Social entrepreneurs hold key for job creation and 'green economy' transformation in DR Congo


A major Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment of the DRC by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) underlines the global significance and extraordinary potential of the country's natural and mineral resources.


The outcomes of the two-year assessment have been released today in Kinshasa, by UNEP's Executive Director, Mr Achim Steiner, and the DRC's Environment Minister, Mr José Endundo.



For example, through steps such as regular anti-poaching patrols, the Congolese Wildlife Authority has secured the Virunga National Park, which at the peak of the DRC's crisis was losing the equivalent of 89 hectares of forest each day due to illegal fuelwood harvesting.

However, the country's rapidly growing population of nearly 70 million people - most of whom directly depend on natural resources for their survival - and intense international competition for raw materials are adding to the multiple pressures on the DRC's natural resource base.

NB: Press Cutting Service