Open Knowledge (FSC OK)

An article in Land Use Policy published early in 2016 concluded that deforestation in Congo was highest in forest concessions with forest management plans (FMPs) than in those without. The impact assessment analysis which led the researchers to this conclusion is based on matching randomly selected plots in concessions with and without management plans. The researchers suggest that one factor is the more developed network of forest roads in managed concessions. Another factor is local development, which ensues from mandatory requirements for FMPs and leads to increases in population on FMP concessions and subsequently increased deforestation. Our group of twenty researchers, knowledgeable of forest management issues in Central Africa, analyzed deforestation in concessions over the same time period. Our results show that deforestation is lower in concessions with FMPs than in those without. In a comparative analysis of deforestation with production remaining constant, concessions with FMPs are approximately twice as efficient as those without; per cubic metre produced, gross loss of forests cover was lower by half in concessions with FMPs. We do not argue that forest management planning reduces deforestation because we understand that there are other factors which play essential roles. The dynamics of these other factors need to be analysed, to avoid systematically attributing deforestation trends to forest management plans, or giving them a greater role in than deserved. Finally, any assessment must take into account that forest management is a long-term process, with long-term objectives that include sustained timber yields and the avoidance of forest conversion.