Innovative Models for DRC’s Forests

Starting in 2006, under the leadership of the UK, a working group was established to explore alternatives to industrial timber extraction and innovative management and financing mechanisms for DRC’s forests. The group was comprised of representatives from Congolese and international NGOs, the governments of the DRC, the UK and Belgium, and the World Bank. The work of this group resulted in the identification of a number of potential models for application within DRC (for more see the report of the roundtable process).

The work of the working group was presented and debated in a meeting held at Chatham House in London in December 2007. The meeting was attended by some 100 participants, where a range of models and proposals for the forests of DRC were presented and experiences from other parts of the world were shared, such as mechanisms for payment for environmental services (PES) . The potential benefits and feasibility of the various options were discussed, and the steps required.

This series of discussions was then brought to Kinshasa, DRC in June 2008 to allow for broader consultations on the issues with local communities and national actors.

For more information on this process, please visit this page at Chatham House’s web site.

Donor Community Supports DRC’s Reform Agenda

On April 14, 2007, a roundtable meeting took place in the Board Room of the World Bank, Washington DC, as a side event of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings. Co-hosted by the Governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, and the President of the World Bank, and attended by about a hundred representatives of key-donor countries, multilateral agencies, Congolese civil society, private sector, and leading international, The discussion was a follow up to the International Conference on Sustainable Management of the DRC Forests, held in Brussels on February 26-27, 2007.

The discussion raised the political profile of the DRC’s forest reform agenda and fostered the international community’s commitment to support. It also highlighted the importance of the Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC) the Réseau des Parlementaires (REPAR) and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) as key regional collaborative frameworks.

Delegation Statements

DRC
Belgium
France
DFID
Germany
Congolese NGOs
Greenpeace
Global Witness
IFIA  
Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC)