"The older inhabitants of Kinshasa can remember when trees shaded its main avenues and thick-trunked baobabs stood in front of government offices. Jean Mangalibi, 60, from his plant nursery tucked among grey tower blocks, says the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's frenzied expansion has all but erased its greenery. We're destroying the city, he says, over the sound of drilling from a nearby building site."
"Gardener Jean Mangalibi believes the city has a responsibility to protect the baobab tree and has become a strong advocate for its preservation. The number of trees lost in and around this vast city, the third largest in Africa, has made it all the more urgent for environmentalists to campaign to protect one of its last and most notable. A single century-old baobab tree remains standing in the historic centre of Kinshasa in the commune of Gombe but it too is now under threat."
Older inhabitants recall when trees shaded Kinshasa's main avenues and baobabs stood before government offices. Jean Mangalibi, 60, operates a plant nursery amid grey tower blocks and says frenzied expansion has all but erased the city's greenery. A single century-old baobab remains in Gombe's historic centre but faces threat from nearby development on land owned by the state transport company Onatra. The fabric market that once centred on the tree has closed and building work has begun. Kinshasa's population is estimated at 17.8 million, half under 22. Rapid, unplanned growth has produced flooding, pollution and waves of plastic waste.
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