The Congo Basin, home to Earth's second-largest rainforest, is rich in biodiversity, including species like elephants, gorillas and bonobos. The region plays an essential role in regulating the planet’s climate, absorbing as much carbon as the world emits in three years, and serves as a critical source of rainfall across Africa. It supports an extraordinary range of biodiversity while also providing livelihoods for 40 million people.
However, the Congo Basin faces significant threats from large-scale infrastructure projects, extractive industries, political instability, insecure land rights and chronic underfunding for conservation efforts. Without concerted action, these pressures could have devastating impacts on both the environment and local communities that rely on the land and forests.
Synchronicity Earth (SE), through the Congo Basin pooled fund, supports cross-border conservation efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon aimed at resisting harmful developments that endanger forests and rivers, empowering communities to defend their land rights, and protecting and reviving ecosystems through regenerative development approaches. SE provides financial support and capacity-building to local organisations, ensuring that community-led conservation remains at the heart of efforts to protect this critical region while addressing social and economic needs.
LGT Venture Philanthropy partners with Synchronicity Earth on the Congo Basin Programme through core funding and capacity development support to local implementors (referred to as partners).
Our engagement spans two areas:
SE currently works with over 20 partners in two Congo Basin countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon, and on average disburses 70% of total funds directly to local implementors. SE, through its partners, has helped secure community forests and push for legislation that supports the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
Synchronicity Earth is thrilled to be entering a new collaborative funding partnership with LGT Venture Philanthropy. Our two organisations have many overlapping principles from providing flexible, multi-year funding to working with implementing partners to understand what support is needed to have impact and meet collective objectives.
Learn more about how Synchronicity Earth works in the field