Congo woodcutter. Local woodcutter with an axe by a tree stump in a tropical rain forest in the Congo Basin. Demand for timber has risen as the population in the Congo Basin has increased. The wood felled here is for local use as firewood, charcoal and planks, as opposed to the mechanised logging carried out for European markets. In some areas, local cutting on a large scale contributes to deforestation and has been made illegal. This woodcutter is from Yembe, in Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.