Denis J. Sonwa (ELP 2010) | Senior Scientist, CIFOR-ICRAF, Cameroon

In the heart of the African continent, a transboundary landscape Cuvette Centrale lies between Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This landscape was prioritized as important for its unique humid ecosystem and biodiversity, and has gained additional importance because of recent scientific findings that high quantities of peat hold climate change importance.

A global CIFOR study highlighting important peatland coverage in the Congo Basin and another study led by UK colleague that included field work has allowed the scientific community to have a better understanding of the volume of peat stored in the earth on the African continent. Such discovery/rediscovery of peat in the heart of the African continent can be considered one of the most important events in wetland management and conservation in the last decade, and has changed several things for both national and international stakeholders interested in the Congo Basin. In CIFOR, for example, while the climate change response was mainly through the GCS-REDD+ project (funded by NORAD), a peatland component was added through its main wetland initiative SWAMP (Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (funded by USAID for CIFOR and USFS), which in the past was mainly focusing in Southeast Asia and Latin America for peat studies. CIFOR is thus now carrying out several activities to generate/increase knowledge on this particular ecosystem and increase knowledge in the decision making linked directly/indirectly to peatlands in Central Africa. The landscape, which had mainly been protected through support from places like the USAID CARPE initiative with focus on biodiversity consideration — particularly because it also hosts Ramsar site — is now seeing more interest because of the high amount of peat in the Cuvette Central and its climate change importance. 

To ensure up-to-date scientific information on this ecosystem, more than twenty scientists/experts from around the world co-wrote a chapter on peatlands of the Cuvette Centrale that was published in the Congo Basin State of the Forests. To strengthen the debate at the science-policy interface, two sessions were organized during the 2022 CBFP conference. The first session was on “Current scientific activities on peatlands in the Congo Basin” and the second one was on the “Early responses to protect and manage peatland in the Congo Basin.” Training sessions were co-organized with Peatland Management Unit (Unité de Gestion des Tourbières, UGT, of DRC) for journalists and women leaders/experts to strengthen national stakeholders’ knowledge on this specific ecosystem. Support was also given to students for their field research outside the Cuvette Central. An info brief on Framing Peatland Governance in the Congo Basin was produced. Side events were organized during the UNFCCC COPs of Glasgow and Sharm El Sheik. Despite all these efforts by CIFOR and partners, further research and engagement are still needed since much about this ecosystem is still unknown.

Currently within the Cuvette Central, 145,000 square kilometers of peatland currently stores around 30 megatons of carbon. This is equivalent to all the above-ground forest biomass of the Congo Basin and equivalent to 15 years of carbon emission from the US economy. Around 11.1 million people live in this landscape. Despite its remoteness, several potential threats exist, including hydrocarbon prospection, road building, logging, agricultural expansion, palm oil plantations, and climate change, though their relative likelihoods are not currently understood. However, the main challenge is to avoid mistakes associated with the tropical forest and/or peatland management, particularly in Southeast Asia where peatland has been drained, leading to biodiversity loss and emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG).

The two states DRC and Congo-Brazzaville are taking some actions that include, among others, national governance/administrative initiatives, transboundary cooperation, and commitment to regional/international environmental mechanisms. Both countries, in their letters of agreement –– for the period 2020 to 2025 for Congo Brazzaville and the period 2021 to 2031 for DRC –– with Central Africa Forest Initiative (CAFI) mainly led by Norway, generally included peatland in their climate change policies and REDD+ activities. 

Due to its ecological and socio-economic importance, peatlands of the Congo Basin deserve more investment to build a smooth ecological and climate-smart transition that considers not only climate change issues (both adaptation and mitigation) but also the improved wellbeing of rural communities. While there is a growing consensus around the importance of peatland for the planet, delay in action and/or uncoordinated sectorial decisions may lead to the destruction of this ecosystem. In the UNFCCC context of climate change response, which is rooted in the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, the conservation and management of Congo Basin peatland is perceived as a way to generate environmental, financial, and social benefits. Keeping/mainstreaming peatland in the global/regional/national agenda needs the backing of science and knowledge. Its conservation/management is an important asset for nature and communities.

References 

Dargie GC et al.(2017). Age, extent, and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex. Nature 542: 86–90.

Gumbricht T. et al (2017). An expert system model for mapping tropical wetlands and peatlands reveals South America as the largest contributor. Glob Chang Biol 23: 3581–3599. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13689

Sonwa, D.J. et al. (2022) ‘Peatlands of the Central Congo Basin, current realities and perspectives’, pp. 241-264, in Eba’a Atyi, R., Hiol Hiol F., Lescuyer G., Mayaux P., Defourny P., Bayol N., Saracco F., Pokem D., Sufo Kankeu R. and Nasi R. 2022. The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forests 2021. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR.

Sonwa, D.J. et al. (2022) Framing the peatlands governance in the Congo Basin. CIFOR-ICRAF InforBrief No. 368, August 2022 DOI: 10.17528/cifor/008645 

Youtube Link

COP26 | Governance frameworks for peatland conservation in the Congo Basin. Global Peatlands Pavilion   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2suICBefo 

Tourbieres et Réponses aux changements climatiques en Afrique Central. IFDD OIF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVfshql2S40