Resource information
The Congo Basin has the largest forest
cover on the African continent. Of the 400 million hectares
that the Basin comprises, about 200 million of them are
covered by forest, with 90 percent being tropical dense
forests. The Congo Basin's logging sector has a
dualistic configuration. It boasts a highly visible formal
sector that is export oriented and dominated by large
industrial groups with foreign capital and an informal
sector that has long been underestimated and overlooked.
This report is one of a series of reports prepared during a
two-year attempt to analyze and better understand
deforestation dynamics in the Basin. It presents findings
related to the logging sector and its potential impact on
forest cover, and it is based on an in-depth analysis of the
sector. The paper's structure is as follows: first
chapter gives an overview of the logging sector both formal
and informal in the six countries and its importance in
terms of employment and revenues; second chapter is the
analyzes and impacts of logging activities on forest cover;
and final chapter presents recommendations to foster
sustainable logging activities with a particular focus on
the informal sector and reduce potential adverse impact on
natural forests.
