Posted to the web 9 October 2008 After a two-year delay, the initial results of a World Bank-financed legal review of logging contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been made public. During a press conference on Monday Environment Minister Jose Endundo announced that 46 of the 156 logging contracts submitted for review are to be converted into legal concessions. No less than 33 of these titles were allocated after a moratorium on new logging titles introduced in May 2002. "The fact that titles that violated the Forest Code are now being legalised sets a very dangerous precedent, giving little incentive to companies to improve their track record in complying with legal and regulatory obligations," said Michelle Medeiros, Africa Forest Coordinator at Greenpeace International. In a briefing paper published...
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