Despite the high cost of the project, which received hundreds of millions from international donors, conservation efforts in the Congo Basin have not stopped biodiversity from dwindling or militaristic “guns and guards” from threatening the livelihoods of local populaces, the UK-based Rainforest Foundation (RFUK) revealed on Thursday. Researchers spent 18 months interviewing people in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo, including four detailed case studies outlined in the report, titled Protected Areas in the Congo Basin: Failing both People and Biodiversity. The biggest of those donors is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which gave at least $110 million between 2004 and 2010, and has pledged to give $50 million more from 2013 to 2018. USAID is closely followed by the EU, which gave $118m between 1992 and 2010.
— source theguardian.com