Local | PANORAMA

Public governance entrusted to the Provincial Coordination of Environment and Sustainable Development

The reserve is governed by the Provincial Coordination for the Environment and Sustainable Development.

The reserve is directly controlled by the government through the Provincial Coordination of Environment and Sustainable Development.

Unfortunately, changes in the authorities at the level of the Provincial Coordination of the Environment are causing problems for the continuity of the site's management policy.

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Use of traditional and customary rules in resource management

Communities use traditional and customary rules as mechanisms for accessing natural resources and sharing the benefits arising from their use.

All members of the community have access to the resources, and any disputes are settled by traditional or customary means.

The use of traditional rules ensures sustainable management of natural resources.

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Traditional resource management by aboriginal communities

As a territory inhabited by indigenous peoples, land and natural resources are managed in the traditional way.

The success of this management method is linked to the application of traditional rules for the use of natural resources, whose positive impact on biodiversity conservation has been recognized since the dawn of time.

It is well known that Aboriginal and Community Heritage Areas are areas that contribute to maintaining the ecological integrity of ecosystems and conserving Biodiversity.

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Technical and financial support for PIREDD/Maniema implemented by GIZ

The integrated REDD+ program in Maniema (PIREDD Maniema) is helping to reduce emissions and increase removals by setting up protected forests (APAC, CFCL, community reserves), restoring forested landscapes and promoting sustainable agriculture.

The success of the program to set up community reserves is marked by community involvement and participation in the creation and decision-making process.

The lesson learned is that the initiative to create the community reserve was accepted by community members who are landowners.

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Support for the Action Communautaire pour la Gestion de l'Environnement (ACOGE) organization

Action Communautaire pour la Gestion de l'Environnement (ACOGE) is a community organization working in the environmental field at local level.

The technical and financial support received from various partners, in particular GIZ, is a key factor in the success of the parrot conservation program.

As a lesson, community members benefited from several awareness-raising sessions on the importance of conservation, which stimulated community involvement and the participation of all local stakeholders.

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Drone Data

From drone data to canopy height model

Drones play a pivotal role in the 3LD-Monitoring system, complementing other data collection methods.Drones are essential tools in partner countries to fortify technical skills among local staff. These skills encompass flight planning, navigation and image evaluation. The drone monitoring aims to empower project staff to capture data tailored for photogrammetric analyses, from which crucial geoinformation emerges.

The drone mapping methodology encompasses five stages, with the first two focusing on drone operations:

Mapping mission preparation (desktop work)
Mapping mission execution (fieldwork)
Development of Digital Surface Model (DSM) & Orthomosaic generation (desktop work)
Data analysis and refinement (desktop work)
Integration into the prevailing data system (desktop work)

Drone data aids in evaluating indicators linked to carbon/biomass, such as mortality rates and forest types. Notably, with the application of allometric equations and proper characterization of the land type, above-ground biomass estimations of trees can be determined.

Drones with pre-set flight planning capability ensure seamless orthophoto creation from individual images. This enables individual snapshots to seamlessly merge into an orthophoto (aerial photograph corrected for distortions, allowing accurate measurements). It's also vital to consider the availability of these drones in the local markets of partner countries. Leveraging local knowledge by involving local academia is paramount in this process. They can provide essential allometric equations, grounded in tree height, that facilitate precise biomass calculations.

Drones generate high resolution images, allowing a detailed overview of land cover changes, tree survival and erosion rates, among others. Combined with field data, drone-based monitoring is strengthened, guaranteeing a sound monitoring.

The heterogeneity of trees and vegetation density often hinders a sound extraction of common key points between the images, which is necessary to estimate the heights and other indicators. In this regard, increasing the overlap between images to a minimum of 85 % frontal and side overlap can improve the extraction of key points. Also, increasing the flight height of the drone reduces perspective distortion, which facilitates the detection of visual similarities between overlapping images. However, too much overlapping, i.e., high overlapping percentages result in higher amount of data, making data processing more time intensive.

Another aspect already mentioned is the availability of suitable drones in the partner countries. Importing drones to the respective countries is difficult, and bureaucratic barriers persist.

Satellite Data

Screenshot of the existing F4F-Dashboard application

Satellite data forms the bedrock of the 3LD-Monitoring system, harnessing the capabilities of open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and LANDSAT satellites. An algorithm, meticulously developed by Remote Sensing Solutions (RSS) GmbH, revolutionizes this process. Users can seamlessly submit the shapefile of their area of interest, prompting the algorithm to automatically fetch and analyze relevant data. A spectrum of robust analyses are conducted including the 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI for assessing vegetation gains or losses, 5-year vegetation moisture analysis through NDWI, and a nuanced 5-year rainfall trend evaluation. Additionally, the algorithm facilitates the visualization of vegetation changes since the inception of the project, bolstering the monitoring framework with dynamic insights. Satellite data, a vital component of the 3LDM-Monitoring system, leverages open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission and LANDSAT satellites. For predefined areas, this data is automatically fetched and analyzed for specific parameters. Key analyses include a 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI as a proxy for vegetation gains or losses, a 5-year vegetation moisture trend through NDWI, and a 5-year rainfall trend. In addition vegetation changes from project start can be visualized.

Effective use of this building block hinges on users drawing and saving areas in GIS platforms like QGIS. Additionally, enhancing the shapefile with project specifics, such as start dates and FLR type, optimizes analysis. Proper training in these skills ensures accurate data input and tailored monitoring, making capacity building in these areas essential if not present.

While satellite data, especially open-source, offers broad insights, its capability for species identification is highly restricted, if not unattainable. This limitation emphasizes the indispensable role of field work in discerning species composition and characteristics. Additionally, understanding the innate constraints of satellite imagery, especially with young tree plantations, reinforces the need for integrating field and drone data to gain a comprehensive view of forest terrains.

Field Data

Team setting up sample plots in mangroves (Madagascar)

Satellite and drone images, despite their undeniable contribution for monitoring, they are limited in the initial years of FLR efforts. Data collection at field level is crucial in the first projects years.

Data collection at field level is further divided into three participative approaches:

Permanent sampling plots: Fixed plots, where tree height, DBH, and tree survival rates will be estimated. Permanent sampling plots will be assessed in 3-year interval, due to their high labor and time input.
Land use planning: discussion rounds for the assessment of information, as well as identification of endangered species according to the Red List of Threatened Species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It is integrated into other land use planning processes, and thus, has not a defined assessment interval.
Transects: Identification of floristic and faunistic species, as well as forest structure composition, in an assessment interval of three months

All relevant indicators included in the three participative approaches are collected using the KOBO Toolbox. This software offers suitable conditions and is easy to operate, aligning with the monitoring objectives of the project.

A participative approach is essential in guaranteeing a long-term monitoring of the restored areas. The symbiosis of local knowledge and training/capacity building of local staff and regional partners is the core of this approach. Identifying the needs of the community, organizing discussion rounds, involving the local community in the developing and testing of the monitoring system, encourages consciousness and connection to the restored landscape.

Field Data Priority: In early FLR stages, field-level data collection is more effective than relying solely on satellite and drone images.
Participative Approaches: Employing participative methods like permanent sampling plots, land use planning, and transects involves local communities and enhances monitoring.
Appropriate Technology: Using user-friendly tools like KOBO Toolbox aligns well with project objectives and simplifies data collection.
Local Community Engagement: Engaging and training local communities ensures long-term success and fosters a connection to the restored landscapes.

Existence of a local wildlife and landscape management committee

The local wildlife and landscape management committee is the community decision-making structure.

Through regular meetings, the wildlife management committee plans site management activities with a view to the sustainable management of wildlife and natural ecosystems.

The wildlife management committee also decides how support for community development (support for income-generating activities, setting up an agroforestry system, environmental education, etc.) is to be directed

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a) Existence of an agreement between the SODEFOR concession and communities on traditional natural resource management

The specifications define the concessionaire's obligations towards the community, as well as the recognized rights of communities to natural resource management.

The specifications recognize that the landowning communities of the WEKO forest have the right to use natural resources in the traditional way. It also defines the species to be harvested by the concessionaire.

In terms of teaching, the existence of the notebook creates a climate of collaboration between the dealer and the community.

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