Improved healthcare is one of the most important activities in the Mai Ndombe REDD+ project given the very poor health and nutritional status of community members across the project area. Over 1/3 of children under 5 are malnourished and many are at high risk from malaria, together leading to a high mortality rate of 220 […]
Biodiversity assessments have confirmed that Bonobos were once distributed within the forest far away from villages and lake shores, but have recently started approaching villages due to reduced pressure from the local communities. Camera traps have also revealed that elephants seem to be slowly returning to the area, migrating from Yumbi and Lukolela into the […]
The building of new schools is expanding across the project area to provide better access to quality education for children living in the project area. 11 schools have been completed with a further 7 in progress and 10 planned, totaling 28 schools to be built during the project’s lifetime. Completed educational facilities highlighted are third-party […]
Agricultural intensification and diversification continue to expand across the project area, with new high yield cassava being introduced into community gardens. The women-led Community Based Organizations (OBs) have shown incredible progress, with 80% of women in the villages currently participating. The main building of the Ibali healthcare clinic has finished construction and has been equipped with new diagnostics equipment; further state-funded expansions are being planned. Poaching and logging continue to be challenging. However, a new radio- communications project is underway to improve the efficiency of incident reporting.
The Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project protects 300,000 hectares of critical bonobo and forest elephant habitat within the world’s second-largest intact rainforest and some of the most important wetlands on the planet, the Congo Basin.
Over 300,000 ha of rainforest along edge of Lake Mai Ndombe in DRC was previously zoned for commercial timber extraction. The REDD+ project prevented the reinstatement of logging contracts and instead co-developed sustainable initiatives with the local community while protecting an important rainforest and wetland landscape. Agroforestry nurseries and sustainable farming crops and techniques have […]
A team specialized in biodiversity monitoring tracks high biodiversity areas twice a month, along with local community members who have been trained for that purpose. The project monitored the growth of both elephant and Bonobo populations — with elephants specifically at a high pace. Camera traps have revealed that elephants seem to be slowly returning […]
Local Development Committees have been established as key structures for local governance within the project area. Project activities are selected in consultation with the local communities as well as other key stakeholders and officials from different levels of government. The committees enable communities to determine project activities, increase the ability to respond to community issues […]
The Gender Empowerment Team has taken the lead for increased crop yield and agriculture intensification activities in the project area, with women being instrumental in developing the agricultural plantations across numerous villages in the project area – with a focus on cassava production. A few decades ago, fungi were destroying the cassava crops around Mai […]