• The WorldBank « Projet d'Amenagement des Ressources Naturelles » (PARN) is now in its final phase. The project is carried out by the « Ministere des Eaux et Forets » under the supervision of the Canadian private company TECSULT. Land Use / Land Cover mapping and forest inventories have been among the main activities of the project. PARN has produced numerous thematic maps (initial scale 1: 200, 000) of the dense humid forest zone cover of CAR by interpretation of aerial photos and GIS techniques, i.e. updated topographic map, soil maps, land use map, land cover map; forest species biomass maps have also been produced.

The objective of PARN (click here for map) was to produce a stratification plan for the forest zone. The PARN structure will be the framework for the implementation of the future REIMP project in CAR (1998). The results of PARN may be extended to the dry forest zone and the whole country through REIMP funding. 

Fig. 16

• The objective of the European Community « Programme de Developpement de la Region Nord » was to preserve the wild fauna in the northern part of CAR by involving local population. The project undertook several aerial surveys and produced a vegetation map (1 : 200, 000 scale) by interpretation of Landsat images (Da Vinci Consulting, Belgium).

• The test site of the European Community ECOFAC program is located in Ngotto forest. As with its other test-sites in Central Africa, ECOFAC has acquired airborne RADAR data and has produced vegetation maps at a scale of 1:50,000 by photo-interpretation (INTERA, Canada).

• Since 1995, the University of Louvain and the University of Gent in collaboration with the TREES project and with ECOFAC program have been studying the seasonality of the forest in the Ngotto area. AVHRR data and field measurements (e.g. canopy cover, LAI) are being collected simultaneously and at regular intervals. Forest structure models are also being developed.

• The FIRE project of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission has selected CAR to conduct field experiments. Several field data collection campaigns (field and airborne surveys) have been organized with the help of the former « Atelier National de Teledetection » of the « Institut Centre-Africain de Recherche Agronomique » (ICRA). In 1994, an AVHRR receiving station was located in Bangui (ORSTOM Center), to acquire data regularly during the dry season. This station has been removed due to the latest political problems.

• Others : In 1994, NASA , in collaboration with the US Geological Survey, produced two satellite image maps (Landsat TM data) of the Dzanga-Sangha area. These data will support the conservation activities of WWF and WCS in the Tri-National Park area. 

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