrPi84WGMavEVOsiRVE6Y-MwjKNZnK6it-hnJyOaOul3IcOD9Hr3S1YMpIV3FzSJsCdUUDnJk9MHR9sS_P3u4eag_q008-6sj1DvpV3ROqMhTfz6S5SWxyjiLG/s1600/7.+eglise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEtMs4qcQ8dzv5C5DDYFrPi84WGMavEVOsiRVE6Y-MwjKNZnK6it-hnJyOaOul3IcOD9Hr3S1YMpIV3FzSJsCdUUDnJk9MHR9sS_P3u4eag_q008-6sj1DvpV3ROqMhTfz6S5SWxyjiLG/s640/7.+eglise.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church in Lukolela</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJFdwB-xNyGNOBUfQkj_oOAMwgvp_HvnzrVcDe1CotO17X7pU_f7Rhk9X24XUZlp6vSA1xA1awQ0NzWMlCEmUoVOCByhD0yxyU3CO_n4-osrhiQ6VL2j6Z6eBtzXL7CLv2CL6AvxsZhDE/s1600/10+%25C3%25A9glise+int.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJFdwB-xNyGNOBUfQkj_oOAMwgvp_HvnzrVcDe1CotO17X7pU_f7Rhk9X24XUZlp6vSA1xA1awQ0NzWMlCEmUoVOCByhD0yxyU3CO_n4-osrhiQ6VL2j6Z6eBtzXL7CLv2CL6AvxsZhDE/s640/10+%25C3%25A9glise+int.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD0KMEsUs6C_IG5h7WTo9OeiCH7I03dqadR6UykjTJf2I0B64XZk1lAcz-OLRu3BVRf3M-XBXLeZccVgwn8uvxvTB-RuzEJFdjvDoIJEvA6xITv1gh9weXiK-wHq7xgHwqyVXoH04OVY5/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD0KMEsUs6C_IG5h7WTo9OeiCH7I03dqadR6UykjTJf2I0B64XZk1lAcz-OLRu3BVRf3M-XBXLeZccVgwn8uvxvTB-RuzEJFdjvDoIJEvA6xITv1gh9weXiK-wHq7xgHwqyVXoH04OVY5/s640/Picture3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Airstrip Djolu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkic538uFBzQmidaPPv8FUC_uKGsSHjfL1YIOUFQLz2o5VMN5hMYrsqAyx9_MY-bMy4c9M2hcGr8GQ2f-uH8VoAfkijVNOAYcnlfeZXMJUFaSVJTBkPRyYPDn82dQ0qHOceFY_1YrSQtJ/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkic538uFBzQmidaPPv8FUC_uKGsSHjfL1YIOUFQLz2o5VMN5hMYrsqAyx9_MY-bMy4c9M2hcGr8GQ2f-uH8VoAfkijVNOAYcnlfeZXMJUFaSVJTBkPRyYPDn82dQ0qHOceFY_1YrSQtJ/s640/Picture4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9y4iij8_zY9UOPOHRwQqPn9q3zOQgWdim2wZgDaV6lVdIZ6vOXI8WMR0oI-Za29pHv99gFygIQjihArngypKAmxEd_1V2ZIIfNGuLDT8MaweAV4N3wltxGsMhqKBtE4MhVQpRAw6Ks1U/s1600/Picture5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9y4iij8_zY9UOPOHRwQqPn9q3zOQgWdim2wZgDaV6lVdIZ6vOXI8WMR0oI-Za29pHv99gFygIQjihArngypKAmxEd_1V2ZIIfNGuLDT8MaweAV4N3wltxGsMhqKBtE4MhVQpRAw6Ks1U/s640/Picture5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Djolu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnN1735nnFxdUwSdfMQR9OG0u13ytfIwJxqt39dTjWSGl7juMlo_6wr6pXPy6u9eKsZmfSafeaLElTFosj3JiBjVj10NEJp1jCBHVaKlsjxPyjc3yNDdLRMIu90dD3ePQmboyTwpJyQWA/s1600/Picture6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnN1735nnFxdUwSdfMQR9OG0u13ytfIwJxqt39dTjWSGl7juMlo_6wr6pXPy6u9eKsZmfSafeaLElTFosj3JiBjVj10NEJp1jCBHVaKlsjxPyjc3yNDdLRMIu90dD3ePQmboyTwpJyQWA/s640/Picture6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">selling salt and soap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP617hRC9GJAY_HsRbq8dC-rgkme7ga3z43L4n15QqwNStoJl8kghR28snhNrnhv1ChL-o0PBUQ7XF0OQ392b4ksjG31iKk4zS0RGk-VTzDXbQy43DOAJPOzry0xpGlw81eXDSFA5coRR0/s1600/Picture7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP617hRC9GJAY_HsRbq8dC-rgkme7ga3z43L4n15QqwNStoJl8kghR28snhNrnhv1ChL-o0PBUQ7XF0OQ392b4ksjG31iKk4zS0RGk-VTzDXbQy43DOAJPOzry0xpGlw81eXDSFA5coRR0/s640/Picture7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">empty plastic bottles for sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_vZ9xxjcKub80eAEJqoTPGtJeTD9ed4kYuiqCrnHOsl9ryMMZ4dyR4v_LFHF4XreSUnpHh8JcB9QSRO692AAe11FdJcZkNJbtH6dys1UJ4cskxvcZtL6BLrD6WpjLCB6oXJB-2WDFAmk/s1600/Picture9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_vZ9xxjcKub80eAEJqoTPGtJeTD9ed4kYuiqCrnHOsl9ryMMZ4dyR4v_LFHF4XreSUnpHh8JcB9QSRO692AAe11FdJcZkNJbtH6dys1UJ4cskxvcZtL6BLrD6WpjLCB6oXJB-2WDFAmk/s640/Picture9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sending casava and corn alcohol (lotoko) to Mbandada (the jugs return full of petrol, then refilled with lotoko)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bridge crossing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWLb90kgoUsclgpyhELRPZYl-8zG9zZeVP0t46el6uMYHZ2dE6c0jAbLeEriT3HPtPVkJhjOIhxYe4gUPBB4PscvtSZUbhwXa7vBGCdjllKznTOlMEmitCPTXYE17sMyqrs-IStGSQDYC/s1600/Picture15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWLb90kgoUsclgpyhELRPZYl-8zG9zZeVP0t46el6uMYHZ2dE6c0jAbLeEriT3HPtPVkJhjOIhxYe4gUPBB4PscvtSZUbhwXa7vBGCdjllKznTOlMEmitCPTXYE17sMyqrs-IStGSQDYC/s640/Picture15.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohio State Buckeyes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boston Celtics</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpURbFq-sAodVptR1TzbeRyjBytGAGbi1yy_Tu3IfRqa2Slz3TXNKSSWdNjGYrLBT9eWXmPZlv-KyrianA3ttGIuDmWhd-UGobKPe0gTYodjRNfe9CTbuRt70RUSG4tlNe37Fs_OGZFTZ/s1600/Picture20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpURbFq-sAodVptR1TzbeRyjBytGAGbi1yy_Tu3IfRqa2Slz3TXNKSSWdNjGYrLBT9eWXmPZlv-KyrianA3ttGIuDmWhd-UGobKPe0gTYodjRNfe9CTbuRt70RUSG4tlNe37Fs_OGZFTZ/s640/Picture20.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steel cables for hunting snares</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iT7NFH8AorfW6De4sZlxToU54KHmb7rQ-02UYOyExk60nHqQGLnek_XRYInyeT5mqBJ_k8PBX-Ofhh_bhR88WtUQg06c_Kfekmm9fUQoWy2tmGn2PLkvRFoDSSfhwqxiOBN5oDsEX_6S/s1600/Picture21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iT7NFH8AorfW6De4sZlxToU54KHmb7rQ-02UYOyExk60nHqQGLnek_XRYInyeT5mqBJ_k8PBX-Ofhh_bhR88WtUQg06c_Kfekmm9fUQoWy2tmGn2PLkvRFoDSSfhwqxiOBN5oDsEX_6S/s640/Picture21.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids have to grow up young</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaxOJqvrByFXoIORYcCDXIEW8be5pTIJbuJBl_dK8NMfq3wwE09BTKboOQWKLKdLZr5HV43E2-frsuB7qyOxZtURrPSl9a39cEm982_zK6K0k0wsyyg68s2Qus2Q7dlUvyX-kK9QBg7Cj/s1600/Picture24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaxOJqvrByFXoIORYcCDXIEW8be5pTIJbuJBl_dK8NMfq3wwE09BTKboOQWKLKdLZr5HV43E2-frsuB7qyOxZtURrPSl9a39cEm982_zK6K0k0wsyyg68s2Qus2Q7dlUvyX-kK9QBg7Cj/s640/Picture24.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat screen TVs and battery acid from Butembo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PHurgvVnTeEVGPz97x_qvWT1hSTpb44OBOYQfLEagshyphenhyphenTn1Aoyb8jcE0G7QTNZ5V0qPopvPTJ8UaGbyVTT2QvbUxob7KIBiMoK6W3ps6ym29UdJ-rLbhB8CPnzFW4hYQFdLEBzQOBQxv/s640/Picture25.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leading a blind man</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Village school Nyongji</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lomako Reserve - ICCN ranger trudges through inundated forest in flip flops</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African Wildlike Fund has supplanted the MPR Flame monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confiscated game and gun, Monkoto, Salonga National Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batwa village near Bikoro</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubber harvesting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humans are only human</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Territorial agent, Gombe, Equateur Province</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dug-out canoes for sale</td></tr>
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<br />Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com519tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-60396674406280972822016-12-18T23:10:00.000+01:002016-12-19T21:10:43.006+01:00New book about Goma<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpaUYNDqaK1NK6wl_UrPXJz10voQRhXoA_JnWSYGqsTbOOq-dHTMMlEEb13ZCNlsLKkvzdJSWIRTPTht_cf5f_gkrFYZaw-yUdaPsVYOHikRI7tYWgeto4tNyw_tJHZeHC2poEDw1rBKk/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpaUYNDqaK1NK6wl_UrPXJz10voQRhXoA_JnWSYGqsTbOOq-dHTMMlEEb13ZCNlsLKkvzdJSWIRTPTht_cf5f_gkrFYZaw-yUdaPsVYOHikRI7tYWgeto4tNyw_tJHZeHC2poEDw1rBKk/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="222" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Goma is a
fascinating city of around one million people caught up between volcanic
eruption and armed conflict</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">C</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">apital
of Congo’s North Kivu Province, it is living hell for some but a city of promise
for others. In contrast to dominant discourses, this book relates the
population’s attitudes about well-being, resilience and opportunity. Resigned
and hardened by struggle, they
give the impression that life is neither beautiful nor ugly, but an unending
skirmish with destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Based on twelve personal narratives, we recount
the story of an urban landscape in an authentic and humanizing way. The
revelations are sometimes agonizing, often surprising but always full of
meaning. This qualitative approach helps make sense of this vast enigma of a
city and the relationships between the population and their economic, social,
ecological, political and religious environments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This <a href="http://www.youscribe.com/catalogue/livres/art-musique-et-cinema/architecture-et-design/precarite-et-bien-etre-a-goma-rdc-2775487">new book</a> is an invitation to discover the
intimate feelings and multiple realities of ordinary people determined to
define their future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-42775454027463024022016-12-17T10:09:00.000+01:002016-12-17T10:19:37.153+01:00Why Kabila won't give upThe Kabila family business interests according to Kavanagh, Wilson & Wild. And it all makes sense.<br />
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-12-15/with-his-family-fortune-at-stake-congo-president-kabila-digs-in">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-12-15/with-his-family-fortune-at-stake-congo-president-kabila-digs-in</a>Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-46908230035086861442016-12-16T14:08:00.000+01:002016-12-17T10:00:58.169+01:0019 December 2017<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif";"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif";"><span style="color: white;">“Dear
friend, the wolves have always eaten the sheep; are the sheep going to eat the
wolves this time?” </span></span></div>
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Quote from Elias Canetti’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crowds and
Power</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "cambria math" , "serif";"><span style="color: white;">Article 64
of the 2005 Constitution of the DRC </span></span></div>
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All Congolese have the duty to oppose any individual or group of individuals
who seize power by force or who exercise it in violation of the provisions of
this Constitution. Any attempt to overthrow the constitutional regime
constitutes an offense against the nation and the State, an offense which is
not subject to the statute of limitations. It is punished in accordance with
the law.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;"><br /><u><span style="background-color: white;"></span></u></span><br />
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</span></span></i></b>Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-64036643142070660032016-08-17T12:06:00.000+02:002016-08-17T16:51:51.847+02:00Integrated land use planningOne of the many State-building weaknesses of Congolese authorities and their international partners is the total absence of an integrated land use strategy. One blatant bit of proof is the allocation of mining and oil concessions within protected areas; another is the lack of effort to reconnect the fragmented national territory through an integrated road and rail network. <br />
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Agriculture, forests, energy and water tend to be viewed by policy-makers and development experts as distinct challenges: an integrated (sometimes referred to as holistic or systemic) approach is practically non-existent. This is one of the main issues discussed in Congo’s Environmental Paradox. The policy landscape relating to these sectors is covered by vertical silos with few horizontal connections.<br />
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There are however a few counter examples: USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) has designed and adopted an ambitious ‘landscape’ approach and the European Commission is pursuing an integrated conservation management strategy in and around the Virunga National Park. USAID implemented its Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) approach in Africa in the 1980s but with limited results.<br />
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More broadly however, efforts to improve the sustainable management of Congo’s forests focus on the forest sector sensu stricto. This is necessary but not enough because sustainable use of forests can only be achieved by looking beyond the sector itself. There are inevitable linkages between forests, water, energy (ranging from cooking charcoal to the mega Inga hydroelectric dam) and agriculture.<br />
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Deforestation throughout the Congo Basin and in the DRC in particular is driven by specific human activities (agricultural practices, the development of roads and cutting down trees) and social processes (demographic growth, urbanization, trade, governance and culture). All of these causes and processes are interconnected. <br />
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The underdevelopment of hydroelectric capacity causes deforestation and therefore contributes to climate change. Food insecurity in the DRC clearly stems from production and transportation weaknesses but there are other causes too. Artisanal mining is one example because it has tempted large numbers of farmers to trade their hoes and machetes for picks and shovels.<br />
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Inadequate transportation infrastructure, like the energy deficit, is a cross-cutting problem with negative implications for land, forests and water management. This pertains to difficulties in getting crops from field to market and timber from forest to sawmill or port.<br />
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Resolving ambiguous land tenure systems is an institutional challenge is something that no Congolese government has been willing or able to tackle. The conflicting logics that oppose customary views of land ownership with those the State appear to be intractable. Coming to grips with this conflict is also a social challenge because forests are embedded in social contexts that influence how and why people use, depend upon and exploit other resources, such as agricultural land and water.<br />
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This is just one more urgent priority that the government and opposition groups should be discussing in the months ahead of electoral deadlines.Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-8092003573299626952016-08-07T20:39:00.000+02:002016-08-08T21:34:17.319+02:00Congo's underdeveloped agriculture sector<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Political discussions in and about the Congo continue to be off track. The crucial debate about how to feed the hungry is completely absent from the political agenda - from both the government and opposition sides. Once an exporter of food, the DRC now grows too little to meet even the basic nutritional needs of its citizens. Congolese are amongst the hungriest people on earth today. Food production increases at a slower annual rate (2%) than demographic growth (3%). Only ten percent of Congo’s 800,000 square kilometres of arable land (a surface area larger than France and the United Kingdom combined) is under cultivation.<br />
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Congo could feed over a billion people – or the equivalent of approximately the entire African continent. But the gap between potential and development in the agricultural sector is striking. Historically this wasn’t the case. Although achieved at an exorbitant social cost, the Belgian Congo could boast a number of real accomplishments in the agricultural sector.<br />
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- Agricultural exports represented 39% of total exports in the late 1950s, down to practically zero today.<br />
- Congo grew more cotton than any other African country.<br />
- It was the world’s leading exporter of palm oil following World War II.<br />
- Unilever, the world’s third largest consumer goods company after Proctor & Gamble and Nestlé, owed much of its early success to the Lever Brothers’ palm oil concession in Bandundu Province. It was established in 1911 to provide the raw material for their soap making factories in England.<br />
- The Yangambi agricultural research institute in the heart of the country’s tropical rainforest was a world-renowned centre of excellence in the 1950s.<br />
- The production of quinine, the only known cure for malaria, is closely associated with the microclimate of the South Kivu highlands. <br />
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The productivity of food production has declined steadily since the early 1960s. This is the case for subsistence farming and cash crops. As Congolese agricultural capacity deteriorated, other countries have been revolutionizing their food production strategies and boosting productivity rates. It has, therefore, become cheaper to feed Kinshasa with imported rice (primarily from Thailand, Vietnam and India) than produce and transport it from the hinterland. The same can be said for Malaysian cooking oil or American chicken wings. Local production cannot compete with these cheap imports. <br />
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Reliance on imports is a major economic problem but it is an even greater social calamity because no other sector could put as many people to work as food production and processing.<br />
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Economic policies that encouraged capital accumulation through agricultural exploitation were abandoned after independence. They gave way to a lack of vision that continues today. The beginning of the downward spiral came with the wave of Mobutu nationalizations in 1973. The lootings of the early 1990s and the two wars that shattered lives and the economy from 1996 to 2001 had devastating effects on production and ranching. President Laurent-Désiré Kabila never really had the opportunity to promote agriculture because much of his time at the helm of the nation was devoted to the war effort - and making shady deals in the mining sector to pay for it. President Joseph Kabila has also focused on mining without encouraging the government or investors to give adequate attention to food production. There has also been insufficient investment in agricultural research and training. The misguided tax system privileges imports instead of local production. The inexorable disintegration of transport infrastructure and poor distribution networks exacerbate these problems. <br />
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As the country emerged from war, Congo’s international partners funded all kinds of state-building initiatives but they also neglected agriculture. With so many other urgencies to address, their focus was on reform of the security sector, economy and public finance, improved governance and rule of law and the physical rehabilitation of infrastructure. Some important donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Commission do however have specific projects targeting improved food security. Others, like the Belgian Technical Cooperation fund initiatives that benefit farmers such as work on rehabilitating rural feeder roads. In the past decade, international partners have spent between $100 million and $150 million per year on agriculture. For reasons of comparison, the United Nations peacekeeping and stabilization operation in Congo (MONUSCO) costs $1.5 billion per year.<br />
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President Joseph Kabila signed into law a new Agricultural Code in December 2011 (<i>Loi portent principes fondamentaux relatifs à l’agriculture</i>) which responded to a serious policy gap. Congo had lacked a comprehensive agricultural policy framework for several decades, just as it did in other sectors such as mining and forestry. In an attempt to address this policy vacuum, the Code sets outs general guidelines. Its stated purpose is to promote and increase agricultural production to ensure food security and rural development. Provisions apply to food production, training and research, taxation and customs, financing, marketing and environmental protection. It does not, however, apply to livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, which undermines its capacity to deal sufficiently with food security issues. <br />
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Application of the law is contingent upon two prerequisites. One is respect for the decentralisation process outlined in the Constitution. Agricultural policy, according to the law, must be implemented at the national, provincial and local levels, involving stakeholders from the government, civil society and the private sector. But decentralization has not been given adequate political attention and is on hold. This has direct negative consequences for the implementation of the agriculture law. The second problem pertains to the slow progress made in elaborating the law’s operational by-laws. They are needed to stipulate funding and taxation issues and rights and responsibilities of the different stakeholders. The general framework is not enough to meet targets without these by-laws.<br />
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Although the government signed the Maputo Declaration in 2003, it has devoted only between one and two percent of the national budget to the sector in recent years. The little money that is available in this envelope is largely spent on salaries in Kinshasa with minimal trickle down into the field. More than 95% of state-employed agronomists and veterinarians work in Kinshasa or provincial capitals. Like the forest and water sectors, agriculture is far from being a real priority for key decision makers in Congo today. The absence of government funding is one indicator. The fact that Parliament does not have a permanent agricultural commission is another. <br />
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On the institutional landscape, there is an overall lack of professionalism and capacity in terms of human resources and material. Government offices responsible for agricultural priorities are under-funded, under-staffed and in need of competent experts with up-to-date professional skills and vision. They also lack data management systems and basic equipment such as filing cabinets, copiers and computers, let alone Internet access. <br />
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An additional hurdle is the number of Ministries involved in managing the sector. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Environment Conservation, Water and Forests, the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Research and the Ministry of Women and the Family all share rural development and agricultural responsibilities. In theory, the Ministry of Planning coordinates the financing of these five ministries but is, in reality, overwhelmed with other urgencies. The problem here is that when priorities are supposed to be dealt with by multiple partners, responsibility essentially lies with none - so no one really does anything. There is an absence of coordination, tasks get passed on to someone else, disagreements arise over costs and there tends to be a generalized absence of accountability and ownership.<br />
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These priorities need to be addressed in public debate by the government and opposition politicians before they can be taken seriously. Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-40756701585067094702016-08-05T12:24:00.001+02:002016-08-05T12:24:45.600+02:00Congo’s natural resource development hostage to electoral politicsIt won’t be a surprise to anyone if the presidential elections slated to take place the end of this year don’t take place. Not a surprise but certainly a disappointment; especially to opposition politicians, ordinary Congolese and some Western partners who have stuck their necks out voicing the importance of rule of law and democratic process. <br />
<br />President Joseph Kabila doesn’t care what the Constitution says about two mandates and will cling to power as long as he can. Some analysts consider he will more likely be assassinated than walk away from power voluntarily. Why? Because he controls access to substantial natural resources; so the incentive to remain at the top of the pyramid is strong.<br />
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Legal instruments relating to the mining and oil sectors (designed with international advisory – mainly World Bank) put him at the top of the decision-making process. His signature is needed in the awarding of exploitation concessions in these sectors. <br /><br />Oil is the country’s third most important export earner (after copper and cobalt). Global Witness has reported <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/out-of-africa/">frightening stories</a> involving Kabila, Dan Gertler and the Congolese oil business.<br />
<br />Mineral exports may have slumped in the past year, negatively impacting export earnings. But Congo’s resource base is resilient and will bounce back. One indicator is China’s increasing control of cobalt supply chains and investments in DRC. About half of the world’s cobalt comes from Katanga and demand is going to increase as automotive manufacturers from Teslar to General Motors increase production of <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/054bbb3a-1e8b-11e6-a7bc-ee846770ec15.html#axzz4GMrTI86c">electric batteries</a>. Cobalt is necessary to build them.<br />
<br />Some natural resource sectors are more sensitive to the political context than others. Last month the World Bank suspended financing to an <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/07/25/world-bank-group-suspends-financing-to-the-inga-3-basse-chute-technical-assistance-project">Inga 3 technical assistance</a> project. The underdevelopment of energy capacity is a major driver of deforestation.<br />
<br />The Belgian Federal Parliament, also last month, <a href="http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/le-parlement-belge-presse-le-congo-de-tenir-des-elections-respectant-sa-constitution/article-belga-526797.html">adopted a resolution</a> to freeze direct aid to Kinshasa if elections aren’t held. Belgian projects in the agriculture, conservation and infrastructure sectors would consequently be put on hold.<br /><br />US Senators Richard Durbin, Edward Markey and Christopher Murphy introduced a <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/congoNews/idAFL2N18O1GD">Senate resolution</a> calling on Kabila's government to fulfil its constitutional mandate for a democratic transition while calling for targeted sanctions such as visa bans and asset freezes. <br /><br />Opposition candidates/Kabila rivals like Etienne Tshisekedi and Moise Katumbi are preoccupied with getting into the Presidential palace but have been relatively silent about their macro-economic and social programs. <br /><br />They should be called upon to outline their strategies for regaining sovereignty over the Congo’s natural resource base.Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-10430831383199727882016-05-03T22:08:00.000+02:002016-05-03T22:08:10.869+02:00Endorsements for Congo's Environmental Paradox<br />
<b> Thank you Ed, Daniel, Crawford, David, Tom and Jeroen.</b><br />
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<span lang="FR">‘Congo’s Environmental Paradox is a fascinating read, giving a
no-nonsense view of the multitude of problems besetting Congo’s natural
resource sectors, how they affect ordinary people’s daily lives and how
well-meaning donor initiatives are often intrinsically flawed. The book puts today’s
problems into historical perspective and will serve as a reality-check to
politicians and activists.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="FR"><b>Daniel Balint-Kurti, Global Witness</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR">‘An invaluable contribution … the succinct and sparkling summation of
the key elements of the political economy is most useful. The author’s capacity
to convey a rich treasure chest of information and acute analytical skills make
this a landmark work.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR"><b>Crawford Young, University of Wisconsin</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘Most studies of natural resources
and development delve into the details sector by sector. Linkages to violence,
politics and state-building are treated separately for different resources.
This eloquent and richly documented book focuses attention on the connections,
and on the global forces adding complexity to these interactions and altering
the political economy of possible change.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b>David Booth, Overseas Development
Institute</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘This remarkable, fact-filled study
will undoubtedly rank as required reading for anyone with an interest in the
DRC – whether for specialists or for the general reader. Following his Congo
Masquerade, this should confirm Trefon’s standing as one of the most perceptive
observers and analysts of that central African giant.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR"><b>Edouard Bustin, Boston University</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘The first successful attempt to
take stock of emerging trends in Congo’s natural resource sectors.
Well-written, clearly structured and thoroughly documented, Trefon offers fresh
analysis on the gap between resource potential and socio-economic development.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR"><b>Jeroen Cuvelier, University of Ghent</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">‘A remarkable guide to the tangled
relationships between minerals, water and other sectors of the political
economy in the Congo. It goes beyond slogans such as “rich land, poor people”
to explain how the rich get richer while the poor struggle to survive.
Indispensable reading for humanitarians and human rights advocates, both
Congolese and international.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR"><b>Tom Turner, author of <i>The Congo
Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-39196425832757800462016-05-03T17:01:00.000+02:002016-05-17T11:39:10.614+02:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqlIc1nNd_-846sU3f_xpWqKNp080ycw3m3wbGiHP466qRZUh_UMiOOvFMZG7dzDsoHEQTYBXmjiks85dfCqlsN-FHRz2SJQwQIKJGW73e-u-nxFxlIoEK8bsACsO9x8v47usikPnp8Je/s1600/cover+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqlIc1nNd_-846sU3f_xpWqKNp080ycw3m3wbGiHP466qRZUh_UMiOOvFMZG7dzDsoHEQTYBXmjiks85dfCqlsN-FHRz2SJQwQIKJGW73e-u-nxFxlIoEK8bsACsO9x8v47usikPnp8Je/s320/cover+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Natural Resource Management in the Congo</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">A preview to the book. Publisher information here: <i><a href="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo23368339.html">Congo’s Environmental Paradox: Potential and predation in a land of plenty.</a> </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Book <a href="https://www.soas.ac.uk/cas/events/09may2016-congos-environmental-paradox-potential-and-predation-in-a-land-of-plenty.html">launch </a>in London at SOAS Monday 9 May 5:15 PM</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Book launch in Oxford Tuesday 10 May Nuffield College, Clay Room, 5:00 PM</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; text-align: center;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">Book <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/government-society/departments/international-development/events/guest-seminar-series/2015-16/16-05-11-congo-environmental-paradox.aspx">launch </a>in Birmingham Wednesday 11 May 4:00 PM</span></div>
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Congo matters.
It is land of plenty with the natural resources the world needs. No other
country in Africa, and few countries worldwide, has such an impressive
concentration and diversity of natural wealth. Congo has over 1,100 mineral
substances and is home to the world’s second largest tropical rainforest.
Endowed with abundant arable land, its farmers could feed a billion people.
More than half of Africa’s water is located in this troubled nation, whose
hydroelectric capacity could light up the entire continent. And Congo has oil
too. But after a decade of robust growth driven by the extractive sectors, there
is little evidence of social development.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Neither
optimistic nor pessimistic this book intertwines three main threads of
information: an overview of what we need to know about the natural resources
themselves; analysis of the sectors
through an institutional and political economy framework; and the challenges,
pathways and opportunities for improved natural resource management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The primary
ambition of this book is to present up-to-date data and analysis of Congo’s
natural resource sectors. <i>Congo’s Environmental Paradox</i> is essentially
empirical and argues, sector by sector, that state-building initiatives cannot
be successful without improved natural resource management. Efforts
consequently need to be embedded in locally realistic and appropriate
perspectives, including in the framework of the stalled decentralization
process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Part of my
motivation for writing this book stems from frustration about mainstream
discourse and analysis of Congo’s natural resources. Most information tends to
be sector specific and lacks historic depth. Articles, NGO reports and policy
documents suffer from extreme fragmentation. The scholarly landscape about
these resources is covered by vertical silos with few horizontal connections.
The urgency in trying to come up with management solutions or policy
recommendations also means that these writings usually lack historical depth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The book therefore
includes historical accounts about natural resource management because the
trajectory of Congo’s resource exploitation does not exist in an historical
vacuum. The main focus, however, is the period since President Joseph Kabila
came to power in 2001. Much has evolved in the area of resource use and
management since then, despite many patterns of continuity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-GB">Congo’s Environmental Paradox</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> adopts – and advocates for - an integrated approach in analysing
the potential of Congo’s natural resources. Integrated (sometimes used
synonymously with holistic) refers to the interconnectedness of natural
resources themselves, combined with governance practices, economic activities
and the stakeholders involved – such as Congolese officials, farmers and
miners, international institutions, Western multinationals, new commercial
partners and actors in unofficial trade and trafficking networks. The book
identifies relationships between all of these elements and highlights the lost
opportunity costs of not pegging development policies to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The following
examples support my argument of why an integrated approach is necessary. Efforts
to improve the sustainable management of Congo’s forests focus more often than
not on the forest sector <i>sensu stricto</i>. This is necessary but not
enough. Sustainable use of these forests can only be achieved by looking beyond
the sector itself. Links need to be made between forests, water, energy and
agriculture. Agriculture is a major driver of deforestation and consequently
contributes to global climate change. Food insecurity in the DRC clearly stems
from production and transportation weaknesses but there are other causes too.
Artisanal mining is one example because it has tempted large numbers of farmers
to trade their hoes and machetes for picks and shovels. Oil production
undermines protected area management threatening Congo’s amazing biodiversity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The section on industrial mining draws
attention to DRC’s energy deficit, which is a serious obstacle to the creation
of added economic value. While extraction of bulk ore is not particularly
energy dependent, its transformation is. The central government wants the
country to export value added products but processing by mining companies is not
economically profitable with inadequate electricity supplies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Dilapidated transportation infrastructure,
like the energy deficit, is another cross-cutting problem with negative
implications for each of the five sectors analysed. This pertains to difficulties
in getting crops from field to market, timber from forest to sawmill or port,
or minerals from mine to rail and road networks. The oil sector is not
seriously handicapped by transport issues today because production takes place
in the vicinity of the Atlantic coast. Nevertheless, a looming logistical
problem faces upcoming oil production in eastern Congo: the pipeline question
remains unresolved for national political concerns and regional rivalry. These
are some of the other connections that are highlighted in an integrated way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">All of these sectors merit entire books in
and of themselves but this one has the merit – for the first time – of pulling
together this information in a single volume. It is intended primarily for
people interested in the Congo and in African environmental issues. But </span><span lang="EN-GB">students wanting to learn about global climate change or hydropower
politics, wildlife lovers fascinated by Congo’s outstanding biodiversity, food
security experts interested in fish farming, NGO campaigners tracking land
deals or struggling to end the trade in conflict minerals, companies exploring
investment opportunities and donors trying to think creatively about aid
delivery strategies, as well as students of development more broadly, should
all find some parts of this book conceptually useful and socially pertinent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-71111683611396403642016-04-05T15:57:00.000+02:002016-04-07T16:18:02.751+02:00DRC in the Panana PapersThe <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers">Panama Papers</a> are an unprecedented leak of data from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. They reveal how the rich and powerful take advantage of secretive tax regimes. President Kabila’s twin sister Jaynet Désirée Kabila Kyungu, an MP since 2012 and boss of Digital Congo (a media company with TV, radio and internet activities) is one of a few African elites caught up in the scandal. <br />
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Mossack Fonseca has been involved in the DRC. The company registered Caprikat and Foxwhelp in the British Virgin Islands. In 2010 Joseph Kabila signed a presidential decree awarding Caprikat and Foxwhelp an oil exploration contract to blocs 1 and 2 in Lake Albert. This award sparked cries of corruption and foul play, in part because no one really knows who controls these two little-known companies. The <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a5aea554-bc8f-11e1-a470-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3G9OtDBrB">Financial Times</a> quoted the Congolese Oil Minister saying Dan Gertler was associated with Caprikat and Foxwhelp. More on Dan Gertler and Caprikat and Foxwhelp in Le Monde, <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/04/07/panama-papers-dan-gertler-roi-du-congo-et-de-l-offshore_4898097_3212.html">here</a>.<br />
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It is generally believed that Gertler and the late Katumba Mwanke were behind this award. Antoine Ghonda, a close Kabila ally is also reported to have been involved. The South African press reported that Khulubuse Zuma, President Jacob Zuma’s nephew and the president’s legal advisory, Michael Hulley, owned Caprikat and Foxwhelp. Deployment of South African troops in the Intervention Brigade set up by the United Nations in March 2013 to reinforce MONUSCO in eastern DRC is an indication of President Zuma’s motivation to stabilize the region for economic reasons. South Africa is also present in Congo’s oil sector through its firm Engen Petroleum Ltd, which is a major petroleum distributor.<br />
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More information about Caprikat and Foxwhelp is avaible in the chapter on the DRC oil sector in <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Congos-Environmental-Paradox-Potential-Predation/dp/1783602430">Congo’s Environmental Paradox</a></em>, forthcoming this May.<br />
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<br />Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com297tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-65591295142218475322016-01-10T14:52:00.000+01:002016-01-10T14:52:06.204+01:00Happy New Year from UK Ambassador<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Graham Zebedee, the British Ambassador to
the DRC highlighted some important facts about Congolese public finance in his
New Year address.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">The government spent just as much money on
the Parliament as on the country’s health system in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">12% of public finance went to the
Presidency, the Prime Minister’s office and Parliament; the equivalent of
funding for primary, secondary and technical education.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Public services are funded by ordinary
people, diaspora groups, Church associations, NGOs and foreign partners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Few countries worldwide are as aid dependent
as the Congo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">With annual disbursements of $550 million
annually, the UK is Congo’s second most important donor after the US.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">As emphasized in the <i>Congo Masquerade</i> book, the Ambassador drew attention to the gap
between policy design and policy implementation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="FR" style="font-family: 'Courier New';">Source : QUOTIDIEN 14ème Année Edition n°4029 APA du
8 janvier 2016 OLB-BBOS</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-49930358715445500542015-08-07T21:54:00.000+02:002015-08-18T11:28:03.973+02:00Virunga National Park: Goma to RumangaboHere are some photos taken on a road trip yesterday between the city of Goma and the Rumangabo station where the Virunga National Park has its headquarters. <br />
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The approximately 50 kilometer drive along the 'Route Nationale 4' took around two hours. As elsewhere in the DRC, the road is slow, bumpy and dusty. Lorries, Jeeps, SUVs, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, tshukudus, cattle herders and pedestrians all converge along this main artery linking Goma and Kampala in Uganda. The road also goes through the beautiful but threatened Virunga National Park - formerly the Albert National Park created in 1925 - Africa's first park.<br />
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Although the security situation in Goma has improved over the past year since the defeat of the M23 rebel group, insecurity is still a problem in the region. The population is under threat from militia. One villager told me 'pour la sécurité, on se couche tôt'. Businessmen increasingly complain of hostage taking in exchange of ransom money.<br />
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In addition to security problems, natural risks persist. Last night a minor earthquake woke up the people of Goma, but the magnitude of the <a href="http://radiookapi.net/actualite/2015/08/07/rdc-au-moins-deux-enfants-tues-important-seisme-dans/">quake </a>was worse in Bukavu (5.6 on the Richter scale) where it caused the death two children and a police officer. Sixty people were injured. People I spoke with in Goma said they left the house to pray with their neighbors. Everyone was talking about the tremors this morning. By the afternoon the subject was no longer part of the conservation.<br />
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The
Rutshuru area is a complex land use mosaic occupied by the Virunga National
Park, rural villages and the Katale coffee plantation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOk4b27JX6jzQTdWvxnDXegV8KIWeDZ1WlSoIih8xzTsd8M9bGG4LmHAT5F5GHrc9PZuCPNPANvsKLLMPS8ErGjrCrkHE2pm5DrE37_TW2I04PhWdZB2wp9MSmcQEtD2cA3THLEpu2qJx/s1600/sand+pit.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOk4b27JX6jzQTdWvxnDXegV8KIWeDZ1WlSoIih8xzTsd8M9bGG4LmHAT5F5GHrc9PZuCPNPANvsKLLMPS8ErGjrCrkHE2pm5DrE37_TW2I04PhWdZB2wp9MSmcQEtD2cA3THLEpu2qJx/s400/sand+pit.JPG" /></a> <br />
This sand pit is exploited for the rapidly expanding construction sector in Goma which now has a population of over one million inhabitants, many of whom fled the insecurity of North Kivu and have decided to stay.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22LLYNHEUEdVGFyISzWi0FP6E1b3u4DksfR-9TUFfOhdjkDWepG8DTB1w_CgQoJvZW-dY8-eDnfDupg_cA111tUWYQ9QV3DIqH-KtqCoM9_CBpYM6137TlprcH4A1oSLb0UJ8lbqj40Dt/s1600/ascent.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22LLYNHEUEdVGFyISzWi0FP6E1b3u4DksfR-9TUFfOhdjkDWepG8DTB1w_CgQoJvZW-dY8-eDnfDupg_cA111tUWYQ9QV3DIqH-KtqCoM9_CBpYM6137TlprcH4A1oSLb0UJ8lbqj40Dt/s400/ascent.JPG" /></a><br />
Entry point in the Virunga National Park to start the approximately five-hour climb up the Nyiragongo which last erupted in January 2002. The volcano sits under the clouds. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFznlWGWgNt5WXthPsTcEDXblXUf6bb8ZBDjsKgqWnuwPgXxklADy5GkGRxZ5D5RYFGRwHIfKd_XGUiSaqBWzEyxAOX4b8Wuu0_mHNHRmdJfgiY1beH7JaxhB4eKw1GnOqU1NJ5tCXjwWv/s1600/kibumba1.JPG"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFznlWGWgNt5WXthPsTcEDXblXUf6bb8ZBDjsKgqWnuwPgXxklADy5GkGRxZ5D5RYFGRwHIfKd_XGUiSaqBWzEyxAOX4b8Wuu0_mHNHRmdJfgiY1beH7JaxhB4eKw1GnOqU1NJ5tCXjwWv/s400/kibumba1.JPG" width="400" /></a> <br />
The Kibumba market is an important rallying point for the farmers and traders who feed the people of Goma. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyADdsX5fR_l6EUf22H5e96ph1KsU7T5BPsYm2N4joFdM3pdfkCLe4KCtJjjI62EgA4AhH99sln8WpW5PxUmPVMT0keSIfZp33fRSANpgslgQ8uTIS-HfGMTjaeQo-gXXBqO1_eF0VTc8/s1600/kibumba+2.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyADdsX5fR_l6EUf22H5e96ph1KsU7T5BPsYm2N4joFdM3pdfkCLe4KCtJjjI62EgA4AhH99sln8WpW5PxUmPVMT0keSIfZp33fRSANpgslgQ8uTIS-HfGMTjaeQo-gXXBqO1_eF0VTc8/s400/kibumba+2.JPG" /></a> <br />
Kibumba<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7vw6LH9R_6ql0KA82SudX8AQCOzAh1lt1gd8Iv3Upj5XCS00aw3UzdjIJecMNI-S6KL45d4okWHU2WmphsfLGVrIE2aTrJJA7xahaO1RSwpk2s-nzAvgTV6GdAT9OS-YAsAX7MuXBwK5/s1600/land+management.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7vw6LH9R_6ql0KA82SudX8AQCOzAh1lt1gd8Iv3Upj5XCS00aw3UzdjIJecMNI-S6KL45d4okWHU2WmphsfLGVrIE2aTrJJA7xahaO1RSwpk2s-nzAvgTV6GdAT9OS-YAsAX7MuXBwK5/s400/land+management.JPG" /></a><br />
High rural population density means that land use is carefully planned.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Xko1FLCFSvaIKjueftfBNSuC-8uWqA4PneUT8R0XvatkEbeB5IX8NI7T9CaiNBeds0xP78SH_GMflBwCoT5t04lhegwULwMkdi_iFciqi1cLLDG8ESsWqstALBk_dtGOFhNqlHzMa0m/s1600/cattle.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Xko1FLCFSvaIKjueftfBNSuC-8uWqA4PneUT8R0XvatkEbeB5IX8NI7T9CaiNBeds0xP78SH_GMflBwCoT5t04lhegwULwMkdi_iFciqi1cLLDG8ESsWqstALBk_dtGOFhNqlHzMa0m/s400/cattle.JPG" /></a> <br />
Cattle herding is a longstanding tradition in the region. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5Lc6sJES17zvcr7pWg8Q0thjD4ChhCljKiiR4AgVKPGR_azPdlopsRU04mfS7vilA_i3e8uz7oqJOA_TVRIldHnEEa3anE-39hyyoKErkhEpQSpvDIWQZjeQaEujZ5tdQG3Flq337ST2/s1600/potatoes.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5Lc6sJES17zvcr7pWg8Q0thjD4ChhCljKiiR4AgVKPGR_azPdlopsRU04mfS7vilA_i3e8uz7oqJOA_TVRIldHnEEa3anE-39hyyoKErkhEpQSpvDIWQZjeQaEujZ5tdQG3Flq337ST2/s400/potatoes.JPG" /></a> <br />
These are potato plants. Potatoes are an important staple in the Kivu diet. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaj5-kPyRSHsK1kUqz6LNmAX-AyjN6sO4GYD1v8qlw_mO3StYR89_IfIv4C4TxcUocnaufI3PlqDscW4QZLdxFGdAvFW_BQoah3WSaUNn8SXHVyADdJuM_c2VVQ6zwiBTFyzOz112tz8C/s1600/tshukudi.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaj5-kPyRSHsK1kUqz6LNmAX-AyjN6sO4GYD1v8qlw_mO3StYR89_IfIv4C4TxcUocnaufI3PlqDscW4QZLdxFGdAvFW_BQoah3WSaUNn8SXHVyADdJuM_c2VVQ6zwiBTFyzOz112tz8C/s400/tshukudi.JPG" /></a> <br />
Young tshukudeur with a sack of potatoes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ3sGQjSKV8yq1s006KAa7iZhM8vwpLFG63LP80eDsfABOorIhwDds01_Ci7hFCHP5r75zmecnVwk6fn3S87u2WbZtVX0U6LixpQD947b7ytQ_xgialJNgvD-B_du5DtE5aBVSwY9PMF8/s1600/limie+du+parc.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ3sGQjSKV8yq1s006KAa7iZhM8vwpLFG63LP80eDsfABOorIhwDds01_Ci7hFCHP5r75zmecnVwk6fn3S87u2WbZtVX0U6LixpQD947b7ytQ_xgialJNgvD-B_du5DtE5aBVSwY9PMF8/s640/limie+du+parc.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSXx0iuFa_ObQxYNX9veuhvs7qtrV5elYcXcdzp8Wxja0ESP9sTL156iJwathhB_fhF41qMCoZKQ4WuRQisV3tb9QowoN2-DVmzyrPP7Yh9d86iagiWEojRsmTiXl5PyaB08ddNa7fXvi/s1600/long+%2526+bumpy.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSXx0iuFa_ObQxYNX9veuhvs7qtrV5elYcXcdzp8Wxja0ESP9sTL156iJwathhB_fhF41qMCoZKQ4WuRQisV3tb9QowoN2-DVmzyrPP7Yh9d86iagiWEojRsmTiXl5PyaB08ddNa7fXvi/s400/long+%2526+bumpy.JPG" /></a> <br />
It’s a long, dusty and bumpy road. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgtW4LdY_s7CEMRp8tKrtTgLbFLxbGahNV8aotPFz7sN32tF3iK6H3sMfZwQyyFvaKpreFti65FtkfgPZqdGIFkQjjs_ZqdGRn1dHDiA7jmQCe_wejhW8oVSv1mT6UYJLRZ44zltiWAm6/s1600/rn4+2.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgtW4LdY_s7CEMRp8tKrtTgLbFLxbGahNV8aotPFz7sN32tF3iK6H3sMfZwQyyFvaKpreFti65FtkfgPZqdGIFkQjjs_ZqdGRn1dHDiA7jmQCe_wejhW8oVSv1mT6UYJLRZ44zltiWAm6/s320/rn4+2.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35B6Iivuv4gOr9yEnauIFqQfFngFiFv4XraMXlaPvinyunfljuiLIincVt3RHHZYtrWIJit5P9WMxuM_Zb7qBO9b3ikUSCiXJLSrRxf-42y06mSu9ht-Pn5MVDL18Doh6XupkFDsfpIku/s1600/coat.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35B6Iivuv4gOr9yEnauIFqQfFngFiFv4XraMXlaPvinyunfljuiLIincVt3RHHZYtrWIJit5P9WMxuM_Zb7qBO9b3ikUSCiXJLSrRxf-42y06mSu9ht-Pn5MVDL18Doh6XupkFDsfpIku/s400/coat.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLyKPzb17Ae75sxDgfcFmRwTPhNKMJTZ_wqB_RRBNUzXr9MDpo-67o1sn1wKoJz2vRVEhoHWkXfY13-T7-Mcj7mVX2v6BhQU4s4ZBw5T_djw2HTljycHJVkuy0b6tUyg7el8eX1AXAkv3/s1600/RN4.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLyKPzb17Ae75sxDgfcFmRwTPhNKMJTZ_wqB_RRBNUzXr9MDpo-67o1sn1wKoJz2vRVEhoHWkXfY13-T7-Mcj7mVX2v6BhQU4s4ZBw5T_djw2HTljycHJVkuy0b6tUyg7el8eX1AXAkv3/s320/RN4.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayOchiSJX8WFmjKkJV3DNB748V26BgMar2o-i8KqBl3ct-tzgRL5YRscyw3s9KG7dw9ffTFE3kpgVIB3Hx9toeAktFF5xIiXl8-PBr4RFW912_pXS66LJu5ehHN3YKhzieGPFI19Kgkmo/s1600/un1.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayOchiSJX8WFmjKkJV3DNB748V26BgMar2o-i8KqBl3ct-tzgRL5YRscyw3s9KG7dw9ffTFE3kpgVIB3Hx9toeAktFF5xIiXl8-PBr4RFW912_pXS66LJu5ehHN3YKhzieGPFI19Kgkmo/s320/un1.JPG" /></a> <br />
Insecurity persists in the region despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and the Congolese army. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXc71ru6ZDl6s5PlO00-owRiKxndXD_2rNTUEQJI5R2GbXoLPYtvaVl-emuaiSmHd0ZFruLeAv0LzTs6kZbvCdu7VsfPb5e9hNFDokkcAbuI3v8LkbDaTKrQv-3Yq74Jzol159wiyHMo8/s1600/fardc.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXc71ru6ZDl6s5PlO00-owRiKxndXD_2rNTUEQJI5R2GbXoLPYtvaVl-emuaiSmHd0ZFruLeAv0LzTs6kZbvCdu7VsfPb5e9hNFDokkcAbuI3v8LkbDaTKrQv-3Yq74Jzol159wiyHMo8/s400/fardc.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ct8lfO2wA3cCeM6m-lFqpHxKQ5uGvN5OH6iYDk9AJdqEWUeVRjnIMJ4VMw14JR1lLDTfkPGyWwzevaAQnQ7OqeKEzpYyM-_WSnJf7_JlCEZdlXpvh6WqA3PZhLk9E1Hu1yniZcebjFlA/s1600/no+weapons.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Ct8lfO2wA3cCeM6m-lFqpHxKQ5uGvN5OH6iYDk9AJdqEWUeVRjnIMJ4VMw14JR1lLDTfkPGyWwzevaAQnQ7OqeKEzpYyM-_WSnJf7_JlCEZdlXpvh6WqA3PZhLk9E1Hu1yniZcebjFlA/s320/no+weapons.JPG" /></a><br />
Dream on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVEMtHlFFJfi9PhrXRrBaS1oQGAxS2qAFk1NsjBhiI2xC5z18joiQwxIgrlZO8jR7jydXP5sJjsBNZWr0aiX4V5rGNWXl31oZhCIvgZM7oVdOTZ268j1MIobjPvrYaRbJnsJavTvc48VO/s1600/un3.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVEMtHlFFJfi9PhrXRrBaS1oQGAxS2qAFk1NsjBhiI2xC5z18joiQwxIgrlZO8jR7jydXP5sJjsBNZWr0aiX4V5rGNWXl31oZhCIvgZM7oVdOTZ268j1MIobjPvrYaRbJnsJavTvc48VO/s320/un3.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeFWuZpqDkvKvG14d5e81V4ouf7u-OVR4ema1JqjcH1bPMjlN1sFxb66epiMJcln9Eq0rTtVDt6Q5yyP8FhtLToiRJW8prBuYmru4HE2Ji4-HpqGCsKAmyyVsX7-Wq_fJUI_p8FQWi57d/s1600/un+obstacle.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeFWuZpqDkvKvG14d5e81V4ouf7u-OVR4ema1JqjcH1bPMjlN1sFxb66epiMJcln9Eq0rTtVDt6Q5yyP8FhtLToiRJW8prBuYmru4HE2Ji4-HpqGCsKAmyyVsX7-Wq_fJUI_p8FQWi57d/s320/un+obstacle.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulwcw-63v_Hr-cVDhiURGe24q5r61pKgYqqN6QkMAb2mKN3-m2b6Z4kc8vv_r7izpHjruImk9FmtiASjyqeYmKTKVm3i42kdoWcCbSiaHoneL9xnlkcAUTrF_UH9Cdvrd-2Tfn0BH64lr/s1600/water+bus.JPG"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulwcw-63v_Hr-cVDhiURGe24q5r61pKgYqqN6QkMAb2mKN3-m2b6Z4kc8vv_r7izpHjruImk9FmtiASjyqeYmKTKVm3i42kdoWcCbSiaHoneL9xnlkcAUTrF_UH9Cdvrd-2Tfn0BH64lr/s400/water+bus.JPG" width="400" /></a> <br />
Access to water is a daily struggle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM-hh2cUItEoH8hIN4J4dWYFxGso2uC1x_taN04h93gt18fp5v2mFkhQIhRrx6LVA2yECwzEh3PAa2pWv0B20tnipL-OU7zCf_JJGadkUIYybfX4axoJO9Adje_vG-gXoSgVHBNWNyfC_/s1600/water3.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM-hh2cUItEoH8hIN4J4dWYFxGso2uC1x_taN04h93gt18fp5v2mFkhQIhRrx6LVA2yECwzEh3PAa2pWv0B20tnipL-OU7zCf_JJGadkUIYybfX4axoJO9Adje_vG-gXoSgVHBNWNyfC_/s320/water3.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTRWN7WpHlwc6c7SlEkKTRXOWGUFfQGu-oN_H9CB-PchwyhfZ7zePJi11UX5XDb7-uhN0F7F4RSuzlL_Gs0vB4h3b_9Y0Ktzl1t1ZYv7eocALh1gJkA_y_IbgnCyqU02BK0QDLnnbrW38/s1600/water.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTRWN7WpHlwc6c7SlEkKTRXOWGUFfQGu-oN_H9CB-PchwyhfZ7zePJi11UX5XDb7-uhN0F7F4RSuzlL_Gs0vB4h3b_9Y0Ktzl1t1ZYv7eocALh1gJkA_y_IbgnCyqU02BK0QDLnnbrW38/s320/water.JPG" /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LHTjR5G4YLQCWZr9GILBSA28IO8UA-4M1vSDeq3EolayQNYEmiy96sRCk5WyK7lz9q4wJs6_O_GpyK2984mL5Jot3VbOu2r591L60sy9GIiy_K24nGUkSTH-ZnGj2VJWBbeV9v1qOwFR/s1600/laundry%2526manioc.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LHTjR5G4YLQCWZr9GILBSA28IO8UA-4M1vSDeq3EolayQNYEmiy96sRCk5WyK7lz9q4wJs6_O_GpyK2984mL5Jot3VbOu2r591L60sy9GIiy_K24nGUkSTH-ZnGj2VJWBbeV9v1qOwFR/s640/laundry%2526manioc.JPG" /></a> <br />
Drying laundry and manioc<br />
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Ranger Francine. Women are assuming important roles in the ICCN ranger force.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkRrWTwiZYsuTOcNfaOE2xQ3rUN54diqYk6IsiMPVItAHZWGiny6n9PcH0d35Asm7yZ4qp9PqBhGP9cIMMRe-ISZULDGPQzXuuWBBTnFXEsR0cFb_8GbfTkcDioG-6-2T8EIdMrDq1C_x/s1600/rumangabo.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZkRrWTwiZYsuTOcNfaOE2xQ3rUN54diqYk6IsiMPVItAHZWGiny6n9PcH0d35Asm7yZ4qp9PqBhGP9cIMMRe-ISZULDGPQzXuuWBBTnFXEsR0cFb_8GbfTkcDioG-6-2T8EIdMrDq1C_x/s400/rumangabo.JPG" /></a><br />
Virunga park headquarters at Rumangabo<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugygm0iMaNxtMVekH9vhnJMbZ3Vg4qPePqTxBrLuKbDgCmKZMCaLihIapKadM63yksnIsLpqpN0a4CxRW2i0XCLSwZ5kZxsYoT8sDlEYoJE4T1oXzsLOUC7tkOBX3vydPPNwMh1w-tkNQ/s1600/baboon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugygm0iMaNxtMVekH9vhnJMbZ3Vg4qPePqTxBrLuKbDgCmKZMCaLihIapKadM63yksnIsLpqpN0a4CxRW2i0XCLSwZ5kZxsYoT8sDlEYoJE4T1oXzsLOUC7tkOBX3vydPPNwMh1w-tkNQ/s320/baboon.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baboon in the vicinity of Rumangabo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5LgF6aw2e-F3RwQ3W8TZbnNtP5A9VggtwuQBHnRaoEL01LbuJreZKXIH7VdvGMO7HX-gtB1B2kGLg7MMvNCyUooekhDAED4GT1d42x7avQQ9dWQkitBCnDL7IMttb64SywBTnMZ7dxC0/s1600/HG.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5LgF6aw2e-F3RwQ3W8TZbnNtP5A9VggtwuQBHnRaoEL01LbuJreZKXIH7VdvGMO7HX-gtB1B2kGLg7MMvNCyUooekhDAED4GT1d42x7avQQ9dWQkitBCnDL7IMttb64SywBTnMZ7dxC0/s320/HG.JPG" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_WcyKctr8IuBpV3zN-XXcRIZX5t1ALUXHFWBL0LrxkxKlUf0SrKkeJQZeoLtUcemueFHfMnVB9K8SNW8vqe2XZjW5m-1I37SnV0K_JRbPgpISBdKvc-t4QGvJbtGPOz3iIhLnXhRuggz/s1600/HQ+warden.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_WcyKctr8IuBpV3zN-XXcRIZX5t1ALUXHFWBL0LrxkxKlUf0SrKkeJQZeoLtUcemueFHfMnVB9K8SNW8vqe2XZjW5m-1I37SnV0K_JRbPgpISBdKvc-t4QGvJbtGPOz3iIhLnXhRuggz/s320/HQ+warden.JPG" /></a><br />
Head warden office building at Rumangabo<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iy2uv3GZ2Nur10jIjAhtkFYX9kMsmbEmcCecz98s5aWu5eWbn5S1I0L8wKtO_tLfG_pKIYhkNZoW0Z_6aCf3A56PGxCXnopqtUqWFcH0hdK7iB0W0gFGOeddfvIRodgaWY7YyQRUaWpv/s1600/ICCN+patrol+dogs.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iy2uv3GZ2Nur10jIjAhtkFYX9kMsmbEmcCecz98s5aWu5eWbn5S1I0L8wKtO_tLfG_pKIYhkNZoW0Z_6aCf3A56PGxCXnopqtUqWFcH0hdK7iB0W0gFGOeddfvIRodgaWY7YyQRUaWpv/s320/ICCN+patrol+dogs.JPG" /></a><br />
Virunga patrol blood hounds<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHPA2ujd2kv62gA3-iPvkdXTqZiOdfumD3WE8eF1NBTpjHW3oVCgAog3KIJkFM-TV7TSNHD6EUVcaj-M5OXz-dvsRB8hWLyd6JiPCQcaOGYQUDXSzkSYT-I4qSkhG4aiPBN3e1s4grWXX/s1600/RIP.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHPA2ujd2kv62gA3-iPvkdXTqZiOdfumD3WE8eF1NBTpjHW3oVCgAog3KIJkFM-TV7TSNHD6EUVcaj-M5OXz-dvsRB8hWLyd6JiPCQcaOGYQUDXSzkSYT-I4qSkhG4aiPBN3e1s4grWXX/s320/RIP.JPG" /></a> <br />
RIP <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2kZb1JKH38KlckBiXsLbPaNVYD13xSMNkum3Kb375pdq1ugiNtOkIFvk-14sjp9ZjrzHe-RtMGLS5IY6Qm7lVg1B8Pn0ZUVkiSngvKEpksAZjEZyzS60tyKqNk-McNPP20HDIykAJLSd/s1600/pay+day.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2kZb1JKH38KlckBiXsLbPaNVYD13xSMNkum3Kb375pdq1ugiNtOkIFvk-14sjp9ZjrzHe-RtMGLS5IY6Qm7lVg1B8Pn0ZUVkiSngvKEpksAZjEZyzS60tyKqNk-McNPP20HDIykAJLSd/s320/pay+day.JPG" /></a><br />
Pay day at the Katale coffee plantation<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgC0QSDcV9C29NuUYXktqufY8MWgJ04iwubuvH8K45FOTrWP7uAkaL2Z4C4H29tGVA_ghLnrcDnnmiQc2mGBHKmLdl6AgmJeyH2SoMPG8GZXe_tmyp4sj1PnoVL8N5-cbs4YbbFhkOqSk/s1600/raw+coffee.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgC0QSDcV9C29NuUYXktqufY8MWgJ04iwubuvH8K45FOTrWP7uAkaL2Z4C4H29tGVA_ghLnrcDnnmiQc2mGBHKmLdl6AgmJeyH2SoMPG8GZXe_tmyp4sj1PnoVL8N5-cbs4YbbFhkOqSk/s320/raw+coffee.JPG" /></a><br />
Raw coffee<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGB2lm2YeR0FsGM53zjkOveP6_9GvoLSThC4fqqK0-qWsKE892kxnhXzsLWYiX1tfTJL1UHQuZLb51N_s0zqmKoHT53pxGg_VrWcXqq0NC345U4lY7s-HJX68B4dQbvcEoSMWKM-kGtSz/s1600/lucas%2526I.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGB2lm2YeR0FsGM53zjkOveP6_9GvoLSThC4fqqK0-qWsKE892kxnhXzsLWYiX1tfTJL1UHQuZLb51N_s0zqmKoHT53pxGg_VrWcXqq0NC345U4lY7s-HJX68B4dQbvcEoSMWKM-kGtSz/s400/lucas%2526I.JPG" /></a><br />
Lucas and I at the Katale coffee plantation<br />
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-13871815157294549712015-05-20T17:44:00.000+02:002015-05-20T17:44:42.586+02:00Optic Fiber Snags<br /><br />“Millions of dollars were misused in the first phase of a project to build a national fiber optic network in Democratic Republic of Congo, a parliamentary mission has found… In one case, the report says that at least $3.4 million loaned for the construction of a landing station for the submarine cable appear to have been withdrawn from a bank account by beneficiaries ‘not directly linked to the project.’” <br /><br />For more see Aron Ross’ <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL5N0YB39S20150520?sp=true">post</a>.Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-36719327646434070612015-02-05T16:55:00.002+01:002015-02-05T16:57:47.696+01:00Demonstrations against KabilaHere is a <a href="http://blogs.taz.de/kongo-echo/2015/02/03/theodore-trefon-on-the-telema-protests/">link </a>to an interview with me conducted by Francois Misser and posted on Dominic Johnson's blog. A shorter version appeared in the German newspaper TAZ.<br />
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The message in a nutshell is this: Joseph Kabila is not about to walk away from power in 2016. The parliamentary compromise is no more than a tactical withdrawal.<br />
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<a href="http://blogs.taz.de/kongo-echo/2015/02/03/theodore-trefon-on-the-telema-protests/">http://blogs.taz.de/kongo-echo/2015/02/03/theodore-trefon-on-the-telema-protests/</a>Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-64562114971044101982014-04-17T17:50:00.000+02:002014-04-17T21:05:01.625+02:00Dubious dealings in Virunga<br />
<i>Congo Masquerade</i> touched on the problems between SOCO, the Virunga park, UNESCO and the DRC government. Here is an extract (pages 119&120) that gives some background to the attack on Chief Warden Emmanuel de Mérode.<br />
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The threefold political sin of corruption, predation and patrimonialism is laid bare by a disturbing deal recently brokered between Congo and two British companies. In flagrant contradiction to Congolese legislation which prohibits mineral and petroleum production in national parks, Joseph Kabila signed a presidential decree in 2010 allowing SOCO International and Dominion Petroleum to explore and drill for oil in the Virunga National Park. Virunga is a World Heritage site in eastern Congo and home to endangered mountain gorillas. If the deal goes through, wildlife will be threatened and decades of costly and committed conservation work will be annihilated. SOCO's environmental impact assessment, required by law, made no reference to the park's status as a protected area. The decision is inconsistent with Congolese commitments for nature conservation and was severely criticized by UNESCO chief Irina Bokova. Environment Minister José Endundo cynically downplayed the inconsistency stating ‘we'll do everything possible to preserve the park but the Congolese people also have to benefit from the riches under the soil’. Endundo added that if oil activities were excluded from the park, he might seek compensation from rich nations in return for not drilling... Given the high economic stakes on the one hand and the social and environmental impacts and the blow – once again – to Congo’s international credibility on the other, it would not be naive to presume that high-ranking officials received corruption money.</div>
Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-17504048219605056662014-04-17T17:06:00.000+02:002014-04-17T19:27:29.220+02:00Emmanuel de Mérode shot: an emerging saga at Virunga<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Emmanuel de Mérode, head warden of the
<a href="http://virunga.org/">Virunga National Park</a> in
North Kivu, DRC was shot and wounded this week while driving alone from Goma to
park headquarters at Rumangabo.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy61TJQB76BvaVA0eU645pHHTIPY2rU3LjdVpvTX2mt39clLXO2MPdSbX7wr6qyRXm2JTfilLmlaSXfj8JZXLAJmPLgEHo2cqMWdZsp_ldWL6hVNbOBEJTY0wtUC89VY1CM1m1Xqcy5YaT/s1600/bullet+holes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy61TJQB76BvaVA0eU645pHHTIPY2rU3LjdVpvTX2mt39clLXO2MPdSbX7wr6qyRXm2JTfilLmlaSXfj8JZXLAJmPLgEHo2cqMWdZsp_ldWL6hVNbOBEJTY0wtUC89VY1CM1m1Xqcy5YaT/s1600/bullet+holes.png" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">de Mérode's jeep with bullet holes in windscreen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">This is one of the most dangerous areas in
DRC. Congolese armed forces with international support are gradually regaining
control of the area but armed rebel groups and militias are still present. Some
carry out illegal exploitation of natural resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The attack is not surprising. More than 130
park rangers have been killed in Virunga since 1996. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Loved by his staff and well-respected by
conservationists, the Belgian warden also made powerful enemies. Poachers are
shot and charcoal makers who are illegally active in the park are
systematically routed out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/monusco/">MONUCSO </a>boss Martin Kobler and Belgian ambassador
to DRC Michel Lastschenko travelled to Goma to be with de Mérode, proving the
high-profile nature of the attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">The attack on de Mérode, qualified as a seemingly
‘targeted ambush’ by the Belgian ambassador in a confidential cable, may have
something to do with his longstanding battle against British oil company <a href="http://www.socointernational.co.uk/">SOCO</a>. SOCO has been given oil exploration rights in
the park. This contravenes DRC’s commitments to conservation and is in flagrant
violation with UNESCO which has listed the Virunga park as a National Heritage
Site. It also reveals the fragmented nature of Congolese power systems. The
Ministry of the Environment is a featherweight compared to the far more
powerful Ministry of Oil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Head warden de Mérode deposited a legal
complaint against SOCO at the Goma public prosecutor’s office the morning of
the ambush. One of the items in the complaint relates to bullying of local
populations by SOCO sub-contractors. A similar complaint is about to be lodged in
London with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">SOCO is suspected of being behind the
attack – a suspicion that they reject. Belgian MP François-Xavier de Donnea
qualified the coincidence as ‘<a href="http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/le-directeur-belge-du-parc-des-virunga-hors-de-danger-534d832b3570aae038b8249f">extremely worrisome</a>’ as reported in La Libre
Belgique.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">SOCO is an international oil and gas
exploration and production company, headquartered in London, traded on the
London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Company also
has interests in Vietnam, the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and Angola.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">Billionaire son of Warren Buffet, Howard G.
Buffett is the Executive Producer of a <a href="http://virungamovie.com/">film </a>about park rangers in Virunga to be
previewed at the <a href="http://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/53208a9dc07f5df7d200062f-virunga">Tribeca Film Festival</a> today. </span>Buffet has been involved in <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1834964994"></span>infrastructure
development and peace-building initiatives<span id="goog_1834964995"></span></a> in and around the park in recent years.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Nature conservation is dangerous business
in DRC. This is just one of many violent incidents. The presence of armed
groups is an ongoing conservation and human tragedy. The deadly Lord’s
Resistance Army has been active in Garamba (where de Mérode did his PhD fieldwork in the mid-1990s), as was the Sudanese People’s
Liberation Army. Virunga has been threatened by multiple armed forces such as
the M23 rebel group, the Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
and other Mayi Mayi militia. At the <a href="http://okapiconservation.org/news/okapi-conservation-project-epulu-update-june-28-2012/">Epulu Reserve</a>, militia chief Morgan and his
men stormed the main station with AK47 assault rifles killing seven people and
all but one of the 16 okapis in June 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">These events testify to the legacy of armed
conflict in the Congo that continues to haunt people and wildlife. Even when
armed conflict ends, negative impacts persist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Emmanuel, get well soon. The Virunga staff
needs you, the gorillas need you, conservation needs you. All the best and bon
courage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-79742656252491398002014-02-22T11:59:00.002+01:002014-02-22T18:28:46.104+01:00Motorcycles and agricultural innovation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-kwXI_rWqU8kgBUS29H_n34oB08w7qsRq8Oz8j56lB04QvwDEflhIn8pM2ATxUpYabewOyu5bosn8TpdnKddmJON2W0rf_0ri0Erl6jzKurDMCVZZisTc81gqg_DKeWy4IiaaUkQiMJ3/s1600/DSCN1040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-kwXI_rWqU8kgBUS29H_n34oB08w7qsRq8Oz8j56lB04QvwDEflhIn8pM2ATxUpYabewOyu5bosn8TpdnKddmJON2W0rf_0ri0Erl6jzKurDMCVZZisTc81gqg_DKeWy4IiaaUkQiMJ3/s1600/DSCN1040.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Mobile phone use took off in Congo in the late 1990s. It transformed society in general while also providing a much needed boost to food production and marketing. It helped communities organize collective transportation which reduced costs and increased security. Farmers became better informed of price fluctuations and market opportunities so were less likely to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous traders and intermediaries. The mobile continues to revolutionize access to banking services such as credit and payments, which still constitute bottlenecks in commodity chains.<br />
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The relatively inexpensive motorcycle made in India or China is the social innovation today that is contributing to change in the lives of rural farmers, especially those that live in isolated communities far from feeder roads. Eastern Congolese cities first introduced motorcycles for individual transport and as taxis. Usage has spread rapidly throughout the country. Reluctant at first, Kinshasa’s population has now embraced them for their efficiency in navigating through the capital’s infamous traffic jams. These easily maintained motorcycles are cost efficient and well adapted to the laterite tracks that criss-cross Congo’s rural landscape, even during the rainy season.<br />
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As poor road infrastructure is one of the major handicaps for getting crops to market, the motorcycle is a welcome novelty. The heavily laden bicycle is still the more common means of carrying produce, although a slow and exhausting form of labour. It is nonetheless increasingly frequent to see a young man on a motorcycle with a bag of cassava, a plastic jug of palm oil or even a pig or a goat en route to an intermediary drop-off point accessible to pick-up trucks or large lorries. As the purchasing power of the young villager is weak, coming up with the approximately one thousand dollars to buy a 125cc motorcycle is beyond the reach of most. But young men hanker after them, seeing them as the undeniable symbol of modernity, prestige and liberty.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLXCD97-kh2653ojfKcnGvMCL9iUUIsoe3WlBJmcG-Zdh1lEsMkm2yrGMx1eaZEhC75jMQ4XENVlGD_kUhJ0aff2MgzOkJ5TfJ9_RV_OsL-sPdCVmdipzclUp0R5RdOnMThP8vHIwePLf/s1600/DSCN1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLXCD97-kh2653ojfKcnGvMCL9iUUIsoe3WlBJmcG-Zdh1lEsMkm2yrGMx1eaZEhC75jMQ4XENVlGD_kUhJ0aff2MgzOkJ5TfJ9_RV_OsL-sPdCVmdipzclUp0R5RdOnMThP8vHIwePLf/s1600/DSCN1116.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Many of the motorcycles plying Congo’s rural tracks are purchased by traders who advance payment for them in exchange for promises of agricultural goods. Young men consequently enter into a kind of indentured servitude to pay off their debts. Although the motorcycle’s impact is slight in terms of agricultural marketing, it is an emerging positive trend whose ramifications are difficult to predict.While the motorcycle will unlikely contribute significantly to feeding Congo’s towns and cities, it is nevertheless already augmenting rural revenues.</div>
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-89157686929290895612014-02-07T20:46:00.000+01:002014-02-09T11:53:32.019+01:00Financing Congo's Agricultural Development<br />
Ed Rackely’s post on Congo’s recently
launched <a href="http://rackleyed.blogspot.be/2013/12/dr-congo-launches-its-national.html">National Investment Plan for Agriculture</a> offers a realistic analysis
of some of the country’s challenges in modernizing the agriculture sector. He
mentions correctly that there is not enough funding to reach targets. I would
add that the little money that is available is largely spent on salaries in
Kinshasa with minimal trickle down into the field.<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB">But it is not only a money problem.</span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">On the institutional landscape, there is an overall lack of
professionalism and capacity in terms of human resources and material. Government
offices responsible for agricultural priorities are under-funded, under-staffed
and in need of competent experts with up-to-date professional skills and vision.
They also lack data management systems and basic equipment such as phones,
copiers and computers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">An additional hurdle is the number of Ministries involved in
managing the sector. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Rural
Development, the Ministry of Environment Conservation, Water and Forests, the
Ministry of Scientific and Technological Research and the Ministry of Women and
the Family all share rural development and agricultural objectives. In theory,
the Ministry of Planning coordinates the financing of these five ministries but
is, in reality, overwhelmed with other urgencies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDgFp-Z8U39YIznxfl_41oFnLyGChVaLPDxuD1ecrjuu0t89csyr0I_Mp2xP-J39SLtEvbjylDOc73neYSX7wA3ZCNV6qmGXQIFKEZqKBK_trHS0maHZmAVRpWRv5cvQxPM89H_nBxSHx/s1600/DSCN1045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDgFp-Z8U39YIznxfl_41oFnLyGChVaLPDxuD1ecrjuu0t89csyr0I_Mp2xP-J39SLtEvbjylDOc73neYSX7wA3ZCNV6qmGXQIFKEZqKBK_trHS0maHZmAVRpWRv5cvQxPM89H_nBxSHx/s1600/DSCN1045.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-GB">The problem here is that when priorities are supposed to be dealt
with by multiple partners, no one really does anything. There is an absence of
coordination, tasks get passed on to someone else, disagreements over costs
surface and there tends to be a generalized absence of accountability or
ownership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-65566117568704281152014-01-31T18:38:00.001+01:002014-01-31T18:44:15.174+01:00Reactivating the Masquerade blogAfter a long period of inactivity, I am going to give a new life to this blog. The first reason is to announce the publication in French of Congo Masquerade, now available as Congo, la mascarade de l’aide au development at <a href="http://www.editions-academia.be/index2.php?PHPSESSID=c8a42154b4910bc055af5734916065b7">http://www.editions-academia.be/index2.php?PHPSESSID=c8a42154b4910bc055af5734916065b7</a>.<br />
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I also want to let you know of a new book I am writing. The working title is Congo’s Environmental Paradox: Potential and Predation in a Land of Plenty. </div>
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Future posts will be less about politics and more about the political economy of natural resource management.</div>
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Below is a summary.</div>
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Congo’s Environmental Paradox is about the political economy of natural resources - forests, minerals, land, water and oil. A land of plenty with the resources the world needs, DRC is a resource paradise for some, but an environmental nightmare for others. </div>
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No other country in Africa, and few countries worldwide, has such an impressive concentration and diversity of natural wealth. Congo has over 1,100 mineral substances and is home to the world’s second largest tropical rainforest. Endowed with abundant arable land, rain and sunshine, Congo’s farmers could feed a billion people while also providing new sources of sustainable biofuels. More than half of Africa’s fish and water are located in this troubled nation, whose hydroelectric capacity could light up the entire continent. Congo has oil too, so as some major importers like the United States shift their dependency away from the Middle East, its geo-strategic significance as a petroleum producer could increase.</div>
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The book is original because it is will present Congo’s five strategic environment sectors in a holistic way and through an historic lens that tracks the major changes since Joseph Kabila has asserted himself as president. It will revise conventional political economy understanding of how power is structured in the DRC, analyzing how recent trends in globalization and elite politics have stimulated new power relations.</div>
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Congo's Environmental Paradox adopts a political economy approach to analyze the complicated interactions between power and natural resources and between the sectors themselves. There is little published information about the governance of Congo’s agricultural sector, water resources and oil. Whatever information does exist tends to be sector specific and lacks historic depth. But it is impossible to implement a viable forestry policy without making linkages to the energy and agriculture sectors. Artisanal mining has consequences on food production and industrial mining is thirsty for power – meaning it needs electricity. Oil production undermines protected area management. These are some of the interconnections to be examined through a holistic conceptual framework. </div>
Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-40698069910943052342012-11-20T21:51:00.000+01:002012-11-20T21:54:18.773+01:00Coltan, Goma & my mobileHere is a link to a BBC article I published today about why Goma matters.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20415534">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20415534</a><br />
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Photos from a visit there in September 2012.<br />
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20415534Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-43912914659618031012012-10-18T21:58:00.002+02:002012-10-18T21:58:40.335+02:00Energy politics in eastern DRC<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshLARhkTsgWrVL3ljuHTb9Zhp9zDjTgbW4SDmFGucbFwPnMHcWYU2Fzq_pFdmzCIrbqKjcTHc0Y-8URF5z5UyEDP-PuBoAHqd4uUPTk1q6GvFOl4MxIJw_c7o8oyo5OvJTcFTNOK_ZSpn/s1600/control+room+ruzizi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgshLARhkTsgWrVL3ljuHTb9Zhp9zDjTgbW4SDmFGucbFwPnMHcWYU2Fzq_pFdmzCIrbqKjcTHc0Y-8URF5z5UyEDP-PuBoAHqd4uUPTk1q6GvFOl4MxIJw_c7o8oyo5OvJTcFTNOK_ZSpn/s200/control+room+ruzizi.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the portraits of the three <br />
presidents in the power station's control room</td></tr>
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Information in the recently leaked UN report about about Rwanda & Uganda supporting the M23 rebellion in North Kivu does not come as a surprize.<br /><br />The day Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame refused to publically shake hands at the UN meeting in New York late September, I was visiting the Ruzizi II hydroelectric plant in South Kivu, an hour’s drive from Bukavu.<br /><br />The Ruzizi II power station, built in 1989, is operated by a tri-national company (Burundi, Rwanda and Congo) but the dam, power station and transformers are located in the DRC.<br /><br />One third of the electricity, is for Congo, one third for Burundi and another third for Rwanda. Pressumambly, if Kinshasa decided to throw the switch, it could deprive its troublesome neighbours of power. <br /><br />According to most expert reports, only 9% of Congolese have access to electricity (with 30% in urban areas). But given the frequent blackout spells (<em>délestage</em>) there is never 9% that has electricity at any given moment.<br /><br />In addition to being a social and economic problem lack of electricity is an environmental catastrophe. People chop down Congo’s forests to produce cooking fuel.<br /><br />The question that was on the tongues of many Kivutians who know that Congolese electricity is going to Rwanda and who have only limited accesss to electricity themselves is this: if our president is really at odds with Kagame, why are we still supplying Rwanda with our much needed energy?<br />
Does anyone have an anwser to this?<br />
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856841531046995266.post-39731459043973501732012-09-05T14:35:00.000+02:002012-09-05T14:48:20.510+02:005,000 limos for the Francophonie VIPs <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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François Hollande’s election to the French presidency cast some doubts about whether the <i>Sommet de la Francophonie</i> would be maintained in Kinshasa – and if so, would the Socialist President who has vowed to redefine France’s Africa policy would attend. <br />
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Much to the dismay of some Congolese opposition forces who lobbied against his presence in Kinshasa, Hollande decided to make the trip – indicating however that he'll also be meeting with opposition and civil society leaders. <br />
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Now that this diplomatic hurdle has been passed, the Congolese government has some serious logistical challenges to tackle. In addition to lodging, transport is one of the major ones. Gridlock, dust and pollution, and breakdowns that disrupt traffic are the lot of commuters from Masina, Kimbanseke and N'djili. VIP summit delegates will soon discover Kinshasa’s transport nightmare. <br />
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A transport commission has been set up by summit’s organizing committee. The commission will provide 5,000 Lexus and Jaguar limousines to shuttle around the delegates. This seems incongruous on two counts. One, these limos will be travelling on some of the worst roads in an African capital (except for some refurbished stretches along the 30 Juin, Triomphal and Lumumba) and two, most Kinois ride in crammed taxi vans that are more akin to cattle wagons than passenger vehicles. The 5,000 limos are part of the presidential fleet!<br />
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The Chinese company SINOHYDRO is working on Boulevard Lumumba from the N’djili airport to the Limete bypass but it seems unlikely that they will finish the work in time. I traveled that road last week: construction progress is as slow as the traffic. <br />
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Even if the work isn’t finished to welcome the 3,000 delegates, the government has techniques to keep traffic off the roads to facilitate VIP arrivals and departures. One way is to announce spot checks to ensure drivers have their insurance policies and vehicle registration in order. As most don’t, they will avoid the city on those days. <br />
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Congo Masqueradehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14280947728325845954noreply@blogger.com4