Regional cooperation for the conservation of biodiversity in the Congo Basin forests: Feedback on actions carried out in the TRIDOM-TNS landscapes

Abstract

Biodiversity does not adhere to political boundaries. Globally, more than 50% of all terrestrial species have a range that crosses an international border. This includes more than 50% of all mammals, 25% of all amphibians and almost 70% of all birds. Of the threatened species, over 20% had a transboundary range (Mason et al., 2020). Covering a total area of more than 1.5 million km2 in six Central African countries (Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo), the so-called Congo Basin forests are the second largest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon Basin. They form the most diverse assemblage of plants and animals in Africa, and are home to some 10, 000 species of plants, 1, 000 birds, 700 fish and 400 mammals, including many iconic species such as forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. Currently, almost 15% of the total forest area of the Congo Basin has protected area status. The management of these protected areas is now based on a new paradigm: the landscape conservation approach. Twelve landscapes have been identified as priorities in the Congo Basin because of their relative taxonomic importance, overall integrity, and the resilience of the ecological processes they represent. Among these landscapes, the TRIDOM (Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé) (Cameroon, Congo and Gabon) and TNS (Trinational Sangha) (Cameroon, Congo and Central African Republic) stand out as hosting the majority of the last remaining forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in Central Africa. The presence of four of the eight natural World Heritage sites in the Congo Basin forests testifies to the exceptional importance of these two contiguous transboundary landscapes. This article will review the evolution of regional cooperation for the conservation of biodiversity in the Congo Basin forests by providing feedback on actions carried out in the TRIDOM and TNS landscapes.