A damning new report launched by Greenpeace today exposes that international logging companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are causing social chaos and wreaking environmental havoc. The report, entitled 'Carving up the Congo' (1) uncovers endemic corruption and impunity in the DRC's logging sector at a time when key decisions that will determine the future of these forests are about to be made (2).
Published as Hilary Benn, the UK's Governor of the World Bank, prepares to attend its spring meeting in Washington (3), the report concludes that efforts by the Bank to control the logging industry are failing while the rainforest is being sold off under the illusion that logging alleviates poverty. In particular the report highlights how:
- In spite of a national moratorium on new logging titles since 2002, over 100 logging contracts covering 15 million hectares of rainforest have been issued to the logging industry, an area five times the size of Belgium.
- Greenpeace has obtained contracts (4) between logging companies and communities, some offering gifts such as bags of salt and bottles of beer, worth less than $100 in exchange for logging rights worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. 40 million people depend on the DRC's rainforest but few benefit from logging.
- Not a cent of the logging taxes paid by companies have reached forest communities in the last three years
- People have reported that promises by logging companies to build schools or hospitals are rarely fulfilled and that intimidation tactics are used when they try to protest.
- Much of the rainforest already allocated for logging is critical for the survival of our closest animal relatives, the bonobo and the chimpanzee.
The Congo rainforest is the world's second largest tropical forest after the Amazon and one of the planet's essential defences against global climate change. It is estimated that forest clearance in the DRC will release 34.4 billion tonnes of C02 by 2050 (5). This figure is the equivalent to the UK's total emissions over the last 60 years.
Greenpeace and representatives from other NGOs (6) will today meet Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for International Development and a Governor of the World Bank to demand he put pressure on the organisation to stop the rampant exploitation of the DRC rainforest. He attends the spring meeting of the bank this weekend which will discuss the future of the DRC's rainforest.
Greenpeace senior forest campaigner Belinda Fletcher said:
"It's crunch time for the DRC's rainforest. The international logging industry operating in the country is out of control. Unless the World Bank helps the DRC to stop the sell off of these rainforests, they'll soon be under the chainsaws.
"As a major donor to the Word Bank, the UK government has an important role to play in making sure proper safeguards are put in place to protect the DRC's rainforest. We are urging Hilary Benn to use his influence to ensure there is a real future for the rainforest of the DRC supporting its people, biodiversity and the global environment."
Greenpeace is calling for the cancellation of all logging titles issued since May 2002. The organisation is also demanding that the moratorium on new logging titles is extended and enforced until the logging sector is cleaned up and controlled and a land-use plan that includes the participation of local communities is fully in place.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
(1) The Greenpeace report Carving up the Congo can be downloaded at www.greenpeace.org.uk/carving-up-the-congo.
(2) The DRC government is currently reviewing the legality of all logging titles in the DRC, including those issued in violation of the 2002 moratorium.
(3) The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's spring meeting takes place on April 14-15, 2007 Washington, D.C.
(4) Copies of these contracts are available on request.
(5) 34.4 billion tonnes - Justice, C., Wilkie, D., Zhang, Q., Brunner, J.and C. Donoghue. 2001. Central African Forests, Carbon and Climate Change. Climate Research 17:229-246.
(6) Greenpeace, Global Witness and The Rainforest Foundation will attend.
For more information contact the Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255.
