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Forests Monitor Charitable Trust
Concessions to Poverty
The report "Concessions to Poverty" has been jointly published by Forests Monitor and the Rainforest Foundation. Drawing on experiences from across central and west Africa, this report outlines the governance challenges within the forest sector, and describes the social, environmental and economic impacts of industrial logging.
The aim of the report is to inform policy makers and influence discussions within the region, focusing in particular on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
DRC is emerging from many years of conflict, and it faces huge challenges in governing its forest resources. The capacity of the government is limited, and management of much of the logging activities is extremely poor.
Forest communities are facing terrible difficulties, particularly indigenous peoples who face discrimination and marginalisation. There are high levels of poverty throughout the country, and those communities living in areas of timber exploitation have also experienced environmental degradation, erosion of traditional cultures and health problems. In many cases timber companies have not met their social obligations towards communities, as required under law, and there have been numerous conflicts over land and resources.
The report outlines the impacts that industrial logging has had to date, and identifies some critical steps that are needed to improve performance within the sector.
The report is available in French and English. Please visit our Reports page to download these or to order printed copies.
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