Logging

Forests are the most important natural resource in the world and they cannot be underestimated. They provide the air that we breathe to the habitats of other species. The Congo which is home to the second largest rainforest in the world is facing major issues with deforestation and illegal logging. Unfortunately, these harvesting practices have led to the endangerment and close endangerment of several species. Illegal logging is harmful to biodiversity and forest dependent peoples, as it undermines governance, opens forest areas up to new human encroachment, facilitates violent conflict, and increases loss in tax revenues from logging. Causes for deforestation in the Congo rainforest include agriculture, clearing for charcoal and woodfuel, urban expansion, mining, and illegal harvesting. Woodfuel specifically is approximated to be responsible for about 90 percent of wood removals from African forests, as it is a vital resource used for home cooking. Studies have also shown that about 60 million people in the Congo Basin rely on timber exploitation as a way to make money. Despite its natural riches, the DRC is one of the world’s poorest countries, where most people are subsistence farmers with little access to health care, family planning, paid employment or education beyond primary school. The only form of wealth most of Congo’s rural residents have is their natural capital: their forest, lands and wildlife.