Oil palm is a tropical plant species. Its best growing areas are along a narrow band just above and below the equator. Tropical rainforests, which are home to the world's highest biodiversity, are also found in the same areas.

The rapid spread of palm oil plantations have replaced massive tracts of rainforests in Southeast Asia. Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest producers of palm oil accounting for nearly 85% of global production.

As agricultural land becomes increasingly scarce in Southeast Asia, and regulatory pressures continue to intensify, the Congo Basin could become the next frontier for oil palm expansion.

At 314 million hectares, the Congo Basin is the world's second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon.

It spans across 6 central African countries.

There are roughly 280 million hectares of additional land suitable for oil palm in the Congo Basin. Most of them are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.

If we put them in a box, it would cover most of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

60% of those lands that could be cleared for palm oil plantations are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the focus of this investigation.