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?

Show the answer and explanation

Answer: (b) Congo Basin

The Cuvette Centrale peatlands of the Congo Basin (DR Congo and Republic of Congo), mapped in 2017, hold about 30 billion tonnes of carbon.

The idea

Peat = waterlogged, half-rotted plant matter. It stores carbon for thousands of years — until it is drained or burnt, when it releases it fast.

Waterlogged forest → plants don’t fully rot → carbon locked in peat → drain or burn → CO₂ released

(a) The Amazon has peat, but it is not the largest tropical peatland.

(c) Kikori is a river basin in Papua New Guinea — rainforest, not the largest peatland.

(d) Rio de la Plata is a temperate estuary (Argentina–Uruguay).

“Largest tropical” + “carbon” instantly suggests the Amazon. The Congo’s Cuvette Centrale is the record-holder.

🔒 Largest tropical peatland = Cuvette Centrale, Congo Basin (~30 billion tonnes of carbon).