Congo rainforest destruction

The World Bank, by far the largest donor to the DRC, is failing to stop the destruction of the Congo rainforest whilst the rainforest is being sold off under the illusion that it will alleviate poverty in one of the poorest countries on Earth.

It’s not too late to prevent the destruction of this incredible rainforest, and by sending this letter to the World Bank, that’s exactly what you can do.

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Part of the second largest rainforest on the planet, the rainforests of the DRC play a critical role in regulating the global climate and are an essential resources for millions of the country's people. The forests are also critical for biodiversity.

In the coming few months the future of 21 million hectares of rainforest will be decided in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The logging industry in the DRC is out of control. It causes social conflicts and contributes to biodiversity loss as new roads open up previously intact forest areas. The carve up of the country's forests by loggers is driving deforestation which in turn contributes to climate change.

Logging is not contributing to poverty alleviation at this time, it is simply reinforcing poor governance as revenue intended for local communities disappears before it reaches them.

As the major donor to the DRC the World Bank has a critical role to play assisting the country's development. The Bank must therefore work with the Government to ensure that the logging industry is contained and controlled. I urge you to insist on the cancellation of all logging titles issued since May 2002 and to work to enforce and extend the moratorium on the allocation of new forest titles until proper land use planning is in place.

Intact tropical rainforests are one of our first line defences against climate change and international donors must urgently develop a permanent financing regime for forest conservation, both for the sake of climate protection and biodiversity conservation.

Such a regime, if well managed, could be crucial in providing important resources for poverty alleviation in the DRC.

Yours sincerely,

GPI Cyberactivist News

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