Initially scheduled for June 2024, the Forests and Savannas Restoration Investment Program (PIFORES) was launched on October 14 in Kinshasa. The launching ceremony was attended by Anna Bjerde, the World Bank's Managing Director of Operations. 

The PIFORES aims to improve land-use planning, forest management, and the livelihoods of local communities in seven provinces: Kinshasa, Kongo Central, Kwilu, Kasaï, Kasaï Central, Kasaï Oriental, and Lomami. The World Bank loaned the DRC $300 million for the project.

According to official documents reviewed by Bankable, the loan breaks down into several components: $17 million for improving land-use planning and governance for natural resource management, $215 million for developing agroforestry and forestry value chains; here, the goal is to foster sustainable landscape management and enhance local livelihoods. Another $25 million will support the development of a sustainable value chain for energy and clean cooking. Finally, $13 million will be invested in innovative approaches for measurement, reporting, verification, and results-based climate financing. $30 million is set aside for project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

To implement the components related to agroforestry and forestry value chains as well as clean energy initiatives—accounting for most of the project budget ($240 million)—micro-grants will be awarded to projects focused on forestry, agroforestry, and improved cookstove production. These grants will supplement the project owner's funding, with specific percentages and maximum amounts detailed in the program manual. In a previous program, the owner's contribution ranged from 40% to 60%, with co-financing between $100,000 and $1 million. Beneficiaries may include SMEs, smallholders, private operators, and farming households selected through bidding.

Submitted forestry and agroforestry projects must cover between 50 and 1,000 hectares. Applicants must present a business plan showing an acceptable return on investment, taking into account the subsidy. Here, projects must also meet socio-environmental standards and demonstrate a positive social impact on neighboring communities through employment or investment benefits. For small private landowners, plantation areas should range from about 10 to 50 hectares; farming households should have between 1 and 50 hectares. All project owners must have a land title.

The World Bank and the DRC government are behind the PIFORES project. They said the program should benefit around 4.5 million people, including 50,000 from indigenous communities. Regarding potential impacts on poverty reduction, the initiators referred to a similar program (also in agroforestry) that boosted beneficiaries’ income by 18% —about $448 per year—along with significant non-monetary benefits. Additionally, the PIFORES aims to bring over 4 million hectares of land under sustainable use practices, helping to reduce deforestation in targeted areas by about 10% while sequestering or preventing emissions of 30 to 35 million tons of CO2.

Pierre Mukoko