The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has cancelled almost 60% of timber contracts in the country after a government review found them unviable.
The World Bank-sponsored review was designed to cut out malpractice in the world’s second largest rainforest, and found only 65 of 156 logging deals were viable.
“Upon notification of the cancellation decision, the operator must immediately stop cutting timber,” said DRC environment minister José Endundo.
Timber tracking system specialist Helveta said the next step for DRC was to establish a transparent system for the award of contracts.
“The government of DRC has sought to stamp out corruption in the sector by enforcing minimum legal and environmental standards,” said Helveta chief executive officer Patrick Newton.
“This needs to be followed by a transparent, auditable award of timber logging concessions with clear visibility on award criteria.”
Mr Newton added that DRC was now actively engaging with the EU in its Voluntary Partnership Agreement process, with a national tracking system “the logical outcome of this” to ensure legality of timber products throughout the country’s supply chain.
