President Tshisekedi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a joint declaration in November at COP 26 in Glasgow on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). A financing agreement of 500 million dollars over five years had been signed. It aims to protect the Congo Basin rainforest, which is the second largest forest in the world. Five months later, little progress has been noted in the commitments made by each party.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi
In recent days, civil society and financial partners are pushing for more results. The donor community places particular emphasis on the fight against corruption in the management of the Congo Basin forests.
Zac Goldsmith, British Minister of State in charge of international environmental issues, spent almost a week between Kinshasa and Brazzaville to assess the progress of the commitments made by each party. In his interviews, he insisted on transparency in this sector.
” For each of these partnerships, transparency is extremely important. There are examples, including in the DRC, of truly sustainable land management in a way that benefits people, which is currently often the exception. “.
Among the commitments made by the Congolese government in Glasgow last November, there is the publication of a report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the management of allocations from forest concessions.
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Commissioned by the Prime Minister in 2020, this document reveals several cases of opacity in the management of the DRC’s forest heritage. Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development sources indicate that it will finally be made public before the end of the week, when it should have been published no later than December 2021.
A means of reassuring the donors grouped together in the CAFI initiative. Their support has almost doubled, following commitments made in Glasgow. From $190 million for the 2016-2020 period, it has risen to almost $500 million. A first project led by the Ministry of the Environment is about to be launched. This is the Sustainable Forest Management Program (PGDF).