A climate frontline: Armed actors, resources, and conservation in the Congo Basin

Natural resource exploitation and conflict threaten the integrity of the Congo Basin rainforest - the second largest rainforest on earth. This is an urgent problem, because forests here constitute an important biodiversity hotspot and a frontline against global climate change, because it absorbs four percent of global CO2 emissions. Addressing the challenges of resource exploitation, conflict and conservation in the Congo Basin should therefore be a top priority.

On demand from the United States Institute for Peace, DIIS researcher Peer Schouten, Judith Verweijen from Groningen University and Fergus Simpson from Antwerp University have explored how they interlink. Based on research in Eastern Congo, they argue that saving the Congo Basin rainforest needs to start by taking seriously the role of armed actors and elite networks in governing illegal resource exploitation in protected areas. 

Read the summary of their findings in the policy brief; for a detailed discussion, please consult the full report.