| | |  | The Congo is the largest river in Western Central Africa | |
Congo River Basin - background
The Congo River is the largest river in Western Central Africa. Its overall length of 4,374 kilometres makes it the second longest river in Africa. The river and its tributaries flow through the second largest rainforest in the world, smaller only than the Amazon rainforest.
The sources of the Congo are located in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift, as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru. These feed the Lualaba River, which becomes the Congo below Stanley Falls. The Congo flows generally west from Kisangani just below the falls, then gradually bends southwest, passing by Mbandaka, joining the Ubangi River and running into the Pool Malebo. The river meets the sea at the small town of Muanda. The Congo is easily navigable for most of its length and much of the trade of Central Africa passes along it.
The Congo Basin is threatened by slash and burn of the forest, depletion of the soil, and a growing population. 29 governments and a number of different organisations will provide 115 million dollars to promote sustainable cultivation of the rainforest. This mission is called the 'Congo Basin Forest Partnership' and includes the reduction of poverty, the strengthening of administration, and the protection of biodiversity.
Deforestation
The felling of the rainforest in the Congo basin poses a major threat to the entire ecosystem, because the blanket coverage of the tropical rainforests is itself the most important factor for the necessary precipitation. These forests are well known for the high level of water return. In the Congo basin, with 151 cm of annual precipitation, 117 cm originate from evaporation from tree cover, some 77% of the annual total. Only 23% derives from oceanic low-pressure areas.
If the forests are clear cut, the proportion of surface water run-off rises considerably by comparison to condensation and seepage. The soil becomes subject to vastly increased erosion. It results in ferratilisation (leaching of alkalis and silicic acids, surface concentration of aluminium and iron) and then laterisation (formation of a hard crust during strong solar radiation in the dry period). The result is sterile ground. Due to lack of evaporation from plant life, the heavy tropical rainfall disappears. The destruction of the forest marks the beginning of the transformation of humid zones into arid ones.
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