The world’s second-largest forest massif, the Congo Basin is no longer only a biodiversity sanctuary; it has become a strategic issue for the global climate and for the socio-economic future of Central Africa.
The Congo Basin, a vast tropical forest stretching across six Central African countries, lies at the heart of a global debate on forest conservation and sustainable development. Covering nearly 300 million hectares, it is the world’s second-largest tropical forest massif after the Amazon, and it hosts exceptional biodiversity as well as ecological services that are vital to humanity. The forests of the Congo Basin play a crucial role in regulating the global climate. They absorb enormous amounts of CO₂, influence rainfall cycles across Africa, and provide water, food, and livelihoods for tens of millions of people.
“Today, the Congo Basin is a global regulatory lung. The world breathes today through the lungs of the Congo Basin that we represent. We simply bring life to this planet Earth, to the rest of the world.”
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin – Congo
According to a recent estimate by the World Bank, the services provided by these ecosystems have an annual economic value of about $1.15 trillion, nearly twice as much as twenty years ago. Yet, countries in the region have captured only a fraction of these benefits, around $8 billion in 2020, mainly through timber, bushmeat, and ecotourism. Despite this natural wealth, the challenges remain immense. Forest loss continues each year; in 2024, nearly 780,000 hectares of primary forest were destroyed, the equivalent of four times the size of Douala.
“We review our Nationally Determined Contribution every five years, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. It is revised, and we raise our level of ambition, even though we are not major emitters. Today, however, we are well organized and we have a dedicated financing mechanism, the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin.”
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin – Congo
A coalition of European countries has announced a $2.5 billion plan to help finance sustainable management projects and combat deforestation. More recently, the six Congo Basin countries adopted strategic roadmaps to access carbon markets, aiming to transform their forests into drivers of green growth, employment, and resilience against climate change. For experts, preserving the Congo Basin is not simply an environmental priority; it is an economic, climate, and social imperative. It requires sustainable investment, strong policies, and continued support from the international community if one of the planet’s last great green lungs is to be protected
