Congo’s green lung defender

IN A PHOTO accompanying Remy Zahiga’s tweet on December 21, he holds a small sheet of cardboard, declaring, “Save the planet. Save the Congo fauna and flora”.

The 24-year-old tells how he lives in the Congo Basin, “which is home to 80 million people who depend on it for everything.

“But deforestation and fires are on the rise. I’ve been striking for 172 days but voices from Francophone are hardly heard. All my life is depending on Congo rainforest,” his tweet reads.

Zahiga, 24, of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), says the Congo Basin, as the second largest forest in the world, is the globe’s “second lung”, but it is being destroyed by rampant deforestation.

“When I was at university, we learnt the importance of forests on the reduction of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere in order for the climate to remain intact,” says Zahiga, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in earth sciences in geology.

“Throughout the world, these forests are not protected. There are regulations on the protection of wildlife and fauna (but) these are not always respected.”

A 2018 study by the University of Maryland found that the Congo Basin could disappear by 2100, predominantly because of small-scale clearing for subsistence agriculture. That’s a grim fate unimaginable to Zahiga.

“The DRC has 80 million inhabitants who depend on this basin for agriculture, livestock, water and fresh air. (If the Congo basin disappears) that will cause the extinction of everyone who depends on it.”

Zahiga’s social media activism has garnered support across the world.

“The campaign brings together many activists from other continents. I thank these activists who, despite not being in Congo, understood the danger.

“Africans have not yet understood that we are in a climate emergency. Being an activist in Africa is a danger because some leaders believe that our campaigns go in the opposite direction of their will. No Congolese leader has recognised our work because the media are not interested in us,” says Zahiga, adding that the voices of African environmental activists are ignored.

“Activists are always targets in African countries, especially for us who advocate for the protection of the Congo Basin. While the woods of this basin feed the developed countries and their companies, African people refuse to join activism because there is no coverage and in many African countries, human rights are not respected.

“Africa emits less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (than other parts of the world) but it is the most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

“The climate crisis has an impact on famine, the destruction of road infrastructure, loss of human life and the extinction of species.”