Congo Basin

• • NOTOC**

Congo Basin

The Congo Basin contains one of the world's largest remaining expanses of tropical rainforest and is an ecological system of global importance. Its forests extend across several Central African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. They support extraordinary biological diversity, enormous stores of carbon, major river systems and the livelihoods and cultures of millions of people.

Research increasingly describes the Congo Basin as more than a collection of forests. It functions as a continental climate system in which forests, rainfall, rivers, wetlands, peatlands, wildlife and human communities are interconnected. Changes in one part of this system can therefore have consequences far beyond the locations where deforestation or degradation occurs.

Despite its importance, the Basin faces growing pressure from agriculture, charcoal production, logging, mining, roads, oil development, hunting, conflict and expanding settlements. Recent research also demonstrates that conservation outcomes depend not simply on declaring protected areas but on the quality of management, governance, enforcement and participation of local communities.

A global carbon and climate system

The Congo Basin is one of the world's most important terrestrial carbon stores. Its forests absorb carbon dioxide while immense quantities of additional carbon are stored in soils and peatlands.

Long-term studies of African tropical forests have shown that intact forests have continued functioning as a major carbon sink, although evidence suggests their capacity to absorb additional carbon may weaken as temperatures rise and climatic conditions change.

Recent research adds an important qualification to the distinction between completely untouched and managed forests. Protected areas and well-managed logging concessions can retain large quantities of carbon and continue sequestering carbon. Forest-management plans and improved logging practices can therefore influence whether production forests remain functioning ecosystems or become pathways toward progressive degradation.

The forests also affect regional rainfall. Moisture released through vegetation contributes to atmospheric circulation and precipitation, meaning extensive forest loss could alter water cycles as well as carbon emissions.

Changes in rainy-season precipitation, increasing fire activity and projected land-cover changes consequently represent interconnected climate and forest risks.

Peatlands and the Cuvette Centrale

One of the most important scientific discoveries concerning the Congo Basin has been the recognition of the enormous tropical peatlands beneath the swamp forests of the Cuvette Centrale.

Field research estimated that these peatlands contain roughly 30 billion tonnes of carbon, making their protection globally significant for climate stability.

Research using peat cores, radiocarbon dating, pollen, charcoal and geochemical evidence has reconstructed thousands of years of environmental change. The results show that peat accumulation depends heavily on rainfall and hydrology.

Periods of substantial drying in the past caused peat to decompose and release previously stored carbon. This history raises concerns that prolonged future drought could destabilize portions of the peatland carbon store.

Research also shows that the peatlands are not ecologically uniform. Floodplain and interfluvial swamp forests have followed different ecological histories, while rivers and precipitation have played important roles in peat formation and carbon movement.

Governments and international organizations are increasingly attempting to incorporate peatlands into national forest-monitoring and greenhouse-gas accounting systems. Protecting the Cuvette Centrale will require preventing poorly planned drainage, agriculture, logging and infrastructure while maintaining the hydrological conditions that allow peat to remain saturated.

Deforestation and forest degradation

Deforestation in the Congo Basin differs in important ways from forest loss in some other tropical regions.

Large industrial plantations and mechanized agriculture are important threats in some landscapes, but research repeatedly identifies small-scale clearing as a major regional driver. Smallholder agriculture, shifting cultivation, charcoal production, villages and associated road expansion account for a substantial portion of forest disturbance.

This does not mean industrial development is unimportant. Industrial activities can produce more permanent ecological changes and create infrastructure that enables additional settlement, hunting and forest conversion.

Recent assessments have reported particularly concerning forest-loss trends in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Agriculture, charcoal dependence, mining, logging, fire and armed conflict interact rather than operating as isolated causes.

Forest recovery after small-scale clearing is also uneven. Some abandoned areas regenerate, but research indicates that only part of cleared forest returns to high-quality tropical forest.

The result is a landscape in which relatively small individual disturbances can accumulate into large regional changes.

Logging, roads and forest management

Logging represents one of the most complicated conservation questions in the Congo Basin because large portions of the forest are designated for timber production.

Research does not show that every logging concession produces the same outcome. Some studies have found little difference in deforestation between concessions and comparable areas, while other evidence indicates that properly implemented forest-management plans can gradually reduce forest loss.

Reduced-impact logging can lower ecological disturbance and carbon emissions compared with conventional logging. Forest certification has also been associated with better wildlife outcomes in some concessions. Camera-trap research in Gabon and Republic of Congo found substantially greater abundance of some large mammals in certified forests than in comparable uncertified concessions.

Logging nevertheless creates another major ecological threat: roads.

Satellite research has documented tens of thousands of kilometers of forest-road development associated largely with industrial logging. Roads fragment previously roadless forests and can continue influencing ecosystems long after commercial harvesting ends.

They also provide access for hunting, settlement, agriculture and additional resource extraction.

Consequently, the ecological impact of logging cannot be measured simply by the number of trees removed. Road networks and the secondary development they enable can have much larger and longer-lasting consequences.

Mining, oil and infrastructure

The Congo Basin contains major deposits of cobalt, copper, gold and other minerals increasingly important to the global economy.

Mining presents both direct and indirect threats to forests. Research on artisanal mining in eastern DRC indicates that forest loss can extend kilometers beyond mining sites as settlements, agriculture, timber extraction and transportation networks develop around them.

Industrial mining has produced additional concerns involving pollution, farmland, water resources and customary land rights.

The global transition toward electric vehicles and renewable-energy technologies creates a difficult contradiction. Minerals extracted from the DRC can contribute to reducing fossil-fuel consumption elsewhere while their extraction may damage forests, biodiversity and communities within the Congo Basin.

Oil development creates a similar tension. Governments seek revenue and economic development while some exploration and production proposals overlap forests, wetlands or protected landscapes.

Roads, railways, dams and other major infrastructure can magnify these pressures by opening previously remote forests to settlement and extraction.

Biodiversity and wildlife

The Congo Basin supports some of the world's most distinctive wildlife, including forest elephants, bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, okapi, pangolins and numerous endemic monkeys.

Scientific discoveries continue to demonstrate how incompletely documented this diversity remains. Researchers have identified previously unknown species and rediscovered animals that had gone unrecorded for decades.

Bonobos are restricted to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while Grauer's gorillas, okapi and several primates have similarly limited distributions.

Forest elephants have experienced severe historical declines because of ivory poaching and expanding human access. Their loss has implications beyond the elephants themselves. Research indicates that forest elephants influence vegetation structure and may help forests maintain higher carbon storage.

Hunting remains an important source of food and income in many forest communities, making wildlife conservation inseparable from livelihoods and food security. Community programs therefore increasingly attempt to develop locally governed approaches rather than relying exclusively on enforcement.

Protected areas remain essential wildlife strongholds, but formal designation alone does not guarantee protection. Some reserves continue to experience mining, hunting, agricultural encroachment and deforestation.

Effective conservation requires management capacity, monitoring, community cooperation and political stability.

Conflict and conservation

Armed conflict creates some of the most severe conservation challenges in parts of the eastern Congo Basin.

War can displace communities, weaken park management, increase charcoal production and facilitate illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking. Armed groups may use natural resources to generate revenue while conservation organizations lose access to affected landscapes.

Research concerning Grauer's gorillas illustrates the danger of oversimplifying these relationships. Evidence suggests that armed conflict, mining, refugee movements and poaching have historically been more important drivers of some wildlife declines than the presence of Indigenous forest communities themselves.

Conservation programs operating in conflict zones must therefore address security, livelihoods and governance as well as wildlife protection.

Indigenous Peoples and community rights

The forests of the Congo Basin are also cultural landscapes inhabited and used by Indigenous Peoples and other forest-dependent communities.

Historically, some protected areas were established through approaches that displaced communities or restricted customary access to ancestral forests. These practices have generated continuing conflicts between conservation institutions and Indigenous Peoples.

The experience of the Batwa around Kahuzi-Biega National Park has become particularly important. Human-rights findings recognized serious violations associated with displacement and strengthened arguments that conservation cannot legitimately be separated from customary land rights.

Across the Basin, Baka, Batwa, Bagyeli, Aka and other Indigenous communities are seeking stronger recognition of customary territories and greater participation in forest governance.

Community forest concessions represent one approach to addressing these issues. In the DRC, communities can obtain legal recognition over forests they traditionally use and manage.

Evidence from community forestry projects suggests that secure tenure can support conservation while also strengthening local development and self-determination. Community forests are increasingly being connected into larger conservation landscapes and biodiversity corridors.

Important questions nevertheless remain about whether community forestry consistently transfers meaningful authority and economic benefits to local people.

Women's participation is another significant issue. Research identifies barriers that can prevent women from participating equally in forest monitoring, decision-making and benefit sharing even within community-based institutions.

Conservation and protected areas

The Congo Basin contains national parks, wildlife reserves, World Heritage sites, logging concessions, community forests and other forms of managed landscapes.

Evidence increasingly suggests that successful conservation cannot depend on protected-area designation alone.

Some protected landscapes have experienced substantial deforestation despite their legal status. Others have preserved important wildlife populations despite intense regional pressures.

Management quality is therefore critical.

New approaches include recognizing Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures, or OECMs, which can allow landscapes outside traditional national parks to contribute toward biodiversity goals when they produce measurable conservation outcomes.

This creates possibilities for community forests, customary territories and sustainably managed production forests to form part of larger conservation strategies.

The broader trend is toward landscape-scale conservation in which strictly protected areas are connected with community territories and sustainably managed forests rather than treated as isolated ecological islands.

Technology and forest monitoring

Satellite technology is transforming understanding of the Congo Basin.

Researchers can increasingly identify forest clearing, fires, logging roads and other disturbances shortly after they occur. High-resolution imagery combined with artificial intelligence and deep-learning systems is allowing analysts to map forest-road expansion across multiple countries.

Platforms such as SEPAL and Global Forest Watch make satellite information available to governments, researchers and civil-society organizations.

Remote monitoring can help distinguish the causes of forest loss rather than merely recording that trees have disappeared.

Camera traps provide similar advances for wildlife monitoring, while acoustic sensors can detect animals and measure changes in forest soundscapes.

These technologies cannot replace governance or enforcement, but they make forest activity increasingly visible and provide communities, governments and conservation organizations with tools for identifying threats.

Climate finance and carbon markets

A central challenge for Congo Basin conservation is economic.

Countries containing globally important forests also face substantial development needs. Governments must finance infrastructure, employment, education and public services while communities depend directly on land and forest resources.

Conservation therefore competes economically with logging, mining, petroleum development and agriculture.

International climate finance attempts to change this equation by assigning greater economic value to standing forests.

REDD+ programs can provide payments for verified reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The DRC has already received performance-based payments connected with emissions reductions in Mai-Ndombe, with mechanisms intended to distribute part of the benefits to communities and Indigenous Peoples.

Congo Basin governments are also developing strategies for participating in carbon markets.

Other proposals include blended finance, debt-for-nature arrangements, payments for ecosystem services and performance-linked financing for countries maintaining high forest cover.

These approaches could provide alternatives to extractive development, but their effectiveness depends on credible monitoring, transparent regulation and fair distribution of benefits.

Concerns surrounding poorly regulated carbon-credit projects demonstrate that forest finance does not automatically produce conservation or social benefits.

Natural capital and sustainable forest economies

A broader economic argument is emerging around the concept of natural capital.

Traditional economic accounting can make a standing forest appear less valuable than a forest converted into timber, mines or agriculture because many ecosystem services are not included in conventional measures of economic production.

Congo Basin ecosystem accounts attempt to measure values associated with carbon storage, water regulation, biodiversity and other forest services.

Such accounting can change how governments evaluate development decisions.

The goal is not simply to prevent all economic activity in forest regions but to develop economies in which maintaining forests produces substantial economic benefits.

Recent initiatives emphasize sustainable forest management, local timber processing, traceable supply chains, community enterprises, agroforestry and nature-positive businesses.

Processing timber locally rather than exporting unprocessed logs could potentially create more employment and revenue from smaller harvest volumes. Community enterprises and agroforestry may similarly generate income while maintaining more forest cover than large-scale conversion.

The central challenge is ensuring that sustainable economic activities can genuinely compete with the short-term returns available from destructive extraction.

The future of the Congo Basin

The research collected on the Congo Basin presents neither a story of inevitable destruction nor one of guaranteed conservation success.

The region still contains immense areas of forest, extraordinary biodiversity and globally important carbon stores. Managed forests can continue absorbing carbon, community conservation can protect significant landscapes, better forest-management plans can reduce degradation and new technologies can expose previously hidden forest loss.

At the same time, pressures are intensifying.

Population growth, agricultural expansion, charcoal demand, roads, mining, fossil-fuel development, wildlife trafficking, conflict and climate change interact across the region. A temporary decline in annual forest loss does not necessarily mean these structural pressures have disappeared.

Restoration alone cannot substitute for conserving intact forests. Evidence questioning poorly designed restoration projects demonstrates the importance of native ecosystems, secure tenure, long-term monitoring and community participation.

The future of the Congo Basin will therefore depend on whether governments and the international community can make standing forests economically, politically and socially more valuable than their destruction.

Conclusion

The Congo Basin is simultaneously a rainforest, a carbon store, a biodiversity stronghold, a hydrological system, a source of natural resources and a homeland for millions of people.

Its future cannot be addressed through a single conservation strategy.

Protected areas remain important, but they require effective management and respect for human rights. Sustainable logging may reduce impacts in production forests, but road expansion and weak governance can undermine those benefits. Carbon markets and climate finance may generate new conservation revenue, but they require transparency, credible measurement and meaningful participation by local communities.

Community forests and stronger Indigenous land rights offer another important path by connecting forest protection with local control and livelihoods.

The broad lesson emerging from research across the Basin is that ecological conservation, economic development and human rights must increasingly be addressed together.

Whether the Congo Basin remains one of the world's great functioning tropical forest systems will depend not only on how many hectares receive legal protection, but on how forests are governed, who benefits from them, whether communities have secure rights, and whether national and international economic systems reward keeping forests standing.

• • TOC**

Forest Loss, Agriculture, Roads & Fire

Forests, fires and fragile gains

| David Akana | Mongabay | May 8, 2026

WRI's Elizabeth Goldman discusses recent forest-loss data, fire, satellite monitoring and the difficulty of translating short-term improvements into sustained forest protection.

A good year for forests changes less than it seems

| Rhett Ayers Butler | Mongabay | April 29, 2026

The analysis cautions that year-to-year reductions in tropical forest loss do not necessarily indicate structural progress against agriculture, logging, mining and other long-term drivers.

Mapping Congo Basin forest roads with artificial intelligence

| Global Forest Watch | World Resources Institute | March 11, 2026

High-resolution satellite imagery and deep learning are being used to map road expansion across six Congo Basin countries and identify new access into previously remote forest.

Why forest loss in the Congo Basin requires immediate action

| Teodyl Nkuintchua, Sarah Carter, Kendie Kenmoe and Roger Mambeta | WRI Africa | February 25, 2026

WRI examines increasing primary-forest loss, its principal drivers and policy options for maintaining the Congo Basin as the world's largest remaining tropical forest carbon sink.

Decoding fire clusters in the Congo Basin

| Getachew Dubache et al. | Forest Ecology and Management | 2026

Satellite analysis finds increasing fire activity in southern DRC and examines the interacting effects of climate, agricultural burning and possible satellite-detection biases.

Tropical rainforest loss slowed in 2025, but fire is a growing threat

| World Resources Institute | WRI Africa | 2026

WRI reports that forest-loss patterns differed substantially across Congo Basin countries, while agriculture, charcoal, fire and conflict continued to place forests under pressure.

Unveiling small-scale tropical forest loss and post-loss recovery in the Congo Basin

| Various authors | Global Environmental Change | 2026

Researchers find that small-scale clearing accounts for much of Congo Basin forest loss and that only a limited portion of cleared forest subsequently experiences high-quality recovery.

The year in rainforests 2025: Deforestation fell; the risks did not

| Mongabay | Mongabay | December 2025

The annual review describes mounting pressure on Congo Basin forests from agriculture, charcoal, mining, conflict, fires and expanding transport corridors.

DRC hit by record deforestation in 2024

| Ruth Kamnitzer | Mongabay | November 26, 2025

Satellite data indicate record primary-forest loss in the DRC in 2024, with agriculture, charcoal, mining, fire and armed conflict contributing to the trend.

Reshaping the forests around Kisangani

| NASA Earth Observatory | NASA | September 22, 2025

Decades of Landsat imagery reveal gradual but persistent forest clearing around Kisangani as agriculture, population growth and urban expansion reshape the surrounding landscape.

Cocoa boom fuels a new wave of deforestation in Cameroon

| Ryan Truscott | Mongabay | August 4, 2025

Expanding cocoa production is becoming an increasingly important source of forest conversion in Cameroon as growers respond to high prices and international demand.

Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024

| Ruth Kamnitzer | Mongabay | May 21, 2025

Global Forest Watch data show forest loss rising in both DRC and Republic of Congo, with shifting cultivation and fire among the important regional drivers.

New study assesses wildlife threat from cacao expansion

| Malavika Vyawahare | Mongabay | January 21, 2025

Researchers identify areas of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and DRC where future cocoa expansion could overlap particularly important wildlife habitat.

How much forest was lost in 2024?

| World Resources Institute | Global Forest Review | 2025

Global Forest Watch data show record or near-record forest losses in parts of the Congo Basin, driven largely by shifting cultivation, charcoal production, logging, conflict and fires.

The year in tropical rainforests: 2024

| Rhett Ayers Butler | Mongabay | December 24, 2024

The review identifies record forest loss in the DRC and continuing threats from agriculture, charcoal dependence, illegal logging and industrial development.

Monitoring road development in Congo Basin forests with satellite imagery and deep learning

| Bart Slagter et al. | Remote Sensing of Environment | December 15, 2024

Researchers mapped nearly 36,000 kilometers of road development between 2019 and 2022, finding that most detected road construction was associated with industrial logging.

Monitoring forest cover and land-use change under IPCC climate scenarios

| Yisa Ginath Yuh et al. | PLOS ONE | December 2, 2024

Machine-learning analysis reconstructs Congo Basin land-cover change since 1990 and projects additional dense-forest losses through 2050 under several climate scenarios.

Tackling the drivers of deforestation in the Congo Basin

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | May 22, 2024

FAO describes a Green Climate Fund-backed program intended to protect forests while addressing agricultural, livelihood and other causes of deforestation.

Cocoa, livelihoods and deforestation in the TRIDOM landscape

| Various authors | PLOS ONE | 2024

Household and spatial data show how expanding cocoa production and livelihood strategies can generate forest-loss spillovers within the transboundary TRIDOM conservation landscape.

Small-scale agriculture continues to drive deforestation and degradation in fragmented Congo Basin forests

| Various authors | Land Use Policy | 2024

Regional analysis concludes that small-scale farming, villages and roads remain the dominant direct drivers of forest loss, while industrial activities can cause more permanent local impacts.

DRC's cacao boom leaves a bitter aftertaste for forests

| Malavika Vyawahare | Mongabay | February 18, 2022

Rapid expansion of cacao production in eastern DRC has raised concerns that a crop promoted for rural development could become an increasingly important driver of forest conversion.

Congo Basin forest loss dominated by increasing smallholder clearing

| Alexandra Tyukavina et al. | Science Advances | November 2018

Satellite data indicate that most forest disturbance from 2000 to 2014 was associated with small-scale, nonmechanized clearing rather than industrial-scale deforestation.

State and evolution of the African rainforests between 1990 and 2010

| Philippe Mayaux et al. | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | 2013

The study maps changes in Central African rainforest and identifies agriculture and fuelwood demand as important long-term drivers of forest conversion.

Logging, Timber & Forest Management

Can selective logging help the Congo Basin store more carbon?

| Claudia Geib | Mongabay | July 2, 2026

New research examines whether well-managed logging concessions can retain substantial carbon stocks and continue absorbing carbon while supporting timber production.

Targeting FSC certification for greater Congo Basin conservation impact

| Various authors | Discover Forests | May 19, 2026

Researchers rank logging concessions according to biodiversity, intact-forest value and landscape position to identify where certification could deliver the greatest conservation benefits.

Managed rainforests support higher carbon density and sequestration in the Congo Basin

| Le Bienfaiteur Sagang et al. | Nature Communications | April 30, 2026

Research finds that managed forests, including protected areas and logging concessions, account for much of the Congo Basin's continuing net carbon sink, emphasizing the importance of effective forest management.

Forest management plan validation gradually reduces forest loss in Congo Basin concessions

| Kenneth Houngbedji et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | March 23, 2026

Analysis of logging concessions finds that validated forest-management plans can gradually reduce forest loss, providing evidence that regulation and implementation matter in production forests.

Satellite data estimate Congo Basin logging volumes and carbon emissions

| Various authors | Communications Sustainability | 2026

Satellite analysis estimates annual harvest volumes and carbon emissions across industrial logging concessions in six Congo Basin countries.

Artisanal chainsaw milling and forest degradation in Central Africa

| Guillaume Lescuyer et al. | International Forestry Review | July 24, 2025

Research from Cameroon and DRC examines the environmental footprint of informal chainsaw milling and argues for policies that recognize rather than simply criminalize domestic timber markets.

DRC logging concession compliance assessment

| ForestLink | ForestLink | 2025

An assessment of dozens of industrial and conservation concessions reports widespread shortcomings involving permits, taxes, management plans and obligations toward local communities.

Logging persists in Cameroon's wildlife-rich Ebo Forest

| Amindeh Blaise Atabong | Mongabay | November 25, 2024

Satellite imagery and local reporting indicate continued logging and road construction in a highly biodiverse Congo Basin forest important for gorillas, chimpanzees and elephants.

Export of unprocessed logs threatens DRC forests

| Shreya Dasgupta | Mongabay | November 5, 2024

Reporting on an EIA investigation describes widespread exports of unprocessed logs despite Congolese rules intended to promote local processing and reduce illegal timber practices.

Logging leaves a lasting legacy on Gabonese forest soundscapes

| Shreya Dasgupta | Mongabay | September 9, 2024

Acoustic monitoring suggests unlogged and sustainably managed forests retain richer wildlife soundscapes than noncertified logging concessions.

FSC-certified forest management benefits large mammals

| Joeri A. Zwerts et al. | Nature | April 10, 2024

Analysis of 1.3 million camera-trap images from logging concessions finds that certified forest management can substantially improve outcomes for elephants, gorillas and other large mammals.

New study confirms certified forests help Congo Basin wildlife

| Wildlife Conservation Society | WCS | April 10, 2024

Camera-trap results from Gabon and Republic of Congo show substantially higher abundance of large mammals in FSC-certified concessions than in comparable uncertified forests.

Impact of industrial logging concessions on deforestation in the DRC

| Various authors | World Development | January 2024

Statistical analysis finds no clear evidence that existing industrial logging concessions either increase or reduce deforestation relative to comparable areas.

Do forest management plans and FSC certification reduce deforestation?

| Various authors | Ecological Economics | 2020

Analysis of Congo Basin concessions finds substantially lower deforestation after implementation of forest-management plans, although benefits emerge gradually.

Soil greenhouse-gas fluxes after conventional and reduced-impact logging

| Various authors | Biogeochemistry | 2020

Field measurements in Cameroon show how selective logging affects soil emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane and how reduced-impact techniques can limit disturbance.

Road expansion and persistence in Congo Basin forests

| Fritz Kleinschroth et al. | Nature Sustainability | June 24, 2019

Logging-road networks expanded rapidly in Central Africa, increasing access to previously remote forest and potentially facilitating hunting, settlement and additional clearing.

Selective logging emissions and reduced-impact logging in the Congo Basin

| Peter M. Umunay et al. | Forest Ecology and Management | 2019

Field measurements indicate that improved reduced-impact logging practices could substantially lower carbon emissions from commercial timber harvesting.

Effects of logging on roadless space in Congo Basin intact forests

| Fritz Kleinschroth et al. | Conservation Biology | 2017

Researchers show that logging roads dramatically reduced roadless areas inside intact forest landscapes even when actual forest clearing remained relatively narrow.

The legacy of logging roads in Congo Basin forests

| Fritz Kleinschroth et al. | Ecosphere | 2015

Satellite and field observations in Cameroon, Central African Republic and Republic of Congo document how abandoned logging roads leave persistent ecological scars.

Managing Congo Basin forests for timber and biodiversity

| Various authors | Forest Ecology and Management | 2011

The article examines whether timber production, wildlife conservation and local livelihoods can coexist within the Basin's extensive multiple-use forest landscapes.

Peatlands, Climate, Carbon & Hydrology

Agriculture drives most tropical peatland loss in DRC

| Bobby Bascomb | Mongabay | May 12, 2026

Satellite analysis identifies smallholder agriculture as the dominant recent driver of peatland conversion and associated greenhouse-gas emissions in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ancient carbon is venting from Congo Basin peatland lakes

| John Cannon | Mongabay | March 31, 2026

Radiocarbon analysis indicates that lakes within Congo peatland landscapes can release carbon stored for thousands of years, adding a previously underappreciated component to the regional carbon cycle.

Strengthening peatland monitoring in the central Congo Basin

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | March 27, 2026

Technical workshops are helping Congo Basin governments incorporate peatlands into national forest monitoring and greenhouse-gas accounting systems.

The hydrology of the Congo Basin

| Various authors | Springer Nature | 2026

This overview examines the Congo Basin's enormous river system, precipitation patterns, evapotranspiration and the importance of forest-driven moisture recycling.

Paleoenvironmental history of Congo Basin and Batéké Plateau peatlands

| Various authors | Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | December 15, 2025

Comparative peat records show that Central African wetlands have responded differently to climatic fluctuations, with some landscapes functioning as long-term ecological refugia.

Earth from space: Likouala-aux-Herbes River, Congo

| European Space Agency | ESA | October 24, 2025

Sentinel-2 imagery shows swamp forests, flooded peatlands, marshes and settlements within one of the Republic of Congo's important wetland landscapes.

Environmental and climatic evolution of a river-proximal peatland in the Cuvette Centrale

| Johanna Menges et al. | Quaternary Science Reviews | September 1, 2025

A peat core spanning more than 10,000 years provides evidence of how precipitation, rivers and vegetation have influenced development of the Congo Basin's enormous peatland complex.

Two contrasting swamp forest succession pathways in central Congo Basin peatlands

| Donna Hawthorne et al. | Quaternary Science Reviews | 2025

Peat cores reveal that interfluvial and floodplain swamp forests followed different ecological trajectories as rainfall and hydrological conditions changed through the Holocene.

Diel and annual rhythms of tropical tree stem changes in the Mayombe forest

| Basile Luse Belanganayi et al. | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change | August 16, 2024

Continuous tree measurements in Congo Basin forest examine daily and seasonal growth responses to rainfall, temperature and water availability.

FAO launches first Congo Basin peatland field project

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | March 20, 2024

The project supports improved scientific knowledge, national capacity and sustainable management of peatlands in the Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Processes behind decreasing Congo Basin rainy-season precipitation

| Various authors | International Journal of Climatology | February 29, 2024

Atmospheric analysis explores why rainfall has declined during important Congo Basin rainy seasons and identifies changes in moisture transport and atmospheric circulation.

Shedding light on a very dark river

| Lindsey Doermann | NASA Earth Observatory | 2024

NASA highlights research showing that the Ruki is one of the world's darkest rivers and carries disproportionately large quantities of forest-derived organic carbon.

Hydrology drives export and composition of carbon in a pristine tropical river

| Travis W. Drake et al. | Limnology and Oceanography | November 2023

Research on the Ruki River finds exceptionally high dissolved organic carbon exports and demonstrates how rainfall and river hydrology control carbon movement through Congo Basin waters.

Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands

| Dylan M. Young et al. | Global Change Biology | October 10, 2023

Modeling explores how Congo Basin peatlands accumulated vast quantities of carbon and how environmental changes could alter their future carbon balance.

Congo Basin elephants boost forest carbon capture

| Leonie Joubert | Mongabay | August 15, 2023

Forest elephants influence tree composition and carbon storage, while mineral-rich forest clearings provide critical resources that can become important conservation priorities.

Genesis and development of an interfluvial peatland in the central Congo Basin

| Donna Hawthorne et al. | Quaternary Science Reviews | April 1, 2023

Pollen, charcoal, radiocarbon and geochemical evidence reconstruct nearly 20,000 years of environmental change and peat accumulation in the Cuvette Centrale.

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

| Simon Lewis et al. | Nature | November 2022

Evidence from peat cores shows that past drying caused periods of peat decomposition, suggesting that prolonged future drought could destabilize this massive carbon store.

Mapping peat thickness and carbon stocks of the central Congo Basin

| Bart Crezee et al. | Nature Geoscience | July 21, 2022

Extensive field surveys in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo improved estimates of peatland extent, thickness and carbon stocks across the central basin.

The past, present and future of Congo peatlands

| John Cannon | Mongabay | December 16, 2021

This overview explains the discovery, immense carbon stocks, biodiversity, human communities and principal threats associated with the Cuvette Centrale peatlands.

Holding agriculture and logging at bay in the Congo peatlands

| John Cannon | Mongabay | December 9, 2021

The article examines how logging concessions, agriculture and development could threaten one of the world's largest and most intact tropical peatland complexes.

The idea: Uncovering the peatlands of the Congo Basin

| John Cannon | Mongabay | December 2, 2021

Scientists describe how field expeditions and satellite analysis revealed the extraordinary scale of peat buried beneath swamp forests in the central Congo Basin.

Asynchronous carbon sink saturation in African and Amazonian tropical forests

| Wannes Hubau et al. | Nature | March 4, 2020

Long-term forest-plot measurements show that intact African tropical forests remained an important carbon sink but indicate that their ability to absorb additional carbon is weakening.

NASA survey technique estimates Congo forest's carbon

| Ellen Gray | NASA | November 16, 2017

Aircraft lidar and satellite observations produced a high-resolution map showing enormous but spatially variable aboveground carbon stocks throughout DRC forests.

Carbon, biodiversity and land use in Central Congo Basin peatlands

| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme | May 10, 2017

UNEP examines the global climate significance, biodiversity and land-management implications of the newly mapped Cuvette Centrale peatlands.

Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex

| Greta C. Dargie et al. | Nature | January 11, 2017

Field measurements revealed an enormous tropical peatland complex beneath the forests of the Cuvette Centrale and estimated that it stores roughly 30 billion tonnes of carbon.

Wildlife, Biodiversity & Protected Areas

Pangolin DNA links Cameroon markets with global trafficking

| Shanna Hanbury | Mongabay | July 21, 2026

Genetic evidence connects pangolins sold in local Cameroonian markets with broader international trafficking networks and offers new tools for wildlife-crime investigations.

A new colobus monkey, Likweli, confirmed in DRC

| Shreya Dasgupta | Mongabay | July 15, 2026

Taxonomic research confirms a distinct colobus monkey in DRC, adding another endemic primate to the remarkable biological diversity of the Congo Basin.

Before tourists can see bonobos, trackers must earn their trust

| Rhett Ayers Butler | Mongabay | June 23, 2026

Bonobo habituation programs require years of patient tracking and create opportunities for scientific research and carefully managed ecotourism.

Studying the world's largest gathering of forest elephants

| Rhett Ayers Butler and David Akana | Mongabay | April 19, 2026

Long-term observation and acoustic monitoring at Dzanga Bai in Central African Republic are revealing the social lives, movements and communication of elusive forest elephants.

Update on okapi conservation in eastern DRC

| Kelly Russo | Okapi Conservation Project | April 17, 2026

Conservationists describe efforts to return okapi to Epulu after a long absence and the monitoring required to protect animals amid continuing regional insecurity.

A unique Central African clearing draws hundreds of forest elephants

| David Akana | Mongabay | April 6, 2026

Dzanga Bai in Central African Republic provides mineral-rich soil and water that attract unusually large gatherings of forest elephants and make the site invaluable for research and ecotourism.

A second set of mountain gorilla twins is born in Virunga

| David Akana | Mongabay | March 30, 2026

Virunga recorded an exceptionally rare second twin birth within three months, highlighting the resilience of its gorilla population despite regional conflict.

Twin mountain gorillas born in DRC

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | January 9, 2026

A rare twin birth in Virunga National Park provides encouraging evidence for mountain gorilla recovery despite continuing armed insecurity in eastern DRC.

Rescued African gray parrots return to DRC forests

| Didier Makal | Mongabay | October 21, 2025

Rehabilitated parrots confiscated from wildlife traffickers were returned to the wild as conservation organizations expanded rescue facilities and enforcement efforts.

DRC moves against unsustainable African gray parrot trade

| Didier Makal | Mongabay | September 23, 2025

Reporting documents decades of trapping, trafficking and weak enforcement and examines new national efforts to protect the endangered species.

Seeing and hearing biodiversity in DRC forests

| Blaise Kasereka Makuta | Mongabay | September 4, 2025

Camera traps and acoustic monitoring offer complementary ways to detect wildlife and measure ecological change in dense tropical forests.

Forest elephant decline is reducing ebony regeneration

| Spoorthy Raman | Mongabay | August 29, 2025

Research in Cameroon shows that forest elephants disperse and protect ebony seeds, demonstrating how poaching of a large mammal can alter tree populations and forest ecology.

African gray parrots receive complete protection in DRC

| Shreya Dasgupta | Mongabay | August 26, 2025

DRC banned capture and domestic trade in African gray parrots in response to severe declines caused by the international pet trade.

Augustin Basabose gave hope to gorillas and people in eastern Congo

| Rhett Ayers Butler | Mongabay | August 25, 2025

The profile examines a Congolese conservationist's efforts to combine Grauer's gorilla protection with community development in a landscape repeatedly affected by armed conflict.

Gorillas and chimpanzees survive in Cameroon's fragmented forest reserves

| Spoorthy Raman | Mongabay | May 7, 2025

Camera traps found threatened great apes using heavily fragmented forest reserves, suggesting that degraded forests outside national parks can still provide important habitat and corridors.

Natural World Heritage in the Congo Basin

| UNESCO World Heritage Centre | UNESCO | 2025

UNESCO profiles the Basin's internationally important natural areas and the conservation challenges facing forests, wildlife and World Heritage sites across five Central African countries.

Republic of Congo's Langoué Bai as a wildlife stronghold

| Wildlife Conservation Society | WCS Gabon | 2025

Langoué Bai supports forest elephants, gorillas, forest buffalo, sitatunga and other species and illustrates the extraordinary ecological importance of natural forest clearings in the western Congo Basin.

Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme in Republic of Congo

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | 2025

The program works with communities to improve wildlife governance and develop sustainable alternatives to unsustainable hunting while maintaining food security and local livelihoods.

Armed conflict, not Batwa people, at heart of Grauer's gorilla decline

| Aimable Twahirwa and Latoya Abulu | Mongabay | December 16, 2024

Research suggests armed conflict, refugee movements, mining and poaching were more important drivers of historic gorilla decline than the presence of Batwa communities.

Bonobo density and distribution in Salonga National Park

| Various authors | International Journal of Primatology | December 2, 2024

Extensive surveys identify Salonga National Park as an important bonobo stronghold while emphasizing major uncertainties in population estimates and trends.

Monitoring group cracks down on deforestation in Cameroon gorilla sanctuary

| Ruth Kamnitzer | Mongabay | November 28, 2024

Satellite alerts and civil-society monitoring revealed forest encroachment around the Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary within the broader Congo Basin landscape.

Bonobos are more genetically diverse and vulnerable than previously thought

| Charles Mpaka | Mongabay | November 4, 2024

Genetic research indicates that bonobos comprise several distinct populations, making the loss of any individual population particularly important for conservation.

Population structure of highly trafficked Congo Basin pangolins

| Iva Bernáthová et al. | Scientific Reports | September 27, 2024

Genetic analysis of two heavily trafficked African pangolin species provides information useful for conservation management and wildlife-trafficking investigations.

First photograph of a long-lost bird in DRC mountains

| Ryan Truscott | Mongabay | September 23, 2024

Scientists rediscovered the yellow-crested helmetshrike in eastern DRC forests, emphasizing both the region's biological richness and the large gaps remaining in biodiversity knowledge.

Estimating the effectiveness of forest protection

| Various authors | Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | September 2024

Global satellite analysis finds substantial variation in protected-area effectiveness and identifies the DRC as a country where stronger protection quality could reduce forest loss.

DRC's golden-bellied mangabey is little known and highly threatened

| Liz Kimbrough | Mongabay | July 25, 2024

The endemic primate faces habitat loss, hunting and trade, while scientists still lack basic information on its distribution and population.

Wildlife traffickers prosecuted in Republic of Congo

| ACI Staff | Agence Congolaise d'Information | July 10, 2024

Authorities prosecuted suspected traffickers found with leopard skins and giant pangolin scales, illustrating continuing pressure from illegal wildlife trade.

Camera traps bring the Congo's cryptic lesula monkey into focus

| Ruth Kamnitzer | Mongabay | June 27, 2024

Thousands of camera-trap videos are giving scientists new information about the behavior and ecology of the little-known lesula monkey in central DRC forests.

Great ape translocation and Grauer's gorilla conservation

| Various authors | Biological Conservation | April 2024

Researchers evaluate whether conservation translocation could help critically endangered Grauer's gorillas and emphasize the ecological and social risks that must first be considered.

Biodiversité : le Congo et ses partenaires pour la préservation des zones clés

| Ministry of Environment | Republic of Congo Ministry of Environment | March 29, 2024

Republic of Congo officials and partners are identifying and reassessing Key Biodiversity Areas as part of national implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Can playing games in the Congo Basin improve wildlife conservation?

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | February 27, 2024

FAO describes community exercises designed to demonstrate the consequences of unsustainable hunting and encourage locally managed wildlife conservation.

Togo monkey seizure exposes wildlife trafficking from DR Congo

| Didier Makal | Mongabay | January 8, 2024

An international seizure of trafficked monkeys highlighted weaknesses in wildlife-export controls and the global demand affecting Congo Basin primates.

Cooperation and shotgun hunting in a Congo Basin village

| Various authors | Evolutionary Human Sciences | 2024

Anthropological research examines patterns of cooperation among hunters and provides insight into the social organization surrounding wild-meat harvesting.

Environmental variation shapes genomic diversity in an African forest frog

| Various authors | Frontiers in Conservation Science | 2024

Genetic research on a Central African rainforest frog provides insight into how climate, topography and historical forest refugia helped generate the Congo Basin region's exceptional biodiversity.

Great ape populations in a community conservation area in eastern DRC

| Various authors | Ecological Solutions and Evidence | 2024

Surveys in the Nkuba Conservation Area find no evidence of a major ape decline after establishment of community-based conservation measures.

Okapi Conservation Project 2024 Annual Report

| Okapi Conservation Project | Okapi Conservation Project | 2024

The report describes conservation, community-development and habitat-protection work focused on endangered okapi and the Ituri Forest.

Okapi Wildlife Reserve remains on World Heritage in Danger list

| UNESCO World Heritage Committee | UNESCO | 2024

UNESCO highlights continuing threats to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve from mining, illegal activities, insecurity and shortcomings in conservation management.

Protected-area creation and deforestation in the Kiziba-Baluba hunting domain

| Various authors | Trees, Forests and People | 2024

Long-term land-cover analysis finds severe forest decline and concludes that protected status alone has been insufficient to prevent deforestation and fragmentation.

Regional patterns of wild animal hunting in African tropical forests

| Various authors | Nature Sustainability | 2024

Analysis of hunting data across Central and West Africa examines the geography and intensity of wild-meat harvesting and its implications for forest wildlife.

Great ape conservation faces immense challenges in the Congo Basin

| Mike DiGirolamo | Mongabay | June 28, 2023

Conservationists discuss habitat loss, hunting, disease, armed conflict and weak funding while identifying community engagement as essential to the future of gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees.

Devastating decline of forest elephants in Central Africa

| Fiona Maisels et al. | PLOS ONE | March 4, 2013

A region-wide assessment estimated a roughly 62% decline in Central African forest elephants between 2002 and 2011 and documented a dramatic contraction of their range.

Lesula: A new monkey species endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo

| John A. Hart et al. | PLOS ONE | September 12, 2012

Discovery of the lesula highlighted the extraordinary primate diversity and high levels of endemism within the central Congo Basin's Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba landscape.

The forest elephant crisis in the Congo Basin

| Stephen Blake et al. | PLOS Biology | 2007

Surveys show that elephants disappear rapidly near roads and areas of heavy human access, demonstrating the profound impact of ivory poaching and expanding infrastructure.

Indigenous Peoples, Community Forestry & Local Rights

Indigenous people gain more land in a DRC community forest

| Mongabay | Mongabay | June 4, 2026

Expansion of a community forest provides Indigenous residents with stronger legal control over customary territory and greater opportunities for community-led conservation.

Displaced families lead forest conservation around a DRC national park

| Jérémie Kyaswekera | Mongabay | June 2, 2026

Descendants of families displaced during protected-area establishment are now leading community restoration and forest-protection initiatives near the park.

Women face barriers and opportunities in Republic of Congo forest governance

| Rainforest Foundation UK | RFUK | April 6, 2026

Research identifies obstacles limiting women's participation in community monitoring and forest decision-making and proposes ways to strengthen their influence.

Growing numbers of Indigenous Twa are forced out of DRC forests

| Jérémie Kyaswekera and Jackson Muhindo Sivulyamwenge | Mongabay | March 11, 2026

Reporting documents increasing displacement of Twa families from ancestral forests and the cultural, livelihood and social consequences of moving into towns.

Community forests stand on the front line of DRC's critical-minerals rush

| Didier Makal and Latoya Abulu | Mongabay | January 16, 2026

Community forest concessions increasingly overlap areas sought for mining, raising questions over customary tenure, consultation and whether mineral rights will override local forest rights.

Advancing Indigenous Peoples' rights in the forests of the Congo

| Forest Peoples Programme | REDAA | 2024-2026

The initiative supports Indigenous communities in documenting customary land use, strengthening governance and advocating for stronger legal recognition of forest rights.

Advancing human-rights-based conservation approaches

| Forest Peoples Programme | Forest Peoples Programme | 2026

The report discusses how biodiversity conservation targets can be implemented without repeating forced displacement and other rights violations affecting Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous Peoples call for Indigenous-led conservation in the Congo Basin

| Congo Basin Indigenous communities and Forest Peoples Programme | Forest Peoples Programme | December 15, 2025

Baka, Bagyeli, Mbendzele and other Indigenous representatives call for conservation based on territorial rights, cultural knowledge, community leadership and genuine decision-making power.

Congo communities are creating a one-million-hectare biodiversity corridor

| Mongabay | Mongabay | December 2025

Community forest concessions in eastern DRC are being linked into a large conservation corridor designed to protect wildlife while maintaining community control of land.

Community forest boundaries clarified in Tshopo

| ACP | Agence Congolaise de Presse | November 22, 2025

Provincial authorities and communities reached an agreement clarifying customary and administrative boundaries between community forest concessions in Tshopo.

Study examines competing narratives about Batwa and park conservation

| Blaise Kasereka Makuta | Mongabay | September 11, 2025

Researchers challenge simplistic portrayals of Batwa people either as perfect environmental guardians or as threats to protected forests and wildlife.

Indigenous and community rights in the Kisimba-Ikobo primate reserve

| Goyon Maombi Milemba | Revue des Sciences Juridiques | August 18, 2025

The legal analysis considers tensions between protected-area creation, international environmental law and the customary rights of communities and Indigenous Peoples.

African Commission decision on Batwa rights in Kahuzi-Biega

| African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights | African Union | August 6, 2025

The Commission found multiple violations of Batwa rights and recognized the Kahuzi-Biega forest as their ancestral home and customary property.

Forests for the Future: community-led conservation in DRC

| Rainforest Foundation UK | RFUK | July 8, 2025

Seventeen community forests covering roughly 154,000 hectares demonstrate how legal tenure can support local development, Indigenous self-determination and forest protection.

Forest mapping app helps Baka protect biodiversity in Cameroon

| David Akana and Yannick Kenné | Mongabay | June 25, 2025

Indigenous Baka residents use the Sapelli smartphone application to map forest resources, document poaching, monitor wildlife and report human-wildlife conflict around Lobéké National Park.

Community conservation leadership grows in Cameroon's Lobéké landscape

| David Akana and Yannick Kenné | Mongabay | June 23, 2025

The career of conservation leader Marlyse Bebeguewa demonstrates the growing role of local residents and women in wildlife monitoring, technology and protected-area management in southeastern Cameroon.

First community forest concessions established in Nord-Ubangi

| CAGDFT | CAGDFT | June 21, 2025

Two communities received formal recognition over more than 70,000 hectares of traditional forest, expanding the DRC's community-forestry model.

Indigenous forest destroyers or guardians? The Batwa and Kahuzi-Biega National Park

| Fergus O'Leary Simpson et al. | World Development | February 2025

Researchers challenge simplified narratives portraying the Batwa either as perfect forest guardians or principal forest destroyers and emphasize the wider political and extractive context.

Indigenous communities hold regional gathering inside Congo forest

| Forest Peoples Programme | Forest Peoples Programme | 2025

Baka, Bagyeli, Mbenzele and Aka representatives met within the forest to discuss community-led conservation, land rights and cultural knowledge.

Land rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Democratic Republic of Congo

| Various authors | Cambridge University Press | 2025

The chapter examines DRC land law, Indigenous rights and community forest concessions, including both the opportunities and limitations of current tenure mechanisms.

Supporting secure community forests and local development in DRC

| APEM RDC | APEM RDC | 2025

The project assists communities near Salonga National Park and surrounding areas in securing community forest concessions and managing forest resources sustainably.

Twenty years of community forestry in Central Africa

| CIFOR-ICRAF and partners | RESSAC | 2025

Researchers are comparing community forestry in Cameroon, Gabon and DRC to determine whether local people have actually received the economic and governance benefits originally promised.

Historic Batwa decision faces hurdles and hope

| Latoya Abulu, Aimable Twahirwa and Didier Makal | Mongabay | November 19, 2024

Indigenous-rights advocates examine the difficult process of implementing recommendations stemming from the African Commission's ruling concerning Batwa eviction from Kahuzi-Biega.

Ahead of COP16, groups warn of rights abuses linked to 30x30

| Aimee Gabay | Mongabay | September 18, 2024

Human-rights organizations warn that rapid protected-area expansion could reproduce displacement and abuse unless Indigenous and community rights are explicitly protected.

Indigenous Batwa win human-rights victory over eviction from DRC park

| Bobby Bascomb | Mongabay | August 2, 2024

The African Commission ruling found that Batwa removal from Kahuzi-Biega National Park violated fundamental rights and strengthened calls for rights-based conservation.

Rainforest Foundation UK 2023 Annual Review

| Rainforest Foundation UK | RFUK | May 21, 2024

RFUK reports expansion of community forestry, land-tenure support and community monitoring initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Community forests in action: Ilinga, Lukolela

| Rainforest Foundation UK | RFUK | March 6, 2024

The Ilinga community illustrates how recognized community forests can combine customary tenure, sustainable management, agriculture and local economic development.

Protecting wildlife and Indigenous livelihoods in the Democratic Republic of Congo

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | 2024

FAO examines approaches that combine wildlife conservation with food security, traditional knowledge and livelihood needs among Indigenous and forest-dependent communities.

Indigenous women and Congo Basin conservation

| Mongabay | Mongabay | December 2023

The review highlights growing recognition of Indigenous women and local communities as important participants in Congo Basin conservation and climate resilience.

Indigenous women's forum spotlights Congo Basin conservation

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | May 10, 2023

Indigenous women from Central Africa gathered in Brazzaville to seek greater recognition, funding and participation in forest and biodiversity governance.

Conversations about conservation in the Republic of Congo

| Forest Peoples Programme | Forest Peoples Programme | 2022

Baka and Bakwele communities describe their views on conservation, customary territory and proposals for the Messok Dja protected area.

Communities and the future of Messok Dja

| WWF | World Wide Fund for Nature | December 2, 2019

WWF describes efforts to involve Baka and other forest communities in decisions over conservation of the biodiverse Messok Dja landscape in northern Republic of Congo.

Mining, Oil, Conflict & Environmental Justice

DRC villagers revive protests over Perenco pollution

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | July 21, 2026

Communities affected by oil production describe air, water and livelihood impacts and renew calls for stronger regulation and corporate accountability.

Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin

| Dan Yessa | Mongabay | July 17, 2026

Congolese activist Pascal Mirindi discusses opposition to new petroleum development and the potential consequences for forests, communities, biodiversity and climate commitments.

Rangers killed in another attack in Virunga National Park

| David Akana | Mongabay | May 22, 2026

The killing of two park rangers illustrates the extraordinary security risks faced by conservation workers protecting wildlife in eastern DRC.

New Congo oil discovery highlights Africa's energy dilemma

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | May 11, 2026

A new Republic of Congo petroleum discovery highlights tensions between fossil-fuel revenues, energy security, development needs and international climate commitments.

EU envoy discusses development, minerals and conservation in DRC

| David Akana | Mongabay | April 29, 2026

European Union envoy Fabrice Basile discusses critical minerals, governance, local value creation, development assistance and the importance of conserving DRC's natural resources.

Can nature outcompete war in eastern Congo?

| Rhett Ayers Butler and David Akana | Mongabay | April 13, 2026

Conservation practitioners discuss whether wildlife tourism, protected areas and nature-based livelihoods can offer communities durable alternatives to economies driven by conflict and extraction.

Cameroon's decade of conflict leaves apes and conservationists in peril

| Orji Sunday | Mongabay | March 3, 2026

Armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon has displaced people, interrupted conservation programs and increased pressure from farming and hunting in forests inhabited by rare gorillas and chimpanzees.

Human rights impacts in the DRC mining sector

| Forest Peoples Programme | Forest Peoples Programme | November 20, 2025

The briefing examines how growing demand for critical minerals affects Indigenous Peoples, customary land rights, forests and communities across mineral-rich areas of the DRC.

Armed conflicts constrain biodiversity research in the Congo Basin

| Pedro Romero-Vidal et al. | Nature Sustainability | November 17, 2025

Scientists warn that armed conflict in DRC not only directly threatens wildlife and communities but also prevents researchers from collecting the data needed for effective biodiversity conservation.

Forest loss inside a gorilla park after the M23 offensive

| Elodie Toto and Latoya Abulu | Mongabay | July 31, 2025

Satellite analysis documents increased forest disturbance after armed groups expanded control around protected landscapes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Protected parks in peril as Republic of Congo expands oil drilling

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | May 7, 2025

Proposed oil-production expansion includes exploration within protected landscapes, raising questions about the compatibility of petroleum development with conservation and climate commitments.

The untold environmental toll of the DRC conflict

| Rhett Ayers Butler | Mongabay | March 28, 2025

The article summarizes how warfare, displacement and illegal resource economies are increasing pressure on eastern DRC forests and conservation areas.

Environmental toll of the M23 conflict in eastern DRC

| Fergus O'Leary Simpson, Joel Masselink and Lara Collart | Mongabay | March 7, 2025

Analysis links renewed conflict to accelerating forest loss, charcoal production, resource extraction and weakened conservation in Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks.

Mineral exploitation overshadows green diplomacy in Congo's Sangha region

| Elodie Toto | Pulitzer Center | January 30, 2025

Investigation of the Sangha region finds mining permits and gold extraction overlapping landscapes promoted internationally for forest conservation and carbon finance.

DR Congo environmental activist faces prison over anti-logging campaign

| Didier Makal | Mongabay | October 28, 2024

The case illustrates risks faced by environmental defenders challenging alleged illegal harvesting of valuable rosewood species in eastern DRC.

DRC communities challenge European lenders over palm oil plantations

| Yannick Kenné | Mongabay | August 12, 2024

Communities dispute plantation boundaries and accuse development lenders of supporting land arrangements that they say failed to adequately protect customary rights.

Investigation documents damages from cobalt mining in DRC villages

| Mongabay | Mongabay | August 5, 2024

Field reporting documents water pollution, damaged crops and human-health concerns around industrial cobalt mining areas in southern DRC.

Herders caught between conflict and climate change in the northern Congo Basin

| Didier Makal | Mongabay | August 2, 2024

Pastoralists face changing rainfall, insecurity and competition over land and water, illustrating links between climate pressures and social conflict in northern Basin landscapes.

Under the shadow of war, a DRC mining company faces community allegations

| Didier Makal and Latoya Abulu | Mongabay | March 25, 2024

Indigenous communities in Walikale allege that mineral development has infringed on community forest lands and proceeded without adequate consultation.

Deforestation triggered by artisanal mining in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

| Malte Ladewig et al. | Nature Sustainability | 2024

The study finds that the discovery and development of artisanal mining sites can trigger forest loss extending several kilometers beyond mine locations.

Congo Basin infrastructure projects need greater oversight

| Jim Tan | Mongabay | November 4, 2021

Road, rail, dam and other infrastructure projects can open intact forests to settlement and exploitation, increasing the importance of strategic planning and environmental safeguards.

Finance, Carbon Markets, Natural Capital & Forest Economies

Carbon cowboys and unpaid pledges: Lee White on conservation in Africa

| Elodie Toto | Mongabay | May 25, 2026

Former Gabon environment minister Lee White discusses shortcomings in climate finance, forest carbon markets and wealthy countries' promises to tropical forest nations.

A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could support Central Africa's green transition

| Metolo Foyet | Mongabay | April 6, 2026

The analysis argues for developing local industries around sustainable forest products, knowledge and ecosystem services rather than relying primarily on raw-resource extraction.

New program aims to transform Congo Basin forest economies

| World Bank | World Bank | April 1, 2026

A new regional program will invest in sustainable forest management, local timber processing, small businesses and community enterprises in Cameroon, CAR and Republic of Congo.

Sustainable Congo Basin Forest Economies Program appraisal

| World Bank | World Bank | March 5, 2026

The project document details planned investments in governance, traceable timber supply chains, forest enterprises, community management and regional cooperation.

Congo Basin countries forge strategic path to carbon markets

| World Bank | World Bank | February 23, 2026

Congo Basin governments are developing country-specific roadmaps intended to help convert forest conservation and carbon storage into credible climate-finance and carbon-market opportunities.

What's next for the pledge to halt Congo Basin deforestation?

| Latoya Abulu | Mongabay | February 5, 2026

Governments and donors face questions over how to convert high-profile forest pledges into durable financing, stronger governance and measurable reductions in forest loss.

Forest economies program overview for the Congo Basin

| World Bank | World Bank | 2026

The regional program seeks to combine sustainable forest management, legal timber production, local processing, community enterprises, jobs and stronger environmental governance.

Can REDD+ finance compete with other investments in Mai-Ndombe?

| Various authors | Forest Policy and Economics | December 2025

Research compares forest-climate finance with timber, mining, petroleum, agriculture and other investments competing for land in DRC's Mai-Ndombe Province.

Transforming CEMAC's wealth into long-term development

| World Bank | World Bank | December 2025

The regional economic review examines natural wealth and the potential role of Congo Basin forests in building more diversified and sustainable Central African economies.

Congo Basin nations roll out community payments for forest care

| Anne Nzouankeu | Mongabay | November 20, 2025

A regional payments-for-environmental-services program is using direct payments to reward farmers and communities for agroforestry, restoration and forest-protection activities.

Why the Congo Basin forests can't be ignored

| Chakib Jenane and Cheick Fantamady Kanté | World Bank | October 21, 2025

The article describes Congo Basin forests as both an enormous carbon store and a foundation for livelihoods, biodiversity and future economic development.

Congo Basin forests hold trillions in untapped value

| World Bank | World Bank | October 20, 2025

Forest ecosystem accounting estimates enormous economic value in Congo Basin forests and argues that natural capital should be incorporated into development and macroeconomic planning.

Protecting forests in the Congo Basin through performance-linked financing

| Dieter Wang et al. | World Bank | July 21, 2025

Research on the Republic of Congo examines how economic conditions influence deforestation and how performance-linked finance could reward continued maintenance of high forest cover.

DRC communities receive payment for reducing deforestation emissions

| World Bank | World Bank | June 6, 2025

The DRC received $19.47 million after verified reductions in forest emissions in Mai-Ndombe, with part of the funding intended for communities and Indigenous Peoples.

Pro-Congo initiative launched to support green growth

| UNCDF | UN Capital Development Fund | May 29, 2025

A $15-million initiative aims to support forest-compatible businesses and eventually mobilize substantially larger investment in nature-positive enterprises.

Climate finance and carbon market readiness in the Democratic Republic of Congo

| World Bank | World Bank | February 28, 2025

This assessment examines institutional and policy barriers that the DRC must address to participate effectively in forest carbon markets and climate-finance mechanisms.

Unlocking the forestry sector's potential in Central Africa

| World Bank | World Bank | December 20, 2024

The CEMAC Economic Barometer examines how timber processing and better fiscal and forest policies could create jobs while maintaining Congo Basin natural capital.

Congo considers debt-for-nature financing

| Republic of Congo Ministry of Finance | Ministry of Finances, Budget and Public Portfolio | December 10, 2024

Republic of Congo officials examined a proposed debt-for-nature swap combining refinancing of government debt with financing for environmental conservation.

DRC carbon credit projects surge amid lack of regulation

| John Cannon | Mongabay | November 18, 2024

Rapid expansion of forest-carbon projects has raised concerns about regulation, transparency, community consent and whether promised benefits are reaching local residents.

Unlocking the economic and environmental value of Congo Basin forests

| Cheick Fantamady Kanté and Madhavi M. Pillai | World Bank | November 6, 2024

The authors examine ways Congo Basin countries could combine conservation, sustainable forestry, employment and climate finance rather than treating forests only as extractive resources.

Blended finance: An opportunity to protect high-integrity forests in the Congo Basin

| Climate Focus | Climate Focus | February 5, 2024

The article examines financial guarantees and blended-finance structures that could attract substantially greater private and public investment into Congo Basin forest conservation.

COP27 long on pledges, short on funds for forests — Congo Basin at risk

| Alec Luhn | Mongabay | November 18, 2022

The article examines the gap between international promises to conserve tropical forests and the much smaller flows of finance actually reaching Congo Basin countries and communities.

The $1.5 billion Congo Basin forest pledge: A good start but not enough

| Jim Tan | Mongabay | December 2021

Experts welcomed international forest funding announced at COP26 while emphasizing that Congo Basin conservation requires far greater, sustained and locally accessible finance.

Policy, Governance, Monitoring & Regional Cooperation

What it takes to make conservation work in Central Africa

| Rhett Ayers Butler and David Akana | Mongabay | April 27, 2026

Veteran conservationist Luis Arranz reflects on nearly five decades of protected-area management, political instability, wildlife protection and community relations in Central Africa.

From Virunga to Kinshasa, DRC embarks on a conservation gamble

| David Akana | Mongabay | April 9, 2026

The article examines ambitious efforts to expand conservation and nature-based economic development despite conflict, poverty, political risk and growing demand for natural resources.

Partnering to run a protected reserve in DRC

| Ashoka Mukpo | Mongabay | February 6, 2026

An interview examines the opportunities and challenges of long-term public-private partnerships for managing remote protected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Forest policy diagnostics for the Democratic Republic of Congo

| CIFOR-ICRAF researchers | CIFOR-ICRAF | January 2026

The diagnostic assesses DRC forest policy, institutions, governance problems and opportunities for balancing conservation, development and community livelihoods.

Strengthening science-policy dialogue in Central Africa

| Merilyne Ojong | CIFOR-ICRAF | December 18, 2025

Researchers and policymakers met in Gabon to improve the use of scientific evidence in forest governance, agroforestry, ecosystem management and Indigenous-rights policy.

Political declaration on sustainable Congo Basin forest ecosystems

| CIFOR-ICRAF | CIFOR-ICRAF | October 23, 2025

Central African governments and partners worked toward a shared political declaration on sustainable management and conservation of Congo Basin forests.

Republic of Congo adopts Congo Basin's first OECM guidelines

| Wildlife Conservation Society | WCS | September 24, 2025

New guidelines allow conservation outcomes outside formal parks, including community forests and sustainably managed concessions, to contribute toward the global 30x30 biodiversity target.

DRC seeks cross-sector collaboration for forest protection

| UN-REDD Programme | UN-REDD | July 22, 2025

DRC officials are working to better connect REDD+ forest policies with agriculture, infrastructure and other sectors whose decisions directly influence deforestation.

Technical assessment of Congo's forest reference emission level

| UNFCCC | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change | June 20, 2025

The UN technical assessment reviews the Republic of Congo's baseline for measuring reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under REDD+.

Innovative approaches to mapping forest change in Central Africa

| FAO | FAO SEPAL | June 5, 2025

A multi-country project uses satellite imagery and the SEPAL platform to identify both forest loss and the activities directly responsible for deforestation.

Central African Forest Initiative Annual Report 2024

| Central African Forest Initiative | CAFI / UNDP | June 2025

The report tracks forest and land-use programs, finance and policy reforms across DRC, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and other CAFI partner countries.

Democratic Republic of Congo forest resources assessment

| FAO | Global Forest Resources Assessment | 2025

FAO's forest inventory provides long-term estimates of DRC forest area and documents the continuing decline in national forest cover.

Science Panel for the Congo Basin assessment report

| Science Panel for the Congo Basin | Science Panel for the Congo Basin | 2025

The assessment synthesizes scientific knowledge concerning forests, climate, water, biodiversity, societies, economic development, governance and potential solutions for the Basin.

Science Panel for the Congo Basin executive summary

| Science Panel for the Congo Basin | Science Panel for the Congo Basin | 2025

Scientists describe the Congo Basin as a continental climate engine whose forests influence rainfall, carbon storage, biodiversity, food systems and human livelihoods far beyond Central Africa.

Preserving the forest of the Congo Basin: A game changer for Africa and the world

| Cheick Fantamady Kanté | World Bank | July 4, 2024

The article argues that protecting Congo Basin forests can generate global climate benefits while also supporting development and employment in Central Africa.

Four takeaways from the Congo Basin Forest Partnership meeting

| Teodyl Nkuintchua and Tsion Issayas | World Resources Institute | June 28, 2024

The MOP20 meeting highlighted the difficult balance between economic development, forest conservation, climate commitments and the needs of Congo Basin communities.

REDD+ organizational arrangements and sectoral integration in Cameroon

| Various authors | Environmental Policy and Governance | June 27, 2024

The study evaluates whether Cameroon's REDD+ institutions can coordinate forest protection with agriculture, mining, infrastructure and other sectors that influence deforestation.

Mongabay Explores the Congo Basin: The heart of the world at a turning point

| Mike DiGirolamo | Mongabay | April 25, 2023

The overview examines the Basin's global importance and growing threats from oil, gas, logging, mining and other forms of resource extraction.

State of the Forests of the Congo Basin 2021

| OFAC and CIFOR-ICRAF | CIFOR-ICRAF | 2022

This regional reference report compiles data and analysis on forest cover, management, biodiversity, climate, peatlands, economic activity and environmental governance across Central Africa.

Participatory land-use planning in Congo Basin landscapes

| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | 2009

Participatory planning is presented as a means of reconciling conservation, agriculture, logging, hunting and community land use within complex Central African forest landscapes.

Restoration, Agroforestry & Sustainable Livelihoods

Top-down restoration projects miss the mark in the Congo Basin

| Amindeh Blaise Atabong | Mongabay | December 12, 2025

Research questions whether many forest-restoration projects are producing genuine ecological recovery, pointing to exotic tree species, short project durations and weak monitoring.

Traditional medicine in DRC faces an uncertain future

| Blaise Kasereka Makuta | Mongabay | November 6, 2025

The commentary explores the close relationship between Congo Basin biodiversity, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge and the threats posed by forest loss and cultural change.

Moringa provides livelihoods and health benefits in eastern DRC

| Blaise Kasereka Makuta | Mongabay | October 9, 2025

Farmers are cultivating moringa for food, medicine and income, illustrating how useful tree species can contribute to agroforestry and rural livelihoods.

Mixed-species plantations and soil fungi in the Congolese coastal plains

| Lydie-Stella Koutika et al. | PLOS ONE | October 10, 2024

Research in Republic of Congo examines how mixed tree plantations affect soil fungal communities and whether diversified planting can improve ecological resilience.

Improved forest and landscape management in the DRC

| World Bank | World Bank | July 31, 2024

A decade-long program combined community forestry, agroforestry, payments for ecosystem services and livelihood support to reduce pressure on DRC forests.

DRC's one-billion-trees program makes progress but faces hurdles

| Sylvain-Gauthier Kabemba | Mongabay | April 26, 2024

DRC officials report substantial progress toward a massive tree-planting target, while specialists warn that maintenance, species choice and survival rates remain critical.

Climate-smart conservation agriculture, farm values and tenure security

| Various authors | Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative | 2023

Research explores how land tenure and farm economics influence adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices in Congo Basin farming communities.