Coalition calls on the Democratic Republic of Congo not to lift the moratorium on new industrial logging concessions
More than 70 NGOs have signed on to a letter to the DRC's prime minister.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced plans to lift a moratorium on the allocation of new industrial forest concessions. Lifting the moratorium, which has been in place since 2002, could open tens of millions of hectares of tropical forests to the timber industry.
More than 70 environmental and human rights organisations have written to the Prime Minister urging the government to immediately suspend all efforts to life the moratorium.
The letter is posted in full below.
A briefing accompanying the letter explains that lifting the moratorium “risks legitimising widespread illegal practices and triggering an uncontrolled expansion of forestry concessions”.
In 2021, at COP26 in Glasgow, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s president Félix Tshisekedi described the country as a “solution country” to the climate crisis.
But in July 2021, Eve Bazaïba, DRC’s deputy prime minister and environment minister, had announced plans to lift the moratorium. The plans were eventually shelved.
The briefing accompanying the letter points out that the legal conditions required to life the moratorium have not been met. In addition, DRC faces persistent weaknesses in forest governance, risks of land-use conflicts, the marginal contribution to the national economy of industrial logging, and the environmental and social impacts of new large-scale industrial logging concessions.
In a statement, Joe Eisen, executive director of Rainforest Foundation UK, says,
“Opening these climate-critical forests to more industrial logging would severely undermine the DRC's standing as a 'solutions country' at a time when it has taken several positive steps to improve forest governance and recognise the rights of Indigenous Peoples and other forest-dependent communities. The DRC and its international partners should stick to this path rather than pursuing failed extractive models that deliver little benefit for forests or rural Congolese communities.”
And Blaise Mudodosi Muhigwa of Actions pour la Promotion et la Protection des Peuples et Espèces Menacés (APEM) says,
“Most existing logging concessions have already been converted into conservation concessions, while more than half of those that remain have ceased operations. This raises a legitimate question: who would truly benefit from lifting the moratorium?”
Here is the letter from more than 70 organisation to the prime minister. The letter and the full list of signatories is available here.
3rd July 2026
To Her Excellency the Prime
Minister of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Head of
Government of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
Prime Minister’s Office
Kinshasa/GombeCopy sent for information to:
- To His Excellency the President of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Head of State.
Palais de la Nation, Kinshasa/Gombe
With the utmost respect.- To Her Excellency the Minister for the
Environment, Sustainable
Development and the New Climate
Economy (MEDD-NEC).
- To the Secretary-General for the
Environment, Sustainable
Development and the New Climate
Economy (SG MEDD-NEC).
- To the Director-General of Forests
(DGFOR).
- To the Director of Forest Inventories
and Management (DIAF).
- To the Coordinator of the Technical
Committee for Monitoring and
Evaluation of Reforms (CTR)
All in Kinshasa/Gombe.- To the international partners within
the Inter-Donor Group on
Environment and Climate in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
(GIBEC).
In Kinshasa/Gombe.
Au Secrétariat du Central African
Forest Initiative (CAFI).
A Genève/Suisse.Subject: Maintaining the moratorium on the granting of new industrial forest concessions
Your Excellency the Prime Minister,
In the context of the ongoing forestry reforms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we, more than 60 Congolese and international organisations, are writing to express our serious concern over plans to lift the national moratorium on the allocation of new industrial forest concessions.
As organisations working for the defence of the environment and human rights in the DRC and globally, we commend the several steps the government has taken over the past year to reduce deforestation and improve forest governance. Recent initiatives such as the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, together with legal and policy reforms on forests, land-use planning and Indigenous Peoples rights and the creation of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor, are all positive examples of the DRC living up to its ‘solutions country’ reputation.
This is why we are deeply concerned that advanced plans to open potentially tens of millions of hectares of the DRC’s forests to the logging industry will undermine this progress. For reasons outlined in this letter and detailed in the attached briefing, we call on you to uphold the moratorium until key legal conditions have been met and broader forest and land sector reforms have been completed.
The importance of the DRC’s forests to the climate, biodiversity and the lives of tens of millions of forest-dependent people cannot be overstated. Introduced in 2002 and then reinforced by Presidential decree in 2005 against a backdrop of profound disorganisation in the industry, the moratorium remains an essential regulatory tool today as many of the structural weaknesses that justified its introduction persist: weak governance, inadequate oversight mechanisms, limited transparency and the still incomplete protection of the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
The inclusion of the moratorium lifting in the first draft of the forestry code and the development of a draft legal decree therefore raise fundamental legal, moral, economic and environmental problems. First, these parallel processes present several significant legal and procedural concerns, not least that the preconditions set out in the 2005 presidential decree — particularly regarding geographical planning resulting from a participatory and transparent process — have not been met. The available documentation does not, as things stand, allow for a coherent allocation of land, nor does it prevent the risks of overlapping claims and conflicts of use.
Second, research shows that a hasty lifting of the moratorium could legitimise widespread illegal practices, fuel the uncontrolled expansion of forestry concessions, and worsen conflicts and rights violations. With weak governance and limited oversight, expansion would only deepen existing challenges for forests, communities and workers.
Third, it would also undermine climate and biodiversity commitments made by the DRC on the international stage and compromise several ongoing national land and forest related reform processes. As the President of the Republic himself reiterated during the Council of Ministers meeting on 22 May 2026, “Our country’s international credibility is also at stake [ . . . ] The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s natural leadership in these forums must be underpinned by coherent national policies, credible governance mechanisms and a clearly affirmed political will.”
Fourth, the expected economic benefits of expanding industrial logging appear limited. The industry contributes only marginally to national revenue and continues to face major compliance challenges. Its economic viability is also in question, as many operators have converted their titles to conservation concessions.
Finally, the environmental case for lifting the moratorium is similarly weak. While the causes of deforestation in the DRC are complex and multi-layered, the answer is not to hand over large, bounded areas as industrial concessions. Many existing concessions still lack government-approved management plans and a growing body of research highlights the risks associated with the industrial logging concession system, particularly the role that logging roads play in opening previously intact areas of forest to new forms of deforestation.
Under these circumstances, expanding this model risks exacerbating social and environmental harm without guaranteeing any significant developmental benefits for the national economy or local communities. Considering these factors, which are further detailed in this briefing, we respectfully call on you to uphold the national logging moratorium and advance the following measures:
Halt current efforts to lift the moratorium, including removing it from the draft forest code and withdrawing the draft decree.
Complete ongoing legal reforms on forests, land and Indigenous rights in line with international standards before reviewing the moratorium.
Ensure lawful, participatory land-use planning that reflects community forests, climate goals and other priorities.
Strengthen enforcement by investigating violations, prosecuting offenders and revoking illegal permits, alongside measures such as a log export ban and expanded independent and community monitoring.
Prohibit new industrial concessions in the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor.
Expand support for community forests as a core part of forest management and land use.
Mobilise international climate and development finance to support these actions.
We are convinced that such an approach, based on legal rigour, transparency and respect for rights, will enable the sustainable consolidation of forest governance in the DRC, whilst preserving its strategic role in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises.
We remain at your full disposal for any further discussion or information you may require.
Yours sincerely,
[Full list of signatories is available here.]