The GEF-funded Congo Forest Integrated Programme consists of two sequential initiatives, the GEF-7 Congo Basin Impact Programme (2021-2026) and the GEF-8 Congo Critical Forest Biome Integrated Programme (2025-2032).
Together, these programmes represent an investment of approximately $100 million from the GEF. The Congo Forest Integrated Programme supports forest conservation and sustainable management through a regional landscape approach that addresses deforestation and forest degradation. It promotes regional dialogue and collaboration while mobilizing climate finance to expand conservation efforts throughout the Congo Basin.
Protecting intact transboundary forest landscapes by creating an enabling environment: Together with ECCAS, COMIFAC, civil society networks, and technical partners, the Congo Forest Integrated Programme is strengthening policies and regulatory frameworks across Central Africa. This work to enhance conservation through transboundary initiatives focuses on three critical landscapes: Mayombe (with intact mangrove forests), Atlantic Coastal Forest Ecosystems (unique biodiversity in Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea), and the Oubangui landscape (threatened by deforestation from displaced communities).
Successful approaches will be replicated throughout the Congo Basin to improve natural resource trade and governance.
Supporting biodiversity by scaling up conservation and forest carbon initiatives through integrated landscape approaches:The Congo Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot housing over 10,000 plant species, 1,000 bird species, and numerous endangered mammals including forest elephants and great apes. The Congo Forest Integrated Programme implements targeted interventions to protect this extraordinary biodiversity, including strengthening protected area management, creating wildlife corridors, combating wildlife trafficking, and establishing disease surveillance systems. The programme’s transboundary approach ensures that conservation efforts extend beyond national borders to maintain habitat connectivity for wide-ranging species and address regional wildlife crime networks.
The Programme is supporting strategic actions to reduce deforestation and restore ecosystem services across multiple landscapes, helping countries address competing land uses through transparent, inclusive decision-making processes. Payment for environmental services (PES) mechanisms are being explored to incentivize stakeholders to adopt sustainable practices, rewarding landowners and communities for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Drawing from successful models, proven incentive mechanisms for sustainable forest management are being replicated and adapted to local contexts
Supporting community livelihoods: The programme recognizes that approximately 65-80 million people in the Congo Basin depend directly on forests for their survival and livelihoods. It empowers Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) to actively participate in sustainable forest management and benefit from conservation initiatives. The region currently lacks credible frameworks to provide direct financial support to these groups for securing land rights and forest governance, while sustainable value chains and private sector partnerships remain underdeveloped. To address these gaps, the Programme implements empowerment activities through education, capacity building, and improved local governance, while promoting gender-transformative green enterprises and private sector collaborations that ensure conservation finance reaches those making decisions at the local level.
Developing and implementing innovative financing mechanisms: To ensure long-term sustainability of conservation and sustainable forest management, the programme develops and implements innovative financing approaches. The Congo Forest Integrated Programme is developing innovative financing approaches for sustainable conservation and forest management in the Congo Basin. Working at the regional level, the programme mobilizes funding for forest conservation, sustainable management, and carbon sequestration through four key strategies: innovative financing frameworks, market-based incentives like biodiversity-positive carbon credits, strengthening indigenous and local community climate finance readiness, and scaling proven sustainable forest management practices. These efforts help map and analyze existing initiatives while creating an international database to promote transparency.
This work takes a socially inclusive, gender-balanced approach, addressing the socio-economic needs of indigenous peoples, women, and local communities and draws on successful models. By establishing strong partnerships with governments and integrating local, national, and global needs, the programme creates sustainable financing mechanisms that support long-term conservation efforts while benefiting local communities.
Capacity building, knowledge management, and regional cooperation: The Programme aims to ensure effective coordination and monitoring at national, regional and inter-agency levels while increasing program visibility through knowledge sharing within the Congo Basin and with other GEF-funded Critical Forest Biomes initiatives. Through enhanced knowledge exchange and transparent management, this work will support the COMIFAC Convergence Plan (2015-2025) - the strategic framework guiding sustainable forest management across Central African countries - and help countries meet international environmental commitments including the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Bonn Challenge. Activities will be executed in collaboration with ECCAS, COMIFAC, and other regional partners.
For additional information about the geographies where the Programme is active, please visit: Where we work.