Terms of Research for Socio-Anthropological Field Study

CONSULTANCY

May 2017

Terms of Research for socio-anthropological field study

Community forestry pilot projects in DRC: Field observations on inclusion of marginalised groups, mitigation of land-related disputes, and potential impacts on land use and livelihoods.

The Rainforest Foundation UK

The mission of the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) is to support indigenous peoples and traditional populations of the world's rainforest to:

 Secure and control the natural resources necessary for their long-term wellbeing and managing these resources in ways which do not harm their environment, violate their culture or compromise their future.  Develop means to protect their individual and collective rights and to obtain, shape and control basic services from the state.

RFUK considers that an essential first step to protect and manage the tropical forests and to reduce poverty in tropical forest countries is to realise the rights of the traditional and indigenous communities who live in those forests. With secure rights to land and livelihoods, forest peoples can effectively manage forest resources and direct and manage their own development. Founded in 1989, RFUK has in the past 25 years built a solid body of work based on this rights-based approach to development and protection of the rainforest. Although our work is focused on the Congo Basin, where RFUK has worked since 1996, we also work in the Peruvian Amazon.

RFUK tackles the underlying causes of deforestation linked to the problems of disenfranchisement of indigenous forest peoples globally and locally. From the field to the international policy arena, RFUK reinforces the active participation of forest peoples in the decisions that affect them. We work with over 15 partner organisations in tropical forest countries and our programme work is split into the following thematic areas:

 Threats to forests from the extractive industries, infrastructure development and agro- industrial expansion;  Conservation effectiveness and monitoring of initiatives to reduce deforestation from deforestation and degradation (REDD);  Community-based forest management, land-use planning and tenure reform;  Community mapping and forest monitoring;  Indigenous peoples’ rights.

1 Supporting the implementation of Community Forests in the DRC

Since the adoption of the Community Forests Decree in 2014, the DRC has been in the process of finalising the legal framework for community forestry in what is arguably the most significant piece of legislation related to tropical forests of recent years, impacting as many as 40 million forest- dependent people and with tens of millions of hectares potentially available to develop pro-poor, community models of forest management. A new landmark regulation, namely Arrêté 025, has been adopted by the government on February 9th 2016 and is now regulating the allocation and the management of community forests in DRC. This new legislation could enable thousands of communities to apply to use an area of land of up to 50,000 hectares each as a community forest and potentially help lift them out of poverty.

Since its creation, RFUK has been continuously advocating and supporting the development of community-based forest resources management in the Congo Basin and this landmark process in the DRC stands as an outstanding opportunity to support forest communities, the civil society and institutional actors in the sector of community-based forest management in the Congo Basin. Please refer to RFUK Briefing on Community Forests in the DRC for further detail.

In this context, RFUK is leading a large-scale consortium project to develop an integrated approach, in coordination with other international and local NGOs, donors, and DRC civil society, that aims to improve livelihoods and reduce deforestation in the DRC by establishing successful community based forest management. The Community Forests project is a DfID-funded project that started 1 st April 2016.

The project aims to improve livelihoods and reduce deforestation in DRC by establishing successful community based forest management, which responds to the rights and needs of local communities including those of marginalised groups such as indigenous peoples and women, and contributes to integrated land-use planning. It will practically test community forestry, provide access to learnings from approaches pioneered in Africa and forested regions globally, and contribute to the development of DRC’s legal, policy and institutional environment, engaging with all relevant stakeholders.

Objectives of the research

This research aims to observe and document local social and institutional practices and processes relating to the establishment of community forests, and from this to capture learnings and propose best practices and effective methodologies and tools for use in RFUK’s community forests project in DRC.

The study will be based on community-level field research in a number of community forest pilot sites in Equateur province in DRC. It will focus on observing and documenting governance structures, lend tenure and power relations in forest communities, and how these inform and are impacted by the process of applying for and managing a Community Forest.

It will look specifically at the following themes:

 the inclusion of women and marginalised groups in decision-making;

2  intra-community land disputes and conflicts related to community forest processes, and how / if these can be mitigated;  whether there are any emerging weaknesses in DRC’s policy framework on community forestry in relation to the preceding themes.

The research will provide practical guidance to RFUK and our local civil society organisation (CSO) partners in DRC as well as to other practitioners on how to address these issues in community forestry projects. A summary of these learnings will be published for a wider audience of stakeholders interested in community forestry in the Congo Basin.

The first phase of research would be conducted over six months, but it is expected that a second phase would be conducted ideally by the same consultant to document changes at the community level as a result of RFUK’s project.

Research questions

The specific research questions that should be addressed are the following:

1) Inclusion of marginalised groups, including women, indigenous people and migrants:  What are the existing power structures in the pilot sites in terms of community level decision-making? What are the existing social groups and clans and what rights land tenure or usage rights do they have? Which groups are marginalised within the community and how does this marginalisation relate to land rights issues?  To what extent have community decision-making processes related to the application for a community forest concession and the production of a management plan for the concession (‘plan simple de gestion’) been inclusive of the wider community, including marginalised groups? To what extent do these processes promote the interests of different groups within the community? What methods could be used to measure inclusiveness of community forestry bodies such as Management Committees (Comités de gestion)?  What can be done from a practical point of view to ensure that despite placing a focus on traditional land tenure-holders (‘ayants droits’), community forestry projects consult and benefit the broader community, including marginalised groups. 2) Preventing and managing conflict within and between communities:  What kind of land disputes can arise both within and between communities, clans or other social groups as a result of the process of applying for and managing a community forest concession?  What can be identified in terms of approaches and best practice to ensure that community forestry projects do not create any conflict or exacerbate existing land disputes, both within and between communities, clans or other social groups? 3) Potential impacts of community forestry on livelihoods and forest and land use:  Can any early conclusions be drawn as to whether community forestry will reduce deforestation and forest degradation or lead to changes in land use by the community?  What are the perceptions amongst different social groups in the area about the relationship between their land tenure or land user rights or lack thereof, and their livelihoods and perceived levels of wealth or poverty? What are their perceptions about how this could be either improved or damaged by community forestry? What are the best indicators to measure this and to capture changes in relation to these aspects?

3 What methods can be used to collect this data and to track developments over time in terms of livelihoods, land use and forest use in the pilot sites? 4) DRC legal/policy framework on community forests  Based on field observations are there flaws with the existing legal and policy framework on community forestry in terms of encouraging elite capture, prompting community disputes, encouraging the exclusion of marginalised groups or creating other problems at the community level. How could these be addressed by future legal or policy reforms?

Expected outputs and deliverables

1) Production of one research briefing for publication The author will produce an advanced draft of a research briefing that addresses the research question outlined above. The aim is to publish this briefing in early 2018, capturing initial lessons learnt from the first phase of community forest designation and development of management plans in the community forest pilot sites, based on community level research.

This briefing will published as an output of the Community Forests project by RFUK.

2) Technical advice to RFUK and DRC partner CSOs Confidential reports submitted to RFUK and partners following field mission containing practical recommendations on the following:

 Potential methods of identifying and promoting inclusion of marginalised groups and minimising conflict and disputes in community forest management processes,  Approaches to ‘sensibilisation’ (awareness-raising) on the concept of community forestry in a way that avoids promoting community level conflict or unrealistic expectations,  Advice on approaches to data collection in order to monitor and evaluate changes within the pilot sites in terms of land and forest use, marginalisation of social groups, and livelihoods from a socio-anthropological perspective.  Analysis of the legal and policy framework related to community forests, identifying flaws and areas for future advocacy.  Approaches to working with communities and how best to explain and introduce the concept of community forestry and to engage with different social groups in a way that takes account of power relations with the communities in the pilot areas.  Approaches to working with the provincial and sector-level administration.

3) Feedback on research findings to relevant multi-stakeholder fora Where relevant, the researcher will present findings of field research and lessons learnt at the national Round Table on Community Forestry, working groups and other relevant events (or support DRC CSO partners to do so).

Timeframe

Indicative timeline (may be revised depending on availability) Action Date

4 Signing of contract and commencement date As soon as possible

Submission of Output 1: Research plan, including 30th June 2017 methodology for field research. Desk review. Fieldwork phase and submission of Output 2: fieldwork Starting in July 2017 report and recommendations to RFUK.

Submission of Output 3: Integration of field findings into 31st October 2017 draft research study and submission of first draft to RFUK

RFUK’s comments. 17th November 2017

Submission of Output 4: Final draft, integrating RFUK’s 18th December 2017 comments.

The first phase of research would be conducted over six months, but it is expected that a second phase would be conducted ideally by the same consultant to document changes at the community level as a result of RFUK’s project.

Qualifications and experience required

 PhD in anthropology or other related social science, and track record of having published on issues relating to forestry and land rights;  First-hand experience of undertaking community level field research in remote areas in the Congo Basin;  Excellent knowledge of the political and social context of DRC or comparable situations elsewhere in the Congo Basin;  Familiarity with Congo Basin civil society organisations and experience of working directly with such organisations;  In-depth knowledge of issues related to land rights, forest management and land use, including community forestry, and understanding of relevant legal frameworks;  Excellent French and English. Knowledge of Lingala or other relevant local languages an advantage.

Application

Please apply including a CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability to undertake this research study, giving an overview of the research methods you would employ, and proposed costs. The deadline for submitting this is June 9th 2017.

For an informal discussion, please contact Colin Robertson ([email protected])