Episode 11: Central African Republic-The Heart of Africa

The Congo River Basin is one of the largest river basins in the world.

It's second only to the Amazon River Basin, but it's no less important.

Now, if you remember Episode 2, all of the natural resources and the prime location made the Congo River Basin the prize everyone was hoping to win in the Scramble for Africa.

But what is the Congo River Basin? Well, a river basin is simply the land that water flows over or under on its way to a river.

So basically, we all live in a river basin of some size.

If you don't believe me, just start walking.

Go outside, start walking, keep walking.

You'll eventually find water flowing outside.

But what's so special about the Congo River Basin? Well, the CRB is called one of the lungs of the planet because it breathes in our carbon emissions and produces oxygen that we need for our air and water.

It regulates rainfall and slows global warming.

And that's not even talking about the rainforest and all the plant and animal life that it sustains.

So the Congo River Basin encompasses six African nations, the Republic of Congo, Remember, we call it Congo Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo Brazzaville or DRC for short, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic.

But we all need the Congo River Basin to survive.

It's doing its part.

Are we? Welcome to Africa A to Z, the podcast where we explore Africa's 54 countries one by one.

I'm Gina from Sankofa Sojourns, where we travel to places impacted by the transatlantic slave trade.

We take back our heritage through knowledge because knowledge is power.

And we transform the pain of the past into fuel for our future.