Democratic Republic of Congo

National Focal Point

Ministère de l’Environnement et Développement Durable (Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development)

National Strategic Documents and Time frame

• NDC: 2021 – 2030
• National Sustainable Development Strategy and Government action program 2012-2016
• National Adaptation Plan of the DRC to climate change (2014)
• National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) (2006)
• National Institutional Arrangements

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), through the Directorate of Sustainable Development (DDD), is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the harmonious  coherent implementation of the government in the area of climate change. A National Climate Change Committee, under the supervision of the Secretary General at Environment and Sustainable Development, provides the main orientations for the implementation of programs and projects related to climate change.

Priorities and Needs

The NDC sets out the sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, namely agriculture, water resources, coastal areas, food security, and health. It further provides that the top five climate risks (heavy rains, coastal erosion, floods, heatwaves, and seasonal drought) threaten the daily lives of the population and cause loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, erosion, destruction of habitats, and increase the vulnerability of water borne diseases. Further, seasonal droughts will cause serious disturbances in agricultural calendars.

Current and Planned Adaptation Efforts

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s NDC sets out that the implementation of adaptation actions is rooted in the National Action Program for Adaptation to Climate Change – PANA [Programme d’Action National d’Adaptation aux Changements Climatiques]. This program has identified three priority interventions on adaptation:

• securing the livelihoods and lifestyles of rural and urban communities
• the rational management of forest resources
• the protection and preservation of vulnerable ecosystems in coastal areas.

Adaptation issues have been integrated into sectoral policies and strategies since 2014. The NDC provides that already, efforts have been made to develop urgent actions for adaptation in agriculture, community recovery and the fight against coastal erosion. It sets out the following strategies:

• PANA-ASA (2010-2013) – focused on improving the resilience of the agricultural sector in 4 pilot provinces
• PANA-ASA 2 – a project for resilient economic growth and climate change adaptation. Implemented from 2016, this project is designed to enable adaptation and enhance agro-ecological production practices
• PANA-AFE (2015-2020) – ongoing project to strengthen the resilience of woman and children to address climate change in line with the DRC commitment to protect those most vulnerable to climate risk
• NAPA Coastal Zone (2015-2020) – ongoing project to strengthen community resilience to climate change by implementing ways to fight against coastal erosion including establishing an early warning system and diversifying income-generating activities for vulnerable communities

Synergies with Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts

The NDC emphasises that the priority of the DRC is to minimize the risks of climate change impacts, due to the significant vulnerability of certain economic activities, such as agriculture and forestry. The adaptation strategies it sets out have some synergies with disaster risk reduction efforts, for example, building resilience and establishing an early warning system.

Requirements for Additional Planning, Financial and Technical Capacities

The DRC’s NDC provides that it will need investment totalling US $9.082 billion to address its adaptation needs. This amount includes:

• agriculture: US $1.563,90 million
• energy and transport: US $7.350,00 million
• forestry: US $50,00 million
• inshore and coastal: US $118,00 million

It notes that there has been inadequate funding, both internal and external, for the effective implementation of strategies and plans of action on a large scale.

The DRC identifies gaps and barriers to developing a coherent adaptation program including: lack of reliable climate data; weak technical capacity and institutional  and legal support; and lack of financial support for adaptation initiatives.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The NDC provides that the country recognizes that the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation policies and programs is crucial to ensure that resources are focused on measures that will give the best chance to increase the resilience of its people. The development of key indicators of adaptation has already been explored in the PANA-ASA project and will be continued during the implementation of NAPA and NAPA projects AFE Coastal Zone. The main lessons learned will be shared with all programs. The aim is to integrate adaptation and vulnerability indicators in the national system for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) to be developed.