• World Bank values the region’s forest ecosystem services at $1.15 trillion in 2020.

• Only $7.8 billion of that was captured by national economies in the same year.

• The Bank urges stronger carbon market access and better forest finance systems.

Countries in the Congo Basin are capturing only a fraction of the true value of the ecosystem services their forests provide to the world. According to a World Bank report released in August 2025, the total economic value of these services reached $1.152 trillion in 2020, covering carbon storage, water regulation, biodiversity, timber, and wild food resources.

Yet, the six countries central to forest governance in the region—Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Congo—recorded just $7.8 billion of that value in their national accounts that year.

Carbon storage alone accounts for nearly 99% of the forests’ estimated value but contributes only 9% to local economies. The disparity highlights how little of the Congo Basin’s carbon wealth is monetized, reflecting limited access to global carbon finance and compensation mechanisms. With nearly 91 billion tons of carbon stored—ten times the annual emissions of the global energy sector—the Congo Basin remains the world’s largest net carbon sink.

World Bank calls for stronger climate finance mechanisms

The World Bank argues that the region’s potential lies in turning forest conservation into a source of economic growth by mobilizing climate finance and carbon markets. It recommends building the technical and legal capacity needed to engage effectively in global carbon and biodiversity markets.

That includes transparent monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, national carbon registries, and clear regulations for environmental transactions. Forest ecosystem accounts developed with World Bank support should also help countries identify priority zones and design credible carbon finance projects.

Financing tools such as REDD+, performance-based payments, and green bonds can help monetize climate regulation services and attract both public and private capital, the report says. It also encourages domestic resource mobilization through carbon taxes and timber levies to support forest conservation and green growth.

Untapped potential and market challenges

The global carbon market continues to expand. Data from MSCI/Trove Research show that nearly $43 billion was committed or raised between 2021 and the third quarter of 2024 for carbon credit activities, with most funding directed toward carbon removal projects based on nature or technology. The year 2024 marked a record, with $14 billion raised by the end of the third quarter, underscoring growing investor interest and stronger global climate commitments.

However, the implementation of these mechanisms faces structural obstacles. Climate finance disbursements remain slow and tied to complex conditions, delaying tangible benefits for forest nations. In 2025, for example, the Green Climate Fund approved a $31 million results-based payment to Uganda for reducing deforestation emissions between 2016 and 2017—the first such payment in Africa. The milestone, though significant, also reveals the sluggish pace of climate reward systems.

At the same time, the carbon market faces credibility issues due to fragmented standards and inconsistent certification systems. A 2023 investigation by The Guardian, Die Zeit, and NGO SourceMaterial found that over 90% of forest carbon credits certified by Verra—the world’s largest carbon offset standard—may not represent actual emission reductions.

For the Congo Basin, the priority is now to build a unified regional position in the global carbon market while developing a sustainable forest economy that generates lasting revenue and safeguards the planet’s most vital carbon sink.