Democratic republic of congo News

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DRC copper exports to US set to surge amid warnings of corruption risk

Elodie Toto 1 May 2026
Children and adults cleaning and washing minerals in Kakanda, DRC. Image by Didier Makal/ Mongabay.

UN report flags disproportionate costs of clean energy transition

Victoria Schneider 30 Apr 2026
Fabrice Basile, chargé d’affaires at the European Union Delegation in Kinshasa. Image by David Akana/Mongabay.

‘True success’ is a DRC that no longer needs outside help: Interview with EU envoy Fabrice Basile

David Akana 29 Apr 2026

Tropical forest loss falls in 2025, but world still off track on deforestation goals

Hans Nicholas Jong 29 Apr 2026
Luis Arranza at Dzanga Bai. Photo by Nuria Ortega

What it takes to make conservation work in Central Africa: Luis Arranz’s 46-year journey

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 27 Apr 2026
Fabrice, a ranger at Virunga National Park since 2013 and now a Deputy Sector Warden, pauses during a patrol. Virunga has lost more rangers than any other protected area in Africa, illustrating the human cost of conservation and raising the question of whether new conservation models can better protect both biodiversity and those charged with defending it. Image courtesy of Virunga National Park.

Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park: “If conservation creates hardships, it won’t work”

David Akana 20 Apr 2026
The proposed Green Corridor would stretch from Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, all the way to Kinshasa in the west. An aerial view of a village in South Kivu, DRC. Image by MONUSCO via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?

David Akana 20 Apr 2026
Ivonne Kienast at Dzanga Bai

Studying the world’s largest gathering of forest elephants with sound and field observation

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 19 Apr 2026
Bags of cobalt powder ready for export from Chemaf’s mines in the DRC. Image by Didier Makal/Mongabay.

Virtus Minerals signs first major deal under US-DRC critical minerals partnership

Ashoka Mukpo 17 Apr 2026
Emmanuel de Merode at an airstrip near Salonga National Park in DRC in March 2026. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

Can nature outcompete war in Eastern Congo?

Rhett Ayers Butler, David Akana 13 Apr 2026
Coffee and cocoa production around Virunga National Park are seen by some proponents of the Green Corridor as activities that can help reduce pressure on forest resources. In Salonga National Park, officials are already encouraging cocoa and coffee cultivation as alternative livelihoods for surrounding communities. Photo: Virunga National Park.

From Virunga to Kinshasa, the DRC embarks on a bold conservation gamble

David Akana 9 Apr 2026
A forest elephant near Ngounié, Gabon. Image by marcusgmeiner via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

A Congo Basin-led bioeconomy could boost Central Africa’s green transition (analysis)

Metolo Foyet 6 Apr 2026
A dinghy used to sample the lake. Image courtesy of Travis W. Drake.

‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study

John Cannon 31 Mar 2026

Conservation depends on rangers. Their wellbeing is often an afterthought

Rhett Ayers Butler 31 Mar 2026

‘Extraordinary’: Second set of rare mountain gorilla twins born in DRC’s Virunga

David Akana 30 Mar 2026
Lubumbashi River, at the level of the Kalubwe bridge, where significant fish mortality was reported in November 2025. Image by Ruth Kutemba.

4 months after DRC mine spill, residents remain impacted

Ruth Kutemba, Elodie Toto 26 Mar 2026
A ranger at Upemba National Park.

Upemba National Park staff recount assault that left seven dead

Ashoka Mukpo 24 Mar 2026

Investigation links DRC air pollution concerns to major copper-cobalt plant

Elodie Toto 19 Mar 2026
Two Twa women and children are resting under the shade of a cocoa tree next to the Ngite/Mavivi Twa camp in Beni, DRC. Image of Jackson Sivulyamwenge for Mongabay.

Growing number of Indigenous Twa forced out of DRC’s forests and into towns

Jérémie Kyaswekera, Jackson Muhindo Sivulyamwenge 11 Mar 2026
Artisanal miners in Rubaya area, DRC.

200 dead, more missing in another DRC mine collapse

Mongabay Africa 6 Mar 2026
CHEMAF’s Etoile mine (formerly known as Kalukuluku) in Ruashi-Lubumbashi in the DRC. Image by Didier Makal.

US firm Virtus Minerals closes in on deal for crucial DRC copper and cobalt mines

Ashoka Mukpo 26 Feb 2026
A photo of Zeytin posted by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Facebook in December 2024. No further updates have been provided since the country's announcement to not send Zeytin to Africa.

Baby gorilla seized from traffickers languishes in Turkish zoo

Spoorthy Raman 13 Feb 2026
Artisanal cobalt miners in the DRC. Image by The International Institute for Environment and Development. Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic.

Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up

Elodie Toto 12 Feb 2026
Luwowo Coltan mine near Rubaya, North Kivu. Image © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Landslides claim more than 220 lives in DRC’s Rubaya coltan mining site

Didier Makal 9 Feb 2026
Christine Lain surveys Upemba National Park.

Partnering up to run a DRC reserve: Interview with Forgotten Parks’ Christine Lain

Ashoka Mukpo 6 Feb 2026
A forest elephant near Ngounié, Gabon. Image by marcusgmeiner via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

What’s next for the major pledge to halt & reverse Congo Basin deforestation?

Latoya Abulu 5 Feb 2026
A mine in Likasi on November 26, 2025. Image by Glody MURHABAZI / AFP).

In the race for DRC’s critical minerals, community forests are on the frontline

Didier Makal, Latoya Abulu 16 Jan 2026

Twin infant mountain gorillas born in DRC

Elodie Toto 9 Jan 2026
Rainforest in Brunei in 2025. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler

The year in rainforests 2025: Deforestation fell; the risks did not

Rhett Ayers Butler 26 Dec 2025
An Indigenous Mbuti hunting group inside Okapi National Reserve. Photo ©️ Brent Stirton/Getty Images.jpg

Protected areas in Africa are vital but local perceptions vary (commentary)

Heidi Kretser, Diane Detoeuf, Michelle Wieland, Jessica L’Roe 19 Dec 2025
Journey by pirogue for members of the Baliga

Congo’s communities are creating a 1-million-hectare biodiversity corridor

Elodie Toto 18 Dec 2025
Forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) inhabit the dense rainforests of Central Africa.

Top-down projects, exotic trees, weak tenure: Congo Basin restoration misses the mark

Amindeh Blaise Atabong 12 Dec 2025

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