Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies

© Greenpeace
Voices from the Forest:
A Collection of Testimonies
www.greenpeace.be
© Greenpeace
© Greenpeace
© Greenpeace
Oshwe Forum (Bandundu Province) 26th to 28th April 2010
daily life
José Ipapala
“Our villages are like birds’ nests”
profile
© Greenpeace
Born in Loma, a village in Oshwe territory (Bandundu Province), José Ipapala
is a school teacher and also works as an
environmental educator in his community, leveraging skills acquired through
his experience with international NGOs.
Having assumed secretarial duties in the
Oshwe Forum, José sets forth below
some of the recommendations from
Oshwe civil society. These recommendations were articulated by the Forum
participants following various thematic workgroups (such as social and land
disputes).
The rainforest is all around us;
our villages are in the heart of
the forest, like birds’ nests.
Logging companies should not just
come to harvest our forests, but should
also bring community benefits such as
local health facilities. Unfortunately, the
logging industry is not helpful, it’s a
plague. They exploit us without helping
us meet our most basic needs.
The Forest Code (see Focus) requires
loggers to talk to local community leaders and sign social agreements. Sodefor, the company that operates here has
never done so. Whenever local people
claim the enforcement of their rights,
they get arrested. This was recently
experienced by the Bokongo people, to
which I belong.
Since they first came here (ed. note:
1994), no social agreement has ever
been signed. They deliberately refuse to
do so. The logging industry has not
contributed anything to local
development.
© Greenpeace
Focus
Forest Code
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
Promulgated in 2002, the Forest Code
defines mutual rights and obligations for
logging companies and local communities. However, the code remains poorly
known and implemented in logging zones.
Greenpeace contributes to promoting better knowledge through workshops intended to provide local communities with
opportunities to brainstorm ideas and
share information. These activities included a Lingala translation of the code collaboratively made by several NGOs for local
community leaders.
daily life
Espérance Mémé
“We hunt to earn a little money”
profile © Greenpeace
Espérance Mémé was born in Kwao,
the main town of one of Oshwe’s four
administrative districts. Espérance is a
farmer and lives in a village located in
the heart of Sodefor-owned permit GA
022, Kwao block. She grows rice, corn,
squash and peanuts, as well as beans
and manioc. Espérance has five children
aged 18 to 25.
Currently, there is no active
logging site in the village, but
the Guarantee (see Focus) will be
exploited in the future. We don’t want
that anymore. Sodefor refuses to pay
land fees or to sign a social agreement.
They only give us salt, soap and small
amounts of money that are not of any
help to the local community. Neither do
they give employment to the men. In the
last 10 years, wildlife stock has become
scarce, and we already see signs of
extinction. There has been poor management of natural resources due to the
difficulties faced locally and the lack of
economic players.
We hunt to earn a little money to buy
products of prime necessity such as
soap or salt, but also to pay for our children’s health care and school fees.
Bushmeat is sold to some buyers in the
village, then resold in Kikwit and
Kinshasa.
We need to have other channels to sell
our surplus crops; rice and squash rot
because we have no boats to transport
it. If we had some, we could stop hunting. Bushmeat has always been what
sells best, but things are changing.
Hunters used to hunt within 2 km from
the village; today, they must travel
12 km to 15 km to find game.
© Greenpeace
Focus
Forest Titles
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
The term “guarantee” mentioned by
Espérance refers to ‘supply guarantees’ –
one of three types of forest titles allocated
before 2006. Several logging companies
are active in Oshwe territory, in permits
covering an area of 1,602,892 hectares
– an area greater than Belgium. Part of
Salonga National Park is located in Oshwe
territory.
daily life
Odessa Kange
“We weren’t paid every month...”
profile © Greenpeace
When he can find work, Odessa Kange
is a logging worker. He represented the
Lokolama community (Itomba) at the
Oshwe Forum. Odessa travelled by bicycle from his home town located more
than 80 km away, a journey that took him
two days.
I was hired by the logging
company Sengé Sengé in
2006. We were 65 workers from different villages and also from Oshwe. We
felled various tree species. Our wage?
We would make $10 in 30 days, working from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm every day.
How many trees were felled? It is difficult to say, sometimes twenty a day. We
were also responsible for transporting
the logs to the next village, Danzer. We
used mere chainsaws to cut the trees;
by and large, it was a risky job.
Some workers were injured by chainsaws or stung by wasps. And we
haven’t been paid our full wages so far.
In addition, the company would abandon logs in the forest. Another problem
was the land chief’s incapability and
inability to negotiate.
What can you do with $10? You can
buy small bags of salt or small cakes of
soap, but you cannot pay for your children’s school. Now what did the company bring to the village? No school, no
church, no road… they haven’t kept a
single promise. Some caterpillar trees
were felled, which was not a good thing
for the community. They even cut trees
from adjacent fields.
What is the value of the felled trees? We
have no idea. I just found out there are
different categories of trees... this is all
new to me. The company is gone now,
and bulldozers have been left behind.
We have been working two years in all.
We will claim our wages when they
come back to pick up their vehicles, but
I wonder when that will be. They have to
come back some day; we will take the
opportunity to ask for our money.
© Greenpeace
Focus
The Value of a Tree
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
We questioned many participants in the
Oshwe Forum about this issue and invariably received the same answer. In this
region where the logging industry is the
only economic player, no one knows
about the market value of trees. The information collected by Greenpeace in various
field missions suggests that it only costs
forest companies a few dollars to cut trees
that sell for thousands of dollars on the
Kinshasa market.
daily life
Pélagie Balonge
“Forest companies, it’s all talk
and no action”
profile © Greenpeace
Pélagie Balonge was born in N
­ onge
Turi, 96 km from Oshwe. Working as
a school teacher, she also has farming activities. At the Oshwe Forum, she
represented her locality’s community
platform.
I did go to school but we have
no university here, and we
cannot afford it anyway. My oldest
brother is a nurse and I am a school
teacher. My school day starts at 7:30
and ends at 12:35. In our school, we
have benches and we fix them ourselves when necessary. In some villages, forest companies promise they will
build schools but they never do, that’s
true. Forest companies, it’s all talk and
no action. Our future? We cannot
defend ourselves because we are still
isolated. We need someone to help us
find ways out.
The forest is emblematic of our community and means a lot to us: harvesting,
gathering of fruit, caterpillars, fields...
Our children make toys from the forest,
for example balloons from rubber
plants, or nice toy trucks. But the forest
also means issues such as poaching,
which is especially difficult for women.
We always have to be accompanied by
men, as we cannot defend ourselves.
When we are scared, we just sing, it
gives us courage.
I found the Greenpeace Forum very
interesting. Two subjects particularly
caught my attention: forest lands that
should go under State management
and also participatory mapping (see
Focus). I will pass them on to my pupils,
and explain to them that we spoil our
forests because of logging companies
and also artisanal loggers (ed. note: this
logging model is less industrialized but
just as disruptive to local people) who
destroy our forests. They cut logs but
cannot transport them. Both logging
companies and artisanal loggers leave
piles of logs in the forest. That makes
us angry.
© Greenpeace
Focus
Participatory Mapping
This notion must be viewed as a prerequisite to the establishment of a genuine,
national-scale zoning plan aimed at defining multiple forest functions. The Forest
Code provides for the splitting of land into
zones intended for conservation, community forestry as well as sound forest
exploitation.
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
Participatory mapping should take into
account the significant roles forests play
for the local population, implying consultation with each village to delineate their own
hunting or fishing areas, as well as sacred
sites. These forest roles are not respected
by the logging industry today.
daily life
David Kabumba
“This school is so unfinished...”
profile © Greenpeace
David Kabumba comes from the village of Isoko, reachable by a 5 hour
canoe ride from Oshwe. Sharing his
co-­villagers’ unanimous opinion, D
­ avid
believes it is time to protest against
Sodefor’s presence. The logging company has not delivered its promises. In
Isoko like anywhere else, youngsters
dream of going to university while their
village still does not have a school. Land
Chief Nkoti Bamoko seems determined
not to give in.
Sodefor is just a joke, so the
Land Chief said we do not
need them. Sodefor was supposed to
build the school but such a school is
useless. We have no benches. The
teacher cannot sit. We need a better
world. How can our children study in
that school? It is so unfinished.
The Sodefor people said they would
build a school, but they left without
keeping their promises. Neither did they
build a health center or a church. And
what about the Oshwe road? We had
an agreement with them. They had
wood orders to honor so they cut the
© Greenpeace
We need companies to contribute to
our village development. A company
other than Sodefor? Yes, that’s what we
want, a company that is more
respectful of our rights. We do not
know the value of our trees. We have
much Iroko here, but we don’t know
what it is worth. It is an issue for our
Land Chief.
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
trees and left. They do stupid things like
that.
Sodefor has not changed anything in
the village. We cannot tolerate this anymore. With Sodefor, nothing changed.
We are as poor as before. Now that our
Land Chief said Sodefor can no longer
come here, we’re not afraid. They will
perhaps try to bother us, but we will not
give up. It is our village. They can come
with the military, we’re not afraid.
daily life
Bolako Kabamba &
Koko Kangila
“We can no longer hunt like our ancestors did”
profile © Greenpeace
Bolako Kabamba and his companion
Koko Kangila represented indigenous
people at the Greenpeace-organized
Forum. There are several ‘Pygmy’ groups
living in the Congolese forests in conditions more precarious than ever before.
It took Bolako several days to travel to
Oshwe by foot from his village Lokongo,
located about 84 kilometers away.
How is life in the village? We
live rather well but we have
difficulties. As indigenous people, we
rely on the forest; we live from hunting
and gathering. For this part, we are all
right. We live quietly, connected to our
environment. Our main issue is that we
have no financial means. We cannot
learn and study as the Bantous do.
Things have changed, especially if we
look at how our ancestors lived, with
community hunting and nets. This has
definitely changed. At that time, wildlife
was sufficient. Now, we cannot catch
anything with this kind of hunting. We
can no longer hunt like our ancestors
did. Now we have to hunt by night, with
traps or local firearms.
Are ‘Pygmy’ villages in contact with logging companies? There is a Sodeforowned guarantee close to my village,
within our customary territory. Sodefor
is also established near my companion’s village, with another guarantee that
is being exploited.
With or without Sodefor, it does not
change a thing. We can let Sodefor harvest our forests if they help us restore
our roads, which would give us
© Greenpeace
The irresponsible hunting that has been
practiced may be the reason for this
change. We are farmers but because of
our situation, with the lack of means
and our inability to transport products,
we have to hunt. As a result, some species become extinct and we need to
use new hunting techniques.
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
opportunities to trade our products.
Sodefor has not done anything for us.
They never even started negotiating
with us; our trees have been cut without
our prior agreement.
What I remember from the Forum? We
watched films on the climate. It is
appalling, so regrettable for our brothers. We observe climate changes here
too.
daily life
Monkiki Yembe
“Forest is like a national bank”
profile © Greenpeace
Land Chief Monkiki Yembe was born in
the 1930s in a small village close to the
town of Oshwe. He claims ownership of
forest lands within ancestrally defined
boundaries. His function, inherited from
his father under customary laws, confers
authority upon him and a duty to protect his community. The “Land Chief”
role is different from that of “Group Leader” which also includes administrative
responsibilities. Clan structures also exist
within forest communities, all of which
are hereditary.
Most of the time, the Land
Chief and the Group Leader
are on good terms, but not always,
especially when it comes to sharing
things such as prohibited game that is
hunted there. Usually, one gets a paw,
the other the foreleg. Prohibited game
refers to animals that are protected by
the authorities, such as leopards, elephants, or pangolins, and are killed by
hunters who shoot randomly, without
knowing what they are shooting at. The
hunter that “mistakenly” killed the protected animal has to give one of its legs
to the Land Chief...
Since we lost the last industry we had
left in 1965 (ed. note: in 1965, a smallsize 40 km2 concession stopped being
operated by its Belgian owner), we have
been dependent on hunting, farming
and fishing for our livelihoods. It’s difficult because we get no steady income
from that. Farming provides us with
basic food. We sometimes get meat
from the market close to the town. Do
we have money to buy meat? Some of
us receive wages. Others rely on plantations. We have plenty of manioc
leaves here, but you don’t live well without a field. Many children do not go to
school and just hang around all day
because most parents cannot pay for
school. Those who don’t own a field
struggle to have a decent life and face
risks of becoming “slaves”.
In the past, villages practiced collective
hunting with nets. Then we planted
fields, and the animals went further
away. We need the rainforest; it is like a
national bank. Forests are essential to
our livelihood; they provide us with
wood fuel to cook our food. What about
the pressure on rainforests? We did not
expect that, rainforests are big. We are
just beginning to understand they’re not
big enough...
© Greenpeace
Focus
Forests are State property in the DRC
Legally, forests belong to the Congolese
State, which allocates titles to logging
companies. This specific legal provision
overlaps with customary laws still widely
respected today by forest communities.
The Forest Code in theory attempts to
“reconcile” these two lines of jurisdictional
authority by requiring public consultations
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
and the signature of social investment
agreements with local communities before
concession contract signature. A forest
management plan is to be approved no
later than four years after the signature
of a contract, with a one-year extension
possible.
administration and development
Omer Paul Liema
“Logging companies do not comply
with what the State requires”
profile Is land management easy? It
is a matter of adjustment. I
have about 500 people working under
my control. Do I have a computer? No, I
just work with my brain. People who
report to me include the Chief of the
Environmental Unit. While 60 agents
would be needed, we only have 30 for a
surface area of 43,000 km2, four districts and a main town. Our employees
travel by foot.
When the Oshwe-based supervisor has
to visit the interior of the country, he
goes on a one-month trip, walking up to
500 km. Are these people properly
trained and skilled? You have to understand that it is difficult here... In most
cases, we do not have technicians.
What are their tasks in remote territories? There is much to do with the local
population there.
Do we have a good rapport with the
industry? Yes, our relationships are
good or at least, as good as they can
be. Does the industry behave well
towards local people? Well, I wouldn’t
say they behave well. The companies
operating in our area do not comply
with what the State requires. In fact, we
wonder who is in charge, the State or
the logging industry.
The State/industry relationship?
Excuse me…
What kind of relationships does the
State have with logging companies?
Well, as they say, things are what they
are.
We, as State representatives provide
appropriate cooperation to the industry,
but logging companies do not play their
part toward the population. Basically,
that’s how it is. If, one day, people stop
complaining about companies and start
smiling, then we can say everything is
going to be all right.
Now, regarding the issue of social
agreements— much discussed at the
Greenpeace Forum: Will that change
our relationship with the industry? As a
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
Land Chief, I am quite familiar with this
topic, and I believe it will be difficult to
reach any sort of consensus. It is much
easier for logging companies to just
continue doing nothing.
Preserving intact forests to protect
oxygen
Indeed, keeping our forests intact is
definitely a good cause. Local people
have understood that this fight is not in
vain and those who are struggling to
safeguard the forests will get significant
compensation. I believe the population
is ready to take on this role. As a Land
Chief, I am also a delegate for my community. People in my village will understand all this more easily if I understand
it myself.
© Greenpeace
© Greenpeace
Omer Paul Liema, the third highest
“commanding” authority for the territory,
was born in the village of Wato/Kangara.
He is responsible for the task allocation
among the various administrative units
of Oshwe, the “DRC’s second largest
administrative territory,” as indicated by
the Land Chief.
administration and development
Alfred Itomba Buliousy
“Corruption has become a big
concern for local people”
© Greenpeace
profile We provide support to farmers, mostly growers, to ensure
food security and increase production
by teaching them techniques to improve
crop yields. We also encourage farmers
to gather in groups and cooperatives.
Forest companies such as Sodefor or
ITB continue to deceive local communities, attempting to bribe community
leaders and Land Chiefs. Yet, the population is not fooled. Corruption has
become a big concern for local people.
It always comes from loggers, who offer
bribes to powerful people, mostly forest
owners, in order to manipulate them.
© Greenpeace
These organizations must be coordinated, approved, and managed by the
population. Our goal is to see their
revenues increase. We must contribute
to releasing the pressure on forests. We
also teach them not to deforest as we
believe that improved seeds can help
avoid deforestation caused by slash
and burn farming. The Oshwe population is receptive to this approach. These
rather backward-looking people have a
high potential for innovative thinking.
Alfred Itomba Buliousy is a technical
coordinator for the EU-funded program
ACODEM.
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
administration and development
Nestor Mputu Kamanga
“We have little room for maneuver”
As the Town Chief of Oshwe, I
am responsible for all matters
related to administration and police.
People are claiming the enforcement of
their rights. Does it mean they have
issues with logging companies? There
are, indeed, issues, especially with
Sodefor. Before the new legislation was
promulgated, (ed. note: Forest Code),
Sodefor just imposed its views on the
population. Arrangements were made in
Kinshasa.
for Sodefor to get advantages? How
does it work in practice?
Today, the process starts at the base:
companies have to reach consensus
with local communities, then contact
the various relevant environmental
authorities. It is a true revolution. It is a
good thing.
Can local authorities easily monitor foreign companies’ operations? Are there
They use money, and influence. Sodefor
is a powerful player in Mai-Ndombe The
money that is generated does not go to
local people, but to authorities. When
Sodefor considered operating in Isoko,
they tried to influence us. They wanted
the police to intimidate villagers but we
refused. The security committee of
Oshwe unanimously refused.
In the past, they only had to hand out a
few bags of salt and bottles of whisky
to harvest a forest area. Today, they
must provide real benefits to local communities, such as building health centers, hospitals, schools, or restoring and
maintaining roads… While this is progress, much more needs to be done.
That’s why people are complaining
about companies like Sodefor. Is it easy
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
sufficient means available? At city level,
I don’t see any issue regarding territory
administration. You need to ask the
administrator.
How does it look in reality? Is it easy to
control the industry? No, it is not easy
because we lack the means of transport, and we have little room for maneuver. For instance, if we need to visit a
logger operating in Isenge, we need a
speedboat. Who has a speedboat?
Who can afford the fuel? There is just
no money.
© Greenpeace
© Greenpeace
profile Nestor Mputu Kamanga is the M
­ ayor
(Town Chief) of Oshwe. This senior
administration official, along with other local dignitaries, attended the Oshwe
Forum, lending an attentive ear to the
discussions.
administration and development
Christine Etea
“We are caught between a rock and a hard place”
profile © Greenpeace
Christine Etea, a development officer in
Oshwe, participated in the discussions at
the Greenpeace forum with great interest. When asked whether “development
officer” is a good job, she forthrightly
answered: “How can you do a good job
if you don’t have any money?”, referring
to the issue of wages, which are not consistently paid in the Congolese administration. She also mentioned that the quite
new “development” office of Oshwe was
only set up two years ago.
In the past, there was wildlife
stock within one kilometer;
today hunters have to go 30 to 50 kilometers to find it. The only way to obtain
meat is to buy it from the market; for
CFA50 you get small portions of rotten
meat you can’t feed your children with.
Not every one can eat meat today.
for a long time and the forest has been
protecting us; if we give up on it, if forest people cut our trees, how are we
going to live?
Is it possible to keep the trees standing? Yes, if we can find other means of
In the past, farmers would go hunting
and share with the elderly in the village,
especially old women who have no children to take care of them. It has
changed now.
We pray to God. Some children are sick
with yellow fever and tuberculosis.
Are there any other economic activities?
There is not much going on. We have
farm products but no buyers. What are
the outlooks for the area? We are
caught between a rock and a hard
place: we have been living in the forest
© Greenpeace
Aren’t the logging companies operating
in the area contributing to local development? In forest reserves, we have
problems hunting because it is prohibited by the State. In other forest areas,
we just hunt.
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
making a living. People feel isolated in
Oshwe. Many lands have been declared
forest reserves by the State, and the
logging companies have taken what
was left. We need alternative means of
subsistence.
administration and development
Thérèse Ngokanga
“We need alternative sources of
income to stop hunting”
profile © Greenpeace
Thérèse Ngokanga teaches French
and Latin in one of Oshwe’s secondary
schools. Thérèse also heads a women’s
association that works to create a community garden to extend the range of
vegetables available to the town community. Together with the local WWF organization, they have been developing a pilot
project of rice-fish culture pond. Thérèse
was an active participant at the Forum.
I head an association called
Mamans pour le Potager
(Moms for the Garden). The pond
behind my house is an unprecedented
project of alternating rice and fish culture involving 21 women. It has to be
done by women because women traditionally are in charge of cooking. We
also educate women on nutrition issues
and expect great benefits from these
programs. Our next focus will be on
youngsters, who hang around because
they are jobless and need to be counseled and coordinated.
down, and people are resuming their
hunting habits.
We have no other economic activity. So
the only way for us to pay for our children’s school or hospital expenses
when they get sick, is to go hunting (ed.
note: the other potential source of
income is provided by logging, which
rarely has a positive impact in terms of
improvement of local livelihoods). We
need alternative sources of income to
stop hunting.
Local people realize that the forest is
essential and our only resource. They
are concerned about logging companies’ behavior. Companies do things
that harm local communities instead of
helping them.
This should help prevent poachers from
emptying the forest of wildlife. At the
moment, the momentum is slowing
www.greenpeace.be Voices from the Forest: A Collection of Testimonies
© Greenpeace
With the pond, there will be fish for
everyone, and this will prevent the further destruction of wildlife stocks. Of
course, it won’t be an easy change
because people are used to eating
meat. But the experience of community
gardens has proved very successful
and shown that there is a market. And
now, our friends are planting community gardens too, which creates multiplier
effects.