USD814 million was set aside by the African Development Bank over two years to help preserve Central African forests threatened by strife, poverty and weak governance. Bank chief Donald Kaberuka indicated that most of the funds would be utilized for 13 natural resource management programs in Congo. “Forests in the Congo Basin have an important economic and climatic role … Unfortunately, these forests are threatened mainly by poverty, governance crises and conflicts,” he said, referring to an area holding 37 percent of the world’s existing tropical forests. A study conducted by non-governmental organizations reveals that if current trends of population booms and intense exploitation persist, half of the Congo Basin’s forests would be gone by 2030.
Source: AfDB gives USD814 mln for Central Africa forests (Reuters)
