Protecting one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet in the Congo Basin is no easy task. Nor is looking after the 25 billion tons of carbon, 10,000 plant and several thousand known animal species, and 30 million people including 150 indigenous groups they contain. But it’s one that a group of organizations and governments have taken on for nearly 15 years, and that continues today in Kigali, Rwanda. Some 500 researchers, policy makers and scientists will gather for a meeting of what’s known as the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP).

The CBFP conference runs from November 21 through November 25.

Launched by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the CBFP partnership aims to identify and find ways to deal with threats to the ecosystems in the Congo Basin. It also aims to improve the lives of the people who call the diverse mix of lowland and mountain rainforests, sprawling savannas and wooded grasslands home.

Each year, with a different set of facilitators from among the group’s partner organizations and governments, the CBFP holds a meeting to expose participants to the wide diversity of viewpoints and take strides toward coming up with a unified approach.

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