Background - May 19, 2009
As a first step, to avoid the irreversible plundering of the forests of the DRC and enable alternatives, it is crucial to immediately stop the expansion of industrial logging.
Stop illegal timber
Greenpeace activists discover a consignment of illegally logged timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Antwerp port.
Greenpeace called for a strict and rigorous review of the legality of existing logging permits, so that those which violated the 2002 moratorium can be withdrawn.
The government has undertaken a review, but the results are mixed. Some illegal logging concessions were cancelled after the review, however the terms of reference were not properly followed and newcontracts have been awarded to destroy twice as much forest area than advised bythe technical working group. The review was still ongoing in 2009, having not yetdrawn a line in the sand over logging in the Congo Basin.
It is now up to DRC government to develop a more sustainablemanagement plan and stricter controls to halt deforestation of the Congo.
What is needed now
The moratorium should be lifted only once a comprehensiveand participatory zoning plan defining types of land use is established,effective governance in the forest sector is guaranteed, the legal frameworkcompleted, and classified forests identified. The new DRC Forestry Code requiresthat protected forests represent at least 15 percent of the national territory(as opposed to 7.7 percent at present). Identification of these areas must begin straight away.
In parallel, it is necessary to clean up the logging practices and to developsustainable ways of managing the forest. To do so, it is essential to invest inthe promotion of non-destructive forest use (community forests, protectedareas, tourism, etc). These will create revenue for the State while benefitinglocal communities and keeping the forest ecosystem intact.
Forests for Climate
The rest of the world's governments can act to save the remaining invaluable tractsof rainforest and keep the worldunder a dangerous catastrophic level of climate change. Our Forests for Climate proposal for the Climate Summit in December 2009 is a way toachieve funding that is equitable and effective.