First grants from community led forest fund reach forest communities

This July, a new milestone was reached for The Community Fund for Forests (CFF) when its first grants were successfully disbursed. The grants will directly benefit over 24,800 people across eleven forest communities in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“What seemed like just a story has become reality. I am happy because the CFF has kept its promise. We have signed our contract and received the necessary equipment to manage funds,” said Alain Iloku.

Iloku is the president of the community forest concession of Samba, a village in the the Bikoro Territory, near Lake Tumba in the rainforest-covered Equateur province. His community of 2,039 people was one of the first recipients of a USD 5,000 grant. With the funds, they have collectively decided to buy a paddle canoe to get easier access to local markets, selling non-timber forest products. The income generating activities are part of their sustainable management plan to reduce pressures on the forest.

“This Fund gives us a new vision: in the coming years, we hope to secure more funding to better protect our forests sustainably. It is a great joy for us to see our expectations come true,» Iloku said.

The community in Samba is one of 11 communities who received similar-sized grants in this first round of direct funding disbursement through the Community Fund for Forests. A total of 24,813 people are directly benefiting from the first grants and together the communities protect as much as 79,201 hectares of tropical forest,- an area equivalent to more than 110,000 football fields.

The grants are spent on livestock and equipment for small-scale farming and means of transport, supporting communities to live in and manage the forest in a sustainable way.

A major milestone

“These first disbursements are a major milestone,” says Benjamin Ntumba, of Rainforest Foundation Norway.

Ntumba is an adviser and currently coordinates activities in the western forest landscape, one of the two regions where CFF operates in the DRC. In the end of July, Ntumba travelled into the communities to finalize their grants applications, sign contracts and deliver essentials materials. Each community was equipped with a safe to secure the funds and a tablet to monitor the projects implemented and to set up a mobile money account, through which the Community Fund for Forest transferred the grants.

“It demonstrates that it is possible to channel international climate funds directly to communities who are key actors in forest conservation. This is concrete proof that the mechanism works, and we’ll continue mobilizing resources needed for sustainable forest management,” Ntumba continues.

Fish and duck-farming

The Bofekalasumba community got a 5,000 USD grant for the purpose of fish and duck farming. The grant is benefiting a mixed community of Pygmies and Bantus peoples, 325 in all.

“We are very happy. For us, the forest is a precious heritage. We are delighted because these funds mark the beginning of real development for our community. They will not only improve our living conditions but also help us protect our forest in a sustainable way, “ said Mbongi Ingole, a Bofekalasumba community member.

Empowering forest communities

The Community Fund for Forests (CFF) has been two years in the making and is set up as a response to the fact that very little of global international climate funding is reaching communities on the ground.

Much of global funds are channeled through intermediaries, which can both be costly and exclude local communities from real decision making. CFF is different. It is designed and managed by Indigenous and local Communities, with the mission to empower forest communities of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect their forests and promote biodiversity and sustainable development.

“Enhanced efforts are required to direct more support to the Indigenous and local community organizations that tirelessly manage and defend their forest areas against destruction, says Tørris Jæger, Executive Director in Rainforest Foundation Norway and continues:

“This is more than a pilot — it’s the start of a new financing stream that’s ready to grow. The mechanism is in place, communities are engaged, and we now have a safe, accountable channel for donors to support forest protection directly on the ground.”