Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo called at COP31 for long-term tropical forest funding and direct climate finance for local communities, the presidency said, pointing to forests’ benefits beyond national borders.
At a forest-focused roundtable in Antalya on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Tshisekedi called for fair compensation for tropical forests’ ecosystem services, according to a statement from his presidency. The statement described a gap between the benefits forests provide beyond their borders and the compensation forest countries receive.
Tshisekedi said climate financing should reach Indigenous peoples and local communities directly, the presidency said. He gave particular attention to women and young people and stressed land rights and community participation in forest-management decisions.
He supported the Tropical Forest Forever Facility as a way to strengthen existing programs and provide longer-term financing for forest countries. Tshisekedi also called for those countries to have an effective role in the facility’s governance, the statement said.
The presidency cited the Couloir vert Kivu-Kinshasa as a Congolese initiative intended to protect ecosystems while supporting communities and stability. It said forest destruction carries environmental, economic and human costs for the planet.
