Sodefor was invited by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) to host the capacity building workshop for national and provincial inspectors
This invitation demonstrates the company's position as a key player in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in terms of compliance with the Forest Law, implementation of the management plan and compliance with sustainable forest management practices.
Restoring Landscapes: When Entrepreneurship Meets the Protection of Forest Ecosystems
SODEFOR was invited by the Swedish Government to participate in the "Development Talks" on the theme "Restoring landscapes through entrepreneurship".
vide: Development Talks
Sodefor invited by the University of Gembloux Agro Bio-Tech (University of Liège) to present at the headquarters of the European Union its initiatives in terms of Sustainable Management and green innovations in the DRC
As part of a training module in tropical forestry associating students from Gembloux and those from ERAIFT, Sodefor was invited to speak to these 30 students from the two institutions, on the Sustainable Development of forests in the DRC.
vide: ERAIFT
Sodefor invited to present its experience in Sustainable Forest Management at the 20th Meeting of the Parties (MOP20) of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) on 31 May 2024
La 20ème réunion des parties du PFBC a eu lieu à Kinshasa du 31 mai au 5 juin 2024 et a accueilli plus de 500 membres avec l’objectif de promouvoir la conservation de la biodiversité et la gestion durable des écosystèmes forestiers du bassin du Congo.
vide: PFBC
Central African Women's Initiative for Climate Action (WICA) and Sodefor
Kinshasa, 30th mai 2024
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), through the Silva Carbon Program, has launched the Central African Women's Initiative for Climate Action (WICA) program as part of its support to Congo Basin countries in their efforts to sustainably manage forest landscapes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in January 2021.
Sodefor was invited to participate in the closing and graduation ceremony of the WICA-Cohorts, and organised a visit to its transformation site in Kinshasa.
vide: WICA
Sodefor invited to take an active part in the Congo Basin Conclave organized by the US State Department
Kinshasa, May 2024
The U.S. Department of State, through the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, in partnership with Groupe Utalii Kwetu and Kongo River, organized a Regional Conclave from April 22 to 24, 2024, bringing together stakeholders working to preserve the Congo Basin and support economic opportunities for local communities.
vide: Bassin du Congo
Sodefor and the Ophtalmology Worldwide
Nioki, January 2024
In January 2024, a delegation of 14 professionals (including nurses, doctors and technicians) travelled from Belgium to this village in Mai Ndombe, offering 1231 consultations and 260 surgical operations to patients suffering from eye disorders
vide: OWW
Sodefor à l’Université de Kinshasa
La SODEFOR a été invitée par l’Université de Kinshasa à présenter son expérience en matière de Gestion Durable des Forêts de la RDC afin de contribuer aux cours universitaires d’Aménagement Forestier des étudiants a Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques et Environnement. La SODEFOR s’est mobilisée avec sa Coordonnatrice de la Gestion Durable, son Directeur des études, et la responsable des Clauses Sociales.
LoCoFoRest (Locally Controlled Forest Restoration)
Le LoCoFoRest (Locally Controlled Forest Restoration) est un programme financé par le gouvernement suédois et mis en œuvre par l’Agence suédoise des forêts (Swedish Forest Agency – SFA) en partenariat avec la Fondation Eco-Innovation et l’Institut International de l’Eau de Stockholm (SIWI).
Dans le cadre de ce programme, l’entreprise SODEFOR a été invitée à représenter le secteur forestier de la RDC et faire part de son expérience en matière de restauration des paysages forestiers.
vide: LoCoFoRest
Gestion Durable de la Faune dans le Paysage d’Yangambi
Au courant du mois de juin 2023 la Sodefor a été invitée par CIFOR-ICRAF (The Center of International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry) à travers le projet FORETS (Forêt, Environnement et Recherche dans la Tshopo) pour participer à l’organisation de l’atelier qui s’est tenu à Kisangani le 13 Juin 2023 sur le campus de la faculté des sciences de l’UNIKIS. L’objectif de cet atelier était de poser les premiers pas vers la création d’un plan de gestion quinquennal de la faune dans le paysage de Yangambi. En effet, la présence d’une population nombreuse dans les alentours, et l’attrait commercial général qui porté sur la faune sauvage comme source de nourriture, sont à l’origine d’une intense activité de chasse ayant un impact important sur la faune.
Sodefor et ERAIFT
Sodefor a signé, depuis janvier 2023 une Convention de Collaboration de 5 ans renouvelables, avec l’École Régionale Post Universitaire d’Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrée des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT).
vide: SODEFOR visite l’ERAIFT
Sodefor and WWF
Sodefor and WWF are strengthening their collaboration by extending their joint actions to improve wildlife management and combat poaching through the signing of a Voluntary Declaration of Collaboration on Sustainable Wildlife Management in Forest Concessions and Surrounding Forests in the DRC.
The aim of the actions to be carried out is to consolidate the conservation of protected species in the DRC.
Sodefor has been working with WWF since 2010 on the sustainable management of its forest concessions.
09-03-2021
Forest code
The government grants certificates of compliance to seven forest companies
vide: DeskNature
Conclusion and recommendations from TFT’s Due Diligence Review Report July 2018
« SODEFOR engaged TFT to complete a third party Due Diligence review of its concessions and operations in January 2018, and this was carried out in June and July 2018. The purpose of our engagement with SODEFOR was to identify key areas for improvement in the Company’s current forest management plans and operations covering environmental and social aspects. On the basis of the findings we were asked to propose alternative approaches and recommendations which, if adopted, would enhance the SODEFOR’s Forest Management operations. »
Publication précédente: Announcement
Créée en 1994, la Sodefor est une SARL de droit Congolais. Elle a débuté ses activités dans la Province du Bandundu, à 400 km au Nord Est de Kinshasa.
Forescom was a state company, nationalized in 1974 and dissolved in 1990, with an industrial saw unit and a plywood unit in Nioki.
The State made all the concessions (Supply Guarantees) held by Forescom through a memorandum of agreement signed by associates. The surface area of the supply concessions transferred to Sodefor exceeded 1,700,00 Ha.
The troubles that took hold of the country beginning in 1996 prevented logging in a large part of these areas, and even led to the total shut-down of the Nioki industrial unit in 1998/1999. It should be emphasized that despite this shut-down, the company kept the Nioki hospital continuously operational during this period, as well as the entire regional health zone.
In the early 2000s, the State granted the company new forest titles, far removed from war zones, in order to guarantee supply to its Kinshasa factories, which was bought back from Sokinex in 2001 and includes a sawmill for the production of plywood and a peeling line
Today, with its 1,500 employees and two processing units in Nioki and Kinshasa, Sodefor is firmly committed to sustainable management and is a leading company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For Sodefor, business is synonymous with social and environmental responsibility.
This willingness to do good and contribute to sustainable development is founded on three pillars:
- The economic pillar, without which the other pillars are not possible, is the guarantee of the company’s profitability and longevity.
- The social pillar must ensure that the company’s very existence constitutes a benefit for its employees and the riverside communities by contributing to the amelioration of their living conditions.
- The environmental pillar takes into account the environmental impact of the company’s activities.
Sodefor is therefore guided by the following principles:
- Following the legal requirements, both national and international, which apply to our activities.
Respecting land rights as well as rights governing the cultivation and exploitation of land and forest resources. - Respecting the legal and traditional rights of the property’s indigenous people with regards to logging and the management of their farm land and resources.
- Maintaining or improving sustainable social and economic well-being for forest workers and local communities;
- Promoting the efficient processing of many forestry products and services with the goal of ensuring their economic profitability and generating a large number of environmental and social benefits;
- Preserving biological diversity and its associated values, as well as preserving unique and fragile water resources, grounds, ecosystems, and landscapes, in order to maintain the forest’s ecological functions and its integrity;
- Developing management plans for each of the concessions (all of SODEFOR’s concessions will have a management plan before the end of 2019. Several management plans have already been created and submitted for the approval of the minister, others will follow before the end of 2018).
- Continuously evaluating the state of the forest, the production of forestry resources, the traceability chain, and management activities, as well as social and environmental impacts;
- Identifying forests with high conservation values and taking precautions in order to guarantee their conservation of the improvement of the attributes that define such forests.
SODEFOR sarl
2165, Avenue des Poids Lourds,
Commune de la Gombe
Kinshasa
République Démocratique du Congo
Tel.: +243 85 127 29 91
E-mail: mail@sodefor.net