Congo River basin
The Congo River basin is a significant and expansive watershed in Central Africa, covering approximately 3.7 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles). It encompasses the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo (ROC), and parts of several other countries, such as Angola and Rwanda. The basin is home to rich biodiversity and vital mineral resources, including a substantial portion of the world's cobalt and copper reserves. However, the exploitation of these resources often occurs without adequate regulation, leading to habitat destruction and endangering many native species, such as mountain gorillas and forest elephants.
The Congo River, at 4,700 kilometers (2,920 miles), is the deepest river globally and the second-longest in Africa. It plays a central role in transportation within the basin, although infrastructure like roads and railways remains poorly developed. The region also features the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, interspersed with savanna and mountain areas. Despite proposed plans for large-scale hydroelectric projects, the river's potential for energy generation remains largely untapped. Environmental challenges, particularly deforestation from logging and agricultural expansion, pose significant threats to the region's ecosystems and wildlife. The social and economic dynamics of the basin are complex, influenced by historical conflicts and ongoing resource management issues.
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Congo River basin
IDENTIFICATION: Central African watershed that drains into the Congo River in its passage to the Atlantic Ocean
The Congo River basin contains rich biodiversity and considerable mineral wealth, but because the area is shared by a number of countries, the exploitation of the basin’s resources is often uncontrolled. As a result, the habitats of many species native to the basin have been disturbed or destroyed, and several species have become endangered.
The Congo River basin covers an area of 3.7 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) that includes all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; formerly known as Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC), most of the Central African Republic, and sections of Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Zambia. It includes the Lake Tanganyika basin to the east, which is best seen as a subbasin, the lake itself being in a separate rift valley. In the north, the Ubangi River is the main tributary to the Congo River. The Congo River itself is 4,700 kilometers (2,920 miles) long, having its source in Zambia. It is the deepest river in the world and the second-longest river in Africa, after the Nile.
The is the world’s second-largest tropical rain forest; in addition to the forest ecosystems, areas of savanna are found in the northeast and south, and high mountains to the east contain alpine meadow. Transport through the basin is achieved mainly by water, along the extensive system of rivers. Roads and railroads are linked to river ports, many of which are connected to various mining and quarrying activities; all such transportation routes are generally in poor states of repair. Since the late twentieth century, increasing numbers of logging roads have been opened into the rain forests. Few large towns and cities are located in the basin; those that have been established are situated mainly on the River Congo itself.
The river has not been harnessed for hydroelectric purposes to any great extent, but ambitious plans were proposed in the late 2010s to add two much larger dams to two existing small dams at Inga Falls, southwest of the capital cities of Kinshasa (DRC) and Brazzaville (ROC). If the $80 billion project was to be built, it would be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world.
In the past, extensive mining operations in the DRC, mainly in the south of the country along the Zambia border, have brought little benefit to the country. In the early twenty-first century, China negotiated an extensive deal to build roads, railways, hospitals, and schools for the DRC and the ROC in return for mining copper, nickel, and cobalt at certain concessions. The DRC is estimated to hold one-third of the world’s cobalt and 10 percent of its copper.
The main ecological threat to the Congo River basin comes from deforestation caused by uncontrolled logging and agricultural clearance, and the subsequent destruction of animal habitats. Many are native to the basin, foremost among them the mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park in the east. The civil war that was fought in the DRC between 1998 and 2003, along with later turmoil, did great damage to the park. Also at are forest elephants, hippopotamuses, pygmy chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, and the primates drills and mandrills. The chimpanzee is estimated to have declined from 2 million in 1990 to 100,000 in the 2020s. Many of these species have been killed for food or have been killed or captured for sale on the black market.
Bibliography
Gondola, Ch. Didier. The History of Congo. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.
Laudisoit, Anne, et al. "Chimpanzees Surviving in a Fragmented High-Altitude Forest Landscape of the Congolese Albertine Rift." Conservation Science and Practice, 11 Mar. 2021, doi.org/10.1111/csp2.403. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Renton, David, David Seddon, and Leo Zeilig. The Congo: Plunder and Resistance. London: Zed Books, 2007.
Ruiz Pérez, M., et al. “Logging in the Congo Basin: A Multi-country Characterization of Timber Companies.” Forest Ecology and Management 214 (August, 2005): 221-236.
Smyth, Jamie, and Rob Rose. "World Bank ‘Optimistic’ About Giant African Hydro Project." Financial Times, 8 Feb. 2024, www.ft.com/content/17d5142a-8835-4b42-841a-7e8eb0db3b45. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Surhone, Lambert M., Miriam Timpledom, and Susan Marseken, eds. Tropical and Subtropical Forests: Congo Basin, Amazon Basin. Beau Bassin, Mauritius: Betascript, 2010.