Abstract
Tshopo is one of the first provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be selected, in 2011, for the implementation of Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects. Since then, this province offers the opportunity to analyze the implementation of deforestation reduction initiatives in order to understand how REDD+, developed at the international level and put on governmental agenda of the DRC, is concretely deployed on the ground through deforestation reduction projects. This paper deciphers the process of dissemination and selection of project implementation sites in the DRC in general and in Tshopo province in particular. It also describes and analyses the implementation of REDD+ activities and the resulting territorial dynamics. By mobilizing the concepts of policy diffusion and implementation, territorial dynamics, as well as the analysis of official documents, surveys by interview and direct observation in the field, we show that the diffusion of REDD+, from the national arena to the local arena in the Tshopo, was the initiative of the National REDD+ coordination (CN-REDD), financially supported by external partners. The selection of sites considered as deforestation "hot spots" constituted a crucial step of the diffusion process. In addition to the first REDD+ pilot projects, these sites receive integrated projects known as PIREDD. Our investigations and observations in the field show that in the Tshopo, activities carried out by these PIREDD+ are related to land use planning, governance, agriculture, afforestation and landscape restoration. These activities give rise to territorial dynamics characterized by changes in land use and attempts for land appropriation or reappropriation. Emerging dynamics are nevertheless subject to strong constraints: slowness and delay in the implementation of projects, short duration of projects, lack of innovation linked to the fact that projects are similar to traditional development initiatives that have not, in the past, proven their effectiveness. Constraints identified lead to dysfunctions that have the effect of reducing the enthusiasm of local actors, with the risk of compromising the success of the struggle against deforestation through REDD+ projects.