The Congo Basin: Africa's Beating Green Heart — and Why It Is Under Threat

Stretching across six countries in Central Africa — the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea — the Congo Basin rainforest is the world's second largest tropical forest after the Amazon. Covering approximately 3.3 million square kilometres, it stores an estimated 60 billion tonnes of carbon, sustains extraordinary biodiversity including critically endangered gorillas, forest elephants, and okapis, and is home to approximately 150 ethnic groups whose cultures and livelihoods have been shaped by the forest for millennia.

The World's Second Lung

Like the Amazon, the Congo Basin is often described as a "lung" of the Earth — though the metaphor, while evocative, is scientifically imprecise. The forest does absorb vast quantities of CO₂ through photosynthesis, and until recently was considered a net carbon sink. However, research published in Nature in 2021 found that degraded and disturbed areas of the Congo Basin are now releasing more carbon than they absorb — making the overall carbon balance of the forest more precarious than previously understood. Intact primary forest in the basin remains a significant carbon sink, reinforcing the case for its protection.

Deforestation Drivers in the Congo Basin

The drivers of deforestation in the Congo Basin differ significantly from those in the Amazon. While large-scale industrial agriculture — soy, cattle, palm oil — dominates Amazon deforestation, Congo Basin forest loss is driven primarily by small-scale subsistence farming, charcoal production, and artisanal logging. The DRC, which contains approximately 60% of the basin's forests, has one of the world's highest rates of rural poverty — and one of the world's highest rates of population growth. The pressure on forests from expanding subsistence agriculture is expected to intensify as the DRC's population — currently approximately 100 million — continues to grow rapidly.