Supporting the effort of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), the International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN has selected members of the “Expert Assessment Group for the IUCN Green List” (EAGL). Drawn from a pool of extremely qualified applicants (through an open public call), these 11 individuals represent the voices of key DRC conservation and governance stakeholders from a diverse array of sectors including: ecology, sociology, protected areas, conservation and biodiversity management; scientists and non-governmental organizations. The expert’s selection evaluation has been validated by Assurance Services International – ASI and the World Commission of Protected Areas (WCPA) vice chair for Africa region.
Green List criteria benchmark good governance, sound design and planning, effective management, and successful conservation outcomes. The assessment group will hold evaluation meetings and site visits to assess how DRC protected and conserved areas meets IUCN’s Green List criteria, and will recommend that the sites be added to the Green List if all criteria are met.
DRC, covers an area of 2,345,409 km² and most of the Congo Basin, estimated at 3.7 million km². As an active player in environmental processes and climate mitigation, the DRC has made commitments under various conventions. The government is also committed to achieving, by 2030, the objective of at least 30% of national spaces under protection status being the second largest tropical forested country in the world.
The IUCN Green List process begun with EAGL training successfully led on the 11th and 12th of May 2023 in Kinshasa and evaluation will commence thereafter. The training has been attended as well by DRC Institute of Nature Conservation (ICCN) representative to ensure its alignment with government priorities.
This training was possible thanks to the financial support of the GIZ (Cooperation Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany) provided to IUCN to accompany the Congolese Government for the identification and consideration of the OECMs as well as their contribution to the achievement of target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework. This ambition is supported by IUCN Resolution WCC 2020 125, which calls on the Union to promote the effective conservation of 30% of the planet, as the available scientific data clearly show that this is the minimum global requirement for each country.
The following individuals have been selected to serve on the EAGL and signed IUCN Green List Declaration of engagement regarding commitment to independence and objectivity of decision making in the Context of the Green List programme:
For more information, contact: Aissa TRAORE, Programme Officer, IUCN Global Protected and Conserved Areas team
Kinshasa, RD Congo 12 may 2023
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