The Congo Basin is the world's second largest tropical forest, it is twice the size of Arizona. It is home to gorillas, elephants buffaloes and other endangered species. The Congo Basin has come under human threat amid deforestation, poaching.

Congo Basin: Deforestation threatens world's second largest tropical forest

<p>A&nbsp;boat&nbsp;tipped over in a river in the northern Democratic Republic of&nbsp;Congo, drowning 49 people on board while about the same number survived the&nbsp;accident, a local official told a&nbsp;Congolese radio station.</p>

<p>Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of remote Tshuapa province, in northern&nbsp;Congo, told Radio Top&nbsp;Congo&nbsp;that the whaleboat&nbsp;had sunk with all of its passengers late on Wednesday.</p>

<p>Deadly&nbsp;boat&nbsp;accidents are common in&nbsp;Congo, a vast, forested country which has few roads outside of major towns and is carved up by a network of rivers that drain the&nbsp;Congo&nbsp;Basin. For most people, these rivers are the only means of travelling over long distances.</p>


Deadly boat accidents are common in Congo, a vast, forested country which has few roads outside of major towns and is carved up by a network of rivers that drain the Congo Basin

A boat tipped over in a river in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo, drowning 49 people on board while about the same number survived the accident, a local official told a Congolese radio station. Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of remote Tshuapa province, in northern Congo, told Radio Top Congo that the whaleboat had sunk with all of its passengers late on Wednesday. Deadly boat accidents are common in Congo, a vast, forested country which has few roads outside of major towns and is carved up by a network of rivers that drain the Congo Basin. For most people, these rivers are the only means of travelling over long distances.

Congo river boat accident kills 49

<p>It&#39;s lower cost has made it popular in commercial food production, but after being blamed for deforestation in Asia, palm oil plantations are now getting a similar rap in Africa.</p>

<p>The sheer scale of land required is having an impact in Gabon, Cameroon and the Congo Basin, environmentalists say.</p>

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<h5>The production process accelerates deforestation, contributes to climate change and threatens fauna and flora in vulnerable areas, opponents argue</h5>
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<p>With financing coming from American, European and Asian agri-businesses, palm bunches are cultivated then cut from trees and sent to factories where oil is extracted by hot pressing.</p>

<p>But the production process accelerates deforestation, contributes to climate change and threatens fauna and flora in vulnerable areas, opponents argue.</p>

<p>However, the companies say that palm oil is not only less expensive than soya or sunflower oil but requires much less land to produce and provides much-needed jobs.</p>

<p>Gabon -- where forest covers 80 percent of the territory -- is feeling the brunt.</p>

<p>Brainforest and Mighty, two environmental groups, investigated the activities of Olam, an agri-business from Singapore, which said it has planted 58,000 hectares of palm trees in Gabon.</p>

<p>&quot;It is estimated that Olam has deforested 20,000 hectares in its Gabonese concessions of Awala et Mouila since 2012,&quot; the groups said in a report released in mid-December. &quot;Investigators on the scene witnessed and filmed bulldozers knocking down huge trees en masse.&quot;</p>

<p>Olam said palm trees had been planted on 25,000 hectares of land which had previously been forested, but that this had been &quot;highly logged and degraded secondary forest&quot; and represented just 0.1 percent of Gabon&#39;s forests.</p>

<p>In response to the report, Olam published advertisements touting the almost 11,000 jobs it has created, the 1,100 hectares of food crops planted and 251 kilometres (150 miles) of roads built.</p>

<p><strong>A wider impact</strong></p>

<p>But the impact appears wider. In their report, the environmental groups expressed fears that the Congo Basin, considered the lung of Africa, could go the same way as forests in Sumatra, Indonesia and on Borneo.</p>

<p>&quot;A few decades ago, these places were almost entirely covered with forests, a paradise for orangutans, rhinos, elephants and exotic birds. Today, only 20-30 percent of the forest cover exists.&quot;</p>

<p>The report was released in Libreville when an environmental film festival honoured the French documentary &quot;Et Maintenant Nos Terres&quot; (And Now Our Land).</p>

<p>Its directors, Julien Le Net and Benjamin Polle, chronicled how villages in Cameroon and Senegal were being affected by what they called &quot;land grabs&quot; by multinational companies.</p>

<p>In south-west Cameroon, 244 farmers have filed a trespassing complaint against a company that intends to plant 20,000 hectares of palm trees.</p>

<p>Hearings in the case against Sustainable Oils Cameroon, formerly a subsidiary of American company Herakles Farms, were postponed after reports of unrest in the area in November.</p>

<p>Greenpeace has asked Cameroon not to renew the company&#39;s concession which expired at the end of November, and it cited &quot;six years of illegal foresting, trampling of locals&#39; rights, unfulfilled investments and destruction of forest&quot;.</p>

<p>A petition signed by 180,000 people against renewal of the contract was sent last week to Cameroon President Paul Biya, Greenpeace said.</p>

<p>The government has not yet made a decision but Greenpeace said it hoped it would hear the voices of &quot;thousands of Cameroonians&quot;.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the plantations of Socapalm, a subsidiary of the Luxembourg company Socfin in which the family firm of French businessman Vincent Bollore owns a large minority stake, were targeted by protests in November.</p>

<p>&quot;No to pollution and massive environmental destruction&quot; read one banner, while another urged the company to open a dialogue with residents.</p>

<p>&quot;More than 5,000 hectares has been used,&quot; a resident called Ebeneser Ekango told AFPTV at the time, complaining there wasn&#39;t enough land to plant the staple crop cassava. &quot;What do we eat?&quot;</p>

<p>Greenpeace, which has complained that Socfin concessions have included old-growth forests, applauded the company publishing in December a responsible management policy commits to &quot;eliminating deforestation&quot;.</p>

<p>(AFP)</p>


The sheer scale of land required is having an impact in Gabon, Cameroon and the Congo Basin, say environmentalists

It's lower cost has made it popular in commercial food production, but after being blamed for deforestation in Asia, palm oil plantations are now getting a similar rap in Africa. The sheer scale of land required is having an impact in Gabon, Cameroon and the Congo Basin, environmentalists say. The production process accelerates deforestation, contributes to climate change and threatens fauna and flora in vulnerable areas, opponents argue × With financing coming from American, European and Asian agri-businesses, palm bunches are cultivated then cut from trees and sent to factories where oil is extracted by hot pressing. But the production process accelerates deforestation, contributes to climate change and threatens fauna and flora in vulnerable areas, opponents argue. However, the companies say that palm oil is not only less expensive than soya or sunflower oil but requires much less land to produce and provides much-needed jobs. Gabon -- where forest covers 80 percent of the territory -- is feeling the brunt. Brainforest and Mighty, two environmental groups, investigated the activities of Olam, an agri-business from Singapore, which said it has planted 58,000 hectares of palm trees in Gabon. "It is estimated that Olam has deforested 20,000 hectares in its Gabonese concessions of Awala et Mouila since 2012," the groups said in a report released in mid-December. "Investigators on the scene witnessed and filmed bulldozers knocking down huge trees en masse." Olam said palm trees had been planted on 25,000 hectares of land which had previously been forested, but that this had been "highly logged and degraded secondary forest" and represented just 0.1 percent of Gabon's forests. In response to the report, Olam published advertisements touting the almost 11,000 jobs it has created, the 1,100 hectares of food crops planted and 251 kilometres (150 miles) of roads built. A wider impact But the impact appears wider. In their report, the environmental groups expressed fears that the Congo Basin, considered the lung of Africa, could go the same way as forests in Sumatra, Indonesia and on Borneo. "A few decades ago, these places were almost entirely covered with forests, a paradise for orangutans, rhinos, elephants and exotic birds. Today, only 20-30 percent of the forest cover exists." The report was released in Libreville when an environmental film festival honoured the French documentary "Et Maintenant Nos Terres" (And Now Our Land). Its directors, Julien Le Net and Benjamin Polle, chronicled how villages in Cameroon and Senegal were being affected by what they called "land grabs" by multinational companies. In south-west Cameroon, 244 farmers have filed a trespassing complaint against a company that intends to plant 20,000 hectares of palm trees. Hearings in the case against Sustainable Oils Cameroon, formerly a subsidiary of American company Herakles Farms, were postponed after reports of unrest in the area in November. Greenpeace has asked Cameroon not to renew the company's concession which expired at the end of November, and it cited "six years of illegal foresting, trampling of locals' rights, unfulfilled investments and destruction of forest". A petition signed by 180,000 people against renewal of the contract was sent last week to Cameroon President Paul Biya, Greenpeace said. The government has not yet made a decision but Greenpeace said it hoped it would hear the voices of "thousands of Cameroonians". Meanwhile, the plantations of Socapalm, a subsidiary of the Luxembourg company Socfin in which the family firm of French businessman Vincent Bollore owns a large minority stake, were targeted by protests in November. "No to pollution and massive environmental destruction" read one banner, while another urged the company to open a dialogue with residents. "More than 5,000 hectares has been used," a resident called Ebeneser Ekango told AFPTV at the time, complaining there wasn't enough land to plant the staple crop cassava. "What do we eat?" Greenpeace, which has complained that Socfin concessions have included old-growth forests, applauded the company publishing in December a responsible management policy commits to "eliminating deforestation". (AFP)

After Asia, palm oil faces backlash in Africa

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Congo Basin: Deforestation threatens world's second largest tropical forest

Congo river boat accident kills 49

After Asia, palm oil faces backlash in Africa