Water-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus in the DR Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where household energy mainly comes from forest biomass, and the potential for large-scale energy production is tied to expanding hydropower generation, new approaches to decision-making are needed to ensure that resource use is aligned with sustainable development and an improved resilience to climate change, while using synergies of the mitigation. To help project stakeholders make informed decisions, the Water-Energy-Ecosystem Nexus (WEEN) approach is used. It is data-driven and uses a decision support systems to model the impacts and outcomes of different resource-use scenarios considering the projected impacts of climate change. The project enhances data and information, strengthens capacity to analyse and use data, improves cross-sectoral and inclusive coordination, and shares experiences for up-scaling. The project thereby helps to generate benefits and minimize trade-offs for local communities, the climate and ecosystems.
- Countries
- The Democratic Republic of Congo
- IKI funding
- 4,900,000.00 €
- Duration
- 04/2024 till 01/2028
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
- Political Partner
-
- Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development - DR Congo
- Implementing Partner
-
- Ministry of Hydraulic Resources and Energy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (MRHE) - Congo
- Water Resources Department (DRE) - DR Congo
State of implementation/results
- Since August 2025, the WEEN platform in Kinshasa and Kindu, with a total of 65 participants, has been holding regular meetings and supporting key project activities: capacity development, climate modelling, and the development of the database and decision support system.
- In October and November, the first steering committees were held at the strategic level in Kinshasa and at the operational level in Kindu.
- The first data collection mission was prepared in December 2025 and carried out in February 2026.
- In addition, several data-sharing agreements were concluded with national and regional institutions.
- A workshop with international partners on the degradation of hydrometeorological networks concluded that political dialogue is necessary to improve their condition.
- The project also presented its Nexus approach for the first time at a regional SADC conference and initiated networking with other projects.
Latest Update:
04/2026
Project relations
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