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Increasing land purchases around Kisangani cause conflicts with local population
DR Congo - 05 March, 2013
Urban dwellers are buying more and more land around Kisangani, Oriental Province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These land purchases cause conflicts with the local population. A study conducted by Tropenbos International DR Congo (TBI DR Congo) in the region of Kisangani during December 2012 and January 2013 shows that if customary rights are considered and respected in formal land acquisition processes, conflicts over land could be reduced considerably.
TBI DRC researchers found that urban dwellers purchase land for agriculture, logging and even speculation purposes. Land buyers appear to use two strategies to get access to land. One strategy is to negotiate land with the local population who consider themself the legitimate owners of the land. The second strategy is to follow the legal procedures of land purchases with the land administration who considers that formally all land belongs to the state. Especially state officials (politicians, military etc.) use the second strategy. They thereby neglect the ownership claims of the local population. This causes conflicts between the new owners and the surrounding communities.
TBI DR Congo presented the findings of its study at the “Strategic planning workshop for the reference study on tenure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ERT - DRC)” organised by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) in Kinshasa on 22-23 February 2013. The final report is to be published in April 2013 together with a policy brief. The study has also been implemented with financing from the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI).
RRI subscribed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tropenbos International to collaborate on their Democratic Republic of the Congo Tenure Baseline Study (DRC-TBS). The research results aim to contribute to the discussion on the reform of land tenure which has been initiated by the Congolese ministry of lands in 2012. Tenure reform is considered a precondition for the implementation of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). REDD is an international initiative that received a lot of attention of the Congolese government. It aims to create financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.