The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking a billion dollars for a plan to protect up to 9 million hectares of rainforests. In a presentation given at the Houses of Parliament in London, DR Congo Minister of Environment Bavon N'sa Mputu Elima said his country needed foreign assistance to protect forests. He cited Indonesia as a precedent for such an approach.

 

"We have more forests than Indonesia and they got $1 billion," he said, referring to a 2010 agreement Indonesia signed with Norway that would pay the nation up to a billion dollars if it successfully reduces deforestation from a specified level. Indonesia lost almost 10 million more hectares of forest than DRC since 2000, according to data from Global Forest Watch.

 

"The DRC accepts its responsibility to protect its forests for the benefit of humanity," the Minister said. "But as a developing country we require a partnership with industrialized nations to provide the financial support needed by the program."

 

The Congo Basin and surrounding region has the second largest extent of rainforest after the Amazon.

 

(Photo: Kakum National Park in DR Congo)