UPSC Prelims 2024 Q16: Environment & Ecology – Climate Change & Greenhouse Gases
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?
- (a) Amazon Basin
- (b) Congo Basin
- (c) Kikori Basin
- (d) Rio de la Plata Basin
Answer: (b) Congo Basin
Explanation
Cuvette Centrale — the world's largest tropical peatland, in the Congo Basin
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Location | Central Congo Basin — Republic of Congo and DR Congo |
| Area | About 1,45,500 sq km (mapped in 2017) |
| Carbon stored | About 29 billion tonnes — roughly three years of global fossil-fuel emissions |
| Risk | Drainage, logging, oil exploration and drying could release this carbon |
| Protection | Brazzaville Declaration (2018) to protect the peatlands |
Basins in the options:
| Basin | Fact |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Largest rainforest; has peatlands, but smaller than Cuvette Centrale |
| Congo | Largest tropical peatland |
| Kikori | Papua New Guinea; rainforest river basin |
| Rio de la Plata | Paraná–Uruguay rivers; grasslands and wetlands, not tropical peat |
Answer: (b) Congo Basin.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. The Amazon is the largest rainforest, but the largest tropical peatland is in the Congo Basin.
- (b) CORRECT. The Cuvette Centrale of the Congo Basin stores about 29 billion tonnes of carbon.
- (c) Incorrect. The Kikori Basin in Papua New Guinea is much smaller.
- (d) Incorrect. The Rio de la Plata basin is largely subtropical and temperate, with no giant tropical peatland.
Key point
World's largest tropical peatland = Cuvette Centrale, Congo Basin; about 29 billion tonnes of carbon.
Remember
The Congo Basin's Cuvette Centrale is the world's largest tropical peatland.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the Amazon because it is the biggest rainforest; peat and forest size are different measures.
- Thinking peatlands exist only in cold regions; tropical swamp forests also form deep peat.
- Underestimating peat carbon; peatlands store more carbon than all the world's forests combined.
Exam tip
Peat = waterlogged, slowly decaying plant matter. The swampy Congo 'cuvette' (bowl) is the tropical record holder.
Sources
- Dargie et al. (2017), Nature — Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex
- UNEP — Global Peatlands Assessment (2022)