Beleaguered DR Congo Rainforest Attacked On All Sides

Kisangani, DR Congo, Dec 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Dec, 2019 ) :Lush rainforest covers millions of hectares of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a central part of Earth's natural defence against global warming -- but it is under severe threat from a perfect storm of mismanagement and corruption.

An array of global and local NGOs are in a tense fight to save the rainforest, which lost an area twice the size of Luxembourg last year alone, according to Global Forest Watch.

But the problems run right through DR Congo society -- from the poor who rely on charcoal for fuel in a country with meagre supplies of other power, to the senior officials who profit from illegal logging.

"There are lawmakers and soldiers involved. They don't pay taxes -- it's unfair competition," says Felicien Liofo, head of a wood craftsmen's association.

Local police say soldiers simply rip apart the fences around the forest and threaten to shoot anyone who tries to stop them.