Community Forests and Land Rights
Area of community forests in DRC passes one million hectares, as RFUK helps DR Congo’s government with new tools
Human rights and environmental charity, the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK), and its local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are formally handing over to the country’s government an online ‘database‘, providing accurate maps and essential information on all community forests. RFUK’s local partners, APEM, CAGDFT, GASHE, PREPPYG and Réseau CREF have helped develop … Read more
Making Community Forests Work for Local and Indigenous Communities in the Central African Republic
As the Central African Republic (CAR) is entering a decisive phase that could lead to the allocation of the country’s first ‘pilot’ community forests, the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and CAR civil society groups are supporting local communities in their application processes.
Voice of the communities: Why we need community forests in the Central African Republic
In a historic development, three communities in the Central African Republic (CAR) were recently given the legal right to protect almost 15,000 hectares of their local rainforest, in the country’s very first community forests [1]. The customary territories of the villages of Moalé, Lokombé and Moloukou had been allocated by the government some years ago … Read more
Yaoundé Declaration Declaration: Statement Concerning Community Forestry in the Congo Basin Region
Organisations and individuals from Central Africa, along with international partners from Europe, came together in Yaoundé in February 2019 to discuss the lessons from the recent years of community forest development in the Congo Basin, especially in the context of the projects funded through DFID’s ILLUCBF programme.
Our forest, our land: Unleashing the potential of community forests in DR Congo
A new short film on our community forests project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Rainforest Foundation UK and our local partners have been working with communities to help them obtain legal rights to manage their own forests.
Unleashing the potential of community forests in DR Congo
Today, the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) has launched a new short film on its community forests project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The film features several communities, the first supported by RFUK and its partners, as they gain legal rights to their forests and are formally recognised as the managers of their local … Read more
Participatory Mapping and Community Forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo
If well implemented, new community forest legislation in the DRC offers an unprecedented opportunity for communities to obtain legal rights to forests they have inhabited for generations and to improve their livelihoods. However, for community forests to deliver equitable and sustainable outcomes there is a need to ensure that they are developed by the communities themselves, … Read more
Securing forests from the bottom up: How participatory maps can support community forests in the Congo Basin
Members of Ilinga community, in DRC’s Equateur Province, celebrate as their community forest is officially granted in September 2018. Ilinga is one of several communities supported by the Rainforest Foundation UK and its local partners to map their forests and obtain a community forest. For years, there has been a growing consensus that securing land … Read more
Quels droits fonciers pour les populations des zones forestières en République centrafricaine ?
Comment s’assurer que le processus de réforme foncière en cours en République centrafricaine (RCA) garantisse une protection effective des droits des communautés forestières sur les terres ? Cette question centrale est envisagée notamment au travers de l’impératif de protection de l’environnement et des écosystèmes dont dépendent ces communautés pour leur subsistance et la préservation de … Read more
A beacon of hope for Congo’s rainforests: DRC government adopts national strategy on community forests
A mother and child in Nzondo community, Equateur, DRC. Nzondo is one of several communities applying for a Community Forest Concession | Photo credit: Claire Parfondry, RFUK In a landmark decision, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Environment Ministry has adopted the country’s first National Strategy on community forestry, marking the launch of a five-year … Read more