Community Forest

DIN's community forestry programme is seen as an important opportunity to strengthen participatory forest management and to address many of the underlying causes of deforestation, including poverty and insecurity.

Community forestry includes the following activities:

• Supporting local forest conservation and protection initiatives.

• Establishing and strengthening local forest management bodies.

• Supporting initiatives to forest dependent livelihoods.

• Establishing, demonstrating and promoting new technologies in the domestication of non-timber forest products.

• Undertaking research aimed at strengthening field based projects and influencing government policy.

Forest Protection and Reforestation:

• Protecting remnant forest blocks from fire through providing training in fire tracing, fire fighting, and bushburning awareness raising with community groups.

• Assisting in collection of indigenous seeds and seedlings.

• Raising indigenous tree seedlings in demonstration and community tree nurseries.

• Supporting the establishment of community woodlots with indigenous and fast growing timber species.

• Reforestation of degraded forest areas through planting local species.

Support for local forest management initiatives:

• Support of a local forest management committees (FMCs).

• Support in developing and implementing of community Forest Management Plans (FMPs).

• Facilitate Participatory Forest Mapping and Land Use Management Planning.

Domestication of Non-Timber Forest Products:

• Propagation methods for Afang (Gnetum africanum), a local vegetable collected in tropical high forest has been introduced to womens' groups in villages around Bateriko in eastern Boki local government area.

• The introduction of grafting and budding techniques for Bush Mango (Irvingo gabonensis), a key ingredient in "draw soup", a staple throughout Nigeria.  Bush Mango is an important economic species. Many rural women realise significant income through the collection and sale of the fruit of this tropical forest species.

• Raising of other important economic tree species including kola nut, citrus fruits, oil palm and avocado.

• Training of community members in the construction of propagators and grafting and budding techniques.

Research

• Conducting fuelwood surveys.

• Collection of data on indigenous plant uses, compilation of a centralised list of useful plants.

• Conducting (3) workshops with hunters and herbalists from different forest zones in Cross River State, northern Nigeria and Cameroon to identify threats and opportunities in their respective professions. 

• Documentation of useful plants and compilation of Ethno-botanical inventories.

• Participatory Appraisals focusing on natural resource management and use.