14 October 2013: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), supported by the European Commission (EC), are building forest management capacity in the country.

The capacity building projects are intended to address the lack of forest technical expertise in the DRC based on, amongst others, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) that revealed, in 2005, there were only ten forest researchers in the DRC. Thus far 74 Master of Science (MSc) students and 33 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students have been trained through projects and partnerships with universities, donors and research organizations. Further projects, including the Forest and Climate Change in the Congo (FCCC) project, will train an additional 40 MSc and 10 PhD students.

The capacity building efforts through universities in the DRC will be supported by additional investments including from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), which will fund research into the intensification of agroforestry systems and investments in the conservation and restoration of forested land, including in the Virunga National Park.

CIFOR and ICRAF are members of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [CIFOR Press Release]