US and EU conservation funds failing to protect trees or people, claims report

Up to $500m spent by donors on protecting rainforest in the Congo basin has failed to prevent destructive developments, says the Rainforest Foundation

Up to $500m (346m) spent by the US, EU and other donors to protect the world's second largest swath of rainforest has failed - for the trees, the animals and the people who live among them - a major study has found.

Analysis of five equatorial African countries in the Congo basin has found that destructive developments including illegal logging, oil and gas exploration, and palm oil plantations are taking place in 34 large protected areas, and that conservation has displaced villages and led to conflict and human rights abuses.