Leading forest scientists call for a freeze on new logging in the Congo, urge governments to act

Environmentalists fear that a $1bn DRC forest agreement set to be announced at COP26 is likely to greenlight massive new logging of the world's second largest rainforest

Leading African and international scientists join today the growing call for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to cancel its plans to lift a 20-year ban on new industrial logging concessions. Over 25 scientists sent a letter (https://bit.ly/2ZCmVdC) to international donors warning of social and environmental impacts…

African Union Urged to Address the Threat of Congo Forest Logging Driving Extreme Weather across Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa’s climate is fundamentally linked to the state of Central Africa’s forests and massive logging can impact the quantity of rainfall throughout the region

Industrial logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may severely disturb rainfall patterns across sub-Saharan Africa and bring about more extreme weather, including intense droughts and flash floods. In a letter (https://bit.ly/3jr9DY0) sent today to the African Union, Greenpeace Africa is calling for an urgent discussion of the consequences…

Republic of Congo Greenwashing Efforts Exposed at Africa Oil Week

The Republic of Congo's Environment Minister was applauded only a week ago by the FAO and UN Environment at the launch of a new International Tropical Peatland Center in Jakarta

Greenpeace Africa (www.Greenpeace.org) blew the whistle today on the Republic of Congo's most recent greenwashing campaign by exposing its plans to tender three oil blocks in the heart of newly-discovered peatlands that Environment Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault has vowed to protect. Four peatland oil blocks are already under allocation, awaiting development. Tendering…

Democratic Republic of the Congo's government reinstates illegal logging concessions in breach of its own moratorium

Two of the concessions overlap with a recently discovered peatland deposit covering 145,000 km² and believed to contain 30 billion tons of carbon

The Congolese Minister of Environment, Amy Ambatobe, has reinstated 6,500 km² of logging concessions that were cancelled in August 2016 by the then Environment Minister Robert Bopolo following instructions from then Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo. The three concessions reinstated on 1 February 2018 were awarded to the Chinese-owned logging…

Congolese officials stop Greenpeace Africa awareness campaign about the importance of the Congo Basin forest

The Esperanza has been on a month-long tour of the coast of Central Africa to raise awareness about the importance of the Congo Basin forest

Greenpeace’s (www.Greenpeace.com) ship, the Esperanza was barred on Tuesday from berthing at the port of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo. For two days, the ship had anchored in Congolese waters. But port and government officials in Pointe Noire refused her to berth, claiming no prior knowledge about the…

Scientists confirm presence of peatlands in Democratic Republic of Congo

A major threat for the peatland is industrial logging. Of a total of 57 logging concessions in the DRC, at least 29, covering around 5 million hectares, are illegal

Scientist have confirmed the presence of peatlands in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an expedition in the village of Lokolama (45 km from Mbandaka - capital of the province of Equateur in the Democratic Republic of Congo). The first Congo Basin peatlands map was published in January 2017, in…

Scientific expedition in the peatlands of the Congo Basin to understand the role of peatlands in regulating climate change

Peatlands have a tremendous capacity to store carbon and the expedition seeks to show the existence of peatlands in the intact forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the importance of these peatlands in regulating climate change

Greenpeace (http://APO.af/2gzfEv) Africa is organising an expedition in the peatlands of the Congo Basin forests with scientists and government officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo from October 27 - 29. The expedition taking place in the village of Lokolama (45 km from Mbandaka - capital of the province of…

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

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…

How the DRC Government Has Secretly Breached its Own Logging Moratorium

A Greenpeace Africa investigation has revealed that the DRC government violated its own 2002 moratorium on new logging titles, granting in 2015 three concessions of a total of 650.000 hectares

A Greenpeace Africa (http://www.Geenpeace.org/Africa) investigation has revealed that the DRC government violated its own 2002 moratorium on new logging titles, granting three concessions of a total of 650.000 hectares in 2015 to a company called Société la Millénaire Forestière SARL (SOMIFOR) in Equateur and Tshuapa Provinces, and to another firm…

Congo forest initiative welcome but must be followed by meaningful action – Greenpeace

The decision of six Congo Basin countries to work with donors to protect their forests is a positive step, but will only be as successful as its implementation says Greenpeace Africa. The Central African Forest Initiative, announced during the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York this week, will see…