1. A forest clearing called a Bai, in the jungles of Odzala-Kokoua. Bais function as social hubs for forest elephants, as well as a source of minerals and food. The national park of Odzala-Kokoua covers over 13,000 square kilometres, and is one of the world’s largest remaining forests.
Odzala-Kokoua, Republic of Congo, 8^th October 2025.

2. Fishermen and traders navigate their canoes at dusk on the Lualaba river, in the province of Tanganyika. The Lualaba is the most important source of the Congo river, and the surrounding regions have a turbulent history of slave trading, and contemporary conflict.
Ankoro, Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 18^th May 2025.

3. A ranger patrol in the savannah of Garamba National Park, a former stronghold of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. The population of elephants and white rhinoceros of Garamba was decimated during years of poaching and conflict.
Garamba, Haut-Uele Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 18^th May 2025.

4. A silverback Western Lowland gorilla (G.G. Gorilla), visits a forest bai to graze. The species is listed as critically endangered, and many live outside the bounds of national parks, where they are vulnerable to hunting.
Nouabale-Ndoki, Republic of Congo, 15^th October 2025.

5. The Lekoli river, the only way to traverse the thick forests of Odzala-Kokoua national park.
Odzala-Kokoua, Republic of Congo, 8^th October 2025.

6. A forest elephant (Loxodonta Cyclotis) emerges from the forest in Nouabale-Ndoki national park, on the remote border between Congo and the Central African Republic. The species is critically endangered but play a vital role in maintaining the health of the Congo Basin by spreading seeds across a vast network of trails as they navigate the forests.
Nouabale-Ndoki, Republic of Congo, 14^th October 2025.

7. An aerial view of Lango bai, in Odzala-Kokoua national park. As well as a source of minerals for forest elephants, axes from the Neolithic period (2500 years ago) and stone age (10,000 years ago) tools have been excavated here.
Odzala-Kokoua, Republic of Congo, 11^th October 2025.

8. The valleys of the Rwenzori Mountains, which lie on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Rwenzori means ‘Rain-Maker’ in the local Bakanjo language, and the mountains are home to some of the world’s last remaining tropical glaciers.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda, 27^th January 2025.

9. A view of Mount Speke, in the Rwenzori Mountains. Many of the peaks in the mountains are named for the colonial era explorers who mapped the region, which were called the ‘Mountains of the Moon’ by Ptolemy after he had heard rumours from Arab traders about snow-capped mountains in Africa.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda, 28^th January 2025.

10. The peak of Mount Stanley, the highest point of the Rwenzori Mountains, at 5109 metres. The glaciers are rapidly retreating, and less than 1 square kilometre of ice remains.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda, 29^th January 2025.

11. The melting terminus of the Margherita glacier on Mount Stanley in the Rwenzori Mountains.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda, 29^th January 2025.

12. A view of the peaks of Mount Stanley, from the dividing line between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda, 29^th January 2025.

13. A canoe crosses the Congo River at dawn around 40 kilometres upstream from the trading town of Mbandaka.
Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24^th November 2025.

14. Ranger Joel Botsuna in the botanical gardens of Eala, founded in 1900. Joel is a former soldier, and decided to search for work in the town of Mbandaka when he was decommissioned.
Mbandaka, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 22^nd November 2025.

15. Jean de Dieu and Marie-Therese Mokuma with their children, are transporting a raft of logs from the province of Sud-Ubangi to Kinshasa. The logs can be sold for a profit of $300, a far more than the family could earn from fishing in their village. They will mostly drift along the Congo river with the currents, only using their motor to navigate difficult stretches.
Mbandaka, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24^th November 2025.

16. A raft of traders drifts downriver on the Congo river.
Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 23^th November 2022.

17. Wooden ships named ‘baleinieres’ are the most common method of transport along the Congo river for communities and traders. Families, livestock and merchandise are all crammed together for journeys that can extend into several weeks. Accidents are common, due to rainstorms, overloaded cargo, and difficult navigation at night.
Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 25^th November 2025.

18. A dawn view of the Congo river. The river is 4700 kilometres long, and the Congo basin of tributaries covers 10 countries.
Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24^th November 2025.

19. A barge holding hundreds of logs travels down the Congo river. Traders and families create makeshift shelters amongst the cargo, and also embark on the route to Kinshasa. Villagers from the banks of the river pass by the large barge to sell cooking charcoal to the voyagers.
Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 28^th November 2025.

20. The lumber mills of Kinkole, on the outskirts of Kinshasa. In 2024 alone, the Democratic Republic of Congo lost over 590,00 hectares of forest. Logging concessions and illegal sites in the remote forest regions harvest logs which are shipped downriver for processing and export.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 17^th November 2025.

21. The open pit of a copper mine in the town of Kolwezi. The region is home to vast deposits of copper and cobalt, essential elements for modern and green technologies. The wealth of the region led to the famous Congo secession crisis, and decades of mining have changed the face of the landscape.
Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24^th September 2021.

22. A team of rangers walk along the Kibara plateau at dawn in Upemba. This national park was the largest in Africa when it was created, but was subsequently reduced in size by dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Years of conflict has left the park emptied of most animals, and isolated from much of the rest of the country.
Upemba National Park, Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 9^th July 2024.

23. The last surviving herd of zebras in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around 200 of the animals still survive in the remote savannahs of Upemba national park, and their numbers are slowly increasing.
Upemba National Park, Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 11^th July 2024.

24. Marie cleans the altar of the church in the town of Kilo, in the conflict zone of Djugu territory. Huge gold reserves in the area are often a source of conflict, as militias fight state forces for control of the remote mining areas in the jungles of Ituri. Within 2 months of this photograph’s date, a massacre had taken place in this church.
Kilo, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 9^th July 2021.

25. A lightning storm in the skies above the village of Lokolama, which sits in a vast network of swamp forests. The peatlands beneath the forest contain around 30 billion tons of trapped carbon, one of the world’s most important carbon sinks.
Lokolama, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20^th November 2025.

26. El-Haji, a Fulani nomad horseman in the remote jungles that border South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Caring for thousands of long-horned cows, horses, sheep and goats – which they rely on for a livelihood, Fulani groups migrate freely across borders in the region, coming from Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
Niangara, Haut-Uele Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 21^th September 2023.

27. Children play at dusk in the village of Mbomo, on the outskirts of the jungle of Odzala-Kokoua.
Odzala-Kokoua, Republic of Congo, 9^th October 2025.

28. A view of the Virunga mountains from across Lake Kivu. Mount Nyiragongo is on the left, and one of two remaining active volcanoes in the chain, with a last eruption seen in 2021.
South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 9^th April 2021.

29. Triple-hulled fishing vessels using lanterns to attract fish to their nets on Lake Kivu.
South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12^th September 2022.

30. A team of rangers ascend Mount Kahuzi (with a peak at 3317 metres). Mount Kahuzi is one of two extinct volcanoes in South Kivu province, and is home to eastern lowland gorillas (G. Beringei Graueri), the largest living primate.
Kahuzi-Biega National Park, South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 18^th October 2024.

31. A family of mountain gorillas (G. Beringei Beringei) huddle together in the forests under Mount Visoke which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
Virunga Mountains, Rwanda, 11^th May 2024.

32. A mountain gorillas (G. Beringei Beringei) in the forests under Mount Visoke which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
Virunga Mountains, Rwanda, 11^th May 2024.