Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

32SOLD DOWN THE RIVERDemocratic Republic of CongoPolitical, social and economic frameworkDemocraticRepublicof CongoAFTER 32 YEARS of “kleptocracy” under Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, Zairewas renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1997. Hopes that itspoverty-stricken people would see more than a change of name in their countrywere, however, soon thwarted.Located on the equator, east of Congo (Brazzaville), DRC would be a landlocked countrybut for 37 kilometres of coastline. It is the largest country in the Congo Basin region. Of its2.3 million square kilometres, nearly half is forestland (1.1 million square kilometres in1993). 1 DRC contains 12.5% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest – only Brazil andIndonesia have larger areas. As well as its immense forests, it has vast deposits of cobalt,copper and diamonds. Its network of rivers are a natural transport system and huge potentialsource of hydroelectricity. Its farming land is rich; 70% of the population is involved insubsistence farming. Many of the country’s 48 million people depend on the forests for nontimberforest products such as food, building materials and medicines. 2 In 1994, both urbanand non-urban dwellers collected fuelwood and charcoal from the forest at an estimated rateof 42.6 million cubic metres every year. 3Despite being such a large and relatively fertile country rich in natural resources, there ishunger, competition for land, and pressure on the rainforest arising from landlessness. Inlarge areas of DRC, the people with power have managed to expropriate the land fromthose less powerful than themselves. For example, although the region of Kivu, whichborders the Ituri Forest, is one of the greenest and most luxuriant parts of DRC, oneresearcher noted that food security there “is not about how lush and productive the regionis, but about access to its lushness, and to its product.” 4 Those pushed off their land moveinto forest areas to clear other land for cultivation, often making use of the roads created bylogging companies. 5The country has had decades of economic mismanagement, corruption, lack of investmentin infrastructure and widespread insecurity caused by political conflicts. Real wages, evenbefore the upheavals of the 1990s, were one-tenth of what they were at independence fromBelgium in 1960. Chronic malnutrition is rife, and 80% of people live in absolute poverty. 6The economy shrank under President Mobutu; GNP in 1996 was less than half that of 1980,while per capita GNP fell even more dramatically. 7 Per capita GNP in 1997 was US$ 110, thelowest of the six countries featured in this report and the second lowest in Africa(Mozambique being the lowest at US$ 90). 8 The total debt of DRC in 1996 was US$ 12.8billion, including nearly US$ 7 billion in arrears, the majority of which was owed to bilateralcreditors. 9 Despite its unrepayable debt and qualification for debt relief under the HeavilyIndebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), the country has little chance of having its debtcancelled because of the ongoing political and economic upheavals.DRC has a long history of conflict. Before independence in 1960, a particularly brutalcolonial regime had dominated the country for decades. In 1965, General Mobutu Sese Sekotook over in a military coup and stayed in power for over 30 years, until Laurent Kabilaousted him in another military coup in 1997. Mobutu presided over widescale corruption,paying large amounts of money to friends and foe alike to keep himself in power. 10 He isalleged to have built up a massive personal fortune, 11 while receiving foreign assistance fromthe US, Europe and international organisations such as the World Bank. When Kabila tookpower, western nations signalled their willingness to work with the government uponcondition that it committed itself to democracy and human rights. Hopes that Kabila wouldmeet these requirements, however, soon faded. Since the assassination of Kabila in January2001 and his replacement by his 31-year-old son, the country remains unstable. 12DRC is at the centre of what has been called the “First African War” because of thenumber of countries involved – Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and, briefly, Chad on the side ofPresident Kabila’s government, Uganda and Rwanda on the side of the rebels. The war hasworsened the economic and political situation. Human rights’ abuses by all parties in theconflict have been reported. Many commercial logging companies have suspended or closedtheir operations in the country. The war has pushed refugees into the forested areas, therebyincreasing population density, and has intensified insecurity, two factors that contribute todeforestation. Amnesty International estimates that as many as one million people have beeninternally displaced, on top of the several hundred thousand who have fled to neighbouringcountries. 13