Tobi Whelan

Tobi’s research critically examines the position of artisanal logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo within the contemporary reconfiguration of the global timber industry. It focuses on the interactions between the Congolese state, foreign timber corporations, and artisanal logging actors, with particular attention to how expanding foreign capital and industrial investment shape the development, regulation, and marginalization of artisanal logging.

The project adopts a political economy approach and is based on eight months of qualitative fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including ethnography and interviews with state officials, logging operators, and local communities. By situating artisanal logging within broader transformations in global timber markets, the research aims to contribute to debates on resource governance, development, and extractive industries in Central Africa