Congo Basin
New RFUK report reveals the growing extent, and impact, of transport and energy infrastructure development in the Congo Basin
A new study by RFUK has found that infrastructure development is causing huge destruction in world’s second largest rainforest – and international climate programmes are ignoring it. While REDD+ programmes in the Congo Basin have invariably targeted subsistence farming as the main driver of deforestation, they have almost completely overlooked the role of infrastructure development – … Read more
Map Story – Roads to Ruin: The emerging impacts of infrastructure development in the Congo Basin forests
While deforestation in the Congo Basin has typically been attributed to local farming practices and population growth, the broader impacts of industrial logging and large-scale development projects have received relatively little attention. A new report by RFUK reveals the growing extent, and impact, of transport and energy infrastructure development in the Congo Basin – which … Read more
Use It AND Lose It – Industrial Logging and its Role in Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
New research demonstrates a clear link between the establishment of commercial logging operations and a cascade of deforestation. Investigating forest loss in DRC across 60 logging concessions and eight ‘control’ areas, the findings from this study show that the selective logging of high-value timber species is not a sustainable form of forest management, but rather … Read more
Civil Society in the Congo Basin Sets Out Vision for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption
Civil society organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo (RoC) are calling for much greater inclusion of forest communities and forest governance reforms in their governments’ plans to address the climate crisis. In the run up to this year’s crucial climate summit in Glasgow this November, countries around the … Read more
Celebrating women in leadership: experiences of women in the fight to protect the world’s rainforests
RFUK has long understood that women have a central role to play in protecting and managing the world’s rainforests. They are the main providers of food, water and medicine to their families, who depend greatly on rainforests for their livelihoods. They hold vast traditional knowledge of their forests and their biodiversity. This understanding informs our … Read more
Final Evaluation: Embedding Community Real Time Monitoring (RTM) to Sustain Livelihoods and Forests in West and Central Africa
An external evaluation of the ‘Embedding community Real Time Monitoring (RTM) to sustain livelihoods and forests in West and Central Africa’ project took place between October 2020 and January 2021. This project, funded by the UK government, seeks to improve forest governance in Cameroon, Ghana, DRC and Republic of Congo by strengthening of forest communities’ … Read more
How community forests can save Africa’s rainforests (and may even help prevent the next pandemic)
Ever since the Kayapo people of Brazil saved their ancestral forest from a destructive mega-dam project in 1989, the Rainforest Foundation has stood behind the conviction that securing land rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is the best way to also protect those forests. Evidence from around the world now backs us up: deforestation … Read more
Huge leap in fight against impunity for conservation-related abuses in DRC as park rangers are sentenced for rape and torture
On 28 December 2020, five park rangers accused of raping and torturing four women in DRC’s Salonga National Park were convicted by the Military Court in Mbandaka, following a long battle for justice supported by the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and its local partner Actions pour la Promotion et Protection des Peuples et Espèces Menacés … Read more
300 MILLION AT RISK FROM CBD DRIVE
The ‘Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework’ – How the CBD drive to protect 30 percent of the planet could dispossess millions.
Securing Customary Rights is Key to Sustainable Community Forestry
The laws in the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic provide limited protection to indigenous peoples and local communities regarding access to land and forest resources. Often, logging concessions overlap their territories, restricting access to lands and resources. However, the development of community forests is gaining momentum in the region. These can help … Read more