Led by President Paul Biya of Cameroon, the presidents formed an agreement to protect the Congo Basin's forested areas.Representatives of Gabon, the Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea all came to Cameroon for the meeting. Heads of states and environmental experts from each country were in attendance.
They agreed to the Yaounde Declaration at the meeting, which created a reserve stretching
across national boundaries. The newly created area will be the home to the second largest tropical forest area in the world. The Congo Basin contains a fourth of the world's tropical rainforests.
Land from Gabon, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville will be used in the forest. Over 3.5 million hectares (13,510 square miles) of forested area will be preserved by the agreement.
Central Africa's rainforests are home to amazing biodiversity. In addition to
containing over half of the continent's wild plants and animals, many unique species such as forest elephants and lowland gorillas live in the rainforests.
