![Forest disturbance drivers illustrated as (A) reference disturbance driver for each sampled pixel, and (B) national estimates of 2000 to 2014 forest loss area by disturbance driver. (Source: Congo Basin forest loss dominated by increasing smallholder clearing [https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat2993] by A Tyukavina et al, from Science Advances, 7 November 2018, Volume 4, No 11.) In this, regional assessment of forest disturbance dynamics from 2000 to 2014 in the Congo Basin countries using time-series satellite data, “an estimated 84% of forest disturbance area in the region is due to small-scale, nonmechanized forest clearing for agriculture… (with) (s)elective logging as the second most significant disturbance driver…Maintaining natural forest cover in the Congo Basin into the future will be challenged by an expected fivefold population growth by 2100 and allocation of industrial timber harvesting and large-scale agricultural development inside remaining old-growth forests.](https://www.ecojesuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019_12_10_PP_Photo1-150x150.jpg)
Rigobert Minani Bihuzo SJ The relation between climate change and conflict need to be addressed by the Church and COP 25. This is one of the messages of the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest (Réseau ecclésial du Bassin du Congo or REBAC) to the synod in Rome and COP25 in Madrid. One of...
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Rigobert Minani SJ In a joint discernment in the light of the encyclical Laudato Si’, around 120 delegates gathered in Quito, Ecuador from 23 to 27 November for the first Latin American and Caribbean gathering on integral ecology with the theme Disciples-Missionaries, custodians of creation and discussed concerns on human rights, development models, climate...
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Rigobert Minani, SJ A focus during COP23 was to better connect the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest (réseau Ecclésial de la forêt du Bassin du Congo or REBAC) with other initiatives and as such, we dedicated the first days to understand the efforts of the Central African Forests Commission (Commission des forêts d’Afrique...
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Reflecting on the contribution of the Catholic Church in Africa in the light of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, a consultative workshop was held 8 and 9 October 2015 at Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the creation of an Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin or REBAC. The workshop is an...
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