VZCZCXYZ0011
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKI #1036/01 3291411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251411Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0327
RUEATRS/DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS KINSHASA 001036 
 
INFO US MISSION GENEVA 
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE 
JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK 
CIA WASHDC 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: DCOM ECON EFIN EMIN ELAB EAIR PGOV CG
SUBJECT:    DRC INSTILLS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 
            INTO FORESTRY SECTOR MANAGEMENT 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Since the approval of the Forestry Code by the 
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC) in 2002, 
the Congolese government has engaged in several mandatory reforms. 
In fact, the GDRC has begun to recognize the multiple social, 
economic, and environmental values of forests and is incorporating 
the rights of traditional forest-users including local communities 
into its approaches to forest management.  In its strategy, the GDRC 
has cancelled illegally-obtained logging contracts or those which 
were approved before the new 2002 code, taken steps to implement 
participatory forest zoning, and worked to insure that transparency, 
participation of civil society, rural people and local communities 
become part of the forestry conservation and management effort. 
Introducing corporate social responsibility has appeared as a key 
mile stone for the sustainable use of forestry resources.  While the 
DRC has made good progress on sound management of its forests with 
various donors' support, there are still many steps which need to be 
implemented.  End summary. 
 
 
Workshop to clear draft "Cahier des Charges" 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) A workshop to analyze and propose principles and procedures 
for local communities to share benefits from logging concessions was 
held November 4-6, 2009 in Kinshasa under the authority of the DRC 
Minister of Environment, Conservation of Nature, and Tourism and 
sponsored by the German Agency for Development (GTZ), United States 
Forest Service (USFS), USAID's Central African Regional Program for 
the Environment, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).  (Note:  The 
U.S. Department of State transferred funds to USFS to help organize 
the workshop.  End note.)  The purpose of the workshop was to 
discuss corporate social responsibility in the forestry sector and 
to develop a model agreement ("cahier des charges" in French) and 
approaches for timber companies to fulfill their social 
responsibilities with local communities and nomadic peoples under 
the DRC Forestry Code.  The model of the agreement and negotiation 
guidelines were drafted by a local NGO called the Council for 
Environmental Defense by Legality and Traceability, known under its 
French acronym CODELT. 
 
¶3.  (U) The workshop gathered key national stakeholders of the DRC 
forestry sectors, including representatives of forestry companies, 
NGOs, local communities, and the Ministry of Environment, 
Conservation of Nature and Tourism staff.  Participants divided into 
four different committees.  They analyzed the process of drafting a 
cahier des charges and examined guidelines drafted by a preparatory 
committee.  They also reviewed a model cahier des charges and tools 
for the training of key actors, including representatives of the 
local communities, forestry companies, and forestry administration 
staff. 
 
Judicial and Technical Bases of the "Cahier des Charges" 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4.  (U) DRC's 2002 Forest Code requires a contract ("cahier des 
charges") between timber concessions and local communities and 
nomadic peoples (pygmees).  Ministerial Decree No. 28/CAB/MIN/ECT-T 
27/JEB/08 of August 7, 2008 provides some models of forest 
concession contracts with local and nomadic peoples.  The workshop 
focused largely on the social aspect of the contract.  That is, the 
Qfocused largely on the social aspect of the contract.  That is, the 
workshop explored ways for forest concessions to meet their social 
infrastructural (i.e. hospitals, schools, roads and transport) 
responsibilities to local people as required by the Forest Code. 
This law requires the timber concessionaires to finance 
socioeconomic infrastructures to benefit local communities. 
 
¶5.  (U) On a technical level, the workshop attempted to 
operationalize the principles proposed at a forest concession title 
workshop which took place from March 4 through 6, 2009.  The March 
2009 workshop proposed subsequent steps to be taken after the 
process of title verification reduced the number of forestry 
concession titles from 156 to 65.  In order to achieve a sustainable 
management of the new concessions, the March "post-conversion" 
workshop suggested launching a participatory forest zoning process 
to build consensus on which forest areas should be biodiversity 
reserves, production forests, rural community forests, or converted 
to other uses.  (Comment:  The guidelines are still in draft form. 
End comment.)  The workshop recommended that the "cahier des 
charges" should be regarded as a summary of rights and 
responsibilities between the forestry concessionaire and the local 
community.  The "cahier des charges" is a mechanism designed to 
directly spread forestry-sector revenues and foster local economic 
development.  In order to comply with the provisions of Ministerial 
Decree No. 28, the concessionaire must prepare a management plan and 
 
have it approved by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation of 
Nature and Tourism within four years from the date of the conversion 
of the forestry titles. During the intermediate period, the 
concessionaire would work on the basis of a business plan. 
 
Workshop Boosts CSR in Forestry 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The workshop enhanced tools already used in the field, and 
paved the way for the implementation of key steps decided during the 
March 2009 post-conversion workshop.  All the stakeholders agreed on 
key principles that may guide the implementation of corporate social 
responsibilities within the DRC forestry sector: the social 
agreement engages reciprocally both sides, the payment should be 
done at two levels (construction of socioeconomic infrastructures on 
a per cubic-meter of harvested timber payment basis and in-kind 
payment for actions of common interest. End note.) 
 
¶7.  (U) First of all, beneficiaries would be communities and omadic 
peoples holding a customary use of the concession; which means that 
there would be as many agreements as local communities are 
identified by the participative zoning area (Note:  Local 
communities do not own the forest, which belongs to the central 
government.  They have certain rights of use listed in the Forest 
Code.  These rights were established in 1960 and are now enshrined 
in the new code, but local people have not been subsequently 
informed or aware of the law.  Consequently, many communities 
mistakenly believe they own the land.  End note.)  The proposals 
from the workshop would require that a map be attached to the 
agreement defining the boundaries of the local communities' forest, 
as well as listing the specific local community affected by the 
agreement.  Secondly, a management committee would be set up to run 
the fund made available by the concessionaire. The fund would remain 
under the management of the concessionaire, who would recruit 
manpower within the local community.  The concessionaire would 
compensate the local community for any damages.  Thirdly, the local 
community would collaborate with the concessionaire to fight against 
illegal logging and poaching and also participate in a sustainable 
management of forest resources.  A local committee would be set up 
and led by the administrator of the territory. Finally, the 
agreement signed by the local community and the forestry company 
would be publicized, and put into a national register. 
 
 
¶8.  (U) Comment:  The workshop engaged different stakeholders 
successfully to deepen their perspectives of the DRC forestry 
sector.  In this way, it will help to avoid traditional 
misunderstandings often prevalent in the DRC during the 
implementation of policies and will add substantial clarity toward a 
sustainable use of the resources of the world's second-largest rain 
forest.  However, the process initiated by the post conversion 
workshop has been slow to occur, according to some observers. 
Reform in the DRC forestry sector is an uncompleted task and it is 
lagging behind the time frames stipulated in the laws and decrees 
for this process.  Unnecessary delays have already occurred as the 
draft "cahier des charges" must be validated by yet another 
workshop.  Moreover, some participants pointed out weaknesses in the 
process.  They alleged that the period of four years required to 
Qprocess.  They alleged that the period of four years required to 
prepare the environmental plan is too short, and some provisions of 
the agreement simply ignore the pre-existence of the civil law in 
the country.  Additionally, there is no insistence on taking into 
account the eventual pre-existing planning for provincial 
development.  End comment. 
 
GARVELINK