Motion 140

Dear Members of the IUCN Resolutions Committee,

On behalf of the co-sponsors listed in the motion, we respectfully submit the Emergency Motion “Avoiding Irreversible Ecological Damage and Tipping Point Risks in the Congo Basin: Urgent Assessment and Protective Measures.”

Justification for Emergency Status
With deforestation of tropical primary forest increasing in Africa, particularly in the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2010 to 2020 (FAO and UNEP, 2020), the threshold for the ecological and hydrological tipping point of the Congo Basin draws even nearer. After the original motions deadline, the Democratic Republic of the Congo advanced a licensing round of 52 new oil blocks covering ~124 million hectares, including overlaps with protected areas (8.3 Mha), Key Biodiversity Areas (8.6 Mha), and 63% of community forests. These concessions encompass 64% of DRC’s intact forests (66.8 Mha) and nearly the entire mapped peatland, affecting the territories of an estimated 39 million people. This is illustrative of expanding extractive industry pressures across the Congo Basin region.
The science is clear: Congo Basin forests and peatlands recycle half of their own rainfall, and disruption risks a self-reinforcing drying cycle leading to forest dieback, peatland collapse, massive carbon release, and biodiversity loss.
Waiting until the next IUCN World Conservation Congress, four years from now, would forfeit the narrow window to implement precautionary protections before critical thresholds are crossed. For this reason, the motion must be considered under the emergency procedure.

Why Immediate Action Is Needed
The Congo Basin is a global climate and biodiversity keystone, comparable in significance to the Amazon. Tipping points in its hydrological and carbon systems could trigger irreversible regional and global consequences within this decade. Currently, about 22.6 million hectares of dense humid forests in Central Africa, or 14% of its total surface area, enjoy protected area status. Accordingly, current protection levels are not commensurate with risk. Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are the primary stewards, yet their territories and customary lands remain insufficiently secured.

Alignment with IUCN’s Mandate
The proposed motion is consistent with IUCN’s mission and builds on precedents set by Resolution 129 (Amazon, 2020). It calls for precautionary measures, the urgent convening of a Congo Basin Tipping Point Assessment Task Force, expanded recognition of Indigenous and local community governance, and mobilization of direct, equitable finance.

Request
Given the magnitude, irreversibility, and urgency of the risks, we respectfully request the admission of this motion under the emergency procedure. We also stand ready to contribute data, analyses, and facilitation to the proposed Task Force.

Key References
Ewane, E.B. (2022). How much deforestation in the Congo Basin can cause the hydrological cycle to degrade to a tipping point? Academia Letters, 5040.
Earth Insight (2025). DRC’s expanded oil plans endanger ecosystems and communities.
Domínguez-Tuda, M. & Gutiérrez-Jurado, H.A. (2024). Global analysis of forest tipping points. Journal of Hydrology X, 25, 100187.
Eba’a Atyi, R., Hiol Hiol, F., Lescuyer, G., Mayaux, P., Defourny, P., Bayol, N., Saracco, F., Pokem, D., Sufo Kankeu, R., & Nasi, R. (Eds.) (2022). The forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forests 2021. CIFOR-ICRAF.