Since 2008, Tropenbos International is developing a new research and capacity building programme in the Congo Basin. It is TBI's first regional programme. The programme is established in Cameroon and is expected to start activities in DR Congo from 2010.

In both countries, TBI is still in the phase of establishing itself and developing partnerships with national government agencies, universities and national and international organizations.

In Cameroon, the programme will build on the results of TBI's prior activities in the south western part of the country, around Kribi and in the Campo Ma'an area. In DR Congo, the programme is expected to work out of Kisangani, with study areas located in the Ituri Region.

Research activities in the new TBI Congo Basin Programme will concentrate on the following themes:

1. Chainsaw lumbering and domestic timber market in relation to community/communal forests (Cameroon and DR Congo).
2. Sustainable forest management. In Cameroon, permanent sample plots established in the mid-1990s will be re-measured and analysed to attain growth & yield data, and to provide information on the effects of Reduced Impact Logging on carbon stocks and dynamics.
3. The impact of infrastructural developments on forests and livelihoods (Cameroon and DR Congo).
4. Sustainable financing mechanisms for forests (Cameroon).
5. Landscape level analysis of local land use (DR Congo)