Community forest in Eastern DR Congo tests promise of local control amid conflict

Spanning some 150 million hectares, the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among the most coveted in the world, sought by logging companies and controversial carbon-offset developers alike.

In 2023, after four years of negotiations and bureaucratic hurdles, villages in the Yainyongo community secured official rights to 11,000 hectares in Tshopo Province. The concession gives them the power to manage and protect their…