Abstract

This article critically reviews the socio-economic and environmental performance of large-scale logging companies operating in countries endowed with the dense tropical rainforest of the Congo Basin in Central Africa and offers possible solutions to problems identified. After independence, these countries formulated a series of strategies to attract foreign investment in the large-scale logging industry. Recently, while a plethora of policies and regulations have been designed to advance sustainable forest management in these countries, the sustainability of this industry has been brought into question in light of the impoverish state of local forest-dependent communities. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the regulatory framework of this industry in the developing world, as well as assess their performance with a particular focus on six countries where the forests of the Congo Basin are concentrated in Central Africa.

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