Forest Activist in Congo Wins Livelihood Award

Courageous Work of René Ngongo Acknowledged

Nov 1, 2009

Facing great personal risk, René Ngongo has tirelessly campaigned to protect and conserve the Congo Basin Forests - the second largest tropical forest in the word.

Ngongo is one of four recipients of the Right Livelihood Award for 2009, also known as the alternative Nobel prize. This award honours those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today. Ngongo’s entire life work was recognized by the Right Livelihood Foundation and he will receive 50,000 Euros to continue on with his important initiatives.

Early Passion for Forest Conservation

Ngongo grew up in Congo, near the famed Virunga National Park, known internationally for its gorilla populations and overall biodiversity. With the goal of becoming a conservationist to protect the stunning forests of Congo, Ngongo studied biology in Kinsagani University. After working at the university for several years, Ngongo founded the Congolese NGO “OCEAN” (Organisation concertée des ecologists et amis de la nature), which served as a mediator between forest communities and key stakeholders.

Between 1994 and 2002, René developed tools to fight “slash and burn” agriculture, including demonstration fields in Kisangani that showed local people the possibilities of alternative agricultural techniques. By providing local communities with sustainable alternatives, Ngongo helped to diminish the pressure on forest ecosystems, while providing better income alternatives as well.

Ngongo coordinated the creation of a seedling plantation of 20,000 seedlings of the most exploited tree species in the Eastern province. This plantation provided trees for several “green city” events, during which trees were planted in abandoned parks, along avenues and in schools.

Act of Staying During Brutal War

Ngongo continued to develop grassroots solutions and local contacts in remote villages, despite the horrific war that devastated Congo between 1996 and 2002. While he had a network of friends outside of the Congo and could have simply left the country, Ngongo chose to stay, one of the most powerful things a person can do. During the war, he monitored the use of natural resources by the different groups battling each other. This often put Ngongo in great personal danger, such as when he was hosting a “green city” tree planting event on the outskirts of Kisangani when suddenly an artillery battle broke out in the neighbourhood between Ugandan and Rwandan troops. Along with his invited guests, Ngongo had to search for cover until they were able to safely leave the area.

Since 2004, Ngongo has been working closely with Greenpeace to save the Congo Basin Forests. He serves as political advisor for Greenpeace Africa and led the opening of the first Greenpeace office in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Logging Continues

While “relative” peace has returned to the Congo since the end of the war, the countries intact forests continue to be exploited with impunity by large scale industrial projects.

“Our forests are our livelihoods,” Ngongo said in a Greenpeace press release. “They cannot be reduced to a cheap export commodity. For millions of people, the forests are their supermarket, their pharmacy, and the foundation of spiritual and physical health.”

Poorly paid and unequipped local control agents are simply not able to protect the massive old trees that are being logged and shipped to Europe and other international markets. In January 2009, the government completed a legal review of 156 logging operations and deemed 91 of them illegal. Despite this, some companies who have not been given validated titles to log continue to operate in the forests.

Alternatives Promoted

Ngongo insists that there are alternatives and that Congo does not need to sell its forests for meager short-term profits.

“We know today that our forests are worth more standing then logged,” he said in a Greenpeace press release. “This is why we need a strong agreement and support for a global financial mechanism to reduce emissions and to end deforestation.”

Additional Resources

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