Ecosystems
Congo Basin Rainforest
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The second largest contiguous tropical rainforest on Earth after the Amazon, spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, drained by the Congo River and its tributaries. Often called the lung of Africa, the forest absorbs vast quantities of atmospheric carbon and shelters extraordinary biodiversity, including forest elephants, bonobos found nowhere else on Earth, lowland and mountain gorillas, and the elusive okapi. Its remoteness has left large stretches less studied and less disturbed than the Amazon, though logging, mining and agricultural expansion are advancing steadily into previously intact forest.
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Area (sq km)Estimates for Congo Basin rainforest extent range from roughly 1.78 to 2 million square kilometers depending on methodology and ongoing deforestation; this figure reflects a commonly cited approximate extent. Cross-Tradition Connections
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