October 2012 global witness global witness The art of logging industrially in the Congo: how loggers are abusing artisanal permits to exploit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s forests Contents SUMMARY 3 THE GROWTH OF ArtISANAL LOGGING PERMITS 4 TEN WAYS IN WHICH ArtISANAL LOGGING PERMITS 7 CAN CONTRAVENE DRC LAW CONCLUSION 11 The research for this report was ANNEX 12 undertaken with the support of Reseau Ressources Naturelles http://www.rrnrdc.org ENDNOTES 15 2 OCTOBER 2012 | THE Art OF LOGGING INDUSTRIALLY IN THE CONGO Summary The Congo Basin is home to the world’s • The existing laws on ALPs place no social • MECNT should then launch a consultation second largest rainforest. It is a vital and environmental safeguards on permit process to identify ways to improve the resource for the planet and for millions of holders. Companies holding ALPs often governance of artisanal logging, involving forest-dwelling people. Over half of it is in the have no social agreement with local key government agencies and stakeholders Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here, communities, nor any management plan such as artisanal logging associations, civil decades of weak laws and government have for sustainable logging; society and community representatives. allowed logging companies to plunder the forest, with scant regard for the human or • ALPs are used primarily to harvest the • MECNT should dismiss the idea, currently environmental cost. IUCN red-listed endangered species suggested by some Kinshasa officials, Wenge, the majority of which is destined of creating a new category of concessions Recent efforts to bring order to the chaotic for the Chinese market, although there is for ‘semi-industrial’ logging. This move situation in the forest sector, including a 2002 evidence that some is shipped to the EU; would lower environmental and social moratorium on new logging concessions, standards across the logging sector. are being increasingly undermined by • On-the-ground oversight of the conduct of the systematic abuse of Permis de Coupe these companies by MECNT’s inspectors is • The DRC government should delay any Artisanaux - ‘artisanal logging permits’ practically zero. consideration of lifting the moratorium (ALPs). Under Congolese law, these permits on new logging concessions until key are intended to allow small-scale logging by Given this huge range of irregularities, timber steps are taken, including a consultative Congolese communities in their forests. But sourced using ALPs should be considered forest zoning process, and significant in practice, they are being widely used by illegal by buyers. The DRC’s forest authorities improvements are made to official foreign loggers to exploit the DRC’s forests should work to ensure that procedures for oversight and monitoring of logging. on an industrial scale, primarily for buyers granting ALPs are brought in line with the in China. These ALPs are issued in Kinshasa provisions of the 2002 Forest Code and other • International buyers of timber and timber to foreign companies by the Ministry of relevant legal texts2. products should ensure that they can the Environment, Nature Conservation and trace the origin of wood to the concession Tourism (MECNT). level in order to comply with the EU Recommendations: Timber Regulations and the US Lacey During an investigation in the Territoires1 The key steps that need to be taken include Act. This includes buyers of products of Kwamouth and Mushie in Bandundu the following: from China that contain tropical species Province in June 2012, Global Witness found such as Wenge. Until procedures in the evidence that: • MECNT should immediately stop issuing DRC regarding the attribution of ALPs artisanal logging permits or special are brought in line with the law, ALP • At least 146 artisanal logging permits permits that are in breach of existing documents should not be viewed as proof have been issued for timber extraction legislation – namely the Forest Code, of legality. in Bandundu Province alone since 2010. and Ministerial Orders 035 and 105. It The way that these permits are issued should immediately create and maintain • The European Union and the DRC’s and used typically breaches the DRC’s a publicly available registry of approved Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) forestry laws in up to 10 different ways; artisanal loggers (as directed by current Negotiation Committee must ensure that laws), and refrain from issuing permits to export licences are not granted for timber • All of the permit documents seen by Global foreigners, private companies, or operators cut under ALPs that have been issued in Witness explicitly grant “the authorisation using heavy machinery. an irregular manner. to carry out industrial logging”; • The Prime Minister should sign the • Certain operators appear to be cutting long-awaited Decree on Community considerably more than their permits allow; Forests, which would provide the basis for communities to make decisions about how • Increasingly, permits are issued that to manage their forests sustainably and in are marked as both an Artisanal Logging their own interests. Permit and a Special Permit (for cutting protected species), creating further legal confusion; OCTOBER 2012 | THE Art OF LOGGING INDUSTRIALLY IN THE CONGO 3 The growth of artisanal logging permits supervision in the forest sector, have created In this context, Endundo explained that it 1. The post-moratorium legal vacuum: the conditions for an explosion in the number was necessary to continue to supply the Since 2002 a moratorium on the issuance of of artisanal logging permits awarded since local wood market against a background of new industrial logging concessions has been 2007. At least 146 artisanal logging permits diminishing industrial exploitation, as “the in place in the DRC. It was imposed to allow (ALPs) have been issued in Bandundu Province needs of the wood market are increasing” time to review and where necessary cancel alone since 2010. An analysis of this data and “the issue of employment is not one existing logging titles, and to implement a shows a concentration of ALPs in Kwamouth that a responsible government can leave new Forest Code so that future concessions Territory (in the Sectors of Twa and Bateke aside”. To do this he had to “make do” with would be issued in line with agreed Nord5), although ALPs have been issued right the application of the legal texts in place. environmental and social standards. across the Province, including around Kikwit to Endundo says that he undertook a reform of the south and Oshwe to the east. the Ministry’s administration because of the Unfortunately, this process has been shortcomings in the application of the forest extremely slow and logging has continued Sources working closely with the DRC’s legislation, and that he undertook many in earnest and with little official supervision. forest authorities told Global Witness that actions with the aim of restructuring the In 2007 a study on forest governance between 60,000m3 and 75,000m3 of illegal forest sector. Endundo opposes any lifting undertaken by Global Witness at the request timber can currently be found in Kinshasa’s of the moratorium on the basis that the of the DRC government found a “complete various ports. A visit to Kinkole port by Global conversion process has not been finalised. absence of meaningful controls, legal Witness in June 2012 revealed that a large ambiguity and lack of standardised practices proportion of this timber originates from 2. Permit confusion: Artisanal permits vs. leaving the sector in anarchy and providing Bandundu and has been cut under an ALP6. Special permits fertile ground for abuse and fraud”3. When Global Witness contacted José Endundo, An analysis of the permits obtained shows Ten years on from the imposition of the who was the Minister of the Environment, Nature that when the operator has requested to moratorium, neither the review process nor Conservation and Tourism (MECNT) at the cut solely Wenge timber, permits often have the legal reforms have been completed. The time these permits were issued, his response Permis special de coupe de wenge (Special most recent report from the DRC’s official accepted that “the shortcomings observed permit to cut Wenge) typed across the top, Independent Forest Observer says that “as here and there in the application of the forest in addition to the words Permis de coupe well as revealing the deep dysfunction of legislation are well known to everyone”7. He artisanale (Artisanal logging permit). In the legislative, executive and judicial power in explained that forest management in the DRC is legal texts, these are two different types recent years in the (forest) sector,” the failure in a “transitional phase” as the measures which of permit each with its own purpose and to see these processes through “creates major allow the Forest Code to be fully adhered to have procedures, but in reality neither set of legal voids opening the door to irregularities of still not yet been fully implemented. He said that procedures is being respected. It seems that all types and on a large scale”4. “nobody among the designers of the Forest Code Special Permits are being used as a type could have imagined its shortcomings in terms of Artisanal Logging Permit, given that they The lack of implementing legal texts for the of national constraints or that its implementation are marked with both names (see Figure new Forest Code, coupled with lack of official process would take so long (10 years)...”. 1 below). Figure 1: An ALP, which also bears the words ‘Special Permit to cut Wenge’ 4 OCTOBER 2012 | THE Art OF LOGGING INDUSTRIALLY IN THE CONGO Figure 2: Bandundu’s ALP hotspots. OCTOBER 2012 | THE Art OF LOGGING INDUSTRIALLY IN THE CONGO 5 further. ALPs have even weaker requirements The government and people of the DRC 3. The importance of China for sustainability and community engagement receive very little benefit from this type A significant proportion of the companies using than industrial logging concessions – a sector of logging.