Supporting the Land Use Planning Reform - DRCongo

Expected results

• The DRC has a Land Use Planning policy that supports its vision of sustainable development, based on spatial analyses that integrate the objectives of the national strategy. A Land Use Planning Law is developed that mainly focuses on sustainable development and safeguarding forest ecosystems. Both are communicated and disseminated.  
• Management structures are legally established, efficient and functional, including an intersectoral steering committee on LUP reform (COPIRAT), an LUP general secretariat and a technical support unit.
• A national Land Use Plan is developed and validated, as well as a functional LUP atlas and GIS to support decision-making and trade-offs to determine the best possible land uses. 
• The most appropriate sectoral models (agricultural, land, mining and environmental) are defined and promoted in each target province and decentralized territorial entity, through consultation frameworks. 
• Six methodological guides for developing planning tools at provincial and local levels are drafted, incorporate environmental and social safeguards, and are used to achieve the provincial and local LUP plans prepared by the provincial multi-sectoral programmes. 
• A ministerial capacity-building programme is implemented. 
• The Territorial Observatory has an operational geographic information and management system. 

Results as of 31 December 2023

• The study on the DRC's forestry capital, officially launched in March 2023, has produced 4 deliverables validated by the 2nd Technical Reform Monitoring Committee in November 2023:
  • (i) methodological framework for the study
  • (ii) cartographic atlas (national + 26 provinces)
  • (iii) narrative report on forests - biodiversity component 
  • (iv) narrative report on forests - economic section

• Forest capital survey: consult data online via this link.

• The DRC has a National Spatial Planning Policy ('Politique Nationale d'Aménagement du Territoire'), adopted by the government at a Council meeting in July 2020. Elaborated in a participatory manner, the Land Use Policy respects forest resources as well as the rights and needs of local communities and indigenous peoples.

• A draft Law on Land Use Planning, setting out the key aspects of the Policy above, was adopted by the government in the Council of Ministers and forwarded to the National Assembly in September 2020. It was then adopted by the National Assembly on 8 November 2023 and passed on second reading by the Senate on 14 December 2023. Promulgation by the President of the Republic is pending.

• Capacity strengthening for 700 executives and agents from the central administration of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (including the Technical Reporting Team of the Land Use Planning Reform and executives from the National Observatory of Land Use Planning) and 10 provincial divisions. These entities also benefited from material support (IT equipment, rolling stock, office equipment, furniture, etc.). 

• Technical tools for the implementation of the land use planning reform have been developed, such as:

• • methodological guides for the production of Provincial Land Use Plans, Local Land Use Plans and Simple Land Use Plans
  • a Training Master Plan for the Ministry of Land Use Planning
  • an IT Master Plan for the Ministry of Land Use Planning
  • a global communication plan, including (i) the broadcasting of an information and awareness-raising television program on the progress, challenges and prospects of the land use planning reform, and (ii) media coverage of important events (Land Use Planning missions, training workshops, session for the adoption of the Law at the national assembly, etc.).

• The 1st phase of the National Land Use Scheme (SNAT) process has been finalized and approved in September 2022 with the sectoral and spatial diagnostic report;  

• The following PIREDD-led land use planning processes were supported between 2021 and 2022: (i) PIREDD Sud Ubangi (diagnostics for PPAT implementation), PIREDD Kwilu, PIREDD Tshopo, Bas-Uélé and Ituri, PIREDD Maniema and PIREDD Equateur (use of the Methodological Guide for participatory village land zoning and 'PSAT' elaboration). 

Progress of this programme have also been described in the 2021 semestrial publication of the DRC National REDD+ Fund – read it here (in French).

Areas of intervention

The programme supports developing planning instruments and building LUP capacity in the DRC’s 26 provinces. 

Synergies

One of the objectives of the 2016 Letter of Intent between the DRC and CAFI is to "develop a LUP policy that organizes and optimizes the use of land and forest resources by the national economy’s sectors, respects rights, reduces the impact on forests, reduces conflicts and ensures sustainable development at the national and local levels. " The Programme to Support Land Use Planning Reform contributes to this and to the related milestones under the "forests" and "agriculture" objectives. Two independent verifications of these milestones were undertaken (report available here).