The Esperanza joins the Greenpeace Africa campaign in the DRC to save the Congo Basin forest The Esperanza docked on Tuesday, 24 October at the port of Boma, in the Kongo Central province, and will travel the waters of the Congo River to anchor at the port of Matadi for nearly ten days BOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 25, 2017/APO Group/ -- The Esperanza, the largest ship in the Greenpeace (www.Greenpeace.org) fleet is currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of its tour of the coasts of Central African countries with a message: “Give the Congo Basin forest a chance”. It is also the slogan of the ship tour that began in Cameroon on 13 October and will end in the Republic of Congo on 10 November. The Esperanza docked on Tuesday, 24 October at the port of Boma, in the Kongo Central province, and will travel the waters of the Congo River to anchor at the port of Matadi for nearly ten days. It will leave the DRC on 4 November for Pointe-Noire, in the Republic of Congo. During its stay in Matadi, the ship will serve as a venue for various mobilisation activities aimed at the protection of the Congo Basin forest. Decision makers, donors, civil society organisations and local communities will come together on a platform to discuss a new approach to forest management that should benefit forests, communities and the climate all around the world. The Congo Basin is the second largest forest in the world after the Amazon. It faces several environmental challenges especially industrial logging and industrial agriculture which both have negative impacts on these forests. Local communities and indigenous peoples are also affected as their livelihoods are often destroyed. By visiting these three countries of Central Africa, the ship tour will seek to establish that, economic, social and environmental justice are intrinsically linked and public and political engagement are critical to its attainment. Also, the empowerment of people and the amplification of marginalised voices are prerequisites for the establishment of an environmental justice in Africa and for the protection of global climate. “With the Esperanza, we want to showcase the rich biodiversity of the Congo Basin forest and the communities that depend on it. It is important to partner with local communities in forest management in order to protect our climate and safeguard the Congo Basin forest and its recently discovered peatlands” said Irene Wabiwa, Greenpeace Africa Senior Forest Manager. Local communities and indigenous peoples will be particularly in the spotlight and will speak about their situations, challenges and hopes with a key message to policy makers and funders: “Together, invest in community forestry initiatives for the sustainable management of our forests”. “The DRC has a crucial role in the climate negotiations and the visit of Esperanza to this country is an opportunity to deepen the commitment of policymakers and donors to protect the Congo Basin. The Congolese government needs to step up and signal its commitment to better forest management and send a strong message to COP23 which opens on 6 November in Bonn-Germany” said Victorine Che Thoener, Greenpeace Africa Congo Basin Project Leader. Greenpeace Africa hopes that the presence of Esperanza in the region will increase awareness on the threats facing the forest and help promote better understanding of the priorities that need to be taken into account to protect the Congo Basin forests and promote community rights. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Greenpeace.Media Contacts: - Irene Wabiwa, Greenpeace Africa Senior Forest Manager at Greenpeace Africa, +243976756102, mailto: Irene.Wabiwa@Greenpeace.org - Afy Malungu, Media Consultant, +243810583517, mailto: AfyMab@gmail.com