English
New RFUK executive director appointed
Joe Eisen has been appointed as the Rainforest Foundation UK’s (RFUK’s) new executive director as incumbent Simon Counsell prepares to leave the organisation after leading it for the last 23 years. Mr Eisen, who has led RFUK’s policy and research team for five years and worked at the organisation for over a decade, said that … Read more
The realisation of social development projects by logging companies in forest communities: a reality or a utopia?
Article provided by Eco-Dev – RFUK’s local partner in Cameroon A drilling pump in Metsing Village, Cameroon © EcoDev 2019 Rainforests are among the richest ecosystems in the world and have a vital importance for the populations who live within them. They are home to approximately 30 million people and provide livelihood subsistence to a … Read more
Women’s Participation in Community Forestry in the DRC
Based on a literature review and field research with communities in Equateur province, this study provides an overview of gender inequalities in the context of community forestry in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also puts forward recommendations for improving women’s participation in community forestry activities.
Final Evaluation ILLUCBF Project – Democratic Republic of the Congo
This is the evaluation of the ‘Improving Livelihoods and Land Use in Congo Basin Forests’ (ILLUCBF) project, which was undertaken from June to August 2019 by a team of three independent external evaluators, based on the terms of reference provided by Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK).
Asociación de Productores Kemito ‒ Ene (Peru), New Economy, Equator Prize 2019 Spotlight
In an area where forests are threatened by illegal logging, large infrastructure projects, and oil exploitation, Kemito Ene tells a story of indigenous entrepreneurship that sustains families and forests. This successful indigenous social business enterprise is a model for sustainable commodity supply chains worldwide. Kemito Ene advocates for the well-being of its producers based on … Read more
Community Forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Strengthening forest communities’ rights and enabling them to manage their traditional lands is the most effective means of both protecting rainforests and fighting poverty. In 2014, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) passed Community Forest legislation in what is arguably the most ground-breaking legal development related to Congo Basin rainforests in recent years.
Allocation of Community Forests in the Central African Republic
A process to test the legal framework on community forests is currently underway in CAR. For more than two years, local and indigenous communities have been supported by civil society in applying for the allocation of the pilot community forests. The process developed by those involved has been documented to provide a basis for a … Read more
Making Community Forestry Successful in DRC: Anthropological Perspectives on Community-based Forest Management
In 2014, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) adopted ground-breaking legislation that enables forest communities to obtain “local community forest concessions” (CFCLs) of up to 50,000 hectares of their customarily owned lands, in perpetuity….
RFUK and Greenpeace Africa express alarm at agreement that could lead to more environmental damage in the Republic of Congo
Following the meeting of global leaders at the UN climate summit in New York this week, Rainforest Foundation UK and Greenpeace Africa have raised the alarm that an agreement between the governments of Norway and France and the Republic of Congo to protect its rainforest and peatlands gives a green light to oil exploitation in … Read more
Indigenous Amazonian cocoa producers awarded prestigious ‘Equator Prize’ at UN Climate Action Summit
Photo – Mike Goldwater A cooperative of indigenous cocoa producers based in a remote part of the Peruvian rainforest was awarded the biennial UN Development Programme’s Equator Prize in recognition of its “outstanding community effort to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” at a ceremony in New York yesterday (Tuesday, 24th September). … Read more