Conservation of the Congo Basin forests is a critical, but complex undertaking. This massive tropical forest block, the world’s second largest, covers over 200 million hectares and spreads across six countries in Central Africa. It is home to some of the world’s most critically endangered animals, such as lowland gorillas, as well as over 10,000 endemic tropical plant species. It also provides livelihoods to 60 million people, who depend on forest resources for food, energy, and jobs – a significant economic contribution in one of the world’s least developed regions. And as if this was not enough, it stores around 46 billion metric tons of carbon, benefitting the whole planet facing climate change.

The importance of this ecosystem means that a multitude of actors, including donors, implementing agencies, national governments, and local organizations, are simultaneously carrying out conservation and development efforts on the ground. While international interest, availability of funds, and political will are certainly good news, duplications of initiatives do happen. Information gaps and a lack of overarching coordination stand in the way of achieving environmental and development objectives.

To address these issues, the Central African Forest Observatory (OFAC) – whose mission is to provide data to decision makers so they can create evidence-based policies –  recently launched an interactive project monitoring platform. The “visually appealing” online tool enables sign-ups to access data and projects in the region, to promote collaboration and put an end to wasted resources.

“In the last two decades, the region has seen an exponential increase in the number of actors in the forest-environment sector,” explains Quentin Jungers, OFAC’s technical advisor, who leads the IT team behind the platform. “The new project monitoring platform answers calls for better coordination at the regional and national levels. It will allow organizations and governments to share information, promote collaborations, and ensure harmonization.”

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