Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic data, the paper deconstructs the "ownership" discourse of the REDD+ policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed by international agencies, by describing the practices of national and international actors on the ground.

Paper long abstract:

Since 2009, a large number of tropical countries are preparing the implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and the role of conservation, management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries). REDD+ is the headlight incentive of the international climate regime post Kyoto in order to make developing countries participate in international mitigation efforts. The United Nations, the World Bank and other multilateral donors support this process in the Congo Basin. These agencies expect from tropical African countries to integrate REDD+ in their national policies by implementing activities for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, usually by the way they shaped it: carbon sequestration measurement tools and socio-economic guaranties (safeguards). Now multilateral agencies are leading the way in Africa, by determining the success-story and influencing the implementation of ground activities. By using discourse analysis, the paper demonstrates how REDD+, which was developed by scientific researchers, international institutions and agencies, has become a new global promise in the international development world (Aidland).

The ethnography proposes the construction of the REDD+ mythology in the DR Congo. Based on a six-month fieldwork, we describe the construction of a common narrative about the figure of the "good student", assigned by the donors to the DRC and highlight the disconnection of the narrative with the effective reduction of deforestation.