PRESS RELEASE

THE RAINFOREST FOUNDATION

Tuesday 14th December 2004 : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

British MP condemns World Bank-backed plans for rainforest logging
in the Congo

Member of Parliament Bob Blizzard (Waveney) yesterday said in a
Westminster Hall debate that "there was no chance at all" that a
World Bank-backed plan to 'develop' the rainforests of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which are the second largest on
Earth, would bring any benefits to impoverished local people.
Instead, the planned expansion of the timber industry would, the MP
said, damage the livelihoods of some of the poorest people on Earth,
including those of local 'Pygmies'.

The Parliamentary debate followed a visit to Congo's rainforests by
members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Great Lakes and
Genocide Prevention. The Group also yesterday announced the
publication of a new report, "To elections and beyond" , which
details the MPs' visit to DRC and sets out their recommendations on
the future of the country's vast rainforests [2]. The report calls
for the continuation of a moratorium on the issuing of any new
logging concessions in DRC's forests.

Oona King, Founder and Chair of the APPG, said "We learned that nine
contracts have been awarded to private logging companies by the
Environment Ministry since the moratorium. They should simply be
annulled and the moratorium maintained" [3]. Oona King called for
sound management of DRC's natural resources which, she said, "was a
prerequisite to enduring peace and prosperity in the country".

Responding to the debate, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Chris Mullin, said that he would
draw the attention of the World Bank to the concerns raised by the
Members of Parliament.

Simon Counsell, Director of the Rainforest Foundation UK,
said: "We welcome the UK Government's commitment to raising
concerns with the World Bank about the future of Congo's
rainforests. As a major shareholder in the Bank, the Government has
a responsibility to ensure that UK taxpayers' money will not be
spent on destroying Congo's rainforests and wrecking local peoples'
livelihoods."

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Simon Counsell, Rainforest Foundation UK

Tel: +44 (020) 7251 6345

Mobile: (0)7941 899 579

Email: simonc@...

More information about Congo's rainforests and the work of the
Rainforest Foundation can be found at: www.rainforestfoundationuk.com

Notes to Editors

[1] MPs Bob Blizzard and Oona King visited the Democratic Republic
of Congo in October, hosted by the Rainforest Foundation. The All
Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes Region & Genocide
Prevention (APPG) comprises 148 MPs and Peers from the UK
Parliament. It was founded by its current Chair. Oona King MP.
Today, it is the leading forum in the UK Parliament for discussion
and critical analysis of issues affecting the Great Lakes Region:
Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Northern
Uganda.

[2] The report is available from the website of the All-Party
Parliamentary Group, at: www.appggreatlakes.org

The report also recommends that the World Bank, in conjunction
with the Ministry of environment and local civil society
organisation, send monitors into the forest to ensure that local
people are consulted and acknowledged as residents. It also calls
for international donors, the UK Government's Department for
International Development (DfID) especially, to fund a
comprehensive study in order to provide an estimation of the value
of the forest, based not only on the commercial worth of its timber,
but also on the value of forest products such as animal products,
vegetable foods, building materials, medicinal plants and fuelwood,
as well as ecological functions and services such as watershed
maintenance and biodiversity protection.

[3] At the November "Forum on Forests and Nature Conservation"
organised by the Congolese government in and the World Bank in
Kinshasa , international and local NGOs as well as Congolese civil
society called for the moratorium on all new logging concessions to
be maintained until such time as strict conditions were complied
with by the Congolese government.