Environmental groups have expressed concern over a $ 500 million (£ 380 million) forest conservation agreement signed by Boris Johnson at Cop26 following a cursed report on the “illegal” logging sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Johnson signed a letter of intent on behalf of the Central African Forestry Initiative (CAFI) for a 10-year agreement that includes goals to protect high-value forests and peatlands. Of the £ 200 million committed to the protection of the Congo Basin by the United Kingdom on Cop26, £ 32 million was given to Kafi from the aid budget.
In early April, the DRC government published a long-awaited audit of the country’s timber industry. He found that six successive ministers had illegally allocated at least 18 logging concessions, violating a nearly 20-year moratorium on new industrial logging in the world’s second-largest rainforest.
More than $ 3 million in royalties have not been paid to the government by operators due to a “chaotic situation”, according to an audit marking the first step in a deal between the DRC and 12 donors signed on the first day of Cop26 in Glasgow to unlock $ 500 million to protect of the vast ecosystem.
Environmental groups say taxpayers’ money from the United Kingdom, Norway, France and Germany could go to waste if no action is taken on illegal concessions, and the moratorium on industrial logging must be lifted later this year.
The DRC Ministry of the Environment has issued a review of all post-audit forest concession contracts, but environmental groups are pushing for an end to the violations.
Known as the lungs of Africa, the rainforests in the Congo Basin are home to endangered forest elephants and gorillas and are a huge carbon store that maintains rainfall all the way to Egypt and is home to about 80 million people. It absorbs about 4% of the world’s annual carbon emissions.
Irene Wabiva Betoko, head of forest in the Congo Basins for Greenpeace, said: “The audit reveals a circus of illegalities, corruption and environmental crimes. Greenpeace Africa urges that all officials responsible for looting tropical forests and, where necessary, lifting their parliamentary immunity be prosecuted.
Despite a ban on new industrial logging, the DRC has one of the highest levels of deforestation in the world, losing 490,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of tropical primary forests in 2020, according to Global Forest Watch.
Lord Goldsmith, the Minister for the International Environment, visited the region last month after the DRC failed to implement the first step of the Cop26 agreement and publish the audit in early January.
In a statement, he said his trip was a great opportunity to talk to leaders in one of the most important and biodiversity-rich areas on Earth. “The leadership of the Cop26 Congo Basin countries has been extremely influential, with great promises made by both donor and Congo Basin countries. I am determined that these promises have been kept, “he said.
Cafi, the coalition of donor countries that struck a $ 500 million deal with the DRC, welcomed the audit’s release, but said no money had been released yet. In a statement to the Guardian, he welcomed the publication of the DRC Inspectorate General’s report on logging concessions and said he would continue to work with the DRC government to strengthen forest management.
“Cafi remains committed to supporting the DRC to ensure that the goals and commitments outlined in the letter of intent for 2021-2031 are met,” it said.
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