The governor of the province of Equateur, Democratic Republic of Congo, officially presented the titles of 14 forest concessions to local communities in the territory of Bikoro. Article 22 of the Congolese Forest Code allows communities to obtain titles to forest concessions on lands under customary use. The titles offer security to these communities, ensuring their legal rights to access, manage and use the forest that their families have relied on for generations.

This achievement is the result of the participatory and collaborative approach with support from WWF DRC through CARPE’s CAFEC (Conservation of Forest Ecosystems of Central Africa)-Lake Tumba program funded by USAID.  According to Laurent Nsenga, CAFEC Lake Tumba Program Manager, communities are required to conduct resource inventories and develop management plans for these forest concessions.  This involvement will facilitate sustainable forest management for the benefit of the local communities.

Source: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/deforestation/forest_publications_news_and_reports/?323651/DRC-14-local-communities-involved-in-the-development-of-a-green-economy-with-WWF-support