Congo basin communities face crisis as $2.5 billion forest conservation pledge seeks solutions

For Copince Ngoma, a member of the Bakouele Indigenous community in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Sangha region, the Congo Basin rainforest has been everything—a source of food, medicine, and cultural identity. But years of unsustainable mining have transformed his home into a landscape of environmental destruction. Where his community once hunted gazelles and monkeys, they now must travel over 12 miles to find any wildlife. The water they once drank safely is now polluted, forcing families to seek alternatives for this most basic need.

Ngoma’s struggle represents a crisis affecting millions across the world’s second-largest rainforest, prompting international action at the highest levels. Last November’s COP30 UN climate conference produced the Belém Call to Action for the Congo Basin Forests—a groundbreaking $2.5 billion pledge to halt and reverse deforestation across the region. The commitment represents one of the most significant financial investments in Congo Basin conservation to date.

During a recent Land Dialogues webinar, high-level policymakers gathered to discuss how this massive pledge will translate into real-world action. Key topics included implementation priorities, practical applications of the funding, and—critically—ensuring Indigenous peoples and local communities like Ngoma’s have meaningful participation in conservation efforts. For many officials, it marked their first public discussion of the initiative’s specific goals and challenges.

The success of this ambitious conservation effort will ultimately be measured not just in hectares saved, but in whether communities like the Bakouele can once again safely drink their local water and find wildlife within walking distance of their homes.