The RED-Tabara armed group operates out of the DRC’s volatile eastern region, which shares a porous 243km border with Burundi.
Funding climate adaptation in conflict areas may require engaging local communities and armed groups where national governments are absent.
Trans-border collaboration is required to recover protected areas that transverse Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic from armed groups.
Central to the DRC’s politics is a broken relationship between the seat of government in Kinshasa and underrepresented groups in the eastern region.
A comprehensive strategy does not seem to be an immediate priority for Congolese authorities with an eye on elections.
Destructive mining in Congo’s protected areas is rampant because it generates money for citizens, officials and armed groups.