Environment under Reconstruction: Environmental Law and Policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has vast potential and natural wealth. Persistent armed conflicts since 1996 have, however, dramatically reduced the national output, government revenue, and increased external debt. Commonly known, the DRC is also home to an enormous biodiversity, it has a large variety of mineral resources, a huge hydrography and vast forests. Major environmental concerns inter alia include wildlife poaching, deforestation and mining and ecosystem degradation. This brief report serves to highlight legal progress made in the field of environmental law and policy in the DRC between 2006 and 2012. It outlines problem areas of environmental protection, reflects on national programmes implemented during the period under study while at the same time highlighting some major obstacles to environmental law, policy and sustainable development in the DRC.