ACTION ALERT: World Bank Must Not Fund Rainforest Destruction in the Congo
TAKE ACTION
Industrial logging of ancient primary forests is ecologically and socially indefensible
http://forests.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=world_bank_congo
The World Bank is moving forward with plans to subsidize ancient rainforest logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) mighty ancient rainforests. On Thursday December 8th, the Board of the World Bank will consider whether to approve more than $200 million in new funding for the government of DRC, some of it linked to 'development' of the country's rainforests. The World Bank is laying the basis for the destruction of Congo's rainforests, and it has breached many of its own internal safeguard policies in the process. Under the World Bank plan some 600,000 square kilometers of Congo's precious rainforest could eventually be handed over to logging companies. Forests are being zoned into areas for timber felling against the wishes of many local communities. On the eve of this important decision by the Bank's Board, twelve organizations representing the various indigenous 'Pygmy' peoples of the Congo have submitted a formal complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel, an
official independent watchdog, stating the Bank has failed to take into account the impact that its plans would have on people depending on the forest for their survival. The World Bank Board must urgently be called upon to suspend any further funding for forestry and mining in DRC until there has been a thorough review of the Bank's activities in DRC's forests to date, and until the Inspection Panel has conducted an investigation. Please take action now.
Comments
They won't stop, Glen, until the Earth will no longer support life.
Then they'll be forced to stop.
In the meantime, the corporations are determined to make money at the
expense of people, animals, and the planet itself.
And there's no government on Earth that will put a stop to it--because
governments are the handmaidens of the corporations.
Posted by: Lindy | December 6, 2005 6:37 PM
Dr Barry:
Your post is wrong about what the latest WB project (known as the Transitional Support for Economic Recovery Project, approved by the Bank's Board December 8, 2005) does and does not do in the DRC forests.
You can see what the project really does by reading the Program Document at http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2005/12/09/000012009_20051209110826/Rendered/PDF/337850rev0pdf.pdf
Then perhaps you can post a correction to your statement that "The World Bank is moving forward with plans to subsidize ancient rainforest logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) mighty ancient rainforests"
Posted by: John McIntire | December 10, 2005 1:05 AM
Utilization of natural resources to generate economic capital is not necessarily a bad option. Afterall, a society living in abject poverty in a land full of natural resources is not a very favorable option in my opinion. It really boils down to the spatial aspect of sustainability. While preservation of rainforests might be in the global interest, it may actually harm the local communities and businessnes. Whether global interests should take precedence over local interests or vice-versa is a very challenging question with all kinds of socio-economic and political connotations. If Congo uses WB's fund with a myopic viewpoint, it will almost certainly run into bigger troubles sooner or later. But if it uses this opportunity to create some economic capital and use it as a launchpad to quickly move to less resource-intensive and more value-added industries, it may do itself a world of good. My 2cs...
Posted by: Nandan Ukidwe | December 10, 2005 8:27 PM