By Apolinari Tairo
With ongoing environmental degradation in the Congo forest, researchers are working on regional interventions to save the Congo River and its sources from consequences that could cause it to dry up.
A team of researchers from Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo studying environmental hazards around the Congo River for five years, found cases of encroachment of the ecosystem that could lead to its death.
The Congo River basin spans six countries — Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), DRC, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Degradation
Team leader Prof Preksedis Ndomba from the University of Dar es Salaam said that human activities including random tree felling for charcoal in the Congo Forest and other parts of the DRC, small and large scale farming within the River Congo ecosystem, industrial activities and the construction of mega hydropower generation station would cause the river to dry up.
Prof Ndomba said that the degradation of the river would affect DRC, Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), South Sudan, Rwanda, CAR and Tanzania.
