Since the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, researchers and civil society actors have questioned the preponderant role played by public and private decision-makers in forest management and the little power that this type of management leaves to local communities. Since then, initiatives have been created with the aim of promoting a greater role for local communities in forest governance. These initiatives are grouped around the concept of community forestry. This study questions whether this approach has led to the empowerment of local communities in the governance of local community forest concessions (CFCL) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. To shed light on this concern, we start from the analysis of two CFCLs selected as case studies. These are the CFCL Kisimbosa Chamakasa and the CFCL Banisamasi in Walikale Territory. To do this, we conducted observations on the process of creating CFCLs as well as interviews with the various stakeholders (local community, state actors and NGOs). The results reveal that the CFCL creation initiative is exogenous to the local communities of Walikale. These have a minor responsibility in the creation of their CFCLs. It is the support NGOs which bear the costs necessary for the constitution of the CFCL application file but also for the realization of the prerequisites for obtaining the title. Moreover, the structures set up locally to ensure the management of CFCLs have limited autonomy in governance.