- The Congo Basin is the second largest tropical forest region after the Amazon. It accounts for 10% of the world's biodiversity and is home to more than 10,000 plant species and over half of Africa's animal species, many of which are at risk of extinction.
- It is organised around the Congo River, which is about 4,700 km long and extends over the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Zambia.
- The basin is one of the world's largest carbon reserves and contributes to the global climate balance.
- The basin is abundant in valuable and natural resources that provide food, water and shelter for over 75 million people. Intensive logging, fires and illegal hunting are accelerating deforestation, threatening the survival of the ecosystem and undermining indigenous populations.
Environmental conservation
Climate Change
- Climate change can contribute to economic hardship and provoke conflict through drought, food insecurity and forced migration.
- Climate change is expected to have a greater impact on the African continent that anywhere else, yet Africa has so far received the smallest proportion of linternational funds committed to climate change mitigation.
Biodiversity loss & conflict
- Changes in biodiversity since the 1950s due to human activities have been more rapid than at any time in human history.
- Much of this loss has been drive by pressures such as population and economic growth and land-use changes.
- These pressures are anticipated to escalate as growing human populations put pressure on Earth’s finite resources.
- Half of global population growth during 2015-2050 will be concentrated in just nine countries, including several conflict-affected countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.
The Brazzaville Foundation's Approach
- Stimming the loss and conserving species will require co-ordinated international responses, inclusive solutions which engage the local communities, and support to increase the level of human societal development in a sustainable manner.
- The Foundation launched the Congo Blue Basin Fund and is developing a major cross-border conservation project in Central Africa.
