Abstract

<b>Key messages</b> <ul> <li>The bulk of financial resources devoted to social clause infrastructure projects is allocated to those in the education sector, accounting for about USD 4 million (74%); this is followed by 20% allocated for healthcare infrastructure, 4% for road infrastructure and 1% for water supply infrastructure. Cumulatively across the whole monitoring period (2011-2020), an estimated 36,466 students were direct beneficiaries of the education sector. A total of 127 schools, 85 health centres, 27 administrative buildings, 11 water points and 436 kilometres of road were built within the framework of social clauses.</li> <li>Effective mobilization of financial resources is the main challenge for achieving an efficient social clause system. There is a significant gap between the amount of financing ‘estimated’ and decided upon by mutual agreement between local communities and concession holders (USD 20,322,367), and the final amounts actually provided (USD 7,810,037). Overall, just a third (38%) of the amount expected was then actually given to local development funds (LDFs).</li> <li>For community projects to be effective and efficient, substantial improvements are required. At present, few infrastructure projects have been fully completed. Efficient use of available resources will mean selecting a minimum number of projects – or at least those considered essential for the community – and devoting the available resources to them.</li> <li>Social clauses have the potential to be a powerful tool for the socioeconomic development of local populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And while there is room for improvement in terms mobilizing the resources required, there is no doubt that current outcomes do help improve the daily lives of communities in the areas of health and education.</li> <li>The support given to civil society in the monitoring of social clauses should be continued. However, it would be useful to have a stable pool of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and investigators specifically dedicated to monitoring, so that the capacities already acquired by these stakeholders can be strengthened, and the quality of collected data can be improved.</li> </ul>

Highlights

  • Legal reforms initiated in Congo Basin countries in the mid-1990s have gradually rebalanced – at least in theory – the economic, environmental and social aspects of forest management

  • As well as tax mechanisms contributing to local development, approaches seeking to have concession holders directly contribute to social project implementation already existed before more recent forestry laws were adopted, in the form of promises or contracts between operators and local populations

  • The findings presented here are the result of data collection carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (WWF-DRC) and 18 civil society organizations (CSOs) which have previously been involved in providing support to Indigenous and local populations in negotiating social clauses

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Summary

Key messages

The bulk of financial resources devoted to social clause infrastructure projects is allocated to those in the education sector, accounting for about USD 4 million (74%); this is followed by 20% allocated for healthcare infrastructure, 4% for road infrastructure and 1% for water supply infrastructure. Effective mobilization of financial resources is the main challenge for achieving an efficient social clause system. For community projects to be effective and efficient, substantial improvements are required. Efficient use of available resources will mean selecting a minimum number of projects – or at least those considered essential for the community – and devoting the available resources to them. While there is room for improvement in terms mobilizing the resources required, there is no doubt that current outcomes do help improve the daily lives of communities in the areas of health and education. It would be useful to have a stable pool of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and investigators dedicated to monitoring, so that the capacities already acquired by these stakeholders can be strengthened, and the quality of collected data can be improved

Background
Effectiveness of resource mobilization
Effectiveness of collective interest projects
Health centres Schools Water supply Transport Roads
Challenges in implementing the social clauses
Other challenges
Local employment
Governance of local management and monitoring committees
Local monitoring committee Local management committee
Effectiveness of the local management and monitoring committees
Customary use rights
NTFP gathering permitted NTFP restricted
Findings
Additional reading
Full Text
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