The Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (NNNP) covers over 4,000 square kilometers of contiguous lowland rainforest in the northern Republic of Congo. It is arguably the best example of an intact forest ecosystem remaining in the Congo Basin. The park has never been logged, contains no roads within its borders, and protects wildlife populations deep within its interior.
The HIFOR pilot project is within the park, which covers 408,000 hectares of predominantly high integrity tropical forest. Healthy populations of forest elephants and lowland gorillas rely on this area for habitat. Approximately 2,000 people live in nearby local communities who depend on nature-based economies for their livelihoods. The area is a key part of the Trinational Sangha, a transfrontier complex of protected areas and a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site.
Over the past 10 years the reserve is estimated to have absorbed over 11 million tons of CO₂ annually keeping the planet cooler than it would be without them.
Exceptionally large and healthy populations of forest elephants and western lowland gorillas, together with many other notable species such as slender-snouted crocodile, chimpanzee, forest buffalo, bongo antelope, leopard, African golden cat, and African grey parrot. Threats from ivory hunting and bushmeat hunting have been brought under control
Approximately 2,000 people are living in the two main villages in the wider landscape, and the park works closely with them. In the nearer of the two, more than 80% of households include somebody employed by the park.