A Forest That Works for Its People: The Sustainable Congo Basin Forest Economies Program

The World Bank's Sustainable Congo Basin Forest Economies Program is investing $1 billion over 10 years to create 220,000 jobs, bring 8 million hectares under sustainable management, and build lasting prosperity for 60 million people across Central Africa.

The Congo Basin is the second-largest tropical forest on Earth — absorbing more carbon than the Amazon, sheltering biodiversity found nowhere else, and sustaining the livelihoods, traditions, and futures of millions. Yet for decades, that extraordinary wealth has passed its people by. The region exports 80% of Africa's timber while importing finished wood products. Communities where the forest's abundance has yet to reach the people who depend on it most face growing pressure from informal logging, climate change, and a rising population.

The program starts from a different premise: that a forest which works for its people is a forest worth protecting. By strengthening regional cooperation, empowering local communities, and investing in local skills and processing, it aims to build an economy where conservation and opportunity are not competing forces — they are the same thing.