One of the following regions has the world's largest tropical peatland, which holds about three years worth of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels; and the possible destruction of which can exert detrimental effect on the global climate. Which one of the following denotes that region?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Congo Basin
The Cuvette Centrale peatlands of the Congo Basin, spread across the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, form the world's largest tropical peatland. They lock away carbon equal to about three years of global greenhouse gas emissions, which would be released if the peat were drained or degraded.
- ✓ (b) The Congo Basin peat swamp forest stores around 29 billion tonnes of carbon, roughly three years of global emissions; the 2018 Brazzaville Declaration was signed to protect it.
- ✗ (a) The Amazon has peatlands too, but the single largest tropical peatland complex is the Congo Basin's Cuvette Centrale.
- ✗ (c) The Kikori Basin is a river basin in Papua New Guinea, rich in forest but not the world's largest tropical peatland.
Remember · Cuvette Centrale, Congo Basin: world's largest tropical peatland, ~29 billion tonnes of carbon ≈ three years of global emissions; Brazzaville Declaration (2018).
Sources
- UNEP press release: Historic agreement signed to protect the world's largest tropical peatland ↗ “There is a lot at stake in the protection of these peatlands: the equivalent of three years of global greenhouse gas emissions are stored in the Congo Basin, emissions that could be released if the peatlands are degraded or the natural wetlands drained.”
- UNEP story: Critical ecosystems — Congo Basin peatlands ↗ “The peat swamp forest of the Congo Basin stores around 29 billion tons of carbon – approximately equivalent to three years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·