DR Congo
Reviving the fishing industry: boosting fishing and profits through CFCL compliance in DRC’s Equateur province
This story is the fourth in a five-part Forests for the Future impact series on how community forests in the DRC are enabling communities to drive their own development and protect climate critical forests. Bosende is a riverside community in Lusankani territory, Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where 80% of … Read more
Securing the Future: Kiri’s and Batende’s journey to establishing their community forests in the buffer zone of the Lomami National Park
This is the third story in a five part Forests for the Future impact series on how community forests in the DRC are enabling communities to drive their own development and protect climate critical forests. Deep within the lush green expanse surrounding Lomami National Park in Maniema, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, something remarkable … Read more
New research finds that most industrial logging in the DRC is illegal
A new analysis reveals that most forest concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not operating in compliance with the law, intensifying calls for a significant scale-back of industrial logging in the world’s second largest rainforest. The Forest Concession Compliance Portal, developed by researchers from APEM and RFUK in collaboration with Reseau EDH and the Ministry … Read more
From forest to fair: community enterprises lead the way in Équateur, DRC
This is the second story in a five part Forests for the Future impact series on how community forests in the DRC are enabling communities to drive their own development and protect climate-critical forests. As the momentum around community forestry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to grow, the second edition of the … Read more
Forests for the Future: a model of resilient, community-led conservation in the Congo Basin
This story is the first of a five part Forests for the Future impact series on how community forests in the DRC are enabling communities to drive their own development and protect climate critical forests. For over 10 years, RFUK and its Congolese partners have been supporting local and Indigenous communities to secure legal rights … Read more
African Parks acknowledges multiple human rights violations in the Republic of Congo’s Odzala-Kokoua National Park
In a long-overdue move, African Parks has acknowledged human rights abuses committed against the Baka people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. These violations, reported years earlier by Survival International and Congolese civil society organisations,[1] highlight the persistent challenges facing Indigenous and local communities living around the Congo Basin’s strictly protected areas. … Read more
Civil Society Calls for Urgent Ban on Oil Exploration in Congo’s Conkouati-Douli National Park
As global attention turns to the Republic of Congo for the upcoming First Global Congress of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities of Forest Basins, Congolese and international civil society organisations have issued a statement demanding an immediate ban on oil and mining activities in the Conkouati-Douli National Park. The coalition has denounced the Congolese government’s … Read more
Carbon Markets and Our Rights: A Guide for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
The voluntary carbon market is quickly evolving and being introduced in new territories, making it challenging to sort out who’s who and what the implications are for impacted communities. To support Indigenous communities and local communities to better understand carbon markets, our sister organisation Rainforest Foundation US has launched a six-part animated series to demystify … Read more
DRC government opens 52 oil blocks in the Cuvette Centrale peatlands, undermining green commitments
In a move that has sparked outrage among environmental and human rights campaigners, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has approved the opening of 52 new oil blocks in the Cuvette Centrale peatlands – the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink and a critical ecosystem for biodiversity. The decision, announced during the Council of Ministers meeting … Read more
UK NGOs urge government to keep Forests Standing in Foreign Aid Budget
RFUK has come together with seven prominent UK-based environmental and human rights organisations in calling on the UK government to protect tropical forests from the recently announced foreign aid budget cuts. In a joint letter with Global Witness, Global Canopy, Earthsight, Forest Peoples Programme, Friends of the Earth, Fern and Mighty Earth, we appeal to … Read more