Congo Basin Interactive Map
Mapping for Rights aims to provide easy access to accurate geographical information about the presence, land use and rights of indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities in the Congo Basin. It is intended to enable forest communities themselves to demonstrate their presence in the forest; decision-makers and the private sector to take account of and recognise this presence; and to assist the international community in designing programmes to secure those rights and ensure that forest communities are equitable beneficiaries of future developments. The key features of the website include:
- Interactive Maps. Built on a database of participatory maps, many of which the Rainforest Foundation itself has been involved in producing, this function enables forest communities to demonstrate their presence in the landscape, along with their customary uses of, and rights to, land. The maps enable all site users to see forest community occupation and forest usage in the context of other claims on the forest, such as logging activities and strictly protected areas. Multimedia content embedded in the maps allows for insights into the culture, livelihoods and concerns of the relevant communities;
- Online Interactive Database. Authorized users can access an interactive online community map database. The database serves as a repository for participatory mapping work that has been carried out by various organisations in the region. It enables the maps shown in the Interactive Maps section to be scrutinised in more detail, and used to inform planning and policy processes, decision making and to promote effective collaboration. If you would like to learn more about this initiative or to contribute to the database, please contact us at MappingForRights@rainforestuk.org;
- Resource Portal. Providing communities, NGOs, government agencies and others with the tools to facilitate participatory mapping. Also search for related legal, policy, technical and other resources by theme or by country.
Second in size only to the Amazon, the Congo Basin rainforest covers more than 180 million hectares, spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), most of the Republic of Congo (RoC), the southeast of Cameroon, southern Central African Republic (CAR), Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. This vast area is a vital regulator of regional climate, a carbon store of global significance and a massive reserve of biodiversity hosting over 10,000 species of plant, 1,000 species of bird and 400 species of mammal including three of the world's four species of great ape.
The Congo Basin is thought to have been inhabited by man for more than 50,000 years and today is home to more than 40 million rural people. This includes up to 500,000 indigenous hunter-gatherers commonly referred to as "Pygmies", most of which are still at least partially nomadic. The forest is a vital resource for these groups, providing food, water, shelter and medicine as well as being central to cultural identity and spiritual beliefs. The relationship between "Pygmy" communities and the dominant Bantu farmers with whom they co-exist is often deeply problematic. Considered the poorest of the poor, many "Pygmies" in Central Africa still do not have a birth certificate or national identity documents, are not represented in government and have little or no access to education, health services and other state services.
The Central African countries emerged from European colonial rule in the 1960s but still maintained colonial land laws which give the state overall ownership of the land. Indigenous and local communities have virtually no formal or legally-recognised control of the territories they traditionally occupy, or of the forest resources on which they depend, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. Today much of the region has been handed out to foreign logging and mining companies, most of which are characterised by poor social and environmental practice. Although rates of outright deforestation in the Congo Basin region are lower than other regions, the processes leading to deforestation, such as the opening up of ‘frontier forests' by logging companies are well underway and very extensive; deforestation is very likely to accelerate greatly in the coming decade. This leaves local people homeless, drives animals and plants to extinction and releases around 12-14% of all man-made climate carbon dioxide emissions. Tropical deforestation is an issue that affects us all. However, as elsewhere in the world, attempts at strict environmental preservation, which now also cover large parts of the Congo Basin region, have often excluded local populations, resulting in their forced eviction from traditional lands.
Rainforest Foundation UK publishes first national legal study on ILO Convention No. 169 in CAR - 17/02/2012
The Central African Republic (CAR) ratified the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Convention No. 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples in August 2010, becoming the first African country to adopt the Convention. Its adoption is a historic development for indigenous peoples in the country and on the continent. Under the Convention, the CAR Government has the obligation to ensure that national laws and policies are coherent with the provisions of C169.
In this context, the Rainforest Foundation UK, who supported the ratification process, has developed a first study in collaboration with the CAR High Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance (the national CAR institution in charge of the human rights policy), local NGOs, indigenous representatives and the ILO to analyze the conformity of the CAR legislation with Convention No. 169. The study reviews all national relevant laws and makes specific recommendations on how best to harmonize CAR legislation and ILO C169. The study will be presented and discussed at national level to develop further strategic and legal planning.
Download the report in full by clicking the below link (French only). Pour lire l'article, cliquez sur le lien Read More ci-dessous.
Read moreRFUK’s New Project! Community Lawyers in the Central African Republic and Gabon - 06/02/2012
RFUK is delighted to announce the launch of its new project in the Central African Republic and Gabon, aimed at enhancing legal capacity of forest communities to protect their rights to land and resources. The project will provide training and support to at least 10 law graduates and at least 15 community paralegals who will be based in forest communities on a permanent basis. This new network will provide support and training to forest communities enabling them to make more effective use of the laws that affect their communities, as well as to advocate for improved legal frameworks where they are needed. As a result, communities will have more secure land tenure arrangements, access to forest revenues, and will be adequately consulted on matters that concern them. RFUK will implement this project together with its partners Maison de l'Enfant et de La Femme Pygmées (MEFP) in CAR and Brainforest in Gabon.
Read moreTechnological breakthrough maps a new path to forest protection - 30/11/2011
As the latest climate summit in Durban again tries to resolve the challenges of implementing ‘reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation' (REDD), the Rainforest Foundation UK unveils a powerful new tool which could help prevent the destruction of rainforests, one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
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Putting maps into action in Gabon and the Central African Republic. - 07/11/2011
A new project which will see young lawyers from Gabon and the Central African Republic (CAR) placed in rural areas for a period of three years to support remote and marginalized forest communities in their efforts to secure rights to lands and resources.
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