A man illegally cuts down a tree that he will later sell. It only takes ten minutes to cut down trees like this one, which can be as old as 200 years. The World Bank and other donors view logging as a way to alleviate poverty and promote economic development. Expansion of logging into remaining areas of intact forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will destroy globally critical carbon reserves and impact biodiversity. Beyond environmental impacts, logging in the region exacerbates poverty and leads to social conflicts. Approximately 40 million people in the DRC depend on the rainforest for their basic needs, such as medicine, food or shelter.