The area of forest felled in the Congo basin rose last year, but schemes giving power to Indigenous communities could be key to reversing the trend
Environment
15 November 2022
An area of forest cleared to plant oil palm near Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo SAMIR TOUNSI/AFP via Getty Images
If the Amazon is the lungs of the world, then the Congo basin is its beating heart. This vast region in central Africa is home to the world’s second-largest – and most pristine – tropical rainforest, spanning six countries and 170 million hectares of land.
But this unique habitat, which boasts a dazzling array of wildlife from forest elephants to mountain gorillas, is in trouble. Last year, forest loss in the Congo basin jumped …