Africa 2008

REPUBLIC OF CONGO Formerly Congo Brazzaville:

• Indigenous participation in developing social services intervention. It aims at working with a team of people from communities, civil society and the Ministry of Social Affairs to draw up legislation on access to services which will result in real changes for indigenous communities on the ground. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.

• Rights based development for indigenous peoples in the Republic of Congo. It reinforces the above previous project and aims at developing five small pilot projects, designed and led by communities themselves that meet some immediate livelihood at community level. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK. Total grant: 96,910.

 CAMEROON:

• Securing Bageyli land rights and land tenure of the Bageyli communities of South West Cameroon. This is building upon the capacity strengthening work that is being done for the past three or four years. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.   
  

• Securing Baka access to forest revenues in Cameroon. It aims at ensuring that over 750 Baka people gain revenue from the forest taxes collected from logging companies operating in their lands and from the community forest that they manage. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.      
  

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (D.R.C.) Previously Zaire

• Strengthening the capacity of Congolese civil society to engage in debates on climate change and forests. It aims at equipping NGO's and community members to understand the ongoing discussions on climate change and to be able to respond to policy and financing mechanisms that will have a direct impact on their forests. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.

•  Improving communities' ability to halt illegal logging. It intends to help a local NGO in the Western D.R.C. to develop and support a system whereby communities can monitor and take action on forest activities by logging companies. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.
  

•  Livelihoods and land rights for Batwan in Uvira, Eastern D.R.C. It aims to secure land for a specifically marginalized Batwa community and to support community members in developing livelihood activities. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.
  

•  Developing a community forest "master map" for the D.R.C. It intends to build on the mapping work done with forest communities to add forest peoples analysis and testimony by recording the voices of these peoples, explaining the value of forest to their lives and livelihoods. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK. 

GABON:

• Community involvement in forest policy in the country. This project will build on previous work and is designed to enable forest communities to increase their access to forest resources by making an input into the new policy on community forests that is under development. Project monitored by Rainforest Foundation UK.