On 1 July 2025, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed into law the country’s first-ever land-use planning legislation, Law No. 25/045, marking a major milestone in the pursuit of fair and effective governance of natural resources in one of the world’s most forest-rich nations.

The law’s adoption follows a multi-stakeholder process that began in May 2017, with the involvement of civil society and partners supporting indigenous peoples, such as GeoFirst Development, CAGDFT and DGPA. The law aims to address the country’s historically fragmented land-use system, characterised by overlapping jurisdictions and land uses, often imposed over customary systems that remain largely unrecognised. This has contributed to land conflicts, environmental degradation and an uncertain climate for sustainable investment.

Highlights of the new land-use planning law

• Formal recognition of customary land rights: the law formally acknowledges the land rights of communities under customary tenure, integrating them into the national land-use planning framework.
• Community-led planning processes: emphasising a bottom-up approach, the law empowers local and indigenous communities to actively participate in the design and development of land-use plans that impact their customary lands.
• Social safeguards: communities are now legally entitled to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for activities affecting their lands, with provisions for compensation in case of prejudice.
• Environmental safeguards: the law mandates environmental impact assessments and includes strong protections for ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands and peatlands.
• Conflict resolution and policy coordination: it introduces clear mechanisms, including governance bodies (such as local, provincial and national land use planning councils) to resolve land disputes and harmonise land-use planning across sectors and government levels.
• Decentralisation: the law considers the three levels of administration – national provincial and local.

The law reflects the principles of the National Spatial Planning Policy (PNAT)[1] and underscores the need for coordinated planning across sectors such as agriculture, land, forests and mining. “This hopefully means no more haphazard spatial allocations and overlapping titles,” said Alphonse Wala Etina, Coordinator of GeoFirst Development, which played a key role in the law’s development. “However, we regret that the law fails to explicitly recognise the ‘Indigenous Pygmy Peoples’ as a distinct stakeholder group, something that needs to be corrected through implementing measures.”

The law fills a legal loophole that exists since colonial time. If effectively implemented, it could pave the way for sustainable and inclusive development in the DRC. It also comes at a critical time for land governance in the country, following the creation of the vast Green Corridor Kinshasa-Kivu (CVKK) community reserve earlier this year, as well as mooted government plans to expand the logging and oil industries.

Attention must now turn to implementation: alignment with community forestry, the development of necessary regulatory texts, notably in compliance with the new Indigenous Peoples law and the land and agriculture reform processes to ensure coherence and equity. Participatory mapping is also expected to play a central role in guiding rational and equitable land allocation.

“Its success will depend on the full participation of civil society, the private sector and Indigenous and local communities in land-use decisions,” said Théophile Gata Dikulukila, Executive Director of CAGDFT. “We can only hope for its uncompromising implementation.”

[1] Politique Nationale d’Aménagement du Teritoire (PNAT)