From 08 to 10 October 2024, ERAIFT participated in the second edition of the Regional Learning Forum of the Congo Basin on the theme "Land rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), nature conservation and forest carbon market: What can we learn from the DRC?" , held at the Naomie Lounge of the Béatrice hotel in Kinshasa. This edition was co-organized by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD in french), the Support Centre for Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests (CAGFDT in french) and the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Network for Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEAC in french), with support from Tenure Facility (TF).

The main objective of this edition was to strengthen and promote the participation of IPLCs, including women in conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and to establish a sustainable support mechanism for them. Specifically, the aim was to: (1) share and exchange knowledge and experiences on existing and emerging conservation initiatives and carbon credit projects, and the challenges and opportunities they represent for IPLCs land rights, as well as how these initiatives affect their women and men differently; (2) Facilitate discussions and reflections on land rights of IPLCs and how they can be integrated into existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (3) propose policy and practice actions to enhance and integrate IPLCs rights and traditional knowledge with a gender perspective in existing and emerging carbon conservation and forestry initiatives; (4) provide a networking platform to improve understanding and collaboration between project partners and key stakeholders, such as governments, donors and other development partners.

This meeting was attended by government authorities and political actors of the DRC, representatives of local and indigenous organizations, women’s rights organizations in the DRC, NGOs, donors and development partners, and representatives of academic and research institutions in the Congo Basin.

ERAIFT sincerely thanks the MEDD for having been associated to this experience sharing meeting, and expresses its gratitude to the European Union and AGRINATURA for the support.