Community-Based Forest Management: Legal Frameworks in Five Congo Basin Countries

The report provides a comparative analysis of community forestry laws across five Congo Basin countries, detailing the legal basis, duration, surface area, and allocation processes for community forests. It highlights significant systemic weaknesses, including the lack of recognition for customary land rights, complex bureaucratic procedures, and the risk of elite capture, which hinder the effectiveness of community-led forest management in the region.

• Legal frameworks for community forestry vary significantly across the five countries, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) allowing permanent concessions and the Central African Republic (CAR) setting a maximum surface area of 5,000 hectares.
• In the Republic of Congo, the 'séries de développement communautaire' (SDC) model is not truly community-led because these zones are created by logging companies rather than by the communities themselves.
• Gender inclusion is largely absent from the legal frameworks; Cameroon, DRC, and Gabon have no specific provisions addressing the involvement of women in community forestry.
• The community forest acquisition process in Cameroon is described as increasingly complex and costly, with bureaucratic hurdles and interference from local forest authorities often blocking the process.
• In the DRC, there are significant risks of 'elite capture' because the legal system relies on customary representatives without specifying how they are appointed or how their connection to the forest is proven.
• A critical weakness in the Central African Republic is the non-recognition of customary property rights over land, as land remains the property of the State.

APA

ClientEarth (n.d.). Community-Based Forest Management: Legal Frameworks in Five Congo Basin Countries. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gcnho1dx/community-based-forest-management-legal-frameworks-in-five-congo-basin-countries-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Community-Based Forest Management: Legal Frameworks in Five Congo Basin Countries. n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gcnho1dx/community-based-forest-management-legal-frameworks-in-five-congo-basin-countries-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Community-Based Forest Management: Legal Frameworks in Five Congo Basin Countries |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/gcnho1dx/community-based-forest-management-legal-frameworks-in-five-congo-basin-countries-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearthndcommunitybased, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Community-Based Forest Management: Legal Frameworks in Five Congo Basin Countries}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/gcnho1dx/community-based-forest-management-legal-frameworks-in-five-congo-basin-countries-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }