Pupil worksheet
Why is a rainforest more than its trees?
Read, think and draw. Use paper or a document provided by your teacher. You do not need an account or to send personal details to KEO.
Read and wonder
The Congo Basin in central Africa includes tropical forests, rivers and wetlands. It supports many living things, including gorillas, forest elephants and varied plants. Biodiversity means the variety of life.
A forest is also a place where people live and work. Trees, soils and living things hold carbon. Waterways connect habitats. Conservation decisions need to consider these connections and the rights and knowledge of local communities and Indigenous peoples. Counting trees alone cannot describe everything a forest provides.
Three things to know
- The Congo Basin includes forests, rivers and wetlands.
- Biodiversity means the variety of life.
- Forests support communities and store carbon.
- Connected forests, rivers and wetlands
- Wildlife and communities use them
- Decisions affect connected needs
Words to explore
- Biodiversity
- The variety of life, including different organisms and ecosystems.
- Basin
- Land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Think it through
1. What is biodiversity?
2. Name two features of the Congo Basin besides trees.
3. Why should communities help make decisions about forests?
Try it
Draw a fictional forest-and-river map with a community and wildlife. Show three connections. Write two questions a planner should ask local people.
Sources and credits
Lesson summary and activity prepared for Kids.Earth.Org. Factual sources checked 5 November 2026.