Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay’s founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives, and story summaries.
The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo isn’t just killing people — it’s tearing down forests, silencing activists, and fueling an illicit trade worth millions of dollars.
The resurgence of the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC since 2021 has triggered a humanitarian crisis, forcing hundreds of thousands of people throughout the province of North Kivu to flee.
Yet another casualty has received less attention: the environment. The conflict is exacerbating deforestation, undermining conservation efforts, and fueling the illicit exploitation of natural resources.
The Albertine Rift, home to the critically endangered eastern lowland and mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri and G. b. beringei), is under severe pressure. Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, have become battlegrounds. Since late 2021, M23 has taken control of towns surrounding Virunga, including Rutshuru, Rwindi and Masisi; in February 2025, the group pushed into Kahuzi-Biega, seizing areas adjacent to the park’s highland sector.
Deforestation in Virunga has accelerated: In 2023, some 1,222 hectares (3,020 acres) of tree cover were lost in a charcoal production zone, more than double the annual average of 571 hectares (1,411 acres) from 2019-2022.
Charcoal demand is a key driver. With 800,000 displaced people arriving in Goma, the North Kivu capital, the demand for charcoal has surged. With access to Virunga restricted, supply chains have shifted to Kahuzi-Biega.
In 2023, deforestation in Kahuzi-Biega’s charcoal production zone increased to 1,171 hectares (2,894 acres), up from 521 hectares (1,287 acres) annually over the previous four years. Illegal logging is surging in the park, facilitated by newly constructed ports on Lake Kivu.
Armed groups have long profited from the region’s natural wealth. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) previously controlled much of Virunga’s charcoal trade, but M23’s territorial gains have disrupted this balance. The group now levies taxes on charcoal and timber transport.
While M23 touts itself as a pro-conservation force, its environmental record is contradictory. It has banned charcoal production in some areas while profiting from the timber trade elsewhere.
Meanwhile, since 1996, more than 200 park rangers have died in the line of duty.
Caught in the crossfire are Indigenous groups such as the Batwa, forcibly displaced by the conflict and unable to access their forests for sustenance. Activists attempting to expose illicit extraction have been silenced, some fleeing, others disappearing.
The future of the DRC’s forests, and those who depend on them, hangs in the balance.
Further reading:
- Environmental & rights activists flee and hide as M23 captures DRC’s cities by Elodie Toto
- The environmental toll of the M23 conflict in eastern DRC, analysis by Fergus O’Leary Simpson, Joel Masselink, Lara Collart
- DRC conflict so far ‘devastating’ to Indigenous lands & people: Interview with Samuel Ade Ndasi by Aimable TWAHIRWA
- The key factors fueling conflict in eastern DRC by John Cannon
Banner image:A mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay.
