Illegal logging in rebel-held Congo threatens gorillas, alarms environmentalists

Vendors trade at the charcoal market in Murhesa, as improved access to markets drives up supply, raising alarm over environmental degradation and the growing threat to Kahuzi-Biega National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site home to endangered Grauer’s gorillas, in the Bukavu, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2025. REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge

KABARE, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -Tropical forests in eastern Congo that fell into rebel hands this year have seen a spike in illegal logging to produce charcoal and timber, residents and environmentalists said, raising fears of large-scale degradation.

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site west of Bukavu, the second-largest city in eastern Congo, which was seized by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in February. It is home to hundreds of species of birds and one of the last groups of eastern lowland gorillas, also known as Grauer's gorillas.