Why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo important to the United States?
3. There are rich natural resources in the DRC and the extraordinary human resource potential that can make the country one of our most valuable trading partners. 4. The DRC is working to protect the environment and preserve its extraordinary resources. The current fighting in the eastern part of the country is threatening Virunga National Park’s unique and endangered wildlife including the critically endangered mountain gorilla. This amazing creature is important to future ecotourism in the DRC and current ecotourism revenues in both Rwanda and Uganda. Ecotourism is an important part of the economies of these countries which helps to maintain overall political stability in the Great Lakes Region. 5. Ending the conflict in the DRC will help to insure the overall protection of one of the world’s most important rainforests. Rainforests are important to Carbon offsetting, the act of mitigating (“offsetting”) greenhouse gas emissions. Rainforests are also important to protecting the world’
