Extractives & Infrastructure

NGOs welcome UK progress on urgently needed deforestation rules

23 June 2026

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

A 2033 vision for a new era of rainforest protection

18 June 2026

RFUK’s 2033 Vision: A New Era of Rainforest Protection sets out our roadmap for the next decade of rainforest conservation. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience working alongside Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the vision outlines how combining community-led action with systemic change, innovative technology and stronger partnerships can drive action at the scale … Read more

RETHINKING THE JUST TRANSITION IN THE DRC

26 November 2025

Focusing on voices from across the DRC, a so-called ‘Solutions Country’, this briefing highlights how current extractive and conservation models often harm communities, and sets out a pathway for a just transition rooted in equity, participation and community-led environmental stewardship.

COP30: Congolese Civil Society Calls for a Truly Just Transition in the DRC

19 November 2025

Belém, As global climate negotiations at COP30 focus on phasing out fossil fuels, the Congolese citizen movement Notre Terre Sans Pétrole (NTSP) has launched a policy brief outlining how the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can achieve a genuinely just energy transition. The brief was unveiled during the side event in Belém “Solutions Country: Protecting Forests and Securing … Read more

New analysis shows extent of threat posed by new DRC oil block licensing round

29 July 2025

Kinshasa, DRC / London, UK  A new report, released today by Earth Insight in collaboration with Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and Congolese partners Our Land Without Oil (Notre Terre Sans Pétrole) and CORAP, reveals the potential social and environmental impacts of planned oil development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The government cancelled a … Read more

FORESTS TO FRONTLINES: OIL EXPANSION THREATS IN THE DRC

29 July 2025

This new report by Earth Insight in collaboration with Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) and Congolese partners Our Land Without Oil (Notre Terre Sans Pétrole) and CORAP, reveals the alarming extent of planned oil development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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 … Read more

African Parks acknowledges multiple human rights violations in the Republic of Congo’s Odzala-Kokoua National Park

4 June 2025

In a long-overdue move, African Parks has acknowledged human rights abuses committed against the Baka people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. These violations, reported years earlier by Survival International and Congolese civil society organisations,[1] highlight the persistent challenges facing Indigenous and local communities living around the Congo Basin’s strictly protected areas. … Read more

DRC government opens 52 oil blocks in the Cuvette Centrale peatlands, undermining green commitments

6 May 2025

In a move that has sparked outrage among environmental and human rights campaigners, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has approved the opening of 52 new oil blocks in the Cuvette Centrale peatlands – the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink and a critical ecosystem for biodiversity. The decision, announced during the Council of Ministers meeting … Read more

BRIEFING: SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

27 November 2024

To find out more about RFUK’s Sustainable Conversation and Human Rights campaign, this briefing explains why conventional conservation models need to change, what needs to be done to effect this change and how RFUK and our local and Indigenous partners work on this issue.