FROM THE RAINFOREST FOUNDATION

[Guest guest]

PRESS RELEASE

 

THE RAINFOREST FOUNDATION

 

Tuesday 14th December 2004 : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

British MP condemns World Bank-backed plans for rainforest logging

in the Congo

 

Member of Parliament Bob Blizzard (Waveney) yesterday said in a

Westminster Hall debate that " there was no chance at all " that a

World Bank-backed plan to 'develop' the rainforests of the

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which are the second largest on

Earth, would bring any benefits to impoverished local people.

Instead, the planned expansion of the timber industry would, the MP

said, damage the livelihoods of some of the poorest people on Earth,

including those of local 'Pygmies'.

 

The Parliamentary debate followed a visit to Congo's rainforests by

members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Great Lakes and

Genocide Prevention. The Group also yesterday announced the

publication of a new report, " To elections and beyond " , which

details the MPs' visit to DRC and sets out their recommendations on

the future of the country's vast rainforests [2]. The report calls

for the continuation of a moratorium on the issuing of any new

logging concessions in DRC's forests.

 

Oona King, Founder and Chair of the APPG, said " We learned that nine

contracts have been awarded to private logging companies by the

Environment Ministry since the moratorium. They should simply be

annulled and the moratorium maintained " [3]. Oona King called for

sound management of DRC's natural resources which, she said, " was a

prerequisite to enduring peace and prosperity in the country " .

 

Responding to the debate, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for

Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Chris Mullin, said that he would

draw the attention of the World Bank to the concerns raised by the

Members of Parliament.

 

Simon Counsell, Director of the Rainforest Foundation UK,

said: " We welcome the UK Government's commitment to raising

concerns with the World Bank about the future of Congo's

rainforests. As a major shareholder in the Bank, the Government has

a responsibility to ensure that UK taxpayers' money will not be

spent on destroying Congo's rainforests and wrecking local peoples'

livelihoods. "

 

ENDS

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Simon Counsell, Rainforest Foundation UK

 

Tel: +44 (020) 7251 6345

 

Mobile: (0)7941 899 579

 

Email: simonc

 

More information about Congo's rainforests and the work of the

Rainforest Foundation can be found at: www.rainforestfoundationuk.com

 

Notes to Editors

 

[1] MPs Bob Blizzard and Oona King visited the Democratic Republic

of Congo in October, hosted by the Rainforest Foundation. The All

Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region & Genocide

Prevention (APPG) comprises 148 MPs and Peers from the UK

Parliament. It was founded by its current Chair. Oona King MP.

Today, it is the leading forum in the UK Parliament for discussion

and critical analysis of issues affecting the Great Lakes Region:

Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Northern

Uganda.

 

[2] The report is available from the website of the All-Party

Parliamentary Group, at: www.appggreatlakes.org

 

The report also recommends that the World Bank, in conjunction

with the Ministry of environment and local civil society

organisation, send monitors into the forest to ensure that local

people are consulted and acknowledged as residents. It also calls

for international donors, the UK Government's Department for

International Development (DfID) especially, to fund a

comprehensive study in order to provide an estimation of the value

of the forest, based not only on the commercial worth of its timber,

but also on the value of forest products such as animal products,

vegetable foods, building materials, medicinal plants and fuelwood,

as well as ecological functions and services such as watershed

maintenance and biodiversity protection.

 

[3] At the November " Forum on Forests and Nature Conservation "

organised by the Congolese government in and the World Bank in

Kinshasa , international and local NGOs as well as Congolese civil

society called for the moratorium on all new logging concessions to

be maintained until such time as strict conditions were complied

with by the Congolese government.