The Amazon,
Congo, and Critical
Forest Biomes
Integrated Program
The Issue
In the tropics, primary forests, or Intact Forest Landscapes
(IFLs),
1
store more carbon than any other forests. It is
estimated that forest ecosystems soak up to a third of
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, 84% coming
from old and primary forests.
2
These forests are also
irreplaceable in terms of biodiversity and are critical for
other ecosystem services (water), and Indigenous Peoples
and local communities. The conservation and sustainable
management of the remaining IFLs has become crucial to
combat global environmental degradation before it is too
late. IFLs are also the cheapest solution to the twin crisis of
climate change and biodiversity loss.
Remaining IFLs comprise only 20% of tropical forest area.
Only 22% of intact forests are found in Protected Area
Categories.
3
Primary forests in the most extended tropical
biomes continue to be lost or degraded at an alarming rate.
In addition, the continuation of the carbon sink’s role of IFLs
is not guaranteed due to climate change and deforestation.
The drivers of deforestation and forest degradation
are well known. Some depend on local specificities,
including agriculture, logging, mining, and infrastructure
development. These drivers are fueled by poverty, policy
incoherence, weak capacities, or industrial businesses.
The Integrated Solution
The Amazon, Congo, and Critical Forest Biomes Integrated
Program aims to maintain the integrity of globally
important and critical tropical primary forests. This, in
turn, will maximize multiple global environment benefits,
notably related to carbon and biodiversity.
The Amazon and the Congo Basin are the two largest
blocks of tropical forests in the world.
4
These two basins
are globally critical for biodiversity and carbon storage.
They provide livelihoods and subsistence to communities
that rely on forests and agriculture for their survival
Beyond the large intact biomes, some regions are also
home to smaller patches of primary forests. These are vital
as biodiversity refugia and can serve as a cornerstone for
ecological restoration eorts in fragmented landscapes. The
Indo-Malaya region, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and
the Guinean forests of West Africa include such vital primary
forests and are therefore also targeted by the program.
Expected Outcomes
At the global level, the program will contribute to better
conservation of primary forests, providing information and
visibility of IFLs in the climate and biodiversity agendas. It
will give particular attention to their definition, mapping,
sustainable management, and financing. Several platforms
should be targeted to catalyze the engagement of multiple
stakeholders at global, regional, national, and local levels. This
would enable the needed changes in governance models,
policies, financial frameworks, information, and social
systems. Beyond governments, the targeted stakeholders
should include the private sector and various platforms
involved in forest protection, sustainable use, and finance.
At the sub-regional level, countries will be invited to
work together to increase and strengthen the protection
and governance of IFLs. They will tackle the drivers of
deforestation at the landscape and jurisdictional levels. This
could include, for instance, developing land use planning
instruments at various levels and finding innovative ways
to promote integration. Beyond the establishment and
improved management of protected areas, the program will
consider other eective area-based conservation measures.
Countries will have the opportunity to develop Payment
for Ecosystem Services (PES), corridors, and coordinated
landscape management to improve connectivity at the
transboundary or regional level.
The roles and empowerment of Indigenous Peoples
and local communities, as well as marginalized groups
including women, will be central. This will require robust
safeguard systems.
0 500 1,000 Kilometers
0 500 1,000 Kilometers
0 500 1,000 Kilometers
Likely primary forest >50,000ha
Likely primary forest >10,000 ha
Current forest cover >10%
Original extent of wet tropical forest
Wet Tropical Forest
___________________________________________________________________
Potapov et al. (). The last frontiers of wilderness: tracking loss of intact
forest landscapes from to . Science Advances, : :e.
Funk et al (). Securing the climate benefits of stable forests, Climate Policy,
:, -.
Mackey et al. (). Policy Options for the World’s Primary Forests in Multilat-
eral Environmental Agreements, Conservation Letters, (), -.
UNEP (). Emissions Gap Report : The Heat Is On – A World of Climate
Promises Not Yet Delivered. UNEP Nairobi.
Map by Hugh S. & Mackey B. (Grith University), from various sources: Turubanova et al. (2013), Potapov et al. (2017) & FAO Global Ecological Zones (2012).
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a family of funds
dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change,
pollution, and strains on land and ocean health. Its grants,
blended financing, and policy support helps developing
countries address their biggest environmental priorities
and adhere to international environmental conventions.
Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more
than $22 billion and mobilized $120 billion in co-financing
for more than 5,000 national and regional projects.
Contact for Amazon, Congo, and Critical Forest Biomes IP:
Jean-Marc Sinnassamy
APRIL 2023
