The Congo Basin contains one of the largest reservoirs of plant and animal species in the world, and multiple initiatives continue mobilising resources to support environmentally responsible, zero-deforestation projects across the region.
In Belém, Brazil, the governments of Germany and Norway, along with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), announced on Monday, 17 November, a joint $87 million commitment to Canopy Trust. The announcement was made on the sidelines of COP30.
The Catalytic Finance Foundation, a Switzerland-based organisation, launched Canopy Trust in early 2025 to stimulate private investment in sustainable, deforestation-free value chains throughout the Congo Basin.
The fund uses public capital to reduce investment risk and make projects more appealing to private financiers.
The $87 million will function as first-loss capital, meaning that if a project fails, public donors will absorb the losses before private investors.
Through this mechanism, supported by technical assistance, the promoters aim to leverage at least $500 million in private investment for sustainable value chains in Central Africa by 2035, according to Ecofin Agency.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which accounts for about 60% of the Congo Basin’s forest cover, aims to secure maximum benefit from the initiative.
Marie Nyange Ndambo, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the New Climate Economy, expressed the country’s commitment to accelerating business-climate reforms.
“We are determined to accelerate reforms to improve the business environment, so investors can partner with us confidently and contribute to large-scale sustainable growth,” she said.
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In the DRC, four pilot projects have already been chosen to receive technical assistance and early-stage financing. They are situated in the Bankana region, 115 kilometres east of Kinshasa, and integrate charcoal production with cassava flour processing under a model that links agricultural and energy value chains.
Canopy Trust explains that the pilot projects aim to establish an agroforestry system built around smallholder farms while strengthening forest and agricultural value chains to help communities increase their incomes and improve both food and energy security.
A feasibility study by Canopy Trust highlights that the DRC faces severe deforestation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture and unsustainable charcoal production.
These practices contribute to the annual loss of roughly 0.5 million hectares of primary forest and 0.8 million hectares of secondary forest and woodland.
Cassava, representing 72% of the country’s primary agricultural production, is cultivated almost entirely using slash-and-burn methods, making it a major driver of deforestation and greenhouse-gas emissions. Canopy Trust estimates emissions at 629 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in 2021.
The projects intend to curb these impacts by substituting acacia wood from plantations for timber sourced from natural forests and by upgrading charcoal kiln efficiency.
According to Canopy Trust, these measures could reduce emissions by 90% compared with traditional practices.
In cassava production, the proposed methods could increase yields by up to 300%, enabling smallholders to earn more while generating jobs in integrated processing units and ensuring stable market access for their products.
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Image Credit: UNDP Climate Change Adaptation
