Written question asked by Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) on Thursday, 5 June 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 June 2008. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Thursday, 12 June 2008 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Forests

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects of industrial logging on poverty alleviation measures in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Answer: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not made a formal assessment of the contribution that industrial logging makes to poverty alleviation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, experience from other countries tells us that, while logging activities can contribute significant revenue, their contribution to poverty reduction tend to be marginal unless local communities are closely involved in decision making about the use of forests and the distribution of benefits from forest exploitation. This is why the UK Government have been sponsoring the Roundtable process to develop alternative models for forest management and financing in the DRC. These will be presented to Congolese and international partners during a conference in Kinshasa on 23 and 24 June. One of the proposals to be presented is the introduction of community-based forestry management in the DRC which puts local communities at the centre of the decision making process for forest use.

Secondary information