• The « Service Permanent d'Inventaire et d'Amenagement Forestier » (SPIAF) is the key institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. SPIAF is participating in the FAO-TFA and the Landsat PATHFINDER project. SPIAF is the team leader of the preparation for the REIMP project. In collaboration with other former Zairian institutions, the SPIAG scientists produced the first land-cover map of the Democratic Republic of Congo, by visual interpretation of satellite images (scale 1:200,000). For a few months now, they have been developing GIS applications for forest management.

Fig. 22 

• The « Direction de la Meteorologie et de la Teledetection Satellitaire » (METTELSAT) is the former ERTS-Zaire institution. ERTS-Zaire was supported by USAID and the Belgian Cooperation (Program on the Development of Agriculture Surveys by Remote Sensing) during the 80's. Currently, METTELSAT is trying to re-develop, mainly in the areas of geology, meteorology and remote sensing applications in savanna areas.

Fig. 23 Click here for map of KIENGE land cover types (931K : recommend you download/save target for printing) 

• The University of Louvain in Belgium has a long tradition with research in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some projects are currently being carried out in the forested areas of Gemena and Yangambi. The objective is to study vegetation changes, based on remote sensing data (Landsat and SPOT) and old colonial maps. Kinshasa is also studied : production of SPOT satellite image map and analysis of the urban districts.

• The University College London has applied GIS methods to support the WWF activities for conservation in the Garamba National Park (north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo). An impressive work has been carried out so far, including various tasks, that range from Remote Sensing mapping of vegetation, to integration of biodiversity surveys and development of a management plan.

• The Kivu region and the Virunga National Park have been studied extensively for two years now. The «Haut Commissariat aux Refugies des Nations-Unies » (UNHCR) and the European Union funded vegetation mapping activities to support field works. The Belgian private company I-MAGE Consult has been in charge of this work and has furthermore carried out a multi-temporal analysis and mapping of the deforestation patterns around the refugee camps. In the same context and in collaboration with UNHCR, the REIMP is now funding a more integrated approach that is based on the  development of specific GIS applications for post-crisis period management.

Vegetation types around Virunga National Park (671K) 
Fig. 24

• The Zairian component (Salonga Park) of the European ECOFAC project was not implemented. Nevertheless, airborne RADAR data were acquired and interpreted. Vegetation maps were produced at a 1:50,000 scale. They now need to be field validated.

Fig. 25 

• Others: Some institutions are using remote sensing data to support their field surveys. University of Oxford (England) is studying the Bonobo habitat (132K)

Fig. 26  in the southern part of the Congolese forest. They have worked with the University of Brussels (Belgium) to produce forest maps based on satellite data interpretation. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is carrying out fauna surveys around logging concessions near Bondo (northern Democratic Republic of Congo). Remote Sensing data are used to locate forest borders and to assess the level of degradation of the primary forest. 

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