Artisanal Mining and Property Rights (AMPR) program
Tetra Tech
September 2018 – September 2023; $9.8 million (CAR and global)

The AMPR program will address complex land and resource governance challenges in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in CAR and globally. In CAR, AMPR will primarily focus on diamonds and secondarily on gold, with the aim of promoting legal, responsible supply chains and strengthening social cohesion in mining areas.  The program will specifically help the government of CAR improve compliance with the Kimberley Process and address the issue of conflict diamonds.

Central African Interfaith Peacebuilding Partnership (CIPP)  
Catholic Relief Services
Jan 2016 - Jan 2021; $3.5 million (USG contribution) with $4.2 million non-USG leveraged funding

CIPP addresses the religious and social divisions that have arisen during the conflict in CAR. Through partnership with the CAR Inter-Religious Platform and local civil society, CIPP strengthens local leaders’ capacity to build peace, improves livelihoods, and provides trauma healing and peace education. The program is a Global Development Alliance supported by various private sector partners and coordinates with CAR’s Ministry of Social Affairs and National Reconciliation.

Connecting Citizens to Post Electoral Political Processes (CONNECT)
Internews Network
Oct 2016 - Sept 2020; $4.8 million

CONNECT promotes responsible journalism in a context where social and religious divisions, mistrust between communities, and rumors have fueled years of conflict. This activity encourages independent and unbiased reporting in CAR, increases citizens' access to responsible media coverage, and enhances citizens' ability to engage in political processes. CONNECT focuses on building the organizational capacity and financial independence of Internews’ local partner, the Association of Journalists for Human Rights (RJDH).

People to People Peacebuilding Activity
Catholic Relief Services
Aug 2018 - Aug 2020; $1.5 million

People to People Peacebuilding Activity helps the communities in Lobaye build and maintain peace within and across identity lines. Through participative processes and appreciative inquiry approach, the activity will create opportunities for recurring formal and informal engagement between different identity groups helping them build trust, empathy and socio-economic ties. The activity will equip the community members with savings and entrepreneurial skills to manage personal financial affairs and build socioeconomic networks. Together with a local partner Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission Lobaye (CDJP), the activity will engage local leaders, economic groups, and youth to adopt improved conflict management strategies to resolve identity-based conflicts effectively, equitably, and peacefully.

Our Central Africa Today (Be Africa) Rapid Response Activity
Search for Common Ground
Oct 2018 - Jul 2019; $150 thousand

Our Central Africa Today (Be Africa) Rapid Response Activity will increase non-violent communication and reduce intercommunal violence by countering hate speech, rumors and misinformation in the capital city Bangui. The activity will improve the capacity, and mobilize social media and radio in a conflict-sensitive manner to counter rumors, provide reliable and accurate information, and broadcast messages of peace. Through rapid, high-impact communication activities and engagement with youth groups, religious leaders, media, and the government, Be Africa will empower local actors to mitigate and prevent violent mobilization.

Community Resilience in Central Africa (CRCA)
Invisible Children
Oct 2017 - Oct 2022; $25.1 million

CRCA is USAID’s response to the difficult conditions created by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and other armed groups operating in southeastern CAR and northeastern DRC. The activity continues USAID’s previous work through the “Secured, Empowered, Connected Communities (SECC)” activity, using both high frequency radios and community mobilization to create an early warning network against the LRA and other security threats. CRCA also connects communities across the region using FM radios to share information, and assist communities in recovery through trauma healing and community-based reintegration activities.

Garamba – Chinko Protected Areas (GCPA) Activity **
African Parks Network
Sept 2016 - Sept 2021; $9.7 million (CAR and DRC)

The GCPA alleviates threats to biodiversity in Chinko Wildlife Reserve in southeastern CAR (as well as Garamba National Park in northeastern DRC) by strengthening wildlife law enforcement. The activity also builds capacity for protected area management, and engages local communities to build a constituency of support for the protected areas.

Community-Based Countering Wildlife Trafficking (CBCWT) Activity **
African Parks Network
June 2018 - June 2023; $9.9 million (CAR and DRC)

CBCWT supports vulnerable populations living near protected areas of the DRC and CAR in identifying alternatives to livelihoods practices that constitute threats to biodiversity. In addition to artisanal mining communities, the activity focuses on pastoralists and local populations who are often in direct conflict at markets and other points of sale of poached or trafficked wildlife, fishing communities whose subsistence relies on illegal fishing at points of convergence with protected areas, as well as farming and livestock communities whose agricultural practices jeopardize biodiversity.

Strengthening Central Africa Environmental Management and Policy Support (SCAEMPS) Activity
World Resources Institute
Feb 2014 - Feb 2019; $12.5 million (CAR and DRC)

SCAEMPS supports the establishment of a policy and regulatory environment conducive to sustainable natural resources management. The activity also builds the capacity of national-level and regional-level entities to monitor natural resources, biodiversity and climate change.

Forest Resource Management Activity
U.S. Forest Service
Jun 2015 - Feb 2020; $9.8 million (DRC, ROC, CAR, Gabon and Cameroon)

The activity mitigates threats to biodiversity by strengthening sustainable forest management, fire management, and land use planning. The activity also supports regional and national policy harmonization, national forest inventory and land use planning linked to national strategy and action plan on REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).

Congo Basin Forest Monitoring Activity
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Apr 2014 - Apr 2019; $8.3 million (DRC, ROC, CAR, Gabon and Cameroon)

This activity uses satellite-based remote sensing to produce detailed analyses of forest change
across the Congo Basin, along with a series of other data layers and analyses on land cover and change. The data are provided in user friendly forms to government, NGO and private sector partners with specialized training in how to apply data to decision-making.

** CBCWT and GCPA implement together a joint framework developed by USAID to address the closely related challenges of human and wildlife security in the region.