Securing collective tenure of traditional lands and developing community forest management plans for South Kivu’s local communities and Indigenous Peoples

Project Overview

The DRC has made important efforts in fomenting local community forest concessions as a tool to guarantee tenure rights for Indigenous Peoples in the country. However, these efforts have come up short to adequately consider all parties involved, as women, young people and people with disabilities continue to be excluded from these initiatives. This is especially serious for women, who despite being vital actors in processing forest resources, are still highly marginalised and inhibited from participating in forest management decision-making, land governance and other activities.  

For this reason, this project aims to strengthen the land and forest rights of women from indigenous and local communities by involving them in the management and benefit-sharing of community forests through the CFCLs program in the Kivus.  

The project also aims to promote women’s right to access and use non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and to document, share, and replicate the lessons learned about Indigenous and local women’s forest rights and their participation in CFCLs management. 

Upon its completion, women in South and North Kivu provinces will have stronger tenure rights and greater participation in land governance systems.