The guide on sustainable management and recommendations for certification is a compilation of knowledge on the social and environmental aspects of forest management in the Congo Basin.

 
It is intended for managers of logging companies in the Congo Basin seeking to change their practices in order to certify their forest management practices, for forest administrations and all stakeholders inspired by examples of good social and environmental practices: training centers , NGOs, etc. .

 
It was designed as part of the support project for eco-certification of concessions in Central Africa (ECOFORAF) which isrun by the International Technical Tropical Timber Association with financial support from the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM). It was created by the ONFI – TEREA – Nature+ consortium, with input from twenty experts from Central African logging companies, governments, NGOs, research centers and consultancies.

 
Our goal:
 

♦ to share experience garnered within the ECOFORAF programme and guide logging companies in improving their practices to reach «certified forest management" levels.

The knowledge acquired is presented on several fact sheets that offer practical recommendations on key components of logging and the company’s internal organization:

• Monitoring and management of commercial species’ populations ,
• waste management and inputs,
• Wildlife Management ,
• Identification of areas of ecological interest ,
• monitoring and evaluation
• traceability of timber.
 
♦ to make this book accessible to professionals by promoting its distribution on the field
 

A field mission is scheduled for early 2014 under the ECOFORAF project in order to disseminate the document among the Central African logging companies, the  countries’ forest administrations and training institutions in the sub -region.

 
Printed copies will be available soon. The ATIBT and the consortium will contact you again shortly to arrange distribution modalities. In case you need any information, do not hesitate to contact ATIBT: marine.leblanc@atibt.org

The document can be downloaded from the ATIBT website:

ATIBT 2014 : Studies on the practical management plan of African natural tropical production forests - Component 4 - Sustainable Management and recommendations for certification

 
and also from the FFEM website; FFEM: Etudes sur le plan pratique de l’aménagement des forêts naturelles de production tropicales africaines
 

The ATIBT  thanks all those who have contributed directly or indirectly to the completion of this manual and welcomes all your questions!

 
This 4th component is part of the "ATIBT Manuals" Collection:

 
These studies on the practical management of Africa’s natural tropical production forests, commonly called “ATIBT Manuals” still serve as reference material for professionals, particularly forest concession managers.
 

In 2001, the ATIBT published the first edition of the manual with the financial support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM). The manual aims to highlight the technical steps in the Development Plan, while recalling fundamental concepts of sustainable management. Its content was drawn from experience acquired on the ground and developed in partnership with leading industry experts. As a key reference document in the African forestry arena, both for forestry professionals in the Congo Basin and international donors as well as policymakers, the manual is the first of its kind to address the issue of forest management. Component 2 (social aspects) and 3 (faunal aspects) were published in late 2005, again with FFEM funding.

 
All downloadable publications on the ATIBT site: http://www.atibt.org/bibliotheque/manuels-amenagement-atibt/

 
- Component 1 FOREST PRODUCTION http://www.atibt.org/documents/DOCS/PPA-VoletI-FR.pdf
- Component 2 SOCIAL ASPECTS http://www.atibt.org/documents/DOCS/PPA-VoletII-FR.pdf
- Component 3 FAUNAL ASPECTS http://www.atibt.org/documents/DOCS/PPA-VoletIII-FR.pdf
- Component 4 SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH A VIEW TO CERTIFICATION http://www.atibt.org/documentsdocsppa-voletiv-