Blogposts tagged 'Congo'

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), violence associated with logging companies is not uncommon, but evidence and testimonies collected by Greenpeace show that the Yalisika community of Bosanga has been punished with exceptional violence.

In her blog post last week, my colleague Tracy explained why Greenpeace has taken on one of the big beasts of the corporate jungle: the consultancy firm McKinsey. These guys are at the top of the tree when it comes to advising governments on forests, so we’ve published a report investigating  them called Bad Influence: How McKinsey-inspired plans lead to rainforest destruction. 

You’d be forgiven for remembering the UN Copenhagen climate talks (in December 2009) only for their epic failure to deliver a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions. But there was at least one important issue agreed which has the potential to have a significant impact on the climate - as well as protecting biodiversity.

In these next two episodes, actress Marion Cottilard continues her journey through the Congo rainforest. Here, she sees first hand the wreckage left behind by the logging companies working in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As we've heard many times before, the companies get permission to log from the local villages by promising to build schools and clinics, but these often never materialise and if they do, they're hopelessly inadequate. Or logging rights are sold for salt, beer and soap when the timber fetches thousands of dollars.