Kinshasa, 23 September 2019 – President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi spoke today (Monday) at the UN Secretary General Climate Action Summit of the strategic value of the Congo Basin rainforest, its vast reservoirs of peatlands and its crucial role in storing global carbon emissions. Greenpeace Africa calls on President Tshisekedi to translate his noble ambitions for the forest into concrete actions: pulling out all illegal logging concessions from the rainforest and in particular declaring the peatlands a no-go-zone for all industrial activity.
“President Tshisekedi impressed international donors today in New York with great mastery of the climate science and the role of Africa’s rainforest. Tomorrow in Kinshasa the citizens of the DRC expect tough action,” said Irene Wabiwa Betoko, Senior Forest campaign Manager of Greenpeace Africa. “The new government must immediately cancel any new industrial operations in the rainforest and end the rampant illegal logging in it. It must further recognize that the key to real forest protection and national development lies with forest communities – not with international exploitative industries,” concluded Wabiwa Betoko.
Contact for interviews and more information:
Irène Wabiwa Betoko, Greenpeace Africa Senior Forest Manager, [email protected], +243 976756102
Tal Harris, Greenpeace Africa International Communications Coordinator, [email protected], +221 776730496