ALERT: Protest Failed World Bank Congo Rainforest Policy and Proposed Ill-Conceived Forest Carbon Payments
Given revelations of misconduct in Democratic Republic of Congo's rainforests by the World Bank, the Bank's desire to administer global carbon payments for rainforest protection as a means to address climate change is suspect
TAKE ACTION! The World Bank's independent inspection panel has found serious violations of the Bank's own rules [ark] as foreign companies were encouraged to destructively log the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) rainforests, endangering the lives of thousands of Congolese Pygmies.
The Bank has since 2002 sought to "create a favorable climate for industrial logging" in the Congo by rushing through new forestry laws and dividing the country's massive rainforests into logging zones. This is the World Bank's most recent failure to promote "sustainable" ancient rainforest logging [search], and comes as they position themselves to administer international carbon market funds meant to protect ancient rainforests for their climate benefits...
The concept of "avoided deforestation" -- whereby countries are paid to protect forests -- has the potential to maintain standing rainforests in an intact, fully functioning condition; while meeting reasonable local development needs... Many crucial details regarding how avoided deforestation payments would work remain undefined... To be maximally effective, avoided deforestation climate payments should only support strict preservation of ancient forests; and not their "sustainable" selective logging, certified or otherwise...
Industrial ancient forest logging must be rejected and replaced with an emphasis upon community development based upon standing, intact rainforests. This requires abandoning subsidizing of DRC's industrial forestry, fully protecting Pygmy rights and ensuring carbon payments are made only for strict rainforest preservation.
Comments
While managing the comments to this blog, I just accidentally deleted a whole bunch of them over the last six days. I should be able to restore most of them, but they will all show as being posted today. We are plagued by hundreds of spam comments and unfortunately in the daily managing of that menace this happens occasionally.
Posted by: Glen Barry | October 15, 2007 10:14 PM
As a first time visitor I want to say congrats on a very informative site. Thanks.
Posted by: Tom MacFarlane | October 16, 2007 9:38 AM
Please respect the earth ...its the only one we have
Posted by: Sandra Weatherby | October 18, 2007 11:04 AM
Couldn't agree more about the growth machine comment. I think we are more like animals than some of us like to think in that we are incapable of looking outside our own little life to see the impact of our lifestyle choices.
How can our population continue to grow uninhibited without causing large scale environmental problems?
When our so called democracies have public opinion essentially controlled by mass media, centralised government and big business then the value of our democracies is weakened, and we become slaves to these forces which demand growth, consumption and a selfishness and self centredness which encourages avoidance of responsibility for the impact of our own decisions.
Posted by: Tex | October 19, 2007 1:13 AM
The whole carbon trading scheme of Kyoto and its predecessors may be just as bogus.
Unless carbon sinks can be accurately and honestly measured, the whole trading
sceme is a farce. This is the real story, not just individual abuses.
Posted by: Dave Moore | November 13, 2007 12:50 AM