Above: The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative delegation met with leaders of all major religions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the inception mission in May 2019.
Kinshasa, DRC
In May, members of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative’s Global Steering Committee conducted an inception mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they explored with a wide range of stakeholders the possibility to launch a national program in the country. The initiative received a strong endorsement from representatives of the major religions in the DRC, the support of leaders from 5 national indigenous peoples’ organizations, and a warm welcome and interest to collaborate from other actors active in forest protection within the national government, among national and international NGOs, as well as multi-laterals and development agencies. Work is now underway to plan for a formal launch of a national program to take place later this year.