Press Releases
Coalition warns of plan to open tens of millions of hectares of DRC’s forests to timber industry
Kinshasa, 6 July 2026 – A coalition of more than 70 environmental and human rights organisations are calling on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to maintain the national moratorium on the allocation of new industrial logging concessions. Through an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister [1], the coalition urges … Read more
NGOs welcome UK progress on urgently needed deforestation rules
The UK government has announced its intention to publish regulations on ending the UK’s consumption of commodities grown on illegally deforested land. A consultation on the regulations will be launched shortly. The government and has also signalled its longer-term intention to require products to be produced free from any deforestation, as the EU has done. … Read more
86 organisations call on the Prime Minister to increase – not cut – UK climate finance
RFUK has come together with 85 UK organisations and written an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the government to increase – not cut – UK international climate finance and to introduce measures to generate the new public finance needed for this by fairly taxing the largest polluters and wealthiest in our society. … Read more
DRC announces creation of the world’s largest ‘community’ reserve: what needs to happen now
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has announced the creation of one of the world’s largest protected areas, covering more than 540,000 km² – an area the size of France. Stretching from Beni in the east of the country along the RN4 road and the Congo River basin to … Read more
Introducing ForestEye, a cutting-edge tool for local deforestation analysis
RFUK is thrilled to announce the beta launch of ForestEye, an innovative web-based tool designed to provide precise, local analysis of deforestation. Developed by RFUK’s Mapping and Development team, ForestEye is set to transform the way deforestation is monitored, understood and addressed at the grassroots level. ForestEye was conceived in response to increasing demands for … Read more
Fresh concerns over huge fossil fuel auction in DRC after government signs first gas production sharing agreements
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has awarded the first contracts in an auction of 30 oil and gas blocks in the tropical forest country to a forfeited company in the US and to another with no known experience in the industry, renewing concerns over the controversial tender. At a ceremony in … Read more
Press Release: Gabon’s rainforest carbon credits set a precedent that could worsen climate change
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE As world leaders including Emmanuel Macron gather in Libreville for the ‘One Forest Summit’ [1], convened jointly by the governments of Gabon and France, a new investigation by the Rainforest Foundation UK has found that the recent issue by Gabon of more than 90 million carbon credits [2] for supposedly saving … Read more
Press Release: Petition of 100,000 signatures handed to DRC President to stop new oil development
Kinshasa, 25 July 2022 – More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to end the development of new oil and gas fields in the country. The petition was launched earlier this month by Congolese and international NGOs and was handed over today … Read more
Press Release: Over 360 organisations say “No to Nature Based Solutions!”
Ahead of a vital UN moment for biodiversity, “nature-based solutions” are once again being erroneously heralded as the solution – and NGOs are pushing back. As more and more corporations and governments tout “nature-based solutions” as the means to fight the climate and biodiversity crises, over 360 organisations have come together to launch a statement exposing … Read more
New U.S. legislative bill could pave the way for greater protection of human rights in international biodiversity conservation
In a significant development, the chair and ranking minority member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources has introduced a bill that aims to ensure that U.S. international biodiversity funding is not used to contribute to human rights abuses in and around protected areas. This comes off the back of a U.S. … Read more