Republic of the Congo

National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

Sub-Saharan AfricaApplies 2025–2030Source: Stratégie et Plan d'Action National de la Biodiversité

1. Overview

The Stratégie et Plan d'Action National de la Biodiversité (SPANB¹) 2025–2030 is the Republic of the Congo's revised instrument for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Congo acceded to the Convention on Biological Diversity through Law No. 29/96 of 25 June 1996 and developed the strategy through an eleven-step participatory process involving public institutions, technical and financial partners, NGOs, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities² (IPLCs), research institutions and the private sector [§3, §4].

Rather than adopting the 23 KMGBF targets one-for-one, the strategy sets 25 national commitments³ organised under five strategic axes (A–E)⁴, supported by 145 actions and 163 indicators [§185]. Congo splits KMGBF Target 4 into two commitments (species extinction; genetic diversity and human-wildlife conflict) and KMGBF Target 22 into two commitments (knowledge/capacities; participation and rights), producing a dual-numbered architecture in which, for example, "Target 19/18" denotes CG national commitment 19 aligned to KMGBF Target 18 [§185]. The strategy's stated mission is "to ensure by 2030 the security of the country's biological resources, through better knowledge of their components and sustainable management that integrates the development and/or strengthening of the capacities of all stakeholders, socio-economic development, and equitable redistribution of benefits" [§3, §177].

Implementation is overseen by a management and monitoring unit under the ministry responsible for sustainable development, together with a National Biodiversity Advisory Committee composed of all sectoral ministers and established by decree, serving as the highest decision-making body on biodiversity matters [§3, §194, §197]. The estimated total cost of the action plan is 25,700 in the budget units used by the action-plan tables (units not converted to FCFA or USD in the source) [§215].

The Republic of the Congo's 2025–2030 NBSAP commits to 25 national commitments across five strategic axes, adopts a 20% rather than 30% protected-area headline figure against a 13.52% baseline, and treats peatlands as strict nature reserves by statute. A dedicated 2026 deadline on harmful-subsidy reform and an unusually detailed financing architecture — naming the Cali Fund, GBFF, Bezos Earth Fund and specific private co-financiers — distinguish the plan.

¹ SPANB (Stratégie et Plan d'Action National de la Biodiversité) is the Congolese term for NBSAP; this page uses NBSAP throughout. ² Congo's NBSAP uses "CLPA" (communautés locales et populations autochtones) and "peuples autochtones et communautés locales"; this page uses "Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)". ³ Congo's NBSAP calls these "cibles nationales" (national targets) and numbers them 1–25, with an additional paired notation (e.g., "Target 19/18") that maps each national commitment to its KMGBF counterpart. This page uses "national commitment" to avoid confusion with the 23 GBF Targets. ⁴ Congo's five strategic axes (A–E) are a country-level structural choice and are not the four KMGBF Goals (A–D), despite the letter collision.

Sources:

  • §3 — Summary
  • §4 — Introduction
  • §177 — 6.1.1 Mission
  • §185 — 6.2 Action Plan
  • §194 — 7.1.1 Implementation modality
  • §197 — 7.1.3.1 National biodiversity advisory committee
  • §215 — Action Plan matrix > Estimated total cost

2. Ecological Context

The Republic of the Congo covers 342,000 km² in Central Africa, straddling the equator with approximately 170 km of Atlantic coastline and a population of 6.14 million [§6, §11]. The hydrographic network drains 7% of the 3.5-million-km² Congo Basin, and freshwater resources — described as "little disturbed" — are estimated at 1,588 billion m³/year [§9, §11].

Forests cover 69% of the territory, totalling 23.5 million hectares, with marketable timber potential above 340 million cubic metres; 60% of the 13-million-ha production forest estate operates under sustainable management plans [§11]. Three massifs dominate: the Mayombe (~1.5 million ha), the Chaillu (~3.5 million ha), and the Northern Congo massif (~15.5 million ha, of which 8 million ha are flooded forests) [§15–§17].

Preliminary inventories confirm 5,025 vascular plant species across 234 families and 1,600 genera, with 13 endemic species and 20 species listed on the IUCN Red List or in CITES appendices, including Autranella congolensis, Pericopsis elata (Endangered) and Aucoumea klaineana (Vulnerable) [§12]. Faunal records include 676 bird species identified across six Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas covering 8.8% of the territory, 225 herpetofauna species, four marine turtle species, four crocodile species, 404 freshwater fish species and 43 edible insect species [§41, §48, §51, §52, §64, §72].

The protected-area network totals 19 protected areas covering 4,622,798 ha (approximately 13.52% of the national territory), including five national parks, three wildlife reserves, three wildlife sanctuaries, two community marine reserves, one biosphere reserve and the Lac-Télé Community Reserve; Odzala-Kokoua is the largest at 1,354,600 ha [§82]. Among these 19 protected areas, only Odzala-Kokoua National Park has a management plan [§82, §208].

Identified threats include deforestation and forest degradation (fuelwood remains the primary household fuel), artisanal gold mining within the Dimonika Biosphere Reserve, bush fires, poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking, invasive species including Chromolaena odorata, Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes, and climate change, which can exacerbate other threats "thereby creating a dangerous feedback loop" [§124–§129]. Mangroves, dominated by Rhizophora racemosa, "do not benefit, under Congolese law, from clear special statuses" [§24, §133].

Sources:

  • §6–§11 — Geographic and economic context
  • §12 — Flora
  • §15–§17 — Forest massifs
  • §24, §133 — Mangroves
  • §41–§72 — Faunal inventories
  • §82 — Protected areas
  • §124–§129 — Threats

2a. Flex — Peatlands and the Congolese Cuvette

The peatlands of the Congolese cuvette constitute the world's largest tropical peatland complex, occupying 167,600 km² at the Congo Basin scale with an average depth of 1.7±0.9 m and average soil carbon storage of approximately 1,712±634 tC/ha; their carbon totals approximately 28% of global tropical peat carbon [§25].

Within the Republic of the Congo, peatlands occupy approximately 55,072 km², distributed as 28,636 km² in Likouala, 17,757 km² in Cuvette, 7,465 km² in Sangha, and 1,183 km² in Plateaux [§25]. Ecological research in the forested peatlands of Likouala has identified approximately 48 woody species with diameter ≥10 cm, across 36 genera and 21 families [§25].

Article 45 of Law No. 33/2023 of 17 November 2023 classifies peatlands as strict nature reserves, prohibiting mining and forestry operations, agropastoral and aquaculture activities, and the development of petroleum, gas and hydroelectric activities in peatland zones [§25]. The NBSAP's Target 3 action plan includes a dedicated line for "securing biodiversity and carbon sinks of peatlands for informed decision-making" budgeted at 200 million FCFA by 2028 [§185]. Peatland mapping also anchors the Target 2 identification of priority restoration zones, linked to Key Biodiversity Areas and ecological corridors [§185].

Sources:

  • §25 — Peatlands
  • §185 — Action Plan (Targets 2 and 3)

3. National Commitments and GBF Alignment

The NBSAP structures 25 national commitments under five strategic axes aligned with the KMGBF [§180–§185]. Six governing principles — sacredness, patrimonialisation, cross-cutting added value, rationality, consultation and fair and equitable sharing, and subsidiarity — organise the strategy [§179]. Axis A covers commitments 1–8 (conservation, restoration, species, pollution); Axis B covers 9–13 (sustainable management and nature's contributions to people); Axis C covers 14 (access and benefit-sharing); Axis D covers 15–20 (mainstreaming, business, finance); Axis E covers 21–25 (implementation, knowledge, participation, gender) [§185].

Axis A — Conservation, restoration, species, pollution

Commitment 1/1 — Spatial planning. Identify areas of biodiversity importance and bring loss "to a level close to zero" through participatory and integrated spatial planning, respecting IPLC rights [§185]. The anchoring instrument is the forthcoming National Land Allocation Plan (PNAT), alongside updating of Order 60-75 on protected species. Directional aspiration — no quantitative threshold attached to the "close to zero" formulation.

Commitment 2/2 — Restoration. Restore at least 20% of degraded terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystem zones by 2030 [§185]. The largest single line item is a 3 billion FCFA mangrove-and-other-ecosystems restoration project; other lines cover mangrove and marine-turtle protection in Kouilou, erosion control, biological-method restoration, and KBA-linked priority mapping. Measurable commitment — though the Table 28 logframe outcome statement reads "≥5%", creating a tension with the 20% target text that writers should flag. Indicators include area of mangroves restored, percentage of degraded ecosystems restored, and number of eroded sites stabilised.

Commitment 3/3 — Protected areas and OECMs. Conserve at least 20% of terrestrial, inland-water, marine and coastal areas by 2030 through representative and well-connected networks and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures⁵ (OECMs), recognising indigenous and traditional territories where applicable [§185]. This is not the KMGBF 30% figure: the Congolese target is 20%, from a 13.52% baseline [§159]. The 20-action result set (approximately 2.1 billion FCFA) includes completion of the Messok-Dja protected area by 2029, legal recognition of ICCAs⁶ (APAC) and OECMs (AMCEZ) with reporting to the World Database on Protected Areas, integration of Free, Prior and Informed Consent⁷ (FPIC) into all decision-making by 2028, a 10–20-year strategic marine spatial planning plan, identification and recognition of sacred forests, and creation of budget lines for protected-area management by 2027. Measurable commitment.

Commitments 4/4 and 5/4 — Species recovery and genetic diversity. Identify threatened species and prevent extinction (4/4); conserve in situ and/or ex situ the wild relatives of cultivated plants and domesticated animals of the "ten priority genera in Congo" (not enumerated in the source) and manage human-wildlife conflict (5/4) [§185]. Indicators include the IUCN Red List Index, Red List of Ecosystems, and proportion of species with effective population size above 500 individuals. Result A1O4R4 allocates 2,000 million FCFA for equipping research centres. Directional aspiration for both.

Commitment 6/5 — Sustainable harvest. Ensure safe, legal and sustainable trade and harvesting of marine and freshwater fisheries resources and eliminate destructive fishing practices [§185]. Operationalised via CITES quota compliance, anti-illegal-fishing enforcement (500 million FCFA) and a One Health pathogen-growth indicator. Directional aspiration at the target level; measurable at the indicator level through CITES numeric quotas.

Commitment 7/6 — Invasive alien species. Identify and prioritise IAS and reduce by at least half the rates of introduction and spread of other known IAS by 2030 [§185]. Named invasives include Chromolaena odorata, Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes and Heterotis niloticus (an aquaculture-introduction invasive). Biological control receives 1,500 million FCFA. Measurable commitment.

Commitment 8/7 — Pollution. Reduce by at least half overall risks linked to pesticides and hazardous chemicals by 2030 [§185]. Operationalised through land-use demarcation of agriculture/aquaculture/forestry zones (1,500 million FCFA), bioremediation (1,000 million FCFA) and communication. Measurable commitment.

Axis B — Sustainable management and nature's contributions to people

Commitment 9/8 — Climate and biodiversity. Minimise anthropogenic pressures on vulnerable marine and coastal ecosystems affected by climate change or ocean acidification through nature-based solutions [§185]. Congo has no coral reefs, and the commitment is operationalised around mangroves, fisheries and forest-based mitigation, anchored in the 2019 Climate-Resilient Agricultural Investment Plan (CRAIP). Directional aspiration.

Commitment 10/9 — Sustainable use of wild species. Take sustainable management measures for wild species, with benefits for vulnerable populations [§185]. Grounded in the socioeconomic weight of fisheries (60% of national fish-protein consumption). Directional aspiration.

Commitment 11/10 — Agriculture, aquaculture, forestry. Identify and map zones dedicated to agriculture, aquaculture and forestry in departmental and communal master plans [§185]. Central instruments are Protected Agricultural Zones (PAZ) and the 2019 CRAIP priority projects. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 12/11 — Ecosystem services. Restore and safeguard ecosystems — particularly water — that contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, taking into account IPLC needs [§185]. Primary institutional outcome is the National Biodiversity Consultative Committee (NCBC). Directional aspiration.

Commitment 13/12 — Urban biodiversity. Improve the quality, connectivity and area of green and blue spaces in cities [§185]. Operationalised through the urban resilience project and the resilient cities project. Directional aspiration — no 2030 deadline is stated in the target text.

Axis C — Access and benefit-sharing

Commitment 14/13 — ABS. Take or strengthen legal, political, administrative and capacity-building measures for benefit-sharing from genetic resources, traditional knowledge and digital sequence information (DSI) by 2030 [§185]. Operationalised via designation of genetic-resource checkpoints and a national competent authority, and updating of the national Nagoya Protocol strategy. The Cali Fund (Chapter 8) is named as the DSI redistribution mechanism. Directional aspiration.

Axis D — Mainstreaming, business, finance

Commitment 15/14 — Mainstreaming. Integrate biodiversity into national and local development planning, ESIA/SEA, poverty reduction and national accounts by 2030, including adoption of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) at the National Institute of Statistics [§185]. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 16/15 — Business. Government takes legal and administrative measures encouraging businesses to disclose and act on biodiversity [§185]. Only two actions (enterprise survey in 2029, legal-framework development by 2026); budget figures unspecified. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 17/16 — Sustainable consumption. Ensure public awareness and "significantly" reduce waste production by 2030 [§185]. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 18/17 — Biosafety. Take measures relating to biosafety under CBD Articles 8(g) and 19 by 2030, including creation of an environmental-parameter analysis laboratory [§185]. Timelines and budget figures are not stated in the result table. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 19/18 — Harmful subsidies. Eliminate or progressively reduce incentives harmful to biodiversity by 2026 — earlier than the KMGBF pathway [§185]. Sectors named include hydrocarbons, mining, energy, merchant navy and transport. A new subsidies monitoring unit is to be established. Measurable commitment on the deadline; monetary targets to be established during the baseline measurement. Current monetary value of harmful subsidies is not stated in the source.

Commitment 20/19 — Finance mobilisation. "Considerably increase" compared to current levels the mobilisation of financial resources by 2030 [§186]. Aligned KMGBF formulation references the USD 200 billion/year global figure. Directional aspiration at the national formulation level.

Axis E — Implementation, knowledge, participation, gender

Commitment 21/20 — Capacity and technology. Improve, share, transfer and apply knowledge and technology, particularly through South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation, by 2030 [§187]. Operationalised largely through CLPA traditional-knowledge activities. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 22/21 — Data and participation. Involve all national stakeholders in review, development, updating and implementation of the NBSAP by 2030 [§187]. Centralisation of biodiversity data at the National Institute of Statistics for dissemination through the INS Open Data portal is the named channel. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 23/21 — Knowledge and capacities. Strengthen capacities, communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management, with IPLC traditional knowledge accessible only with FPIC [§187]. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 24/22 — Participation and rights. Ensure full, effective, equitable and gender-responsive participation of women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, and IPLCs in decision-making, justice and information by 2030 [§187]. Anchored in Law No. 5-2011 on indigenous peoples and its 2019 implementing decrees. A structural indicator tracks positions in legislative bodies, civil service and judiciary disaggregated by sex, age and disability. Directional aspiration.

Commitment 25/23 — Gender equality. Ensure gender equality in NBSAP implementation, including recognition of women's equal rights to land and natural resources under statutory and customary law, by 2030 [§189]. Directional aspiration.

⁵ Congo's NBSAP uses "AMCEZ" (autres mesures de conservation efficaces par zone) for OECMs. ⁶ Congo's NBSAP uses "APAC" for ICCAs (Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas/Territories). ⁷ Congo's NBSAP uses "CLIP" (consentement libre, préalable et éclairé) for FPIC.

Sources:

  • §179–§189 — Principles, strategic axes, national commitments
  • §159 — Protected-area baseline
  • §185–§189 — Action Plan target texts
  • §190, §192 — Result action tables

4. Delivery Architecture

Development and environmental frameworks. Biodiversity action is situated within the National Development Plan 2022–2026 (six strategic pillars), the revised National Environmental Action Plan (originally 1996, revised 2021), the National Sustainable Development Strategy (launched 2013) and the Sustainable Land Use Programme [§142, §144, §149, §160].

Forests and REDD+. The National Forestry Policy 2014–2025 organises eighteen pillars including sustainable management and certification, community forestry, NTFP valorisation, FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements, REDD+ and payment for environmental services [§146]. The National REDD+ Strategy targets 2030 across five pillars [§145]. Core legislation includes Law No. 33-2020 of 8 July 2020 on the forestry code, Order No. 5053 of 19 June 2007 on sustainable management of forestry concessions, and Order No. 6515 on reduced-impact logging standards [§159, §160]. The National Reforestation Service (Decree No. 89/042) carries out reforestation works [§159].

Protected areas. The overarching legal basis is Law No. 37-2008 of 28 November 2008 on wildlife and protected areas, currently being overhauled [§159]. Two community marine reserves were gazetted in late 2023 — Loango Bay (Decree No. 2023-1804 of 30 December 2023) and Mvassa (Decree No. 2023-1805 of 30 December 2023) — for marine-turtle habitat conservation, sustainable fisheries and participatory management [§159]. The "Key Biodiversity Areas — establishing the blueprint for 30x30" project has identified 66 key species in 7 groups, with 3% of marine territory covered by KBAs and 40% of Congo's KBAs unprotected [§159]. Two dedicated coordination bodies have been created within the Ministry of the Environment: a national KBA coordination group and an AMCEZ/OECM coordination group [§159]. The National Strategy for Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas (NSSFPA) set the vision that "by 2024, the protected areas of the Republic of the Congo will have at least one sustainable financing mechanism" [§156].

Species and wildlife. Species protection rests on Law 37-2008, complemented by Order No. 3282 on absolute protection of the elephant, Order No. 6075 of 9 April 2011 on partially or fully protected animal species, and Order No. 3772 of 12 August 1972 setting the sport-hunting closure from 1 November to 30 April [§160]. Environmental impact assessment procedures are set by Decree No. 2009-415 of 20 November 2009. The umbrella law is Law No. 33-2023 of 17 November 2023 on sustainable environmental management, complemented by Law No. 74-2022 of 16 August 2022 on sustainable development [§159, §160].

Agriculture and fisheries. The Climate-Resilient Agricultural Investment Plan (CRAIP/PIAIC, 2019) comprises six priority projects on agroforestry, soil fertility, irrigation and aquaculture, resilient value chains, savannah agriculture, and agro-meteorological information [§151]. The National Agency for the Development of Agriculture and Livestock (ANDAE), the National Agency for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANDPA), the Agricultural Support Fund (FSA) and the Fisheries Development Fund (FAH) are the institutional vehicles — though the NBSAP notes these "are not truly operational, due to a lack of implementing texts for some and a lack of financial means and political will for others" [§160].

IPLCs and gender. IPLC rights rest on Law No. 5-2011 of 25 February 2011 on the promotion and protection of indigenous populations, supplemented by Decree No. 2019-202 (access to social and health services and pharmacopoeia protection) and Decree No. 2019-200 (cultural property and sacred sites) [§161]. The MOUEBARA Law No. 19-2022 provides "a multidisciplinary response to violence against women and girls" [§162]. The revised National Gender Policy succeeds the 2008 policy [§147].

Transboundary instruments. Commitments include the TRIDOM agreement (Cameroon, Gabon), the Sangha Trinational (TNS), the Mayumba-Conkouati Binational, the Lac Télé-Lac Tumba Binational, the Libreville Agreement of 6 April 1983, the Gorilla Agreement of 23 October 2007, the Memorandum of Understanding of 9 March 2017 establishing the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin, and the Lusaka Agreement [§158].

Sources:

  • §142–§162 — Policy and legislative frameworks
  • §156 — NSSFPA
  • §158 — International instruments
  • §159–§161 — National legal framework

4a. Flex — IPLC rights, FPIC and gender architecture

The NBSAP threads IPLC rights, FPIC and gender across the full document rather than confining them to a single section. The governing principle of subsidiarity is defined as empowerment of and benefit-sharing with IPLCs at the grassroots level [§179].

The anchoring domestic statute is Law No. 5-2011 of 25 February 2011 on the promotion and protection of indigenous populations, supplemented by two 2019 implementing decrees (social/health services and pharmacopoeia; cultural property and sacred sites) [§161]. The NBSAP commits under Commitment 24/22 to continued drafting of implementing texts on the land rights of indigenous peoples by 2028 [§187].

FPIC (CLIP) integration is assigned to all decision-making processes by 2028 under Commitment 3/3 (action A1O3R3.10) and is embedded in the general implementation workflow: field execution of NBSAP activities is conditional on "full stakeholder participation and free, prior and informed consent from IPLC" [§185, §194].

Gender architecture. The MOUEBARA Law No. 19-2022 addresses violence against women and girls [§162]. The NBSAP splits gender across two dedicated commitments: Commitment 24/22 (participation of women and girls, children, youth, persons with disabilities and IPLCs in decision-making, justice and information) and Commitment 25/23 (gender equality in NBSAP implementation, recognition of equal rights to land and natural resources under statutory and customary law) [§187, §189]. A structural participation indicator tracks the percentage of positions in legislative bodies, civil service and judiciary disaggregated by sex, age, and category including persons with disabilities — an unusually explicit structural metric for an NBSAP [§187, §189].

Community-level architecture includes the two 2023 community marine reserves (Loango Bay, Mvassa), the planned transformation of Community Development Series (SDC) into community forests by 2025, development of co-management agreements between the State, private sector and IPLCs by 2027, and identification and official recognition of sacred forests by 2026 as a culturally specific OECM pathway [§159, §185].

Sources:

  • §161, §162 — Law 5-2011 and MOUEBARA Law 19-2022
  • §179 — Subsidiarity principle
  • §185, §187, §189, §194 — FPIC, participation, gender commitments

5. Monitoring and Accountability

Governance bodies. Implementation is carried out by a management and monitoring unit under the ministry responsible for sustainable development, together with a National Biodiversity Advisory Committee established by decree in the Council of Ministers, described as "the highest decision-making and guidance body for biological diversity matters" [§194, §197]. The advisory committee comprises a committee of ministers (all sectoral ministers) and a committee of experts drawn from sectoral ministries, the private sector, biodiversity users, CSOs, youth associations, IPLCs, women, persons with disabilities, and technical and financial partners [§197]. The management and monitoring unit provides the secretariat, coordinates and evaluates implementation at central level, periodically publishes the biodiversity assessment in Congo, and ensures Congo's participation in CBD Conferences of the Parties [§198].

Coordination tiers. Implementation follows a "bottom-up logic" structured on three tiers: central, departmental and communal [§207]. At the central level, activities contributing to each strategic objective are entrusted to the General Directorate of Sustainable Development. At the departmental level, a departmental committee for monitoring NBSAP implementation is to be established in each department, preparing an annual action plan. At the communal level, stakeholders provide project-management support. The management and monitoring unit conducts unannounced visits to verify field conformity with project terms of reference [§207].

Monitoring framework. The monitoring mechanisms follow Decision 15/6 of COP 15, organised around data availability diagnostic, data collection, data analysis, monitoring indicators, implementation monitoring and evaluation [§202]. Data are collected by authorised National Statistical System structures using traditional methods (field survey agents) and modern methods (remote sensing, sensors for temperature, humidity, air and water quality), with questionnaires in CSPro or KoboToolbox [§204]. Analysis uses SPSS, STATA, CSPro, EVIEWS, R and domain software such as DaRT [§205]. The framework follows Decision 15/6 on headline, component, complementary and national indicators and provides indicator specification sheets for national indicators [§206]. The NBSAP notes candidly that "currently, the mechanism for collecting data on biological diversity is not regular" and that "the absence of a large number of these indicators in the national action plan does not favour better monitoring" [§204, §206].

Evaluation. A mid-term evaluation is scheduled for the second half of 2027, with the final evaluation at the end of the implementation period [§208]. Evaluation draws on satisfaction surveys, objectively verifiable indicators, service notes, project description technical sheets, sex-disaggregated attendance lists, ToRs transmitted, No-Objection Notices received and financing obtained [§208]. A logical framework (Table 28) sets out OVIs, sources of verification, responsible structures, cost in millions of FCFA and financing sources for each strategic axis.

Reporting. The monitoring system is to produce monthly reports — together with annual and biennial reports — covering species preservation, restoration of degraded protected areas, violations of exploitation contracts, community complaints on human-wildlife conflict, and related activities [§216]. Monthly reports must mention the contribution in cash or in kind of local communities to conservation, protection and restoration [§195]. The NBSAP flags "the lack of quality and unavailability of monthly reports" as a current handicap, and identifies establishment of a management plan and early warning system within protected areas as a required action [§216].

Sources:

  • §194–§198 — Implementation and management bodies
  • §200–§201 — Community participation and capacity
  • §202–§208 — Monitoring and evaluation
  • §216 — Reporting

6. Finance and Resource Mobilisation

The NBSAP contains a dedicated Chapter 8 on financing architecture. The estimated total cost is 25,700 in the budget units used by the action-plan tables; these units are not converted to FCFA or USD in the source, and several results (Commitments 16/15, 17/16, 18/17, 19/18, 20/19, 21/20, 25/23) have blank or missing budget cells [§215].

Section 7.1.2.1 identifies "the absence of a budget line in the finance act and the difficulties in disbursing funds allocated to the production of indicators" as a current bottleneck in NBSAP implementation [§195].

Domestic sources. Government budgetary allocations are complemented by national financial institutions including Banque Postale du Congo, Crédit du Congo (Attijariwafa subsidiary), Banque Populaire Internationale (BCI, BCP subsidiary) and microfinance institutions [§218].

Multilateral sources include the World Bank Group, BDEAC, BEAC, BADEA, AfDB, EIB, the Asian Development Bank and the European Commission [§219].

Bilateral sources include France (AFD), Germany (BMZ, GIZ, KfW), the United States (USAID, OPIC), the United Kingdom (Royal Society), Norway (NORAD), China (China Exim Bank), Japan (JICA, TICAD), Canada (CIDA) and Sweden (SIDA) [§220].

Private sources. The NBSAP names specific private co-financiers from foundations, philanthropists and NGOs through to private enterprises including TotalEnergies, ENI, SNPC, MTN, BRASCO, BRALICO, CIB/Olam, IFO and Mokabi [§221].

Traditional funds enumerated include IBRD, IDA, IFC, FCPF, IFAD, FIP, the Climate Investment Fund, CAFI, CBFF, the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin (F2BC), the Africa Climate Change Fund, FEVAC, GCF, GEF, SCCF, the Adaptation Fund, REDD Early Movers, the Sangha Tri-National Foundation (FTNS), the Odzala-Kokoua-Lossi Foundation (FOKL), the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation (FNN), the Bezos Earth Fund, the Cali Fund ("international fund intended for the redistribution of a portion of revenues from species sequencing to the countries of origin of those species"), the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), the dedicated biodiversity fund "created at the resumption of COP 16 in Rome", the Kunming Biodiversity Fund (KBF), UN-REDD, CEPF and the Loss and Damage Fund [§222].

Innovative mechanisms listed are carbon credits, green bonds, blue bonds, debt-for-nature swaps, payment for ecosystem services, payment for environmental services, public-private partnerships, carbon offsetting, and biodiversity credits and certificates [§223].

Subsidy reform. Commitment 19/18 commits by 2026 to establish a subsidies monitoring unit and to identify and measure the monetary value of subsidies harmful to biodiversity — the current monetary value is not reported in the source [§192].

Protected-area finance. Commitment 3/3 commits to creating budget lines for the management of protected areas and other areas of high biodiversity value by 2027 [§190]. The NSSFPA sets the vision that "by 2024, the protected areas of the Republic of the Congo will have at least one sustainable financing mechanism"; the source does not report whether any PA achieved this by the stated date [§156].

Sources:

  • §156 — NSSFPA
  • §190, §192 — Budget lines and subsidy reform
  • §195 — Finance-act bottleneck
  • §215 — Total cost
  • §217–§223 — Financing architecture

7. GBF Target Coverage

GBF Target 1 — Spatial planning

Addressed. Commitment 1/1 commits to identify areas of biodiversity importance by 2030 through participatory and integrated spatial planning, respecting IPLC rights. Four actions are budgeted at 175 million FCFA and include establishment of a consultation framework (2025), updating of Order 60-75 on protected species (2026), development of the National Land Allocation Plan (PNAT) (2026) and documentation of species conservation status. FPIC/CLIP language is integrated through IPLC recognition.

GBF Target 2 — Ecosystem restoration

Addressed. Commitment 2/2 commits to restore at least 20% of degraded terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystem zones by 2030. The largest line is 3,000 million FCFA for mangrove and other ecosystem restoration, complemented by a Kouilou/Pointe-Noire mangrove and marine-turtle project (400 million FCFA), erosion control (500), biological-method restoration (100), and KBA-linked priority mapping (400). Mangrove restoration techniques named include semi-active restoration, wildling transplantation, nursery sowing and passive restoration. The Table 28 logframe outcome statement reads "at least 5% of degraded ecosystems are conserved and restored", creating an internal tension with the 20% target text.

GBF Target 3 — Protected areas (30x30)

Addressed. Commitment 3/3 adopts a 20% terrestrial/marine target (not the KMGBF 30%) against a 13.52% baseline (4,622,798 ha across 19 protected areas). Only Odzala-Kokoua has a management plan. Twenty actions totalling approximately 2.1 billion FCFA include completion of the Messok-Dja protected area by 2029, legal recognition of APAC/ICCAs and AMCEZ/OECMs with WDPA reporting, FPIC integration by 2028, identification and recognition of sacred forests, continuation of implementing texts on IPLC rights, creation of budget lines for PA management by 2027, and a 10–20-year marine spatial planning plan. Two community marine reserves (Loango Bay and Mvassa) were gazetted by Decrees 2023-1804 and 2023-1805 of 30 December 2023.

GBF Target 4 — Species recovery

Addressed. Commitments 4/4 and 5/4 together serve KMGBF Target 4. Commitment 4/4 covers species threatened by anthropogenic activities (enforcement of protection texts, inventories, species classification by threat degree, climate-resilient species selection, and equipping research centres at 2,000 million FCFA). Commitment 5/4 covers wild relatives of cultivated plants and domesticated animals of "the ten priority genera in Congo" (not enumerated), plus human-wildlife conflict management mechanisms (150 million FCFA, 2025). Indicators include the IUCN Red List Index and proportion of species with effective population size above 500 individuals.

GBF Target 5 — Sustainable harvest

Addressed. Commitment 6/5 commits to safe, legal and sustainable fisheries trade and harvest and to elimination of destructive fishing practices by 2030. Actions include CITES quota compliance (50 million FCFA, 2025), annual cutting permit compliance (50 million FCFA), combating illegal and destructive fishing (500 million FCFA, 2025), and regulatory enforcement. A One Health indicator tracks the growth rate of pathogens linked to wild species consumption.

GBF Target 6 — Invasive alien species

Addressed. Commitment 7/6 commits to reduce by at least half the rates of introduction and spread of other known IAS by 2030. Named invasives include Chromolaena odorata, Clerodendrum inerme, Coix lacryma-jobi, Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes and Heterotis niloticus. Biological control is budgeted at 1,500 million FCFA (2026); technical-capacity and pathway-control actions total 450 million FCFA (2028).

GBF Target 7 — Pollution reduction

Addressed. Commitment 8/7 commits to reduce by at least half the overall risks from pesticides and hazardous chemicals by 2030. Actions include combating uncontrolled land occupation (100 million FCFA), demarcation of agriculture/aquaculture/forestry zones in departmental plans (1,500 million FCFA, 2028), bioremediation (1,000 million FCFA, 2027) and awareness-raising (100 million FCFA, 2025). Indicators include the coastal eutrophication potential index, plastic recycling rate and pesticide-import rate of change. Oil-exploitation pollution is flagged in the diagnostic but not tied to a dedicated action.

GBF Target 8 — Climate change and biodiversity

Addressed. Commitment 9/8 commits to minimise anthropogenic pressures on vulnerable marine and coastal ecosystems through nature-based solutions. Congo has no coral reefs; the target is operationalised around mangroves, fisheries, GHG monitoring near oceanic zones (100 million FCFA, 2028), afforestation and reforestation, hydrology studies, and fishery resource inventories (1,000 million FCFA). The 2019 CRAIP is cited as the pre-existing instrument linking climate adaptation to biodiversity.

GBF Target 9 — Wild species use

Addressed. Commitment 10/9 commits to sustainable management measures for wild species delivering social, economic and environmental benefits to vulnerable populations. Fisheries supply approximately 60% of national fish-protein consumption, grounding the commitment in food security. Actions include inventories of sustainably managed wild species (2,000 million FCFA, 2030) and IPLC benefit-sharing meetings (100 million FCFA, 2026).

GBF Target 10 — Agriculture, aquaculture, forestry

Addressed. Commitment 11/10 commits to map zones dedicated to agriculture, aquaculture and forestry in departmental and communal master plans by 2030. Central instruments are Protected Agricultural Zones (PAZ) and the CRAIP priority projects (climate-smart agriculture, resilient agroforestry for cassava, maize and banana). Actions include zone securing (800 million FCFA, 2025), product-quality improvement through climate-smart techniques, recognition of IPLC traditional knowledge, and updating of the national land-use planning scheme (200 million FCFA, 2026).

GBF Target 11 — Ecosystem services (NbS)

Addressed. Commitment 12/11 commits to restore and safeguard ecosystems — particularly water — contributing to health, livelihoods and well-being. The primary institutional outcome is establishment of the National Biodiversity Consultative Committee (NCBC) (50 million FCFA, 2026). Further actions cover Nagoya Protocol strategy updating (100 million FCFA, 2027), strengthening forest certification (100 million FCFA), NTFP enhancement (500 million FCFA) and air/water/soil quality studies (1,000 million FCFA, 2027).

GBF Target 12 — Urban biodiversity

Addressed. Commitment 13/12 commits to improve the quality, connectivity and area of urban green and blue spaces. No 2030 deadline is stated in the target text. Seven actions totalling approximately 440 million FCFA include green/blue space mapping, rehabilitation, creation and sustainable management, the urban resilience project, and the resilient cities project (150 million FCFA, 2026; monitoring 100 million FCFA, 2027).

GBF Target 13 — Genetic resources and ABS

Addressed. Commitment 14/13 commits by 2030 to take or strengthen legal, political, administrative and capacity-building measures for benefit-sharing from genetic resources, traditional knowledge and digital sequence information (DSI). Actions include designation of genetic-resource checkpoints (15 million FCFA), designation of a national competent authority (2025), inventory of genetic resources and traditional knowledge (100 million FCFA, 2025), IPLC capacity-building (100 million FCFA, 2028), and development of ABS legal measures (50 million FCFA, 2026). The Cali Fund is named in Chapter 8 as the DSI redistribution mechanism.

GBF Target 14 — Mainstreaming

Addressed. Commitment 15/14 commits to integrate biodiversity into planning, ESIA/SEA, poverty reduction and national accounts by 2030, including adoption of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) at the National Institute of Statistics. Nine actions span biodiversity integration in school and university curricula (200 million FCFA, 2026), teacher capacity-building, research and innovation (100 million FCFA), ESIA/SEA validation mechanism strengthening, SEEA implementation, inclusion of conservation activities in the next National Development Plan, and ESMP monitoring.

GBF Target 15 — Business disclosure

Addressed. Commitment 16/15 commits to legal, administrative or policy measures encouraging businesses — particularly large and transnational enterprises and financial institutions — to act for biodiversity by 2030. Only two actions are identified: a survey of private and public enterprises on biodiversity themes (2029) and development of legal and policy measures (2026). Budget figures are not specified.

GBF Target 16 — Sustainable consumption

Addressed. Commitment 17/16 commits to public awareness of biodiversity value and a significant reduction in waste production by 2030. Five actions cover dietary-habit legal frameworks (2028), reduction of food imports while promoting local production (2029), soil-depleting agricultural-itinerary reduction (2029), awareness campaigns (2029), and eco-citizenship awareness (2028). The commitment references SDG 4.7.1 on mainstreaming global citizenship and sustainable development education.

GBF Target 17 — Biosafety

Addressed. Commitment 18/17 commits to take political, administrative and legal measures on biosafety under CBD Articles 8(g) and 19 by 2030. Four actions cover a legal framework on biotechnology and biosafety, capacity-building of officials, a national nomenclature of biotechnological products, and creation of an environmental-parameter analysis laboratory. Timelines and budget figures are not stated in the result table.

GBF Target 18 — Harmful subsidies

Addressed. Commitment 19/18 commits — unusually, by 2026 rather than 2030 — to eliminate or progressively reduce incentives harmful to biodiversity. Sectors named include hydrocarbons, mining, energy, merchant navy and transport. Four actions establish a subsidies monitoring unit, create reduction mechanisms, intensify awareness actions, and identify and measure the monetary value of harmful subsidies. Timelines and budgets for individual actions are not stated.

GBF Target 19 — Finance mobilisation

Addressed. Commitment 20/19 commits to considerably increase financial resource mobilisation compared to current levels by 2030, aligned with the KMGBF USD 200 billion/year figure. Seven actions (2025–2028) cover private-sector and TFP mobilisation, advocacy for increased biodiversity budget, IPLC capacity-building in fund mobilisation, research-centre budget increases, an annual biodiversity-expenditure review, PES/carbon-offset valorisation, and a national biodiversity financing plan. Chapter 8 enumerates national, multilateral, bilateral, private, traditional and innovative sources by name, including TotalEnergies, ENI, SNPC, CIB/Olam, IFO, Mokabi, the Cali Fund, GBFF, KBF and the Bezos Earth Fund. The NBSAP acknowledges the absence of a dedicated biodiversity budget line in the finance act as a current bottleneck.

GBF Target 20 — Capacity and technology

Addressed. Commitment 21/20 commits by 2030 to improve, share, transfer and apply knowledge and technologies, particularly through South-South, North-South and triangular cooperation. Operationalised largely through IPLC traditional-knowledge activities: integration of IPLC knowledge into CBD implementation (2028), capacity-building of public actors, CSOs and private sector in technology transfer (2028), IPLC traditional-knowledge inventory (2028), IPLC capacity-building (2028), and biodiversity management improvement using available national funds (2027). Budget figures are not stated.

GBF Target 21 — Data and information

Addressed. Commitment 22/21 commits by 2030 to involve all national stakeholders in NBSAP review, development, updating and implementation, and to ensure access to the best available data. Actions include centralisation of biodiversity data at the National Institute of Statistics for dissemination through the INS Open Data portal (2027), NBSAP updating (2030), establishment of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism (2025), and integration of biodiversity into sectoral training programmes (2025). The indicator architecture follows Decision 15/6 (headline, component, complementary and national indicators).

GBF Target 22 — Inclusive participation

Addressed. Commitments 23/21 and 24/22 together serve KMGBF Target 22, with Commitment 23/21 framed around knowledge and capacities and Commitment 24/22 around participation, justice and rights. Commitment 24/22 anchors in Law No. 5-2011 on indigenous populations and its 2019 implementing decrees, and commits by 2030 to full, effective, equitable and inclusive participation — including women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities and IPLCs — in decision-making, justice and information. Twelve actions under Result A5O24R24 include capacity-building workshops on Law 5-2011 (2029), development of implementing texts on IPLC land rights (2028), adoption of legal texts on traditional knowledge (2027), and integration of vulnerable groups into all decision-making spheres (2030). A structural indicator tracks positions in legislative bodies, civil service and judiciary disaggregated by sex, age and disability.

GBF Target 23 — Gender equality

Addressed. Commitment 25/23 commits by 2030 to ensure gender equality in NBSAP implementation, recognising equal rights to land and natural resources under both statutory and customary law. Two actions under Result A5O25R25 cover involvement of women, girls and youth from vulnerable groups in CBD implementation, and IPLC capacity-building on traditional knowledge. The indicator set tracks the legal framework (including customary law) guaranteeing equality of land rights, position-percentage disaggregated by sex/age/disability, and proportion of the agricultural population with secured land rights by sex and tenure type. The MOUEBARA Law No. 19-2022 on violence against women and girls complements the NBSAP framework. Timelines for the two A5O25R25 actions are not stated.