It is with great satisfaction that the news of the cancellation of five illegally awarded concessions was received today, through a signed decision of the DRC Minister of Environment dated 3 July 2017. The area under these illegal concessions is of over 1 million hectares.

The cancellation of these contracts, that resulted from diligent actions taken by the DRC National REDD+ Fund with support from CAFI, highlights the constructive dialogue maintained between the DRC government and the coalition of CAFI donors, despite a complex political context.

Decision EB.2017.02 of the CAFI Executive Board, in February 2017, had called for "an immediate cancellation of illegally awarded concessions".

The cancellation of the illegal contracts by the Government of the DRC also marks a positive trend towards reinforcing forest governance, a key pillar of the Letter of Intent signed between CAFI and the DRC last year. This decision complements the forest governance risk matrix and action plan adopted last month through inclusive multi-stakeholder consultations. Recognizing the critical role of watchdogs, this matrix and action plan place great emphasis on strengthening independent control mechanisms to prevent and address any future breaches to the moratorium, including illegal logging.

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