Global warming and climate change
As the the threats of climate change continue to get more real, the Republic of Congo and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, have launched a joint appeal for funds to aid in protecting their tropical peatlands.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the two countries said they hoped to gain “guarantees in the form of funding… with the aim of sufficiently offsetting” sacrifices made by their populations if the peatlands are left untouched.
The Congo basin forest is the second largest in the world after the Amazon and the swampy peatlands which cover over 145,000 square kilometres, hold a massive stock of carbon estimated at 30 billion tonnes.
Draining these peatlands for agriculture would release huge amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases, scientists have warned.
Current greenhouse gas emissions from drained or burning peatlands are estimated to amount to up to 5 percent of all emissions caused by human activity.
The environment ministers from the two countries have agreed to set up a joint peatland management mechanism.
00:56
UN issues call to action on world's vital dryland forests
01:14
Residents of Kenya's Lamu island fear damage from mega-refinery
00:57
Tunisia says 2026 summer hottest on record, temperatures topped 49.7°C
05:00
COP17 in Mongolia wraps up with 1.3 billion dollars of Green Investment Pledge
01:59
Botswana’s rare slaty egret signals the health of the Okavango
02:29
Meet the wolves brought by apartheid-era South Africa to brutalize natives