CTrees and IFMAN Congo announce partnership on forest carbon data in DRC

11th September, 2024

CTrees and the Institute for Man and Nature Congo (IFMAN Congo), a prominent environmental organization in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have signed a memorandum of understanding to bring state-of-the-art remote sensing data tools to the DRC to support forest conservation and sustainable development.

DRC’s 200 million hectares of forest remove 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year, according to CTrees data. But economic pressures and political conflict have led to increasing deforestation in the last two decades, significantly impacting the net carbon uptake of the country.

The agreement between CTrees and IFMAN Congo aims to introduce CTrees’ cutting-edge remote sensing data on forest carbon and activity to the DRC, enhancing governmental decision-making and establishing a digital platform for carbon data analysis and research. 

"This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our efforts to promote sustainable development and environmental conservation in the DRC," said Phil Tebossar Malula, CEO & Director General of IFMAN Congo. "We look forward to working with CTrees to enhance our capacity in carbon data management and forestry conservation."

The partnership will focus on developing science-based data use cases for conservation, emission reduction initiatives at jurisdictional and project levels, and capacity building and training for DRC forestry experts at IFMAN Congo, and within government, universities, and civil society. CTrees and IFMAN have also agreed to collaborate on joint fundraising efforts to promote sustainable forest management and natural climate solutions in DRC.

"We are thrilled to partner with IFMAN Congo to strengthen their essential work in the DRC," said Sassan Saatchi, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of CTrees. "By joining forces, we will advance efforts in carbon management, ecosystem conservation, and sustainable development, creating lasting benefits for both the environment and the local communities ."

The agreement reflects both organizations’ commitment to addressing climate change and promoting sustainable development in the DRC. 

IFMAN Congo’s programs include efforts to improve rural livelihoods through sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and reforestation, and to reduce carbon emissions from forest loss, which account for more than 90% of DRC’s emissions. IFMAN Congo works with small farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture methods that improve crop yields and soil health while protecting biodiversity and sequestering carbon. To achieve these goals, IFMAN Congo has built extensive collaborations with national agencies, universities, business, and peer nonprofits, while also producing its own research on land use change, agriculture and forestry. 

CTrees scientists have extensive experience in the Congo Basin. In 2017, in his capacity as a UCLA and NASA scientist, CTrees’ CEO Sassan Saatchi developed a national map of forest carbon in the DRC using more than 700,000 hectares of airborne LiDAR measurements, the first such map for any tropical forest country. CTrees is now producing hectare-level assessments of carbon across the Congo Basin, based on its innovative global land carbon map and existing country-level research and engagements in the region. CTrees recently appointed Lee White, special envoy for the Congo Basin Science Initiative, to its board of directors, to bolster the organization’s engagement in Central Africa.