The DRC government has made some ambitious commitments to achieve sustainable forest governance. But the journey there is being stalled by corruption, impunity and weak enforcement.
For a country that positions itself on the global stage as a "solution country" in the fight against climate change, forest governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a critical issue for the country and the world's climate at large.
The country is home to around 60% of the Congo Basin rainforest - the second largest rainforest in the world.
Absorbing around 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 each year, and estimated to store a staggering 30 billion tons of carbon, protecting this rainforest is essential for tackling the global climate crisis.
But the DRC is also known for having one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, with a loss of more than a million hectares of vegetation cover in 2023 alone. And solving this problem is far from simple.
For more than two years, Actions for the Promotion and Protection of Threatened Peoples and Species (APEM) and its civil society allies in the DRC have been involved in logging sector reform efforts, led by the Minister of State,the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development.
Promises have been made, and the DRC has committed to drafting a new policy and a new forest law.
Some of the key elements of this process include the participatory and transparent development of a forest policy, support for the development of sustainable forest management by local communities and authorities, and ensuring the correct management of large logging concessions in accordance with Congolese forest laws.
But for decades, the DRC has struggled to translate its words into action on the ground. Can the DRC truly achieve sustainable forest governance, and what challenges is it up against?
The moratorium that wasn't
Timber is a key resource for the DRC, so any efforts to reform forest governance must address the issue of industrial logging.
For over 20 years, a moratorium banning new logging concessions has been in force with the aim of reforming the logging sector and protecting the DRC's forests. This measure was tightened in 2005 in a Decree issued by the President of the Republic, and remains in place today.
But the reality on the ground tells a different story.
Illegal logging thrives under this supposed ban, with widespread irregularities undermining its enforcement.
A national commission tasked with evaluating logging and conservation permits released its latest report in January 2024. The review covered 82 logging concession permits, resulting in 23 terminations, six permits recommended for formal notice, and only 53 receiving conditional approval.
Weak oversight of the timber sector remains a threat, despite moratorium introduced more than 20 years ago.
Who pays the price of impunity?
Industrial logging in the DRC contributes very little to the national economy but exacts aheavy toll on its forests and communities. In fact, the main beneficiaries of this industry tend to be international ones.
Some of the biggest logging operations ongoing in DRC - run by Chinese companies Booming Green and Wan Peng, the latter reportedly operating under the subsidiary Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development - remain plagued by systematic illegalities, according to an undercover investigation published by Environmental Investigation Agency US in October this year.
Despite being flagged by the Congolese government for obtaining concessions through influence peddling and violating national laws, these companies continue to export logs to China, seemingly ignoring the quotasset by the Forest Code.
In agreement with other forest rich countries in the sub-region, the DRC is putting an emphasis on this provision of the 2002 Forest Code to promote timber processing within the DRC and create value on Congolese soil.
But there seems to be a glaring disconnect between promises and reality: these companies continue to openly flout the Forest Code, and Congolese authorities turn a blind eye, allowing entire shipments of logs to leave the country for China.
How is it that companies with such a notorious track record - already flagged by the government - are still allowed to operate?
Stalled reforms and empty promises
While strong laws are essential, their weak enforcement is another barrier to progress.
The Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) issued a Decree on 5 April 2022 provisionally suspending 12 illegally granted concessions covering an area of more than 1,966,630 hectares of land.
This decision, which was made more than two years ago, is yet to be enforced.
In fact, just a few months ago, a review of satellite data clearly showed that skid trails had been made deep in the forest and in concessions that have supposedly been suspended.
These practices are not only illegal, but they have also been reported as one of the most damaging to forests over the long-term, producing "cascading effects of deforestation" that can occur up to 10 to 15 years after roads are opened.
Without proper enforcement, even the best laws are like ink on paper - visible but powerless.
The same is true of global commitments to protect the Congo Basin, a key part of the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, which leaders signed in 2021, promising to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Why are promised changes failing?
It's this selective and inconsistent enforcement that many stakeholders, including APEM, sadly condemn.
Commitments have been made with a great deal of fanfare, sessions and conferences have been held, and measures have been put down on paper, which have neither been complied with by operators nor enforced by the Congolese authorities.
Checks are selective, sporadic and inconsistent for certain companies with seemingly "privileged" status, and penalties are usually non-existent.
Our experience shows that on the ground impunity reigns, forests have been destroyed, communities are being ignored, and the local authorities are powerless, if not complicit.
The result is a system where promises remain unfulfilled and the cycle of impunity continues.
Building credibility: What the DRC government must do
So how can credibility be given to this process, and how can the genuine political will of the
DRC government to develop a "new" policy be gauged? Is there hope for an honest conversation and real transformative and forward-thinking ambition to protect the DRC's forests?
For the DRC's forest management reforms to gain credibility, the government must bridge the gap between words and action.
Transparency is paramount to this process. This must begin with a proper assessment, one that is carried out without complacency, without conflicts of interest and with full transparency.
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Enforcement mechanisms must be strengthened, accountability measures imposed on violators, including China and its reprehensible companies.
Only then can there be a focus on solutions, alternatives and innovation. Vision and political courage are needed to put an end to management models that have failed our forests and to combat the networks profiting from them.
Without that, this reform process will just be another hollow promise of a better Congo.
Community forestry: A hopeful path forward?
In the wake of global talks on biodiversity and the climate, we are appealing to the Congolese Government to develop an innovative vision for the forests of the future.
The DRC has a unique opportunity to position itself as a leader in sustainable forest governance.
It has shown that it is capable of experimenting with and exploring sustainable and innovative resource management practices at the direct initiative of forest-dwelling communities.
In areas managed by these communities, the deforestation rate was 23% less than the national average and 46% less than the deforestation rate of logging concessions, which offers a genuine alternative to today's destructive practices.
This practice should be at the heart of the new policy: taking a chance on upscaling widespread community forestry that protects the climate, ecosystems and reduces poverty.
In the face of mounting global biodiversity loss, and COP30 now in sight, the stakes for the DRC's forests are high.
The path forward demands not just ambition but the resolve to turn promises to end deforestation into tangible, transformative action.
Blaise Mudodosi, APEM National Coordinator
