Speaking to the media in Kinshasa, Borloo, who is also in charge of ecology, energy, sustainable development and planning dockets, said that France and the European Union were ready and willing to help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to manage its forests in a sustainable manner.
"We are committed to the preservation of the Congo basin forests, but the global community should compensate us for our efforts," said the minister, who put the annual value of the forests at around 3 billion U.S. dollars.
"We will aggressively promote the policy of protecting forests within the Congo Basin. The DRC could provide energy for up to two-thirds of the African continent, because the bulk of the Congo Basin forest is on its territory," said Borloo.
