What Might Influence Economic Forecasts for the Congo Basin?

Abstract

Abstract While the Congo Basin remains an important repository for biodiversity, the economies of the basin rely on primary commodity exploitation and trade. Renewable and exhaustible commodities such as timber, minerals, and hydrocarbon are major sources of income flow. This chapter addresses the current and future economic landscape of the Congo Basin. The demand for more agricultural land to meet the food needs of the growing population and addressing the raw material needs of the industrial sector, wood fuel consumption, and expansion of road infrastructure as well as trade and foreign direct investment would determine the growth and stability of countries in the basin. It is established that meeting the international demand for biofuel and natural resources of renewables and exhaustible resources would combine to shape the trajectory of future roles of the Basin in both the regional and global economy. There is need for a new economic model for countries in the region, in which priority is given to processing and value addition to the primary commodities that dominate trade, which balances the need for economic growth with environmental preservation, while addressing poverty, inequality, and governance challenges. Within the region itself, increased economic integration would be the platform to promote political and socioeconomic stability and development, particularly through increases in regional trade, cooperation, and levels of self-reliance.