New research finds that most industrial logging in the DRC is illegal
15 July 2025
A new analysis reveals that most forest concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not operating in compliance with the law, intensifying calls for a significant scale-back of industrial logging in the world’s second largest rainforest.
The Forest Concession Compliance Portal, developed by researchers from APEM and RFUK in collaboration with Reseau EDH and the Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), assesses the legality of every logging and conservation concession covering more than 14 million hectares – an area larger than England.
The legal review, now available through the new Portal, examined 82 concessions managed by 29 companies and uncovered widespread violations of the DRC’s Forest Code and other legal requirements. These include failures to meet basic fiscal, legal and social obligations, such as payment of taxes and provision of benefits to local communities.
The Portal was launched in Kinshasa on Thursday 10 July by civil society network, Reseau EDH, and brought together government officials, other civil society organisations and international partners.
Key findings include:
- As low as 5% of concessions fully comply with the legal requirements of the DRC Forest Code and other relevant Congolese legislation;
- As low as 14% of companies meet their socio-economic obligations to local communities;
- Up to 42% of companies are not in order with their surface tax payments.
The findings come amid accelerating forest loss in the DRC, which holds 60% of the Congo Basin – possibly the world’s last major rainforest still acting as a net carbon sink. While agriculture and wood fuel are often blamed, industrial logging for timber, through road construction and forest degradation, plays a major role. A growing trend of converting logging titles into conservation concessions to generate carbon credits has likewise sparked controversy. While the government has taken some steps to cancel some illegal concessions, the research shows the industry is still mired in poor environmental practices, rights abuses, corruption and impunity.
Exposing forest crimes and log laundering
The legal analysis conducted by APEM and RFUK echoes the findings of a recent EIA report, which detailed criminal activities by two of the country’s largest industrial logging firms: Wan Peng and Booming Green. These companies are alleged to be involved in corruption and forest crimes, due to companies being able to export timber in the form of unprocessed logs, unlike neighbouring Congo Basin countries.
Another high-profile case involves COKIBAFODE, a logging firm allegedly operating without a valid permit in Bolomba territory, Equateur province. According to community representatives and field observers, 3,000 cubic meters of logs arrived at Maluku port near Kinshasa, despite the company’s expired permit.
Urgent action required
The research underscores a stark contrast between the DRC’s ambitions to be a “solution country” in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, and the reality on the ground in its forests.
“This analysis lays bare the extent of lawlessness in DRC’s forests,” said Joe Eisen, RFUK Executive Director. “With the crucial ‘rainforest’ COP30 in Brazil on the horizon, the government and its international partners must seize the opportunity to chart a different course by reigning in the logging industry and investing in community forestry”.
Key recommendations
- Enforce a national ban on unprocessed log exports.
- Maintain the national moratorium on new logging concessions until such time as the industry has demonstrably been brought under control and other legal conditions have been fulfilled.
- Investigate illegal operators and cancel non-compliant permits.
- Advance key reforms such a national forest policy and community forest strategy as well as the Indigenous Peoples and recently adopted land-use planning laws to create a new, rights-based forest economy.
This first version of the Forest Concession Compliance Portal is now available online and provides an interactive online tool for governments, civil society, donors and watchdogs to monitor industrial forestry operations in real time and hold actors to account. By providing public access to legal data on each concession, the platform aims to enhance transparency and drive urgently needed reform in the sector. The portal will be updated as new, verifiable information becomes available and there are plans to integrate data generated from Independent and community monitoring initiatives.
For more information, contact: Vittoria Moretti.
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