Context: Recently, the Summit of the Three Basins concluded in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo to strengthen South-South governance for three ecosystems (Amazon, Congo, Borneo-Mekong and Southeast Asia).

About the Declaration

• The Summit of the Three Tropical Forest Basins ended on 28 October 2023 in Brazzaville by the Heads of State and Government of the States.  

• This initiative, launched by the Republic of Congo, was aimed at setting up a framework for cooperation between the three tropical forest basins (the Congo Basin, Amazonia and Borneo Mekong) in terms of governance, scientific and technical data, financing and advocacy for forests. But in the end, it seems that this objective has only evolved half-heartedly.

• In their final declaration, the participants at the Brazzaville Summit reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on the basis of a common roadmap for the protection of the three forest basins. 

• The aim is to strengthen conservation measures, combat deforestation and promote sustainable development based on the preservation of natural resources.

• In the declaration, the delegates acknowledged that the three ecosystems of biodiversity and tropical forests provide ecosystem services that are very important for humankind and for the sustainable development of the societies that live there. 

• The declaration acknowledged the importance of protected areas. These basins are responsible for around three-quarters of all global biodiversity and 80 per cent of the world’s forest cover. 

• The delegates hope to ensure that tropical forests, which cover a third of the world's land surface, are protected in the future.

The seven-point declaration urged nations to

1. Recognise the value of enhanced cooperation between the three basins.

2. Recognise that sovereign management of biodiversity, forests and associated resources of the three basins is essential.

3. Develop solutions together.

4. Pool and capitalise on existing knowledge, experience, resources and achievements.

5. Involve all states and national authorities, including indigenous peoples, youth, women, civil society, academia and the private sector.

6. Encourage financial mobilisation and the development of traditional and innovative financing mechanisms.

7. Establish a sustainable system of remuneration for the ecosystem services provided by the three basins.

About The Three Basins Summit

• The Three Basins Summit will bring together leaders from the Amazon, Congo and Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia regions to form a global coalition.

• The first Summit of the Three Tropical Forest Basins was held in Brazzaville in 2011 and resulted in the Declaration of the Summit of the Three Tropical Forest Basins, which recognised the need to establish a platform to promote cooperation among the countries of the three basins.

Congo Basin

• The Congo Basin represents the second largest tropical forest in the world in terms of area, after the Amazon Basin.

• It extends over 6 countries in Central Africa: The Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, representing 6% of the world’s forest area.

• It plays a crucial role in the stability of the global climate, with its forest cover and peatlands sequestering the equivalent of 10 years of global CO2 emissions.

The Amazon Basin

• The Amazon Basin is the largest tropical forest on the planet, crossed by the world’s largest river in terms of volume and the second longest, the Amazon River.

• It extends over 9 countries in South America, including Brazil, representing 60% of the Amazon rainforest, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, and the Republic of Guyana.

• It contains 550 million hectares of dense forests, one third of the remaining tropical rainforests on the planet, with nearly 390 billion trees representing 13% of the world’s trees.

The Borneo Mekong Southeast Asia basin

• It the world’s third largest carbon sink, is composed of two sub-regions, the island of Borneo and the Mekong River.

• The Mekong River is one of the largest rivers in the world, crossing 6 countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, which share the natural resources and land surrounding it.

• Borneo, the fourth largest island in the world, is divided between Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

• It represents only 1% of the world’s land, but holds about 6% of the world’s biodiversity in its tropical forests, which are the habitat of local populations and indigenous peoples who depend on them for their food and clean water supply.

Significance of these Regions

• These regions alone account for 80% of the world’s tropical forests and two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity, playing an essential role in regulating the carbon balance.

• Tropical forest nations play a central role in combating tropical deforestation and shaping global climate and biodiversity governance.

Purpose of the Summit

• The purpose of the Summit is to implement, within the framework of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, the first global coalition to restore 350 million hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

• The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, running from 2021 until 2030 urges global action to safeguard and restore ecosystems.

South-South Cooperation and Alternative Governance

• The Three Basins Summit represents an opportunity to strengthen South-South cooperation and build an alternative governance pathway.

Challenges faced by these basins

• Despite pledges by governments and businesses, a total of 4.1 million hectares of tropical forest was lost to deforestation in 2022, according to a report released by the Forest Declaration Assessment, a group of civil society and research organisations. The vast majority of deforestation in the world–96 per cent– occurs in tropical regions.

• These basins are seeing extensive forest loss and are moving towards a systemic ecosystem breakdown that affects global climate stability, biodiversity and the livelihoods of millions of indigenous peoples and local communities.

• Nearly 20% of intact tropical forests in the three basins are now in active and potential oil and gas concessions and nearly 25% in the Amazon and Congo basins are now in active or potential mining concessions.

• In Indonesia, 50% all nickel concessions overlap with natural forests and a fivefold risk of deforestation / degradation is possible if nickel mining permits expand to cover the full deposit area.

• In Southeast Asia, nearly 20% of undisturbed Tropical Moist Forests are in oil and gas blocks designated for production or exploration.

• In the Amazon basin, nearly 13 percent of undisturbed tropical forests overlap with existing or planned oil and gas blocks and more than 33 percent overlap with active and inactive mining concessions.

• In the Congo basin, more than 39 per cent of undisturbed Tropical Moist Forests overlap with oil and gas blocks and nearly 27 percent overlap with mining concessions. It is a threat to the Indigenous pygmy and other rare and threatened peoples.

Road Ahead

• This initiative, launched by the Republic of Congo, was aimed at setting up a framework for cooperation between the three tropical forest basins (the Congo Basin, Amazonia and Borneo Mekong) in terms of governance, scientific and technical data, financing and advocacy for forests. But in the end, it seems that this objective has only evolved half-heartedly.

• Going forward, it will be important to have more robust representation and high-level leadership from all three regions and a more structured discussion on topics such as how to collectively tackle drivers of deforestation, promote restoration and sustainable forest management.