A bronze statue of Roger Casement, over 3 metres in height, was erected on a new jetty overlooking Dun Laoghaire Harbour in 2021. The statue was commissioned by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to commemorate Casement who was born in nearby Sandycove in 1864. He had a distinguished career in the British Foreign Service until 1913 and became an advocate for international human rights. After resigning from the Foreign Service he became increasingly interested in the cause for Irish independence. He was executed by the British Government in 1916 for treason for his part in preparing for the 1916 Rising.
The legacy of Roger Casement’s work is deeply consistent with human rights and sustainable development challenges of today. Through his pioneering investigations into abuses in the Congo and Amazon, he highlighted the devastating environmental and social impacts of extractive industries. I was reminded of this as world leaders gathered in Belem, Brazil this week, for COP 30 aiming to keep the global focus on the need meaningful action to tackle the impacts of devastating climate change. One of the key ambitions of COP 30 is to establish a new Rain Forest Fund which aims to tap financial markets for returns to pay countries to keep their rainforests standing, while channelling at least 20% of the money to Indigenous and local communities. This vital initiative can draw inspiration from the work of Roger Casement.
Roger Casement first visited the Congo in 1883 and returned there as British Consul in 1901, a post he held until 1904. He was appointed British Consul in Brazil in 1906 and remained there until 1913. His reports exposed the exploitation of Indigenous peoples and the destruction of their environment for profit, advocating for human rights and raising awareness that continues to influence modern discussions on ethical supply chains and corporate responsibility.
Casement’s work as a human rights investigator focused on revealing the brutality and exploitation of indigenous people in the Congo and the Amazon. He was among the first to systematically record the firsthand accounts of those directly affected by these abuses, challenging the prevailing view that the evidence of non-white people could not be trusted. His efforts were aimed at protecting the most vulnerable populations, which aligned with modern human rights principles of protecting indigenous rights, preventing slavery, and ending child labour. For his work, he was recognized as a humanitarian activist and was even knighted in 1911, though this was later complicated by his political activities on behalf of Ireland.
Casement’s investigations revealed the links between business practices and environmental devastation. His reports on the Amazon rubber boom, for instance, detailed the destruction of ecosystems to extract rubber. He highlighted how profit motives were leading to both human suffering and environmental destruction, a central theme in modern sustainable development which seeks a balance between economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection. He was instrumental in shifting investment away from purely extractive models toward more sustainable alternatives.
His work remains relevant today, as it provides a historical foundation for modern questions about supply chains, corporate accountability, and the relationship between business practices and social and environmental impacts.
From 2010 to 2020, Africa lost 3.94 million hectares of forest annually, according to a 2022 report by the African Forestry and Wildlife Commission. The Congo Basin tropical forests, dubbed the ‘lungs of Africa’, sequester 40 gigatons of carbon each year, according to a State of Forests 2021 report. But if the current deforestation rates continue, 27% of these forests may disappear by 2050, the Central Africa Forest Observatory has warned.
Together with the Rain Forest Fund, new rules for Carbon Markets agreed at last year’s COP offers hope for Rain Forest Nations like DRC and Brazil. Home to 674 million hectares of forests, an area similar in size to the Amazon rainforest, Africa views the carbon market as a potential way to preserve its forests, as well as enhance livelihoods. Although the continent’s first carbon credit was issued in 2012 in Ethiopia, the carbon market only started to build traction in the 2020s, with experts projecting it could generate US$6 billion annually by 2030.
Africa’s carbon markets, both for voluntary and compliance carbon credits, are expected to see rapid expansion in 2026 and succeeding years, underpinned by the continent’s vast renewable energy potential, extensive natural resources, increased awareness of the value of carbon markets in catalysing carbon finance, and a new push by African countries to establish robust carbon market frameworks that are designed to instil global confidence. Many African countries like Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe are moving ahead putting institutional and administrative arrangements in place.
Africa is poised to become a global leader in Carbon Markets with projected annual growth of 15% -20% and 30 million jobs by 2030, with revenue expected to surge to $120 billion by 2050. The DRC is well place to benefit significantly from this Carbon Market revolution. But the focus must be on high-integrity carbon markets that deliver real improvements and enhance the livelihoods of local communities. The life and work of Roger Casement focusing on human rights can still provide an inspiration for this work.
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