Cadre Procédural de Réinstallation - Dr. Kai Schmidt-Soltau

ICCN
Cadre procédural de Réinstallation du Projet GEF-BM
The first and guiding principle is that restricted access to resources should be avoided as much as
possible. In that vein does the ICCN not restrict any access to resources as long as not all other
options (reducing the protection status of lands which are used by rural populations and/or legalizing
human land use patterns within the management plans and laws etc.) have been evaluated and found
not suitable, as long as sufficient funds for mutually agreed compensation and mitigation measures are
not available and as long as the measures are not yet put in place.
In line with the OP 4.12 and the relevant Congolese laws, the following three categories of people are
the beneficiaries of the resettlement process framework of ICCN and the GEF-WB Project:
a) those who have formal legal rights to land (including customary and traditional rights recognized
under the laws of the country);
b) those who do not have formal legal rights to land but have a claim to such land or assets
(agriculture, local forestry, hunting, gathering and fishing);
c) those who have no recognizable legal right or claim to the land they are occupying.
Persons covered under a) and (b) are provided with a land-based compensation to offset the restricted
access to their resources (local forestry, hunting, gathering fishing and local mining). This means that
for instance the restricted utilization (for example no hunting) of 5 ha of land will be compensated by
providing legal access to hunt on 5 ha of land of similar quality in a different location. Persons covered
under c) are provided with assistance in lieu of a compensation for their reduced access to resources.
The basic principal is that persons, who face a reduced access to resources, should be assisted in
their efforts to improve their livelihoods and standards of living or at least to restore them, in real
terms, to pre-displacement. Preference should be given to land-based resettlement strategies for
people whose livelihoods are land-based and seriously affected by the GEF-WB Project.
The RPrF focus especially on “economically displaced people” – those people, who face a loss of
income sources or means of livelihood but not necessarily their land – for example hunter/gatherer
and fisherfolk, which use informally areas for their professional hunting, gathering and fishing. In this
context, the ICCN is in charge of the resettlement of project affected people. In general one can
identify the following categories of project affected people:
a) those living during and after project implementation permanently or temporarily in the PNVi;
b) those living outside the PNVi and PNG, but whose livelihood depend on the resources in the parks;
c) those living in the buffer zones of the PNVi and PNG and whose livelihood depends on the
resources in the buffer zones;
d) those living outside the areas, but who have traditional rights to these resources; and
e) indigenous peoples, who depend partly or entirely on the resources in and outside the parks.
In view of group a, the conservation laws do neither allow settlement nor human activities (agriculture,
logging, hunting, gathering, fishing and mining) in the PNVi, but this might be legalized in the
management plans in view to minimize the impacts of the GEF-WB Project and to reduce costs. If
some or all populations presently living inside the PNVi are allowed to stay there, their rights and
interests are addressed through this CPrR. In any case, ICCN has to guarantee that the living
conditions of these people are at least equal to the living conditions prior to the implementation of the
GEF-WB Project and above the poverty line.
Those people, whose livelihood are based on the resources in the national parks - category a & b -, will
most likely face a situation in which their entire livelihood will have to change due to the intervention of
the GEF-WB Project. Due to that, the ICCN will need to provide them with new income opportunities
equal or higher to their former standard of living. In line with the principles of pro-poor conservation and
the objectives of ICCN, the national parks could offer them a permanent employment or provide them
with other income opportunities. This option will be offered to all affected people of category a & b and
has to guarantee them at least the incomes they had in the pre-park situation. In case that an individual
is unable or unwilling to work, the salary should remain above the poverty line.
To restore the livelihoods of people of category c is a bit easier. The provision of capacities and
infrastructure to increase the marketing of their products might be sufficient to guarantee that their
standard of living is not adversely affected by the GEF-WB Project. They could for instance receive
long term contract to supply products to tourism facilities and park management structures and or
receive grants to facilitate the transport of their products to the next markets. In any case the ICCN is
in charge to guarantee that in a reasonable time frame (5-10 years) they face no negative impact from
the national parks. This includes the establishment and maintenance of protection measures against
the growing animal population in the park, which might cross to their plantations and destroy crops. A
Rapport Final Février 2007 9