FSC’s René Ngongo awarded ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’
On 4 December 2009, Mr. René Ngongo, FSC’s Contact Person in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), will receive the Right Livelihood Award for his outstanding vision and work in the Congo Basin’s endangered forests.
The Right Livelihood Award Foundation is recognizing Mr. Ngongo with the prize “for his courage in confronting the forces that are destroying the Congo's rainforests, and building political support for their conservation and sustainable use”.
As the FSC Contract Person in the DRC since 2006, Mr. Ngongo has been involved in promoting FSC in one of the most critical areas of tropical forest in the world. He has established FSC representation in three key areas in this vast country – namely Kinshasa, Kisangani and Mbandeka.
Mr. Ngongo rallied stakeholders in the country and is on track to establish a national FSC Working Group. He is also participating in the regional Working Group which is currently developing a standard for the Congo Basin.
His efforts are now focused on organizing the DRC’s first FSC General Assembly, scheduled for the end of 2009. Supported by the PPP-NI project, this will be a critical step for the Working Group to gain legal recognition in the DRC.
"The forests of the DR Congo and the Congo Basin (…) should not be considered merely as raw material to be exported and should neither only be seen as a carbon reservoir. Before anything else, it is a living environment, a grocery store, a pharmacy, a spiritual landmark for millions of forest communities and aboriginal peoples, those who are our forest's main guardians,” said Mr. Ngongo.
The annual award, known in many countries as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, honors and supports those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today.
FSC wishes to congratulate Mr. Ngongo for this exceptional achievement.
The Right Livelihood Award website
