[ti:Congo to Ban Log Exports to Reduce Pressure on its Forests] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The Democratic Republic of Congo's [00:03.44]environment minister said on Thursday [00:07.40]the country plans to ban all log exports. [00:13.12]The country also plans to take measures [00:17.04]to lessen threats to its tropical rainforest. [00:22.68]The forest takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. [00:30.24]It is a major move to fight climate change. [00:35.68]Congo is home to the majority [00:38.48]of the world's second-largest rainforest. [00:43.80]The country is under pressure to improve [00:47.48]how it administers the forest. [00:51.92]It is also under pressure to slow down the high rate [00:57.16]at which the forest is being destroyed, or deforested. [01:04.32]Information from the U.N. shows the deforestation rate [01:10.40]has doubled in the last ten years. [01:14.88]Eve Bazaiba is the environment minister. [01:20.64]She announced the suspension of log exports [01:24.84]to reporters in the capital Kinshasa. [01:30.08]She did not say when it would come into effect. [01:35.56]"It allows us not only to enable natural restoration [01:41.92]but also a reforestation program [01:45.84]that we have with all of our technical, [01:50.24]financial, and development partners," she said. [01:55.76]Information from the Central African Forest Initiative [02:01.20]shows the Congo Basin rainforest [02:04.92]removes 4 percent of carbon dioxide [02:09.28]that humans put into the atmosphere a [02:12.76]round the world each year. [02:16.52]About 60 percent of the rainforest is in Congo. [02:22.80]Bazaiba also has a plan, however, [02:26.88]to remove a temporary ban on new industrial logging, [02:32.44]which would give land to logging companies to remove trees. [02:38.44]This plan has caused concern [02:41.16]in environmental groups and scientists. [02:46.00]They have warned of serious environmental, [02:50.04]social, and climatic harm. [02:54.68]Bazaiba has said in the past that the temporary ban [02:59.80]has not been able to stop the spread of illegal logging. [03:05.84]More than 24 scientists have urged those [03:10.60]who financially support the Democratic Republic [03:15.08]of Congo's forests industry to suspend financing [03:20.52]if the government goes ahead with this plan. [03:25.52]But some scientists and other groups support the measure. [03:31.68]The European Union's ambassador to Congo [03:36.04]has shown openness to the government's plan. [03:40.80]They said earlier this month that it represented [03:44.92]a "desire to regain control" of the forests. [03:50.60]Earlier in October, President Felix Tshisekedi [03:55.84]ordered an inspection into all existing logging contracts, [04:01.24]or legal agreements. [04:04.40]He was trying to gain more order [04:07.24]in the poorly administered industry. [04:11.80]"We don't want any more contracts with partners [04:15.76]who came to savagely cut our forests, [04:20.44]we will retire these types of contracts," Bazaiba said. [04:26.92]Forest Trends is an American organization [04:31.60]that works to save forest land. [04:35.84]In 2018, it found that Congo's biggest markets [04:41.52]for wood products were Vietnam, the European Union [04:46.60]and the European Free Trade Association, and China. [04:53.36]I'm Gregory Stachel. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM