Between 7-9 October 2025, Congolese civil society hosted the first nationwide gathering on the Green Corridor Kivu-Kinshasa (CVKK), the world’s largest ‘community’ reserve created in January 2025.

The three-day meeting was organised by the Congolese civil society coalition Reseau pour l’Environnement et les Droits Humains (R-EDH), in partnership with the Virunga Foundation and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), the designated management authority for the reserve. Nearly one hundred participants participated, including representatives from civil society organisations, local and Indigenous communities, government bodies, researchers, subject matter experts, and international donors.

This event provided an inclusive platform for dialogue and exchange, fostering a shared understanding of the CVKK’s ambitious goals which include the protection of 100,000 km² of primary forests and 60,000 km² of peatlands and developing the green economy in the DRC. Participants explored collaborative pathways for future governance and emphasized the reserve’s potential to advance food security, community rights, and green economic development across the country.

Opening the meeting, the Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and New Climate Economy, Marie Nyange Ndambo, affirmed that: “The success of the CVKK will depend on the strength of our coalition: government, civil society, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, the private sector, and international partners. Let us act today to ensure better lives for our populations, the sustainability of our ecosystems, and the climate integrity of the planet."

Throughout the discussions, participants welcomed the CVKK as a great opportunity but also raised several challenges that need urgent attention — including the need to clarify the Corridor’s legal status and address regulatory loopholes, ensure coherence with ongoing legislative reforms, define conditions for initiatives compatible with the CVKK green ambitions, and develop robust mechanisms to guarantee inclusiveness and accountability in its governance.

Emmanuel Musuyu, Executive Secretary of CORAP, highlighted the CVKK enormous potential but warned of contradictions with ongoing extractive industry projects “without a halt to current oil development, the promises of the CVKK risk to be undermined. We need a clear political will to align economic activities with the CVKK climate and environmental protection goals”.

Emmanuel Musuyu, Executive Secretary of CORAP, welcomes participants to the opening session of the CVKK Workshop, Kinshasa.

At the close of the meeting, participants adopted a declaración final outlining key recommendations for the next steps. These included:

• Establishing a multi-stakeholder platform fordialogue and a clear roadmap to ensure inclusive governance of the CVKK;
• Promoting community-based conservation initiatives, such as through community forests, as a cornerstone the CVKK implementation;
• Ensuring respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), in accordance with Article 5 of the decree establishing the CVKK;
• Requiring the establishment of accessible grievance mechanism for all projects and investments to be implemented in the CVKK;
• Integrating traditional knowledge and practices in management approaches;
• Ensuring that any economic activities are aligned with the Corridor’s green development objectives.

The workshop finally reaffirmed the critical role of civil society and local communities in ensuring transparency, accountability, and the effective implementation of the CVKK. As a key next step, participants called for the development of a civil society action plan to strengthen its role as guardian and steward of this landmark initiative — helping to ensure that the CVKK delivers on its promise of environmental protection, inclusive development, and long-term resilience.

A group photo of the participants during the first day of the CVKK workshop.