African groups push for stronger governance to protect Congo Basin forests

Environmental and civil society groups across Africa are calling for stronger governance and more effective policies to safeguard the Congo Basin tropical forests, the world’s second-largest rainforest after the Amazon.

Spanning six countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea – the Congo Basin forests play a critical role in regulating the global climate, conserving biodiversity and sustaining millions of livelihoods through food, energy and income. However, the forests are under growing pressure from deforestation, illegal exploitation, weak governance and climate change.

The call was led by civil society organisations under the Renovated Climate Working Group for REDD+ (GTCR-R) during the launch of the SC-REDD+ project (Support to Civil Society for the Decentralised Monitoring of REDD+ Projects and Programmes in the DRC). The initiative is funded by FONAREDD and CAFI and targets improved forest governance in the DRC, which holds the largest share of the Congo Basin forests.

CSOs stressed the importance of bottom-up governance models that place local communities and civil society at the centre of forest-related decision-making. They noted that stronger civil society participation is essential for transparency, accountability and inclusive climate action.

The three-year project (2025–2028), implemented by CIFOR-ICRAF in partnership with GTCR-R, brings together more than 100 grassroots environmental CSOs across the DRC. GTCR-R advocates improved environmental governance, tracks REDD+ implementation and impacts, and provides insights into the drivers of deforestation affecting local and Indigenous communities.

The project aims to strengthen civil society’s informed participation in the REDD+ process, improve collaboration with government and technical partners, and raise public awareness of deforestation drivers. REDD+ — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation — is a UN-backed framework designed to curb forest-related carbon emissions while improving livelihoods and protecting biodiversity.

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According to a World Bank assessment, the DRC contains 122 million hectares of forest, representing 53 percent of the country’s land area and making it the ecological core of the Congo Basin. Yet forest loss in the DRC has outpaced that of other countries in the region. Global Forest Watch data show that the country lost 7.45 million hectares of humid primary forest between 2002 and 2024, accounting for about 36 percent of total tree-cover loss over that period.

Regionally, the World Bank estimates that the value of ecosystem services provided by Congo Basin forests — including carbon storage, timber, fuelwood, water regulation and non-wood forest products — almost doubled from USD 590 billion in 2000 to USD 1.15 trillion in 2020. Total forest asset value also rose from USD 11.4 trillion to USD 23.2 trillion, with the DRC contributing the largest share.

Speaking at the launch, SC-REDD Project Co-Lead at CIFOR-ICRAF, Stibniati Atmadja, said: “The contribution of civil society is fundamental to shaping inclusive and effective policies, and to advancing efforts to combat deforestation on the ground. We are pleased to work alongside GTCR-R to achieve the goals of this project.”

Similarly, GTCR-R National Coordinator in the DRC, Guy Kajemba, underscored the need for community-centred governance. “For too long, decisions about our forests have been made without the full involvement of the people who depend on them. Through this project, civil society will be better equipped to monitor REDD+, expose destructive practices and ensure that forest governance in the DRC is transparent, accountable and centred on communities,” he said.