InfoCongo is a news platform using data and interactive maps to capture ongoing positive and negative changes in the Congo Basin. As the second largest rain forest in the world after the Amazon, the Congo Basin faces a myriad of challenges ranging from deforestation, illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, to climate change. Building on excellent reportage by local media, development organizations and the network approach to journalism by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN), InfoCongo has the unique ability to provide broader regional and global visibility to stories on the Congo Basin.

Data and interactive maps on InfoCongo website is updated regularly, available for free and can be downloaded anytime.

The overarching goal of combining interactive maps with compelling stories is to further raise awareness and improve public perception of environmental issues in the Congo Basin.

What is expected of you?

InfoCongo is built on collaboration, partnership and participation. Do you know of any stories, maps, data or any other information that is not on InfoCongo? Please let us know.

Project Team

James Fahn, Executive Director, Earth Journalism Network (EJN)
Gustavo Faleiros, Project Coordinator
David Akana, Managing Editor
Giuseppe Molinario, Data advisor (University of Maryland)
Willie Shubert, Project advisor

Maps design by David Heyman, Axis Maps
Website design by Luiza Peixe, Estúdio Cardume

Developer JEO, Uiu Cavalheiro
Support JEO, Miguel Peixe
Support development, Jean Tetka

Key Facts about the Congo Basin.

  • 777,000 square kilometres – size of the Congo Basin
  • 50 percent – percentage of Congo Basin forest allocated for logging.
  • The forests of the Congo Basin contain the greatest number of mammals, primates, birds, amphibians, fish and swallowtail butterflies in Africa. More than a 1,000 species of bird can be found here. Congo Basin forests span six countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo.
  • The Congo Basin, second in size only to the mighty Amazon, loses close to 1.5 million hectares of forest cover every year. This amounts to about one-third of the 4 million hectares of forest destruction Africa experiences each year – an area roughly twice the size of Belgium.
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest country in the Congo Basin and contains 12.5 percent of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest.
  • The area experiences a population increase of 1.7 million people each year creating a demand for food, fuel and shelter at a great cost to the forest
  • Seven countries hold 60 per cent of the planet’s forests: Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Russian Federation, United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • The Congo Basin is the only place to shelter all three subspecies of gorilla: the lowland gorilla, the endemic eastern lowland gorilla and the endangered mountain gorilla.
  • The Congo River that flows through the forest is the second largest river in the world.

Source: WWF Global

Contact US: [email protected]