The Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated along the border of DRC and Uganda. The Park is a haven for over 218 mammal and 706 bird species, a beautifully lush environment where biodiversity...

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) industrial logging is still totally out of control. Ongoing social conflicts, including extreme violence, rape and human rights abuse prompted Greenpeace International to file a complaint in...

The Congo basin is home to the world’s second largest rainforest. Not only is it one of the most beautiful places on earth, with incredibly rich biodiversity, it’s also a vital source of food, medicine, and other basic services for...

I'm in Oshwe, a small forest community of around 22 000 people who live deep in the indigenous rainforests of the DRC. Here people survive by hunting, farming, fishing, and gathering from the rainforest. For this community, the...

Oshwe is a small forest community deep in the indigenous rainforests of the DRC. Although administratively classified as an urban area, it has all the characteristics of a rural community. It is supplied with manufactured goods,...

In the days just before we launched the new Solar Powered radio station, the village of Oshwe was abuzz. People were walking around, radio glued to their ear, trying their best to catch the frequency that our engineers were still...

Last year, we asked the youth of the DRC what they thought the future of the Congo forests was, and they answered louder than we ever expected – we received 2600 poems that were real cries from the heart of youths who see the future...

Deep in the vast rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, chainsaws are buzzing. Heavy machinery rumbles and growls, as loggers slice their way through the forest. Three newly published investigations by Resource...

Last month Greenpeace Africa released a report on how the illegal logging sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in a state of organized chaos, with numerous companies flouting regulations and threatening the country’s...

To the layperson the world of forest certification is often a technical one that does not seem to operate at what could be called a breakneck pace. However, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has this week reached a landmark decision...

The Congo Basin is home to the second largest tropical rain-forested area on earth.  New research publicised this week suggests that the rate of deforestation in the region is actually slowing.  However this message does not...

When I stepped into Greenpeace back in October 2008, I was told I was the first African lady to join this organisation in Africa. I felt it was a continuation of the duty I started when I worked at Oxfam. With the latter, I was...

Anniversaries can vary in significance, both to people individually and to wider audiences. On paper, the first anniversary of the introduction of a piece of timber legislation might not be a birthday that is chalked up in many...

Almost all of the logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo is illegal, says   a new report by the UK-based think tank, Chatham House . Though the figure of 87% is a startling one, it is not surprising for those of us here at...

It’s a question that’s plagued NGOs for decades: How do we tackle some of Africa’s biggest challenges, like energy access, water access, and proper health services? While many community projects are planned and started from outside...

In Oshwe, a small forest community of around 22 000 people in the DRC, people survive by hunting, fishing, and gathering wood from the rainforest. As with many forest communities in the DRC, the rainforest is both a pharmacy and...

When one thinks of endangered species, the usual large animals spring to mind. Elephants, tigers, rhinos. And quite rightly they are the ones who get the lion's share of the attention at the meeting of the standing committee of the ...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is roughly the same size as Western Europe. However its infrastructure is a far different proposition, and as a result it is rare – verging on impossible – that people from different parts of the...

"Chaos" and "chaotic" are frequently - perhaps even overly - used words. One dictionary definition is a "total lack of organisation or order". That can be said certainly of the industrial logging sector in the Democratic Republic of...

As the plane from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), makes its descent towards Mbandaka airport, the capital of Equateur province, I am impressed by a beautiful canopy of greenery painting the landscape...

It must be said over and over, that the Congo Basin forest is the second largest rainforest in the world ! It is majestic and beautiful, it is a home and the doctor’s office to animals and humans alike. This forest harbours...