Community action/DR Congo

Children are among the most vulnerable to cholera, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. Theatre and other public performances make special effort to engage children and educate them on good hygiene practices, such as regularly washing their hands. Author: Oxfam East Africa

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Democratic Republic of the Congo

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across DR Congo.

News

DR Congo

Africa

Cosmolocal

• Congo’s communities are creating a 1-million-hectare biodiversity corridor, news.mongabay.com (Dec 18, 2025)
• Climate disasters displaced 250 million people in past 10 years, UN report finds, theguardian.com (Nov 09, 2025) — Floods, storms and droughts have uprooted people across the globe as rising temperatures intensify conflict and hunger
• DRC Joins Pacific Island Nations In Call For An International Crime Of Ecocide, stopecocide.earth (Oct 31, 2024)

Read more

• Young South Africans take up sustainable agriculture for food security, climatechangenews.com (Jun 02, 2026) — Aquaponics is seeing a revival in South Africa’s schools, boosted by government support and climate concerns
• Introducing Katcha: An African Democratic Innovation Network, demnext.substack.com (Feb 19, 2026)
• One of Africa’s Most Important Water Sources Just Got Some Very Good News, insideclimatenews.org (Feb 05, 2026) — Angola’s vast highland wetlands feed rivers that deliver freshwater to millions. They just gained global recognition that could help keep it that way.

• Citizens need to power Europe's future, demnext.substack.com (Oct 02, 2026) — The EU can enable new democratic institutions: in European countries; with a European Citizens’ Assembly as a 4th branch of government, and by legally enforcing the Global Citizens’ Assembly on AI, Claudia Chwalisz and Another Democratic Future
• Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests?, e360.yale.edu (Oct 01, 2026)
• Want solar but don’t own a roof? California just legalized plug-in panels, no permission required, latimes.com (Sep 30, 2026)

Networks and sustainability initiatives

• Green Congo Initiative, added 15:00, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

International events

Global or International events

• Oct 01, 2026 (Thu) — World Vegetarian Day, Oct 1 each year, bringing awareness to the ethical, environmental, health, and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle, worldvegetarianday.navs-online.org
• Oct 02, 2026 (Fri) — International Day of Non-Violence, observed each year on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, un.org
• Oct 07, 2026 (Wed) — World Day for Decent Work, October 7 is the World Day for Decent Work, ituc-csi.org
• Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Mental Health Day, Oct 10, annually, wmhdofficial.com
• Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Homeless Day, Oct 10 each year, drawing attention to homeless people’s needs locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved in responding to homelessness, worldhomelessday.org
• Oct 10, 2026 (Sat) — World Migratory Bird Day, worldmigratorybirdday.org
• Oct 13, 2026 (Tue) — International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Oct 13, annually, promoting a global culture of natural disaster reduction, including prevention, mitigation, and preparedness, un.org
• Oct 16, 2026 (Fri) — World Food Day, celebrated every year around the world on 16 October, often with a focus on food security, fao.org
• Oct 16, 2026 (Fri) — International Repair Day, annual celebration for everyone who makes repair happen in their communities around the world. "Repair for Everyone"., openrepair.org
• Oct 17, 2026 (Sat) — International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Oct 17 each year, honouring victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear, with participation by the poorest of people an important aspect of the observance of the Day, un.org

2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events

Community energy

Because of sunlight, potential for solar development is very high in the DRC. Already there are in DRC about 836 solar power systems, with a total power of 83 kW, located in Equateur (167), Katanga (159), Nord-Kivu (170), the two Kasaï provinces (170), and Bas-Congo (170). Also, the 148 Caritas network system has a total power of 6.31 kW7.

Biodiversity

The rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo contain great biodiversity, including many rare and endemic species, such as the common chimpanzee and the bonobo, the African forest elephant, mountain gorilla, okapi and white rhino. Five of the country's national parks are listed as World Heritage Sites: the Garumba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and Virunga National Parks, and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most biodiverse African country.

News archive

• DRC Joins Pacific Island Nations In Call For An International Crime Of Ecocide, stopecocide.earth (Oct 31, 2024)
• Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are pushing for land rights, and curbing gender-based violence in the process, positive.news (Mar 29, 2024)

2011-2023

• Green Congo Initiative: a Youth Engagement for the Climate in the Heart of Africa, happyeconews.com (Apr 28, 2023)

• Mountain gorillas: The ripple effect of conservation, BBC News (Jun 20, 2022)
• How to capture satellite images in your backyard – and contribute to a snapshot of the climate crisis, The Conversation (Feb 23, 2022)

• Urban horticulture in the Congo reaps $400 million for small growers, cityfarmer.info June 10, 2011.

About Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's major environmental issues include:

• deforestation
• poaching, which threatens wildlife populations
• water pollution
• displaced refugees, who cause or are otherwise responsible for most of these problems: significant deforestation, soil erosion, wildlife poaching
• mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold), causing environmental damage

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, RDC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply Congo, is a country located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area, the largest in Subsaharan Africa, and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most populated nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populated country in the world.