Last week, José Ilanga the Director General in charge of forests at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo, announced that plans were underway to lift the country’s 16-year-old moratorium on new logging concessions. Today, more than 50 environmental and human rights organisations have written to key donor governments…
Category: France
Saving rainforests by cutting down trees? Controversy over logging plans in the Democratic Republic of Congo
In an open letter, scientists have warned about the impacts that logging the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo would have on the planet’s climate. The scientists are concerned that a proposal to expand logging in DRC’s forests would damage the world’s largest tropical peatland – the Cuvette Centrale peatlands in the central Congo…
Forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened by Norway-backed logging plans
Since 2002, a moratorium on new industrial logging concessions has helped protect the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now the government of DRC wants to open up its forests to more logging. As much as 35% of the country’s forest could be threatened with destruction.
Jail sentences for 11 in France’s carbon scam of the century
A French court has sentenced businessman Arnaud Mimran to eight years in jail and a €1 million fine, for his role in a €283 million carbon tax fraud. The scam took place from November 2008 to June 2009, during which time the scammers pocketed €283 million in non-paid VAT on €1.4 billion worth of emission…
WWF scandal (part 7): WWF teams up with loggers rather than indigenous peoples in Cameroon
In April 2015, WWF and Rougier, a French logging company, announced that they would work together on a three year programme to “jointly advance responsible forest management and trade”. The deal is part of WWF’s Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) that aims to promote trade in legal and sustainable timber.