aurelie shapiro heads the project to assess biomass along the congo with the lidar laser surveying systemrcraft isn't enough. the measuring really needs to be done from space. >> so we're using satellite imagery to complement the airborne lidar data to effectively view the entire country in one image from space, to be able to see all of the forests at once. >> and that view is cause for concern. satellite expert eddy bongwele says large parts of the congo basin are still forested. but the rain forest is shrinking. >> to get this map, we processed 8,000 satellite images from nasa, and we have deforestation around big cities, where we can see in kisangani, and we have also deforestation in the eastern part of congo, where we've had a conflict in the past. >> war and corruption are the biggest threats to the forest. and there has been plenty of both in the congo basin. menard mbende and his wwf team continue to gather data about the plant and animal world. it is hard work, and it is hot out here. >> here we're in the tree savanna. down on the river, there's riparian forest. we're now going t