Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

30SOLD DOWN THE RIVERinvolved in the negotiations for a substantial equity stake that J. Lalanne had in anotherlogging company, SNBS (Société Nouvelle des Bois de Sangha).The World Bank’s investment in Congo (Brazzaville) has been controversial. In the 1990s,for example, together with a number of African banks, it financed the construction by anotherlogging company, SCBO, of a sawmill that was never completed. 45 SCBO was a semi-statecompany, partly owned by French interests, 46 one of whose directors was Congo’s President. 47The company has recently been privatised and is now owned by the German company Danzer(see Part III – Company Profiles). 48Environmental impactsThe forests of the south and north have exhibited different levels and intensity ofenvironmental impacts as a result of forestry operations. In the south, where industrial logginghas been taking place since the 1940s, forests have been opened up by forestry companies,attracting migrant farmers who further clear the forest for agriculture. 49 In the north, the areaof logging concessions is rapidly increasing and, given the lack of effective monitoring andenforcement of these remote forests, the ecological sustainability of forestry operations is notensured. 50 Exploitation of the forests has facilitated commercial bushmeat hunting, which isdecimating wildlife in a number of areas. The loss of biodiversity which results from logginghas long-term consequences both ecologically and socially.Although the country has protected areas, the capacity to monitor them is minimal. In theNational Park of Counkouati, which is on the Atlantic coast near the country’s border withGabon, the government has granted logging concessions of 9,000 hectares in the 500,000hectare reserve, which was set up with grants from the EU, the World Bank and severalenvironmental organisations. 51 The lack of monitoring in the park – there are just 22 illequippedrangers for the entire park – has also enabled poachers to operate freely in thereserve – they have set up a vast encampment within it. The park suffers, moreover, fromoffshore oil pollution. 52Social impactsThe presence of forestry companies in the north of the country has positive and negativeimpacts. Many of the companies act as a surrogate for the state, creating islands of stability inotherwise neglected areas of the country. Nevertheless, their practices have criticalshortcomings, such as discrimination against local people in general and against Pygmies inparticular, and promotion of commercial bushmeat hunting. Forestry companies generally onlyrecognise the rights of and enter into communication with Bantu villagers, neglecting thePygmy forest dwellers. Bantu communities therefore tend to get most of the benefits from theoperations, such as cash and goods, schools and dispensaries. Roads tend to go through theirvillages. Despite some positive developments, however, logging operations have negativeimpacts to a greater or lesser degree on all local people. From local people’s perspectives, themain problems are:© JEROME LEWISMbendjele women andchildren, Sangha regionThe companies do not listen sufficiently to local people’s needs.Although villagers generally support logging companies, there tends to be profounddisagreements over specific issues. Local Congolese may want a school to be built if thecompany logs their area, or they may not want large Sapelli trees near the village to be felledas they provide large quantities of caterpillars that are eaten when there is little other foodavailable (see Sapelli Tree feature, page 7). But unless villagers take direct action, such asblocking the loggers’ roads with barricades, theirneeds are rarely listened to or respected. 53Companies tend not to provide employment forthe local people.The local population strongly resent the loggingcompanies employing so many people fromoutside the forest areas they are exploiting. The‘Front National de la Sangha’ was the mainvehicle for expressing this discontent in the midto late 1990s when violent demonstrations tookplace. Although now somewhat suppressed, theFront still has large popular support. The Frontwished to impose a quota system for employinglocal people, but since a whole generation ofnorthern Congolese has not had access to anadequate education, they do not possess theskills required by the logging companies. 54