A consortium of Congolese and international civil society organisations has announced the creation of the Independent Civil Society Committee for Participatory Governance of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor, a new body intended to help ensure that local communities can participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lands, resources and livelihoods.

Established by the Congolese Government in January 2025, the Corridor covers approximately 54 million hectares and aims to protect ecosystems and promote a green economy across a vast area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The initiative is managed by the Virunga Foundation on behalf of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), with a pilot phase running from 2025 to 2028.

A central feature of the Green Corridor is its ambition to become a community-based protected area. The newly established Committee has been created to help turn this into reality by supporting the development, testing and monitoring of the governance mechanisms and safeguards needed to ensure communities can exercise their rights, participate in decision-making processes, access effective grievance mechanisms and benefit from opportunities generated by the Corridor.

The Committee is not a management body and does not represent the Green Corridor itself. Nor does it replace communities or their representative organisations. Rather, it provides an independent civil society space focused on ensuring that commitments relating to participation, consent, accountability and community benefits are translated into practice.

As part of its mandate, the Committee will engage with the ICCN, the Virunga Foundation, government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations and local communities. While the Virunga Foundation has committed to cooperating with the Committee and making relevant information available, the Committee will retain full independence in carrying out its work. Member organisations will remain free to undertake their own advocacy and campaigning on environmental governance and human rights issues, including issues relating to the Green Corridor itself.

During the pilot phase, one of the Committee’s main priorities will be to contribute to the development of a Participatory Governance Manual setting out procedures for informingand involving communities, with particular attention given to the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Committee members will also contribute to the design and monitoring of project eligibility criteria, grievance mechanisms and systems for monitoring, evaluation and auditing.

It will assess whether safeguards are being effectively implemented and, where necessary, issue recommendations or corrective measures, raise concerns or publicly report on shortcomings. In cases of persistent or serious concern, reconsider its continued participation in the process.

A key focus will be ensuring that communities have access to the information needed to understand the potential benefits, risks and impacts of projects, enabling them to make decisions through their own institutions and procedures.

The Committee emphasises that this membership is only a starting point. Over time, it intends to strengthen its territorial presence through local focal points, partnerships with grassroots organisations, and greater involvement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in its work.

The Committee will pay particular attention to supporting community-led development, arguing that the community-based nature of the Green Corridor must include the ability of communities to define their own priorities and pursue their own initiatives. This includes strengthening community governance arrangements recognised under Congolese law, such as Local Community Forest Concessions (CFCLs), and improving access to financing, technical support and economic opportunities for community organisations, small-scale producers and local entrepreneurs.

To support transparency and accountability, the Committee will periodically publish updates, opinions and recommendations, including through a dedicated website. Ultimately, its goal is to help ensure that local communities are not merely beneficiaries of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor, but active participants in shaping the future of their territories.

The full communique about the Independent Committee can be found here.

The Committee’s current members are Actions pour la Promotion et Protection des Peuples et Espèces Menacés (APEM), Alliance Nationale d’Appui et de Promotion des Aires et Territoires du Patrimoine Autochtone et Communautaire en RDC (ANAPAC-RDC), Coalition des Organisations de la Société Civile pour le Suivi des Réformes et de l’Action Publique (CORAP), Congo Green Solution (CGS), the 11th Hour Project/Schmidt Family Foundation, Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK), and Université de Mons/EcoAct-Congo.