The Republic of Congo (RoC) is home to 22.5 million hectares of the Congo Basin forest. With low historical rates of deforestation and forests covering 69% of the land area, RoC is a typical example of a High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HLFD) country. However, accelerated development has led to major infrastructure projects that have opened up previously remote forest areas to economic activity. Some of the direct drivers of deforestation in RoC include logging, agro-industrial production (palm oil), slash-and-burn agriculture and mining.