WWF launched the 5-year ECOmakala project in 2007 with help of the European Union to reduce deforestation. The project’s aim was to make ECOmakala charcoal available to the residents of Goma and to provide a new way for local tree-planters to earn a wage. The project has contributed to important CO2-reductions, creating many co-benefits for the local population while decreasing the pressure on the forest resources within the park.