GLA - SOPR- Strengthening the advocacy of Congolese civil society for the development of an inclusive political and legal framework

"The Virunga landscape in the Province of North Kivu is a touristic region with its hills, forests, parks and lakes. This environment has been, in recent years, threaten by numerous armed conflicts. Virunga National Park in particular, identified as an important source of natural resources in this landscape, has always aroused the envy and attention of the surrounding communities and is also subject of strong pressure from armed groups and / or populations. Over the last few decades, management of PAs in the landscape has been more oriented towards protectionism without direct involvement of the local population in managing its resources. With this ""police"" management practice, the population has been left out of the management of natural resources, resulting in tensions between PA managers and the population, occupation of PAs by local populations, and non-compliance with the laws applicable to natural resources. The evolution of different recorded conflicts reveals a catastrophic situation if nothing is done. Thus, the conflict PNVi - local communities born mainly from the mismanagement of the land goes from bad to the worst; At the same time, the forest ecosystem of PA is threatened by this expansion of protected areas and plantation concessions in Rutshuru. This conquest of large areas of protected areas for plantations jeopardizes the equitable distribution of natural resources to the poorest communities. Safeguarding the biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources depend heavily on the cohesion between different stakeholders. Various interventions by state and non-state actors are under way to mitigate the situation at both political and technical level in the area. However, the cohabitation between protected areas and riparian communities has not evolved sufficiently despite the efforts provided by the ICCN and its partners, local communities and civil society through NGOs accompanying local communities and indigenous peoples. The different actors work less concertedly with such divergent approaches. This project offers an opportunity to ""bring together these actors to accelerate the process of setting up sustainable management mechanisms by insisting on the capacities of the local communities to sustainably assume their responsibilities in the good governance of natural resources and the protection of this key areas."