Ongoing
From: 25/08/2023
To: 24/08/2028
Partners: Tropenbos DRC (TBRDC)
Associates: The project will be implemented along with the following civil society organisations: APILAF, ARED, CEREPSAN, GTDE and REPALEF and, along with the community-based organisations: ACODELPY and LINDA MAZINGIRA. The project will work directly with management committees of existing CFCL, and other community organisations identified during the first year of the project.
Stakeholders: The project will be implemented in Bafwasende, Banalia, Basoko, Yahuma and Ubundu territories in the Tshopo province. The project will directly benefit between 65,000 and 75,000 IP and LC individuals as well as government and customary authorities. Likewise, around 200,000 people will be indirectly benefited by the project.
Through this project, Tropenbos DRC works with 30 Indigenous and Bantu communities across the territories of Bafwasende, Banalia, Basoko, Ubundu, and Yahuma in Tshopo Province. The initiative aims to establish and secure formal recognition from the provincial government for local community forest concessions (CFCLs) covering a total of 900,000 hectares. In addition, the project supports 12 communities in Bafwasende that already hold CFCLs spanning 390,000 hectares. This support focuses on strengthening their organisational capacity and forest management practices. The project includes direct funding to CFCL management committees to implement priority activities outlined in the communities’ simple management plans. Project interventions also include training for traditional chiefs, other community leaders, and provincial government officials.
Through this project, an estimated 65,000 to 75,000 Indigenous and local community members—as well as customary and government authorities—will benefit directly. An additional 200,000 people are expected to benefit indirectly from the project’s outcomes. Tropenbos DRC partners with seven local implementing organisations: Association for the Promotion of Local Initiatives in Forested Africa (APILAF), Actions and Achievements for Development (ARED), Centre for Political and Social Research on Black Africa (CEREPSAN), Working Group on Decentralisation and Elections (GTDE), Network of Indigenous and Local Populations for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEF), Community Action for the Local Development of Pygmy Indigenous Peoples (ACODELPY), and Linda Mazingira.
To read a brief overview of the Democratic Republic of Congo, click here.
For a timeline of land and forest rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, click here.
