The Forests and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) play a crucial role in the lives of the citizens of that country - the estimated forty million rural people depend on the 120 million hectare forest for their livelihood, especially the indigenous people. These forests, however, have been managed poorly in the past and face many challenges in the future. As the government and citizens of the DRC undertake the difficult journey from conflict to peace the balanced, sustainable management of the forests will be vital to the country’s long term growth and development. In its engagement with the government and people of the DRC, the World Bank is working to ensure that this balanced, sustainable management takes place.

The Bank’s forest work in the DRC is based on the 2002 Forest Code which sets basic principles for better forest management. It calls for implementation of forest management plans and preservation of traditional rights of forest dwellers in all production forests. It also calls for direct management of forest by local communities, includes provisions for new non-extractive uses of forests, and sets a target of 15 percent of the country under protection status. The law also calls for the transferal of 40% of forest area fees to local entities; mandatory contributions by forest companies to rural development; establishment of national and provincial forest consultative councils; and for transparency in the allocation of future logging rights.

Since 2002, the Bank has supported the Government’s efforts to clean up the legacy of past mismanagement of forests. This priority agenda led to the rescinding of 25 million hectares of non-compliant logging contracts (an area the size of the United Kingdom); the establishment of a moratorium on new contracts; the increase of the annual area fee to prevent further speculation and the removal of unjustified charges prone to fraud. In October 2005, a presidential decree extended the moratorium and launched a legal review of all remaining logging contracts. This review is to reassess all contracts that were reportedly allocated or rehabilitated during the moratorium. These measures aim to promote transparency, curb illegal logging, secure a level playing field for responsible private investors, and foster accountability and public participation.

The Bank is committed to collaboration with all stakeholders at all levels. It helped organize the First International Forest Forum, in Kinshasa, November 2004, which brought together private sector, local and international CSOs, donors, local communities, and government agencies ( a Second International Forest Forum of the DRC was held in Kinshasa in February15, 2006). A forest sector review is now being finalized in collaboration with research centers and local and international NGOs. The Bank also sees community level engagement as a key component of its strategy, and works with several local and international NGOs to monitor the progress of forest reforms and their impact on the lives of the rural poor.

The extension of the moratorium and the launching of the legal review were considered triggers for the approval of a budget support grant to the DRC in December 2005. The Bank also helps finance the participation of an internationally-recruited independent observer in the legal review; and it helps prepare a new GEF project for national parks, a carbon sink afforestation initiative, and a multi-donor trust fund for forest governance.

The Bank’s work in the DRC is in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 1457 which encourages “… international financial institutions… to assist in efforts to create appropriate national structures and institutions to control resources exploitation” in the DRC. It is important state that the World Bank does not finance logging, and has no plans for an expansion of industrial logging in the DRC, in the Congo Basin, or anywhere else in Africa. The Bank encourages the Government to consult with local people before any forest land use planning and before any forest is classified for conservation or production.