About Us

Lokolama Peatland Protection Initiative (LPPI) is a non-profit organization that was formed by citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo who are based in the USA and the DRC. The purpose of LPPI is to protect the vast peatlands in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the land rights of local people.

We are very much aware, from studies and experiences in Indonesia, that destruction of the peatlands can lead to irreversible damage to the environment. The impact on the climate, the environment, and on the local people and animals that depend on the environment is immeasurable. Our aim is to prevent such destruction in the DRC peatlands.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to protect the Congolese peatlands and to protect local land rights for local communities and indigenous people in Lokolama, DRC. We will achieve this through fund-raising, facilitating the issue of land rights and lobbying the government in partnership with human rights activists and conservation groups.

Objectives

Our objectives are:

To make sure that government honors the moratorium on logging in the rain forests of the DRC.
To reverse the logging and farming concessions that have been illegally issued during the moratorium period.
To fast track and fund the issuing of land rights to local communities and indigenous people in the peatlands.

We plan to work closely with human rights activists and conservation groups to stop the destruction of the peatlands. Together, we will raise awareness of the existence of the peatlands and the threat that the area has from government corruption. We also aim to raise funding to help educate the local people about their rights which are under threat and to pay for legal fees required to obtain title deeds.