On Monday 9 December, the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI) supported a Congo Basin Science Fair at the British Embassy, Democratic Republic of the Congo. This saw students from the University of Kinshasa give a series of poster presentations, raising awareness of emerging science.
The event was an opportunity to celebrate the recent £9.1m UK funding announcement to CBSI under the new Congo Basin Forest Action (CBFA) Programme. CBSI funding will support scientists across Central Africa to lead on critical research. Professor Raphael Tshimanga, co-chair of CBSI, gave a speech after His Majesty’s Ambassador, Alyson King. Professor Tshimanga remarked:
“As climate change and human pressures increase in the Congo basin, we are in danger of losing this vital ecosystem before we have even begun to know its functioning as well as its hidden values.”
At the Fair the UK Government announced £8 million in funding for the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) to expand activities underway in Yangambi, Tshopo. This critical investment will strengthen efforts to reduce deforestation, improve local livelihoods, and enhance climate and applied research at the heart of the Congo Basin rainforest – one of the world’s most important ecosystems.
CBSI welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with CIFOR under the Congo Basin Forest Action Programme.
