A project to protect the world's second largest area of tropical rainforest has received £9.1m from the Government.
The grant which is administered by the University of Leeds will be used to investigate the value and vulnerability of the Congo Basin and translate this new knowledge into policy action to protect forests, improve livelihoods, and support sustainable development.
The Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI) is co-chaired by Professor Simon Lewis from the School of Geography and includes researchers from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.
The past lack of investment in understanding the Congo Basin is a scandal.
It will invest in a large network of scientists from across the region to train a new generation of researchers and collect new data to transform our understanding of the Congo Basin.
The scientists will work together to monitor the climate, rivers, vegetation, biodiversity, land uses, and how local and indigenous people utilize the natural environment. There will also be funding for 20 PhD studentships and 12 MSc scholarships to train a new generation of scientists from the region.
Professor Lewis said "The past lack of investment in understanding the Congo Basin is a scandal. For the Amazon we know there is a threshold of deforestation and climate change, a tipping point, beyond which parts of the Amazon Forest will die-off, which would accelerate climate change.
"For the Congo we don't even know if a tipping point exists, or if it does, how close we are to breaching it. We will find out this critical information with this new funding."
Scientists formed CBSI in response to a call by Environment Ministers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo for a $150 million investment in science to understand and protect central Africa's forests.
Congo Basin Science Initiative
In February 2023, 50 scientists gathered in Libreville, Gabon, at the Congo Basin Science Meeting agreeing to form CBSI. The Congo Basin Science Initiative was launched in October 2023 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, at the Summit of the Three Basins. The grant from the UK government is the first major investment in CBSI.
Professor Raphael Tshimanga, co-chair of CBSI, from the University of Kinshasa DRC, added: "This is an important moment, as this funding will support twelve of the leading research teams across the Congo Basin to gain an integrated understanding of how this region is changing.
"We will be able to monitor our forests as a whole system and explain this new understanding to policy makers and the world to keep the Congo Basin's forests standing and contribute to our countries' development.
"I hope we can build on this important investment, as the data and capacity needs of the Congo Basin region are large. By having a programme led by scientists from the Congo Basin, this shows how science should be done. I'm excited to have the resources to work directly with scientists in other Congo Basin countries."
