The Congo Basin rainforest is one of the largest in the world, second only to that of the Amazon.  Covering 700,000 square miles, it provides habitat for thousands of plant and animal species, including forest elephants and gorillas, is home to 75 million people, including various indigenous "Pygmy" groups, and acts as a vast "carbon sink," absorbing carbon and mitigating against rising global temperatures.  

The region has sustained human settlement for over 40,000 years and, upon the arrival of European explorers in the late nineteenth century, it presented a vast storehouse of biodiversity, rich in flora and fauna.

During the last few decades, however, as forest management has been placed in the hands of international institutions, their policies have produced a land crisis in the region, leading to rampant deforestation and the perpetration of widespread human rights abuses against its inhabitants.  

Rainforest Voices, a non-profit organization, seeks to break the silence surrounding this crisis by providing a forum for local peoples to speak about their situation.  By raising public awareness of the crisis, it is hoped that pressure can be put on policy-makers to change the direction of current policy.