John,

One of the most carbon-rich places on Earth could be sold and carved up for oil any day now – we need your help to stop it.

Oil companies are gearing up to slash and burn huge swaths of rainforest and peatland in the Congo Basin, releasing unprecedented amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere and wiping out the only home left of endangered bonobos.

Thankfully local partners are racing to secure official protection for 700,000 acres – and we can help for just $1 per acre.

The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI) and local communities are working hand-in-hand to save as much precious forest and bonobo habitat as they can – and since this year is BCI’s 25th anniversary, for our special partnership, they’ve arranged a 2X donation match.

Can you chip in to save the Congo Basin?

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The Congo Basin is the largest carbon sink in the world, absorbing even more carbon than the Amazon. The peatlands of the Cuvette Centrale alone store around 29 billion metric tons of carbon, equivalent to three years of global fossil fuel emissions. And it’s also a critical habitat for tens of thousands of species, including endangered forest elephants, gorillas and bonobos.

Its carbon-rich rainforests and peatlands are already under growing threats from out-of-control logging, mining and wildlife trafficking. Yet the DRC government is pressing ahead with plans to auction off 30 oil and gas blocks that include intact rainforest and peatlands.

If an oil spree takes off here, deforestation for exploration and development would turn this carbon-sink into a climate killer, causing the region to emit more carbon than it absorbs.

For 25 years the BCI and local Congolese partners have been working to create something truly magical: a network of nature reserves in bonobo habitat managed by the people who live there. With all of us chipping in, we could help them secure thousands of more acres before it’s too late – and power their work to create a beautiful place where humans, bonobos, and nature can live in harmony.

Remember, donations are matched! Can you chip in now to save the Congo Basin?

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With your help we can protect more of the Congo Basin from out-of-control deforestation and power our campaigns to protect nature, wildlife and people everywhere. Thank you for being part of Ekō's global community and for all that you do.