News
Aid-funded conservation guards accused of extrajudicial killing
The Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and three leading Congolese human rights organisations have today written to international conservation organisations and government aid agencies calling for an investigation into a new case of extrajudicial killing of a man by ‘eco-guards’ in Republic of Congo. The 32-year old man, called Freddy Ndadé, was arrested near the border … Read more
Joint Statement on the proposal to lift DRC’s logging moratorium
STATEMENT ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO HAS STARTED A PROCESS TO LIFT ITS MORATORIUM ON THE ALLOCATION OF NEW LOGGING CONCESSIONS. Rainforest Foundation UK, Rainforest Foundation Norway, Global Witness, Greenpeace, Réseau des Ressources Naturelles, (RRN). Bonn, 12 November, 2017: We are alarmed that, as it speaks at COP23 on … Read more
How to involve women in forest management: Interview with a community organiser in DRC
“Women, and indigenous women in particular, need to be included in decision-making on ecosystem use at all levels, as essential players in preserving our planet.” – UN Women Ruth Badubaye has been working with rainforest communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for several years. Formerly a GIS (geographic information systems) technician with Congolese … Read more
First provincial Roundtable on community forestry takes place in DRC
Around 90 participants travelled to Mbandaka in north western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September to take part in the first ever provincial Roundtable on Community Forestry. The event was organised by Congolese NGO, Centre d’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Forêts Tropicales (CAGDFT) with support from the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and the UK Department … Read more
Community based monitoring in Cameroon helps bring illegal loggers to justice
Loggers in Cameroon are now under increased scrutiny, as alerts from local forest monitors have started making their way to law enforcement agencies. Several of these alerts – sent through a real-time monitoring system called ForestLink, developed by the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) in partnership with local organisation FODER (Forêts et Développement Rural) – have contributed … Read more
Extractive industries inside protected areas: A double blow for forest communities
At last year’s World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) passed a motion declaring that all protected areas and the sacred natural sites of indigenous peoples should be ‘No-Go Areas’ for destructive industrial activities like mining, dam-building and logging. While this is a step forward, this begs the question: what … Read more
Norwegian and French governments threaten world’s second largest tropical rainforest
A joint statement by The Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK), Greenpeace, Global Witness, Réseau Ressources Naturelles (RRN) and Groupe de Travail de Climat REDD Rénové (GTCRR) An area of rainforest the size of Italy is at risk of being cut down by loggers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), if a Norwegian-funded project to expand industrial … Read more
Norwegian government priming a ‘carbon bomb’ in Congo’s rainforests?
Photo: Norway’s Climate and Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, left, met with his counterpart in DRC in August 2016. A few weeks after the meeting, minister Robert Bopolo Mbongeza secretly issued two illegal logging concessions covering 4,000 square kilometres. These have still not been cancelled. The Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) has today written to Norwegian Prime … Read more
Government of Norway gives green light to continuing massive illegalities in Congo’s rainforests
The government of Norway is today accused by RFUK of encouraging impunity for serious wrong-doing, by failing to insist that illegal logging concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo are immediately terminated. Responding to recent requests from Rainforest Foundation UK that it should refuse funding to a huge expansion of logging in the DRC, and … Read more
RFUK-led coalition launches Community Forests project
This week in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an international coalition of NGOs led by the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) officially launched an innovative new Community Forests project. The project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and aims to alleviate poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and reduce deforestation in the Congo Basin. Focusing on … Read more