Lekoumou

Lekoumou represents the tension between Congo's forest economy and its extractive pressures. Covering 85% of the department in natural forest (1.80 million hectares in 2020), Lekoumou lies within the 12.8 million hectares affected by industrial logging nationwide—in a country where forestry ranks second only to oil in GDP and export contribution (3-6% of GDP). The department hosts significant indigenous populations, with Lekoumou and Likouala together containing 76% of Congo's autochthonous peoples whose traditional land access spans 150,000-550,000 hectares per social group. This creates fundamental conflict: nearly 90% of Congo's forest area is designated for timber production through industrial concessions, often without free, prior and informed consent from communities whose ancestral lands lie within concession boundaries. The 2020 Forest Code and 2013 EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement aimed to regulate extraction, but an estimated 70% of timber production remains illegal. A log export ban announced for January 2023 was subsequently relaxed through quota allocations due to economic pressures—demonstrating how revenue needs override conservation intent. Lekoumou's economy remains dominated by artisanal activity: traditional agriculture (manioc, banana, taro), gathering, and small-scale fishing. The department exemplifies source-sink dynamics where industrial extraction flows value outward while local communities see negligible benefit.