Congo-Brazzaville’s disaster risk strategy to 2030
The Republic of the Congo has recently presented its National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Disaster Risks (SNPGRC) with a horizon set at 2030. The document is framed as a cornerstone of national resilience in a context marked by climate change and other recurrent major hazards, with the stated ambition of strengthening the country’s capacity to anticipate, withstand and recover from shocks.
According to the information presented, the SNPGRC is budgeted at CFA 22.8 billion. It was designed by the government in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), reflecting an approach that combines national ownership with multilateral technical support. The strategy’s stated purpose is to reduce loss of life, limit material damage, and mitigate the adverse effects of disasters on economic, social and environmental services—an orientation that situates risk management not merely as emergency response, but as a development imperative.
Governance architecture: platform, committee, local actors
In presenting the text, Narcisse Ofoulou, Director of Ecology and Natural Resources at the ministry responsible for Environment and Sustainable Development, stressed that implementation would rest on a national disaster risk management platform. He further indicated that execution would also be supported by an inter-ministerial committee, suggesting a whole-of-government method intended to coordinate prevention, preparedness and response across administrative sectors.
The same presentation underscored the role expected of territorial collectivities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. This emphasis on broad-based participation conveys an understanding that risk reduction measures—whether early warning, land-use planning, infrastructure standards or community preparedness—tend to be most effective when they are sustained locally and when responsibilities are shared among public institutions and non-state stakeholders.
Four priorities aligned with the National Development Plan 2022–2026
Narcisse Ofoulou specified that the SNPGRC is structured around four major priorities. These include the understanding of risks, the strengthening of governance, investment in resilience, and the improvement of preparedness and disaster response. The vocabulary of “understanding” and “governance” points to upstream work—data, assessment, coordination and regulation—while “investment” and “response” signal the need for resources and operational readiness.
He also noted that the strategy is consistent with the objectives of the National Development Plan 2022–2026. Such alignment is politically and administratively significant, as it indicates that disaster risk reduction is being positioned within the broader planning architecture of the Congolese state, rather than treated as a stand-alone agenda detached from economic and social policy priorities.
Biodiversity action plan 2025–2030: costs, targets, indicators
Alongside the disaster risk strategy, the government presented its National Biodiversity Action Plan for the period 2025–2030. The cost of implementation is estimated at CFA 25.7 billion, and the plan is expected to be jointly steered by a management unit and a national advisory committee, a setup aimed at ensuring follow-up, coordination and consultation.
The plan’s stated objective is to curb biodiversity loss and strengthen the resilience of populations, in line with a 2050 vision that calls for living in harmony with nature. It is articulated around five priority axes and sets out 25 national targets, 145 actions and 163 indicators—an architecture that, in principle, allows progress to be tracked and policies to be adjusted over time on the basis of measurable benchmarks.
Economic value chains and the role of biodiversity in Congo
Speaking on this occasion, the Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, Arlette Soudan Nonault, recalled that biodiversity cannot be confined to the realm of environmental ethics alone. In her framing, it sits at the very centre of value chains, notably in timber, agriculture, water, fisheries and ecotourism—sectors that structure livelihoods, exports and local incomes.
This linkage between conservation and production systems highlights a policy narrative in which environmental stewardship is not presented as a constraint on development, but as a condition for sustaining economic activity over time. The government’s decision to place a quantified action plan alongside the disaster risk strategy suggests an intention to address resilience in both its immediate dimension—managing hazards—and its structural dimension—maintaining the natural capital on which communities and markets depend.
UNDP support and multilateral commitments on climate and nature
UNDP Resident Representative Adama Dian Barry welcomed Congo’s engagement in meeting international commitments in the fight against climate change and in biodiversity conservation. She argued that the two documents presented would form the foundation for sustainable environmental action, and she expressed confidence that the instruments delivered would allow “vital actions” to take root over the long term, in support of a rational and sustainable economic use of the country’s resources.
In the same remarks, Adama Dian Barry connected this work to the value of multilateralism, portraying Congo’s approach as consistent with a willingness to contribute to a shared future grounded in environmental preservation. Read together, the SNPGRC to 2030 and the 2025–2030 biodiversity action plan outline a policy agenda that combines institutional coordination, quantified programming and international partnership—elements that, if consistently implemented, can help translate resilience from aspiration into public action.