Bio-diversity

The pygmy community is leaving traditionally in the forest. They are recognized in the region as honey hunters. In collecting honey from the nest, they burn the bees and trees all around. Sometimes they cut down trees to collect the nest. They project will be a hands-on sustainable apiculture framework. Honey hunters will continue to collect honey using improved techniques set up by a combination of tested improved techniques and of their own local know-how. A sample of fifty honey operators will be considered as the project target. In 24 months the project team will be helping set up needed tools and techniques to sustainably hunt and harvest honey without destroying the trees neither burning the bees. Local communities and autochthones people (Batwa or pygmies) are the true guardians of the DRC rainforest. At this time, the pressure of economic change in the country is put on the natural resources they live on. They are often challenged by the need to improve their living conditions using natural resources around them and the feeling to practice the wisdom from the message of natural resource conservation delivered by the environment public services. To help them strike the balance, the project will help set a local framework for environment protection, teaching the way around to improve one s life conditions without jeopardizing biodiversity conservation standards and climate change factors. Sustainable apiculture is meant to improve honey quality and quantity. This improvement will lead to the increase of income at the household level as well as in the community. Additional alternative way may be created to take away the community need to always rely on forest products for daily living.

Congo