community forestry

Hope is not an endangered species

2022-03-11T13:45:15+00:00August 30th, 2019|

Albert Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. His words came to me when I was asked to write a blog piece about the biodiversity crisis. I started reading about how scientists in Alaska have identified that global warming is happening far faster than anybody feared. About glaciers in the Himalayas melting twice as fast as previously predicted, causing drought and famine for large parts of South Asia. How insect populations in Europe have crashed. To call it an “environmental crisis” makes it seem somehow out of our [...]

Diversity and Inclusion: Human rights in the community forestry process in the DRC

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00March 2nd, 2018|

Securing local communities and indigenous peoples’ rights is a major challenge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The situation of Human Rights is among the most critical in the world. The rule of law is applied erratically and the goods, including land, are regularly stolen. Laws that favour a potential recognition of traditional practices and rights of rural populations often remain hollow. However, Community forestry, a set of procedures, modalities and practices relative to forest management by local communities in view of their socio-economic development, has been adopted as one of the forest management modes in the DRC. Thanks to [...]

How to involve women in forest management: Interview with a community organiser in DRC

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00December 5th, 2017|

“Women, and indigenous women in particular, need to be included in decision-making on ecosystem use at all levels, as essential players in preserving our planet.” –UN Women Ruth Badubaye has been working with rainforest communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for several years. Formerly a GIS (geographic information systems) technician with Congolese organisation GASHE (Group d’Action pour Sauver l’Homme et son Environnement), Ruth is now part of Rainforest UK’s Community Forests project in DRC’s Equateur province. Part of a small team of legal, scientific and technical community fieldworkers, she works directly with local communities to support them in sustainably [...]

The fate of the Congo Basin forests must lie with its people

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00October 4th, 2017|

A light breeze of democratisation is blowing through the Congo Basin – and it is being driven by civil society. In the Central African Republic (CAR), civil society is playing a key role in rebuilding a nation torn apart by civil war. In Cameroon, it is pushing for democratic reforms in the face of often fierce government pressure. In the Republic of Congo (Congo), civil society is alerting to human rights abuses against indigenous communities and dissenting voices. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it’s playing a vital role in providing humanitarian assistance in conflict prone regions, and supporting [...]

What is community forestry?

2022-03-11T13:45:08+00:00September 14th, 2017|

We frequently hear about community forestry, but how does it really work, and what are its advantages for the populations? This month, Carmel Kifukieto, programme officer at the Centre d’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Forêts Tropicales (CAGDFT), one of the organisations we support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, tells us about the different aspects of this practice. What is community forestry? Community forestry is a set of practices, techniques and methods to manage the forest and its natural resources. It is regulated by a specific legal framework that organizes local communities’ participation. This is illustrated by this sentence: «a [...]

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