The World Bank’s Sustainable Congo Basin Forest Economies Program aims to invest $1 billion over 10 years to create jobs through strengthened forest value chains, bring millions of hectares of forests under sustainable management, and build lasting prosperity for 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 living at the edge of one of the world’s most valuable natural resources do not benefit from the value addition that happens far away — not in local towns, not within their own countries.
The program starts from a different premise: that a forest which works for its people will be a forest well protected and managed. By strengthening sustainable management, regional cooperation, empowering local communities, and investing in local skills and processing, it aims to build a sustainable forest economy where conservation and economic opportunity are not competing forces — they are the same thing.
Phase 1 at a Glance
$394.83M | 220K | 8M ha | 3 |
Phase 1 Financing | Jobs Created | Hectares Sustainably Managed | Phase 1 Countries |
Part of a $1.02 billion, 10-year program across 6 Congo Basin nations.
Three Pillars
1 | Policies and Institutions Strengthening cross-border policy harmonization and embracing technology to ensure every log of timber is legally and sustainably sourced, helping formalize informal and unregulated use of wood and non-wood forest products. |
2 | Forest Resources Development Building stronger foundations for sustainable forest management and empowering communities to be a leading force — with a dedicated focus on expanding economic opportunities for women and supporting young entrepreneurs. |
3 | Industry and Enterprises Investing in local processing capacity, skills development, and private sector engagement — so that the value of the forest is built and retained where the forest stands. |
Why This Approach
This is not the first attempt to address the Congo Basin's forest economy. Earlier approaches focused primarily on conservation and regulatory frameworks, with limited investment in the economic conditions that make communities genuine stakeholders in protecting what surrounds them. This program shifts that logic: governance, community ownership, and economic opportunity are treated not as separate objectives but as a single, mutually reinforcing system.
For decades, forest policy in the Congo Basin treated conservation and development as opposing forces The results were predictable: informal economies grew, communities saw little benefit, and the forest continued to lose ground.
This program is built on a different body of evidence. Where all stakeholders have genuine incentives to manage forest resources, where value is processed locally rather than exported raw, and where governance systems make legality the path of least resistance — forests are better managed, not worse. Conservation and prosperity are not a tradeoff. They are the same goal, approached from both directions.
Experience from other tropical regions shows this is not theoretical. The Congo Basin countries have existing legal frameworks, communities with generations of forest knowledge, and now the investment. This program takes it to scale
Phase 1 Countries
Cameroon | Republic of Congo | Central African Republic |
$193.83M | $120M | $60M grant |
Regional coordination: CEMAC and COMIFAC — $6M each
INCLUSION, Accountability and Transparency
The program's Regional Stakeholder Engagement Platform provides a dedicated forum for intra and inter-regional learning and knowledge exchange, bringing together civil society, Indigenous Peoples, development partners, the private sector, and governments across the region.
The program operates under a robust framework of safeguards and accountability mechanisms, independent Third-Party Monitoring, and technology-driven traceability systems that track timber from forest to market.
Program documents, progress reports, and implementation updates will be made available here as the program advances.
