17 May 2013: The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) released a report on REDD+ and forest management in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the margins of a conference titled ‘Sustainable forest management in Central Africa: Yesterday, today and tomorrow.’

The report, which is available in French, highlights obstacles to forest management in DRC, including weak governance, on-going armed conflict, a lack of in-country expertise and insufficient financial resources. However, the report argues that as a new financial mechanism for forest management, with well-established international infrastructure and a number of lessons learned to draw from, REDD+ may provide an opportunity to address some of these obstacles.

In order for such an outcome to be achieved, the report emphasizes the importance of close cooperation between international REDD+ programmes and organizations and national authorities in the DRC. Furthermore, according to the report, REDD+ must build technical capacity, especially with regards to forest monitoring, and be supported by strong political will.

The report also recognizes that REDD+ has already resulted in enhanced stakeholder engagement in forest management in DRC, which has the second largest area of tropical forest after Brazil. CIFOR is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [CIFOR Press Release] [Publication: Le Contexte de la REDD+ en République Démocratique du Congo – Causes, Agents et Institutions]