DR Congo

UNVEILING OUR 2023 ANNUAL REVIEW: A YEAR OF GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT

21 May 2024

We are pleased to publish our 2023 Annual Review. In this latest edition, we reflect on RFUK’s 35 years of promoting a simple yet powerful idea – that we need to entrust the protection of tropical forests to the Indigenous and local communities who depend on them. This year’s review highlights our three-pillar approach to … Read more

Map Story: a journey up the Congo river

21 May 2024

A map story following RFUK Executive Director, Joe Eisen, and Forest Campaigner, Vittoria Moretti, up the Congo River and what this reveals about climate impacts and social justice for riverine communities.

ANNUAL REVIEW 2023

21 May 2024

We are thrilled to share RFUK’s 2023 Annual Review of our main achievements and impact for the world’s tropical forests and the people that call them home.

Promoting Sustainable Community Forest Enterprises in Équateur Province, DRC

20 May 2024

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a briefing summarising our approach to establishing collective forest enterprises in Équateur Province, DRC. Published with support from Partnerships for Forests, USAID and NICFI, ‘Guidelines for Establishing Collective Forest Enterprises: The Case of Équateur Province in DRC‘ is a comprehensive guide outlining key strategies for promoting sustainable, community-led … Read more

Guidelines for establishing collective forest enterprises: The case of Équateur Province in DRC

20 May 2024

New guidelines by Partnerships for Forests, with support and contributions from Rainforest Foundation UK, on establishing collective forest enterprises in DRC. ‘Guidelines for Establishing Collective Forest Enterprises: The Case of Équateur Province in DRC’ is a comprehensive guide outlining key strategies for promoting sustainable, community-led development and conservation in one of the world’s most biodiverse … Read more

Community Forests in Action series: Bountiful harvest in Ilinga, Lukolela

6 March 2024

SUCCESS STORY Ilinga village, Lukolela territory in DRC’s Equateur province, secured their customary land by establishing a Community Forest in 2018 and becoming the first community in the country to develop an inclusive and sustainable ‘simple management plan’ for their forest the following year. Based on this plan, community members are working on ways of … Read more

Direct funding of Indigenous peoples can protect global rainforests and the climate

25 January 2024

by Joe Eisen, Suzanne Pelletier, Tørris Jæger. This article was first published on 24 January 2024 in Mongabay. Last week, Indigenous leaders from around the world joined business leaders and politicians for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. While much of the discussion on climate change and nature loss at Davos focused on … Read more

Blue Carbon and the New Scramble for Africa’s Forests

30 November 2023

Blue Carbon LLC, a private company based in Dubai, is finalising deals with at least six African countries to acquire huge swathes of their forests to harvest carbon credits. Although the deals are shrouded in secrecy, it appears that at least 25 million hectares of forests – an area larger than the UK – may … Read more

‘Leave it in the ground!’ Congolese civil society send a strong message to halt auction of oil and gas licensing rights in DRC as COP28 climate summit begins

30 November 2023

Kinshasa, 30 November 2023 As the DRC government delegation prepares for crucial COP28 climate talks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting later this week, Congolese civil society and Indigenous organisations have sent to them and to the broader international community a strong message: it is time for the country to move away from oil … Read more

Petrol Non-Merci ! Civil society organisations push presidential candidates on their environmental commitments in the run up to DRC presidential elections

6 November 2023

Kinshasa Last week, Congolese civil society organisations knocked at the door of several candidates running for the upcoming DRC presidential elections to ask them to prioritize pressing environmental issues in their electoral campaigns and manifestos. Activists from Extinction Rebellion Movement of the University of Goma (XR), in partnership with North Kivu-based civil society network Reseau … Read more