The publication of an audit of forestry contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first step in a $500 million deal struck between funders and the government last November, has exposed serious management failures. Expected to be released at the end of 2021, the report was finally published in early April. The DRC minister for the environment, Ève Bazaiba, immediately announced that she had suspended illegal contracts that failed to respect communities’ rights or biodiversity. DRC civil society groups say this is not enough and are calling on President Félix Tshisekedi to open a judici…

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