Rebuilding Trust for Stronger Forest Governance in DR Congo

Leadership clashes in community forest management

The Barumbi Tshopo Local Community Forest Concession (LCFC) covers an area of 49,150 ha of forest and belongs to the seven villages in the landscape, together forming a local customary entity, known as the ‘Group’. The LCFC title was granted in 2020, following an application process supported by Tropenbos DR Congo in collaboration with local communities. It required a new set-up of governance in the landscape. The Group chief, as the head of the community assembly, held traditional authority, while the LCFC chairman, a former interim chief, led the forest’s executive management. This introduced tensions. The Group chief saw the LCFC chairman as a challenger who could replace him at any time in his customary power, while the chairman saw the Group chief as someone who had prevented him from exercising his customary power. This climate of mistrust fuelled tensions and created regular clashes in the leadership of the community forest.

With forest governance at an impasse, community members expressed concerns that the leadership conflict was weakening their ability to protect their resources and secure long-term benefits from their forest. Both leaders acknowledged the need for resolution but were not able to find common ground. Therefore, Tropenbos DR Congo provided its support to facilitate a trusted mediation process, rooted in customary procedures.

Customary mediation for local solutions

Tropenbos DRC initiated a carefully structured mediation process, first engaging the disputing leaders separately to understand the root causes of their conflict. Both wanted the conflict to be resolved through customary mechanisms with the support of local authorities from other villages in the Bafwasende landscape. Based on conversations with both the customary chief and the chairman of the LCFC, an agreement could be made on a trusted mediator.

The role of Tropenbos DRC was solely facilitating the process, as it was important the conflicting parties would take initiative themselves. By empowering them to get in contact with the mediators and including the whole community in the process, local ownership could emerge during the process. This supports the potential for conflict resolution in the future, without the need for external parties like Tropenbos DRC to step in.

The conflict resolution process was based on two meetings. The first was an internal dialogue among Barumbi community members, where both leaders and the broader community openly discussed their grievances. This was followed by a public reconciliation ceremony, where commitments were formalized in a roadmap outlining shared governance responsibilities. Customary sanctions were established to hold both leaders accountable to their agreements.

Strengthening governance and restoring trust in the community

The mediation process successfully removed the tensions between the Group chief and the LCFC chairman. With the clear governance roles and new commitments for peaceful leadership, the trust from the community in the leadership was restored. The process also strengthened community cohesion by reinforcing the legitimacy of customary conflict-resolution mechanisms and empowering the community to resolve future disputes independently. With stronger leadership in place and trust restored in the community, the communities and its local leaders are now better positioned to implement sustainable forest management practices.

Lessons for the future

This mediation effort underscored the importance of understanding the local context and the root causes of the tensions before attempting resolution. By prioritizing a locally led approach, Tropenbos DRC ensured that the process was accepted by both conflicting parties and the broader community. A key takeaway is that locally led conflict resolution through customary mechanisms strengthens local ownership and capacity, reducing reliance on external interventions.

Looking ahead, Tropenbos DRC aims to continue with its locally led approaches in conflict resolution and aims to share this successful model with other forest-dependent communities facing governance challenges. By respecting local traditions and empowering community leadership, environmental peacebuilding efforts can create lasting stability and ensure that forests remain a source of both ecological and social resilience.