Congo Basin Landscapes Initiative
Key background
Located in Central Africa, the Congo Basin contains the earth’s second largest area of contiguous moist tropical forests, stretching from the Gulf of Guinea in the west to the Rift Valley in the east, and containing more than 2.87 million km2 of both humid and dry forests. The Congo Basin rainforest extends over the territories of six countries namely (in alphabetical order) – Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo (RoC). The five main forest types include swampy forests of the central zone, dryland rainforest around this central basin, drier forest types in the north and south of the basin, patchwork forests and savannah moving away from the centre of the basin, and finally, woodlands and wooded savannah in the north of Cameroon and CAR, and in the south of DRC.
In addition, the recently mapped peatlands of Cuvette Centrale in the Congo Basin are estimated to be the largest continuous tropical peat complex in the world at 167,600 km2. Estimates show that it stores around 30 gigatons of carbon, equivalent to two years of global greenhouse gas emissions, making the Congo Basin the largest carbon sink on this planet.
The forests of the Congo Basin are a biodiversity hotspot; they are home to a rich fauna of more than 1,000 species of birds, 700 species of fish and more than 400 species of mammals, including emblematic species like the forest elephant. The DRC is one of the 5 megadiverse countries in world hosting the endemic bonobo and okapi, and the Congo has the highest densities of Western Lowland gorillas. There is also a remarkable diversity of plants, with estimates of over 10,000 species, many of which are unique to the region.
The threat
Approximately 130 million people live in the region, and almost two-thirds of them are in rural areas. Most of these people depend directly on forest resources for their livelihoods. This includes indigenous peoples who are the custodians of cultural traditions and ancestral knowledge passed down from generation to generation.
However, the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin are facing increasing threats from human activities. Among these, family farming and logging are two main causes of deforestation and forest degradation. Fires, large-scale agriculture, infrastructure construction and mining are other factors that contribute to the loss of forest cover.
Another factor is the overexploitation of wildlife, which threatens the survival of many species. Unsustainable hunting and poaching for wild meat are draining forests of wildlife, while illegal trade and trafficking are leading to the collapse of large mammal populations.
These threats, often transboundary in nature, are linked to problems with land-use planning and management, forest governance, or law enforcement. To add to the worrying situation, the effects of climate change, such as rising temperatures and disrupted rainfall, are increasing the risk to the region's forests and biodiversity.
The solution
The Congo Basin Landscapes Initiative is working with governments and partners on different fronts to catalyse transformational change in the conservation and sustainable management of critical forests in transboundary and national landscapes of the Congo Basin. The Congo Basin Landscapes Initiative includes the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Congo Forest Integrated Programme and the IKI-funded Congo Basin Peatlands Project.
GEF-funded Congo Forest Integrated Programme
To protect and preserve the Congo Basin from these threats, the GEF is funding two major initiatives executed by UNEP as part of the larger GEF-funded Amazon-Congo Critical Forest Biomes Programme:
- The Congo Basin Impact Programme (Congo Basin IP, 2021-2026), funded under GEF 7;
- The Congo Critical Forest Biome Integrated Programme (Congo Forest IP, 2025-2030), funded under GEF 8.
These Programmes are known collectively as the Congo Forest Integrated Programme. Together, they have secured approximately $100 million in GEF funding for 2021-2030. The Congo Forest Integrated Programme supports forest conservation and sustainable management through a regional landscape approach that addresses deforestation and forest degradation. The Programme promotes regional dialogue and collaboration while mobilizing climate finance to expand conservation efforts throughout the Congo Basin.
IKI-funded Congo Basin Peatlands Project
Supported both by IKI and GEF, UNEP is also working with partners and stakeholders to preserve and sustainably manage the Congo Basin Peatlands, the largest tropical peatlands ecosystem of the planet. From 2022-2027, IKI is investing nearly 15 million EUR in the project “Securing crucial biodiversity, carbon and water stores in the Congo Basin Peatlands by enabling evidence based decision making and good governance”. This project advances peatlands conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Congo.