The exploitation of Redwood trees in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has alerted authorities and is being investigated.
The harvesting and exploitation of Redwood trees in the eastern DRC will have to be investigated. This is according to Josué Aruna of the Societe Civile Environmantale et Agro-Rurale du Congo. Aruna recently presented a report (Trade in redwood from the Lwama-Kivu and Itombwe nature reserve in Eastern DRC) during a policy dialogue on natural resources in South Kivu involving a wide participation of local stakeholders especially from the South Kivu Province.
Aruna alerted the participants on harvesting in the protected areas in South Kivu. “Hundreds of tons of redwood are cut from these forest landscapes in eastern DRC and sent directly to countries bordering the DRC. The trees are transported directly to Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi,” said Aruna. H added that the harvesting ban on Redwood and other species ordered by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development for the Congo River Basin does not cover South Kivu and Maniema. Aruna requested the ministry investigate the situation.