The rumble of giant machinery heralds the arrival of loggers deep in the heart of the Congo rainforest. For the pygmy tribes which have inhabited this thick jungle for millennia, the sound of the advancing column is the sound of encroaching hunger and the loss of a way of life stretching back hundreds of generations.
"They bring with them huge machines which go deep into the forest and make noise which frightens all the game animals away," says Adrian Sinafasi, the man seeking to alert the outside world to the plight of central Africa's pygmies. "When the loggers arrive, they bring with them many workers who are needed to fell the trees. They also need to eat and start hunting but, rather than use traditional weapons in the right season, they hunt with firearms and don't care about seasons or how much food they take"...
The panel, which visited Congo to investigate the pygmies' claims, accepted evidence that the economic value of the trees had been wildly overstated and officials had failed to consider other sustainable uses for the wood. It also concluded that locals were not consulted and the necessary environmental checks were not carried out before the chainsaws started buzzing.
Plans to allow industrial logging in the Congo were drawn up after the World Bank moved back into the country in 2002, aiming to turn it into Africa's main timber producer. While the bloody civil war cost millions of lives, peace has brought with it a new threat as western companies return to exploit the nation's new-found stability. Roads are being driven through the eastern forest and, to the west, railways and ports are being upgraded around Kinshasa, the sprawling capital.
Campaigners fear that over-development, coupled with the widespread corruption in regional politics, signals the beginning of the end for the rainforest.
"They bring with them huge machines which go deep into the forest and make noise which frightens all the game animals away," says Adrian Sinafasi, the man seeking to alert the outside world to the plight of central Africa's pygmies. "When the loggers arrive, they bring with them many workers who are needed to fell the trees. They also need to eat and start hunting but, rather than use traditional weapons in the right season, they hunt with firearms and don't care about seasons or how much food they take"...
The panel, which visited Congo to investigate the pygmies' claims, accepted evidence that the economic value of the trees had been wildly overstated and officials had failed to consider other sustainable uses for the wood. It also concluded that locals were not consulted and the necessary environmental checks were not carried out before the chainsaws started buzzing.
Plans to allow industrial logging in the Congo were drawn up after the World Bank moved back into the country in 2002, aiming to turn it into Africa's main timber producer. While the bloody civil war cost millions of lives, peace has brought with it a new threat as western companies return to exploit the nation's new-found stability. Roads are being driven through the eastern forest and, to the west, railways and ports are being upgraded around Kinshasa, the sprawling capital.
Campaigners fear that over-development, coupled with the widespread corruption in regional politics, signals the beginning of the end for the rainforest.
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