Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the world’s largest rainforest nations with some 152 million hectares of forest - almost 70% of the country’s land area. This is equal to 7.6% of the world’s total tropical forest area. The DRC lost the second-largest area of tropical primary forest of any country (after Brazil) in 2018. The main driver of this deforestation is small-scale, non-mechanized forest clearing for agriculture. At the current rate of tree cover loss, the DRC’s primary forests could be completely razed by 2100.
 

REDD+ actors and activities

The DRC has engaged in the REDD+ process since 2009, and the national process has passed several milestones. The country’s National REDD+ Framework Strategy was adopted in 2012, aiming to stabilize forest cover to 63.5% from 2030, and maintain it thereafter. The National REDD+ Investment Plan 2015-2020, adopted in 2015, brings a programming framework for all sectors related to forests, and served as the basis for the Letter of Intent signed between DRC and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) in 2016. With the accompanying capitalisation of the DRC's REDD+ National Fund (FONAREDD), this marked the start of the REDD+ investment phase.

Other multilateral investment programmes are currently being implemented in the DRC, including the Forest Investment Programme and the Mai Ndombe jurisdictional REDD+ project, which aims to achieve the reduction of 29 million tonnes of CO2 through results-based payments.

EU REDD Facility actions in DRC In the DRC, the EU REDD Facility focuses on strengthening the engagement of stakeholders in the REDD process, as well as national and local dialogue on climate finance. The Facility provides tools to support inclusive and informed coordination and implementation of the REDD+ investment plan, as well as its connection with FLEGT. For more information about our work, see the links below:                 Developing a methodology for dialogue and co-decision among civil society organisations to strengthen their engagement in REDD+ and forest sector policy processes   Linking REDD+ and FLEGT at provincial level   Supporting a local cooperative to secure long-term REDD+ investment
	Fostering South-South cooperation between DRC and Brazil
	Combining independent monitoring of forest governance and REDD+
	Creating incentives for logging companies to engage in REDD+

DRC's FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement

In 2010, the DRC and the EU began negotiations towards a VPA to improve forest governance and ensure that only legal timber and timber products reach the EU market.

For more information, see the Democratic Republic of the Congo page on the EU FLEGT Facility's website.