Publications
The Congo Basin – Strategies for the Survival of the World’s second largest Green Lung
The heart of Africa around the Congo Basin is one of the most conflict ridden, unstable and poorest regions in the world. In addition to many sought-after raw materials such as oil, diamonds, gold and coltan, its countries are home to a very special treasure: the second largest "green lung" in the world, the tropical forests of the Congo Basin.
Due to their special ecological characteristics, these tropical ecosystems in Amazonia, Africa and Southeast Asia provide 25% of global climate protection and climate change mitigation and are refuges for up to 90% of the world's biodiversity. The Congo Basin is still largely intact in its ecological functions and still absorbs large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere – six times as much as the much larger Amazonia.
The study by Dr. Christian Ruck on survival strategies for the Congo Basin with its ecological characteristics, but also for millions of people who live there, shows how economic development can succeed without damaging the lung function even under the current difficult political conditions in central Africa and geopolitical tensions.
