It is working to launch its Climate Change Action Plan 2.0 aimed at supporting systematic climate action at the country level. The World Bank recognizes that the climate challenge can only be met through collective action and partnerships. The Action Plan will strengthen partnerships, engage in focused global advocacy, develop and share knowledge and solutions, and align internal processes to support staff and partners in implementation. It will work with others to benefit from what they do best, and ensure synergies across actors active in the field.
A collaboration with researchers will help build capacity, produce the needed data to inform policies, and help decision makers to tackle the thorny interbasin water transfer issue and climate change consequences by creating shared, piloted, and implemented new and innovative solution packages to meet the challenges, especially those that contribute to the regional/global debate on climate, water, and development.
1.4. ESTABLISHING A NEW ERA FOR CONGO RESEARCH
During the first half of the twentieth century, the Congo enjoyed international attention, including the 1951 Hollywood movie, “The African Queen,” filmed on tributaries of the Congo River, which won the legendary Humphrey Bogart his only Academy Award for Best Actor. Unfortunately, a variety of factors led to a decades‐long reduction in the availability of hydrological data on the Congo River, in the quantity of field research conducted, and in interest from the international scientific community.
We hope that this book renews global interest in the Congo with its insights into the hydrology, climate, and biogeochemistry of the world’s second‐largest river basin. It is presented by an enthusiastic community of Congo researchers from around the world. By publishing in both English and French, we hope to make the valuable scientific insights more accessible to researchers, students, governments, and other stakeholders in sub‐Saharan Africa. Now is the time for an expansion of Congo research!
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