Iaraçu Scientific Caravan – the Congo Basin in dialogue with the Amazon

Organised by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and its Brazilian partners, this mission brought together more than 150 researchers, doctoral students, journalists and institutional actors from the three major tropical basins – Amazonia, the Congo Basin and South-East Asia – to reflect together on the construction of an inter-basin vision for the benefit of forests and the climate.

The One Forest Vision (OFVi) delegation represented the Congo Basin through three high-level scientists: Prof. Raphaël Tshimanga, Director of the Congo Basin Water Resources Research Center (CRREBaC) in the DRC and co-chair of the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI), who was present throughout the river crossing, as well as Prof. Alfred Ngomanda, Commissioner General of the National Center for Scientific and Technological Research (CENAREST) in Gabon, and Dr. Aboubakar Mambimba Ndjoungui, Director General of the Gabonese Agency for Space Studies and Observations (AGEOS) in Gabon, who joined the delegation in Belém for further scientific exchanges. Their participation illustrated the rise of African research and the shared desire to strengthen scientific and diplomatic cooperation between tropical basins.

On board the Iaraçu shuttle, the OFVi teams led several key moments of reflection and scientific exchange.

Workshop 1 – Linking science and public policy

The first workshop, led by Nicolas Barbier (IRD), Laurent Durieux (IRD), Raphaël Tshimanga (CRREBaC), focused on preparing an inter-basin policy brief linking recent scientific findings to future research directions.
Discussions highlighted the need for better coordination between knowledge production and policy decisions. 

"To better protect forests, we must first understand what they store: carbon, but also exceptional biodiversity. OFVi's work shows that between 2019 and 2022, Central Africa lost almost twice as much carbon as it captured, while recent droughts highlight the vulnerability of carbon sinks to climate variations. These results confirm that tropical forests remain an essential pillar of global climate stability, but that if they weaken, they could eventually become a net source of carbon," Nicolas Barbier pointed out. 

Workshop 2 – Co-constructing environmental data governance 

The second workshop, led by Laura Létourneau, focused on the co-construction of the Nzoya Data project (‘the house of data’ in Kikongo). This initiative aims to build public data-sharing infrastructures to support the implementation of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).

Based on the observation that scientific data must become tools for governance, participants reflected on how to strengthen coordination between actors while guaranteeing the sovereignty of forest states.
The discussions, enriched by contributions on board the ship, highlighted the importance of moving forward in ‘small, rapid steps’ to capitalise on existing mechanisms and create digital commons for sustainable forest governance.

Workshop 3 – Exploring tropical forests through virtual immersion

A third workshop, conducted in collaboration with Wild Immersion, offered participants a unique experience through the use of virtual reality headsets on board the Iaraçu caravan. These devices transported passengers to the heart of three major tropical basins—the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia—through a selection of 360° films, including The Great Apes and School Amazonia.

This immersive experience illustrated the power of images and new technologies to raise awareness of biodiversity issues, promote intercultural dialogue and strengthen scientific cooperation. The screenings also provided an opportunity for direct exchange with local communities encountered along the river, who were able to discover these exceptional images and share their own stories about the forest and its vital role in their daily lives.

This partnership between One Forest Vision and Wild Immersion paves the way for future inter-basin collaboration to create a joint immersive film, paying tribute to Dr Jane Goodall and researchers around the world who are working to protect tropical forests.

International media coverage

The mission also benefited from significant media coverage. The team from RFI - Radio France Internationale's programme ‘C'est pas du vent’ was on board to gather testimonials from Raphaël Tshimanga (CRREBaC), Laurent Durieux (OFVi/IRD) and Géraldine Derroire (CIRAD). The report, broadcast on Friday 14 November at 14:10 GMT (15:10 French time), will highlight the synergies between science, cooperation and data management to make the voice of the Congo Basin heard at COP30 in Belém. 

A symbolic meeting with President Emmanuel Macron in Belém

A highlight of this voyage was the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron aboard the Iaraçu caravan. The Head of State spoke with representatives from the three major tropical basins — Laurent Durieux (OFVi/IRD), Géraldine Derroire (CIRAD), Aboubakar Mambimba Ndjoungui (AGEOS, Gabon) and Cláudio Almeida (INPE, Brazil) — on the major scientific advances of the One Forest Vision programme and shared solutions for the preservation of tropical forests.

A highly symbolic meeting, reaffirming inter-basin cooperation and the central role of science in environmental diplomacy which resulted in the publication of a Policy Brief.