Libreville, Gabon, 26 October 2026 – Amid mounting pressure and growing threats to the Congo Basin forests, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and persistent barriers to direct access to climate finance, Greenpeace Africa, in partnership with Brainforest, will host the third Regional Conference of Environmental Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) of the Congo Basin on 28–29 October 2026 in Libreville, Gabon.
Held under the theme “A Resilient Congo Basin: Forests, People, Finance and Nature,” the conference will bring together more than 50 participants from six countries across the region: Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Representatives of civil society organisations, forest peoples and local communities, women-led organisations, researchers, public institutions and other stakeholders will come together around a shared ambition: to build a strong, coordinated regional position to defend forests, advance environmental justice and ensure that the voices of local communities and forest peoples are central to decisions shaping their future.
Vital forests under increasing pressure
The Congo Basin is home to one of the world’s most important forest ecosystems. Its forests serve as a vital defence against climate change, an extraordinary reservoir of biodiversity and a source of livelihood for approximately 80 million people.
Yet these ecosystems continue to face mounting pressure from deforestation and forest degradation, extractive activities, land degradation and development models that too often negatively impact forest-dependent communities.
According to 2025 data from the World Resources Institute, approximately 780,000 hectares of primary forest were lost in the Congo Basin in 2024.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, despite being at the forefront of forest protection, continue to face insecure land tenure, inadequate participation in decision-making and significant barriers to directly accessing funding intended for conservation and climate action.
“The Congo Basin cannot continue to be presented as a global priority for climate and biodiversity while the communities protecting its forests every day remain on the margins of decision-making and funding. In Libreville, our ambition is clear: to develop shared proposals driven by regional actors so that forest protection finally translates into stronger rights, fairer governance and tangible benefits for local populations,” said Toussaint Molenge, Regional Forests and Biodiversity Project Lead at Greenpeace Africa.
From Yaoundé to Kinshasa, and now Libreville: time for action
This third edition builds on previous regional conferences held in Yaoundé in 2024 and Kinshasa in 2025, which helped bring civil society organisations together around shared priorities for forest protection, climate justice and community rights.
The Libreville conference aims to take this process a step further by assessing progress, identifying commitments that have yet to be adequately implemented and defining a regional advocacy roadmap with concrete priorities.
Over two days, discussions will focus on four key pillars:
- Forest governance and sustainable natural resource management, particularly transparency, accountability and the pressures exerted by extractive industries on forest landscapes.
- Rights, knowledge and leadership of forest peoples, with particular attention to land rights, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and meaningful community participation.
- Biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience, prioritising rights-based and community-led approaches.
- Climate and biodiversity finance, promoting more accessible, transparent and equitable funding mechanisms for local organisations and forest peoples.
“We cannot build a sustainable future for the Congo Basin without the people who live in its forests, understand their value and directly experience the threats they face. This conference must help bridge the gap between public policies and realities on the ground, while strengthening civil society’s ability to hold decision-makers accountable and advocate for truly inclusive solutions,” said Martial Djinang, Executive Secretary of Brainforest.
Amplifying a regional voice ahead of major international environmental negotiations
The conference comes at a strategic moment in the international environmental calendar, ahead of the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for November 2026.
By the end of the conference, participants aim to adopt a Libreville Declaration and regional advocacy priorities to inform discussions with governments, regional institutions and financial partners.
Beyond the conference itself, the objective is to strengthen coordination among civil society organisations across the six countries and promote measurable commitments to ecosystem protection and community rights.
“The success of Libreville will not be measured solely by the quality of our discussions or the strength of our final declaration. It will depend above all on our collective ability to turn recommendations into commitments that deliver real results, engage decision-makers and ensure that pledged funding actually reaches communities. The Congo Basin forests and future generations cannot wait any longer,” added Toussaint Molenge of Greenpeace Africa.
ENDS
Media contacts
Raphael Mavambu,Communications & Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa, [email protected]
Jean Feri Essono, Communications Officer, Community Manager & Press Relations, Brainforest
Notes to Editors
About Greenpeace Africa
Greenpeace Africa is an environmental organisation working to protect the environment, advance climate justice and defend community rights. Through its campaigns, mobilisation efforts and advocacy, the organisation promotes sustainable and equitable solutions to the threats facing Africa’s ecosystems.
About Brainforest
Established in 1998, Brainforest is a Gabonese civil society organisation dedicated to environmental protection, sustainable natural resource governance and the defence of community rights. Its work focuses on institutional advocacy, supporting rural communities and independently monitoring forest and land governance policies.
Practical Information
- Event: 3rd Regional Conference of Congo Basin Civil Society Organisations
- Dates: 28–29 October 2026
- Venue: King Choice Appart Hotel, Libreville, Gabon
- Organisers: Greenpeace Africa and Brainforest
- Format: In-person conference with hybrid participation options
- Media coverage: Official ceremonies, thematic discussions and interview opportunities, subject to the conference programme and access arrangements to be confirmed.
