Scientists urge Congo donors to oppose lifting of logging moratorium

More than two dozen scientists on Thursday urged donors to Democratic Republic of Congo's forests sector to consider suspending financing if the country's government goes ahead with plans to lift a moratorium on new industrial logging concessions. Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba announced plans in July to lift the 2002 moratorium while at the same time conducting reviews of all existing logging contracts to impose order on the poorly regulated sector.

More than two dozen scientists on Thursday urged donors to Democratic Republic of Congo's forests sector to consider suspending financing if the country's government goes ahead with plans to lift a moratorium on new industrial logging concessions.

Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba announced plans in July to lift the 2002 moratorium while at the same time conducting reviews of all existing logging contracts to impose order on the poorly regulated sector. Congo is home to 60% of the world's second-largest rainforest, making it a key player in the fight against climate change.

In a letter addressed to Congo's government and donors like the European Union and United Nations agencies, the scientists said lifting the moratorium "risks catastrophic environmental, social and climactic impacts". "Commercial logging, even if only for selected timber species, is often the start of an irreversible process leading eventually to complete clearance of the forest," it said.

It urged donors to Congo's forests to consider suspending funding to government agencies for forest conservation if the authorities lift the moratorium. The signatories include scientists from Congo, South Africa, Britain and the Netherlands.

One of them, Professeur Corneille Ewango Ekokinya from the University of Kisangani, said the government needed to first enforce clear rules on forest management. "We can't do everything simultaneously. We need to prepare the sector first," he told Reuters.

Bazaiba, the environment minister, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She has previously said the moratorium had been ineffective at stopping the proliferation of illegal logging. The European Union's ambassador to Congo has signalled openness to the government's plan, saying earlier this month that it represented a "desire to regain control" of the forests.

Some environmental activists in Congo have also expressed cautious support. Guy Kajemba, the national coordinator of the REDD Climate Working Group - Renewal (GTCRR), told a radio station last week that the moratorium should be lifted as the government works to progressively impose greater regulation.

"The country cannot remain under a moratorium," he said. "With or without the moratorium, we need to turn toward a good management of the forest."

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