High Riskwetland
Congo Basin Wetlands
Democratic Republic of Congo · Central Africa
22%
Already Lost
655
Species at Risk
30 billion tons
Carbon Stored
50yr
Without Action
The Crisis
Discovered in 2017, the Congo peatlands are the world's largest tropical peatland — storing 30 billion tons of carbon, equivalent to 20 years of U.S. emissions. Logging concessions and oil drilling are now moving into previously untouched zones.
Key Threats
Oil exploration
Industrial logging
Agricultural conversion
Infrastructure development
On the Ground
Scientists only discovered the full extent of these peatlands in 2017. They're so remote that explorers needed machetes to push through waist-deep water for days. What they found changes everything we know about carbon storage. What comes next — oil rigs and logging roads — could release carbon locked away for 10,000 years.
Location Map
