• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
Skip to content
Menu
REDD-Monitor
  • Start here
  • About REDD-Monitor
  • REDD: An introduction
  • Contact
REDD-Monitor
Democratic Republic of Congo plans to lift logging moratorium

Democratic Republic of Congo plans to lift logging moratorium

Posted on 15 July 202115 July 2021

By Chris Lang

Last week, Eve Bazaïba, the vice prime minister and environment minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced plans to lift a ban on new industrial logging concessions that has been in place since 2002.

The plan, which is part of a series of measures supposedly aimed at “sustainable management of natural resources”, was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 9 July 2021. Other parts of the plan include a national forestry strategy, reviewing existing logging concessions, and putting in place a carbon tax.

A “cynical plan”

In a press statement, Irène Wabiwa Betoko, Greenpeace Africa Congo Basin forest campaign leader, said,

“The Minister’s attempt to dress up the lifting of the ban as a ‘good governance’ measure isn’t fooling anyone. It’s a cynical plan that will simply turn over more of DRC’s territory to foreign companies eager to trash the rainforest, opening a new lucrative highway for loggers.

“With the ongoing chaos in the forest sector and the absence of land-use planning, this measure is a threat to both people and nature. Instead of green lighting new paths of destruction, the DRC needs a blueprint for permanent protection of the forest, including management by the communities who live in it and depend on it.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently revising its nationally determined contribution (NDC) to be submitted to the UNFCCC under the Paris Climate Accord. The country is also involved in a US$1 billion programme with the Central African Forest Initiative: “A New Rural Development Green Deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 2021-2030”.

The CAFI Green Deal is targeted at the conservation of high value forests, agriculrue, demography, energy, and business climate and domestic resources mobilisation.

Joe Eisen, executive director of the Rainforest Foundation UK pointed out that,

“In the face of the growing climate emergency and chronic problems with existing logging titles in DRC, this announcement is simply incompatible with international commitments to protect this vital resource for future generations. The focus must surely be on scaling back the industry, not expanding it.”

Illegal logging concessions

In recent years, even with the logging moratorium in place, the country’s Environment Ministers have issued several logging concessions. In 2018, Amy Ambatobe, then-Minister of Environment, reinstated three illegal logging concessions to two Chinese-owned logging companies. The concessions covered a total of 650,000 hectares.

In 2020, Claude Nyamugabo, then-Minister of Environment, allocated logging concessions covering almost three million hectares to two Chinese firms and a Congolese company.

In June 2020, Nywamugabo issued four logging concessions to a Congolese company called Groupe Services. Three of the four concessions are in Mai Ndombe province. For years, the World Bank has been negotiating a REDD deal covering the whole of Mai Ndombe province under the Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.

Democratic Republic of Congo plans to lift logging moratorium

In June 2021, a group of NGOs in the DRC filed an administrative appeal to the cabinet of vice prime minister Bazaïba in order to cancel six of the concessions issued to a company called Tradelink SARL.

In July 2021, the Congolese Insitute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) confirmed that the concessions were illegal. But Bazaïba’s cabinet remains silent on the concessions, despite Greenpeace Africa’s repeated attempts to contact the cabinet.

“As far as the Environment Ministry goes, it’s playing ostrich,” commented Greenpeace Africa’s Wabiwa.

 


PHOTO Credit: Global Witness, from the 2018 report “Total System Failure, that documents how a European company, Norsudtimber, is logging illegally in DRC.
 

1 thought on “Democratic Republic of Congo plans to lift logging moratorium”

  1. Chris Lang says:
    2 August 2021 at 4:06 pm

    Point nine of the series of measures proposed by the government of DRC is also interesting:

    “The issuance of an inter-ministerial order suspending the export of all timber species in the Democratic Republic of Congo”

    The International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT) raises several questions about this proposed timber export ban:

    – When will the decree be issued and come into force?
    – For how long will the export suspension last?
    – How will the companies be able to respect the contracts signed with their customers?
    – Will companies break their contracts for not meeting delivery deadlines?
    – How can companies finance their activities without this source of income?
    – What will happen to the companies with regard to their fiscal and social obligations?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

SUBSCRIBE!

Enter your email address to receive notification of new posts.

Recent themes
Natural Climate Solutions
WWF's conservation scandals
Aviation and offsetting
Conservation Watch

Recent Comments

  • Delton Chen on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Kathleen McCroskey on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on James Moore sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for his role in the Bar Works scam

Recent Posts

  • Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Papua New Guinea Environmental Alliance letter to Pogio Ghate, Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change
  • Ecomapuá Amazon REDD Project, Brazil: Pública investigation reveals Ecomapuá Conservação is selling “illegal” carbon offsets from land it does not own, without transferring the money to local communities
  • Response from Steve Zwick, Verra: “Verra will ask Kanaka Management Systems to cease and desist any actions that may mislead communities into thinking that Verra has not already rejected the project”
  • Response from Kanaka Management Services: “Please do not conduct legal trail or castigate REDD+ project developers on the website by writing text which shows the project developer in bad light”

Recent Comments

  • Delton Chen on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Kathleen McCroskey on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on Offsetting is not an option if we are serious about addressing the climate crisis. My response to Hartmut Graßl
  • Chris Lang on James Moore sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for his role in the Bar Works scam

Issues and Organisations

30x30 AB 32 Andes Amazon Boiler rooms California Can REDD save ... ? Carbon accounting Carbon Credits Carbon Offsets CDM Conservation-Watch Conservation International COP21 Paris Deforestation FCPF FERN Financing REDD Forest definition Fossil fuels FPP Friends of the Earth FSC Green Climate Fund Greenpeace Guest post ICAO Illegal logging Indigenous Peoples Natural Climate Solutions NGO statements Plantations Poznan R-M interview REDD and rights REDD in the news Risk RSPO-Watch Safeguards Sengwer The Nature Conservancy UN-REDD UNFCCC World Bank WRM WWF

Countries

Australia Bolivia Brazil Cambodia Cameroon Canada China Colombia Congo Basin region Costa Rica DR Congo Ecuador El Salvador European Union France Germany Guatemala Guyana Honduras India Indonesia Kenya Laos Madagascar Malaysia Mexico Nicaragua Norway Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Republic of Congo Sierra Leone Sweden Tanzania Thailand Uganda UK Uncategorized United Arab Emirates USA Vietnam West Papua
©2022 REDD-Monitor | Powered by WordPress and Superb Themes!