The basin spans 220 million hectares (850,000 square miles) across several countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon.

"Current and future generations" must be able to profit "from ecosystems and and resources from the Congo River Basin forests," Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba told the opening session.

But, if it is "good to talk about saving humanity, we must also think about our population: we live in the forest, we live from the forest".

"We must know how to reconcile the need for oxygen and the need for bread," the minister said.

Mounira Mfossi Woussafit, a 25-year-old from Cameroon said she hopes the two-day event will produce resolutions aimed at "reducing deforestation and degradation as much as possible".

But the environmental engineer and member of the Central African Forest Youth Network, said she regretted that at the forum "we distribute paper badges and notebooks, which are made from wood".

Denise Zanabu, from DR Congo, is a youth parliament member in the war-torn North Kivu province.

She said she wanted the forum to "have elements of advocacy both in favour of the forest and of the displaced populations" who are forced to go into the forest to survive.

"If a displaced woman does not cut wood, she cannot eat", the 32-year-old lawyer said.

The forum precedes the 20th meeting of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership in Kinshasa from June 3-5 which will focus on how governments, civil society, local communities and the private sector can help protect Central Africa's forests.