The Biodiversity Observatory aims to assess and protect the rich biodiversity of the Congo Basin, one of the most biologically diverse regions on Earth. Despite its global importance, the region lacks consistent, high-quality data on species populations and ecological dynamics. This gap limits our ability to understand how land use change, climate variability, and other pressures are impacting species distributions, ecosystem function, and the sustainability of biodiversity-dependent livelihoods
Lead researchers and institutions
The Biodiversity Observatory is co-led by Prof Bila-Isia Inogwabini (Catholic University of Congo, Kinshasa, DRC) and Prof Emmanuel Abwe (University of Lubumbashi, DRC), with support from Prof Kate Abernethy (University of Stirling, UK), a leading expert in tropical ecology and conservation.
The Observatory also includes a PhD student, an MSc student and a post-doctoral researcher at each of the Catholic University of Congo Kinshasa and Lubumbashi University, as well as one PhD student at Stirling University. To read more about each of the scholarship research projects in the Biodiversity Observatory, click here.
Research objectives
The Biodiversity Observatory will work to answer the essential questions as to how different groups of animals (taxa) are impacted by the major habitat modifiers of our time: forestry, agriculture, mining, roads and cities. Using an integrated monitoring approach, the Observatory will deploy camera-trap networks to track mammal populations and field surveys to assess freshwater fish diversity and abundance. This approach places a strong emphasis on the intersection of biodiversity and human livelihoods, with wild mammals and fish being critical sources of protein and income in many communities across the region.
The Observatory has three Key Outputs:
- Quantification and understanding of how mammal biodiversity metrics (richness, evenness, dominance) differ with land use type, initially focussing on intact and logged forest of differing intensities, to identify tipping points where forest degradation reduces biodiversity to very low levels.
- Quantification and understanding of fish abundance and diversity across the Congo Basin, and as assessment of whether fish abundance or diversity are declining, and if this is localised or across the region.
- Assessment of the relationship between mammal and fish community integrity. Does mammal community loss affect fish abundance or diversity and therefore impact on local fisherfolk livelihoods?
Links to other observatories
The Biodiversity Observatory will work closely with the Vegetation Observatory to coordinate the camera trapping programme, and with the Land Cover and Land Use Change Observatory to use satellite data to scale up the findings of the mammal biodiversity assessments and give insights into total biodiversity losses and biodiversity change across the region. The observatory will also coordinate with the Hydrology Observatory to organise the field campaigns focussed on changes to fish abundances, and will work with the Socio-Ecological Observatory to develop simple systems of monitoring biodiversity that can be operated and interpreted by local communities. These should enhance their capability of managing their territories and potentially generate future income from payments for maintaining or increasing biodiversity in their territories.
News and publications
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