Congo basin region regulatory role on climate change and global warming vulnerability

<p>Jean-Pierre Mfuamba Mulumba and T J O Afullo</p>

Congo basin region regulatory role on climate change and global warming vulnerability

Jean-Pierre Mfuamba Mulumba and T J O Afullo

University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

: Expert Opin Environ Biol

Abstract

Congo basin is one of the less documented regions in the world with regards to climate change and global warming. Its geographical location extends from the western to central part of African continent either side of the equator. It covers up five countries including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Republic of Congo which are historically and culturally linked by the majesty Congo River. It is home for significant portions of tropical forest which plays a key role on regional and international climate control and the Earth’s carbon cycle. An estimate of almost 60 billion metric tons of total carbon stock found in the vegetation and soil are stored in this region, which a large part of it is contained in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although recent findings made by the Food Alimentation Organisation (FAO) state modest change in carbon stocks in this region, it is luckily to experience dramatic change in near future carbon stocks depletion due to political, economic and environmental issues undergoing therein for almost three decades. Despite a few international interventions on the mitigation strategies on these issues, regional and national organisations and countries still lacking tools and means to implement mitigation and adaptation policies given their scale and magnitude. Because the effects of climate change already occur and are widespread and significant in African continent in general and in the Congo basin in particular, rapid actions are needed to prevent the worse for the present and future generations. The purpose of this paper is to document the importance of the Congo basin region through its regulatory role on climate change and its vulnerability with regards to global warming and negative impacts that threaten the lives of millions of human lives, ecosystems, biomes and biodiversity that populate it.