Community | December 22, 2009 | 2 comments

Congo's forest protector receives Right Livelihood Award

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*One fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation. Left intact, the tropical rainforests of the Congo, the Amazon, and Inonesia act like a mighty set of planetary lungs, absorbing CO2 from human activity.



HONORING A TRUE HERO!

René Ngongo recieves award for his work to save the forests of the Congo.

René Ngongo, Greenpeace Africa Political Advisor and civil society activist for 18 years, today received the Right Livelihood Award at the Swedish Parliament for his dedicated, and at times dangerous, work in defending the rights and livelihood of Democratic Republic of Congo’s forest communities.

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation recognised Ngongo "for his courage in confronting the forces that are destroying the Congo's rainforests and building political support for their conservation and sustainable use."

Accepting his award, René said “I humbly receive this honour on behalf of many of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s poor communities for whom the forest is a source of livelihood, a supermarket, a pharmacy and an heirloom. If we do not continue to raise our voices against the destruction of these ancient forests, their future and our very own existence is at stake”.

Wars in the forest

Ngongo has dedicated his life to activism. In the midst of raging conflict, he tirelessly pushed for an end to illegal exploitation of his country’s natural resources, collecting abundant evidence on timber and mineral extraction under sometimes life-threatening conditions. In 1994, Ngongo founded the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s influential environment organisation, OCEAN. Ngongo has been able to build a strong network and momentum for better protection of the world’s second largest rainforest.


http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/congo-right-livelihood041209
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