It is time to look back: Lessons and achievements from the Forest Investment Program in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

For over a decade, the vast tracts of land surrounding some of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)'s largest cities-Kinshasa, Kisangani, Mbuji-Mayi and Kananga-have been the focus of the Forest Investment Program (FIP), designed to lessen the devastating effects of human pressure on a belt of thick tropical forest considered vital to the survival of the planet. First financed with about $60 million from the multi-donor Climate Investment Funds, the program's initiatives have reached more than 421,000 people living near these major cities, located hundreds of kilometers apart in the west, northeast, and center of the DRC.

A local beekeeper in protective gear tending to hives in a forest area, representing sustainable livelihood alternatives that reduce deforestation pressures while supporting local economies. Photo: World Bank

As the FIP, a partnership between the World Bank and African Development Bank, comes to an end, it offers lessons for future climate investments. Through projects in agroforestry, clean energy, and community-driven forest management, it has reduced emissions, empowered elements of the private sector, and unlocked up to $55 million in carbon credits. Support remains essential to ensure the sustainability of its results.

The World Bank played a vital role in two FIP-funded projects: The $70 million Improved Forested Landscape Management Project (IFLMP) in Kinshasa's hinterland and the Forest Dependent Community Support Project (FDCSP), which was designed to aid Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities affected by changes resulting from global policies known as REDD+, aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, conserving carbon stocks, encouraging the sustainable management of forests, and improving carbon stocks.

A third FIP project, the $22 million Integrated REDD+ Project in the Mbuji-Mayi/Kananga and Kisangani basins, carried out in two separate regions, was overseen by the African Development Bank.

Projects critical to the DRC

FIP projects have proven critical for a country like the DRC, where forests sustain local livelihoods, provide essential ecosystem services, act as a global carbon sink, and harbor exceptional biodiversity, but also face significant threats. Deforestation and land degradation are principally driven by slash-and-burn agriculture and the felling of trees for charcoal. In 2020 alone, the DRC lost 1.31 million hectares of natural forest, resulting in more carbon dioxide emissions than France's total carbon footprint for 2019.

Activities supported through these projects included afforestation-the planting of new areas of trees-reforestation, agroforestry practices, the distribution of improved cookstoves, introduction of sustainable charcoal-making techniques and development of alternative energy sources, as well as the piloting of the alternative livelihoods to communities, building basic community infrastructure, and support for community forest management.

A participatory evaluation session with local stakeholders showing the community-driven approach to forest management. Photo: World Bank

Together, these efforts have helped reduce pressure on DRC's forests and support sustainable livelihoods for the poorest Congolese, reducing emissions, empowering elements of the private sector, and unlocking up to $55 million in carbon credits. Support remains essential to ensure the sustainability of its results.

Key takeaways from the Forest Investment Program:

As the FIP comes to an end, it offers lessons for future climate investments.

• The FIP has served as a catalytic fund for REDD+ in the DRC, guiding the country from preparation to investment and paving the way for performance-based payments. Emission reductions, achieved through the planting of over 4,000 hectares of trees southwest and northeast of Kinshasa, are the basis for up to $55 million in payments the World Bank will deliver to the DRC under the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement the DRC signed in 2018. The first disbursement, expected in 2025, will represent a major milestone in World Bank support for the DRC's vision to become a "solutions country", granting it access to additional climate finance.
• Its innovative approach of targeting deforestation hotspots near urban centers proved to be an effective model for addressing supply- and demand-side drivers of deforestation (fuelwood and charcoal production) with the largest results realized on the supply side through sustainable forest management and afforestation.
• FIP-DRC will lead to measurable impact on the reduction or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 31 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2 eq). World Bank-supported activities account for a total mitigation potential of 29.5 million CO2 eq removed and avoided from land-based activities and 44.1 million from clean cooking, due to accrue over the next decade as FIP investments reap benefits in mitigation. These represent more than 200% of an initial target of 15.5 million tons CO2 eq.
• Engaging the private sector wood-energy supply chains and promoting market development has introduced schemes for matching grants, which supported seven firms to produce and distribute clean cookstoves. This leveraged $186,000 in private investment and placed nearly 90,000 cookstoves on urban markets.
• Approaches to land management engaged local actors, facilitating conflict mediation and a shared vision, and scaling up sustainable forest management in different provinces. They also strengthened customary land rights and their alignment with the DRC's evolving land management regulatory framework.
• FIP funding extended beyond its activities, establishing the foundation to scale up objectives and geographic reach. Initial financing for the IFMLP drew about $26 million in additional funding from the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) and $5.9 million from the Global Environment Facility. The Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities was able to catalyze $1.8 million from CAFI as well.
• FIP projects shared learning among indigenous peoples and local communities, strengthening cohabitation and gender integration in planning, decision-making, and management structures. The FDCSP supported the development of a 250,000-hectare Local Community Forest Concession and a landmark law recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 2022.