IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v10y2021i2p165-d494727.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Climate Change and Land Use/Land Cover Change Affect Domestic Water Vulnerability in Yangambi Watersheds (D. R. Congo)

Author

Listed:
  • David Ushindi Chishugi

    (Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, Kisangani P.O. Box 2012, Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Higher Institute of Rural Development (ISDR), Fizi-Baraka, Baraka P.O. Box 3579, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

  • Denis Jean Sonwa

    (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Yaoundé P.O. Box 2008 Messa, Cameroon)

  • Jean-Marie Kahindo

    (Department of Botany, University of Kisangani, Kisangani P.O. Box 2012, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

  • Destin Itunda

    (Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, Kisangani P.O. Box 2012, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

  • Josué Bahati Chishugi

    (Department of Geology, Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu P.O. Box 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

  • Fiyo Losembe Félix

    (Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources Management, University of Kisangani, Kisangani P.O. Box 2012, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

  • Muhindo Sahani

    (Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Catholic University of Graben, Butembo P.O. Box 29, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Abstract

In the tropics, the domestic water supply depends principally on ecosystem services, including the regulation and purification of water by humid, dense tropical forests. The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) landscape is situated within such forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Surprisingly, given its proximity to the Congo River, the YBR is confronted with water issues. As part of its ecosystem function, the landscape is expected to reduce deterioration of water quality. However, environmental consequences are increasing due to conversion of its dense forest into other types of land use/land cover (LULC) in response to human activities. It is therefore important to check how the physicochemical quality parameters of water resources are influenced by landscape parameters—and to know if the population can adapt to this water vulnerability. To do this, we analyzed the watershed typology (including morphometric and LULC characteristics) and the physical and chemical parameters of water within the principal watershed’s rivers. We also analyzed data from surveys and the Yangambi meteorological station. We found that some landscape indices related to LULC significantly influence water quality deterioration in Yangambi. On average, each person in the Yangambi landscape uses 29–43 liters of water per day. Unfortunately, this falls short of World Health Organization standards regarding some parameters. The best fitted simple linear regression model explains the variation in pH as a function of edge density of perturbed forest, edge density of crop land and patch density of dense forest up to 94%, 92% and 90%, respectively. While many researchers have identified the consequences of climate change and human activities on these water resources, the population is not well-equipped to deal with them. These results suggest that water management policies should consider the specificities of the Yangambi landscape in order to develop better mitigation strategies for a rational management of water resources in the YBR in the context of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • David Ushindi Chishugi & Denis Jean Sonwa & Jean-Marie Kahindo & Destin Itunda & Josué Bahati Chishugi & Fiyo Losembe Félix & Muhindo Sahani, 2021. "How Climate Change and Land Use/Land Cover Change Affect Domestic Water Vulnerability in Yangambi Watersheds (D. R. Congo)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:2:p:165-:d:494727
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/2/165/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/2/165/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sujata Manandhar & Vishnu Pandey & Futaba Kazama, 2012. "Application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) in Nepalese Context: A Case Study of Kali Gandaki River Basin (KGRB)," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(1), pages 89-107, January.
    2. Hatem Jemmali, 2018. "Water Poverty in Africa: A Review and Synthesis of Issues, Potentials, and Policy Implications," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 335-358, February.
    3. Denis Jean Sonwa & Mfochivé Oumarou Farikou & Gapia Martial & Fiyo Losembe Félix, 2020. "Living under a Fluctuating Climate and a Drying Congo Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Brandt, Jodi S. & Nolte, Christoph & Agrawal, Arun, 2018. "Deforestation and timber production in Congo after implementation of sustainable management policy: A response to Karsenty et al. (2017)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 375-378.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weijing Ma & Lihong Meng & Feili Wei & Christian Opp & Dewei Yang, 2020. "Sensitive Factors Identification and Scenario Simulation of Water Demand in the Arid Agricultural Area Based on the Socio-Economic-Environment Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Jinlong Shen & Jiafen Li & Yu Zhang & Jianfeng Song, 2023. "Farmers’ Water Poverty Measurement and Analysis of Endogenous Drivers," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(11), pages 4309-4326, September.
    3. Pauline Macharia & Maria Wirth & Paul Yillia & Norbert Kreuzinger, 2021. "Examining the Relative Impact of Drivers on Energy Input for Municipal Water Supply in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Tritsch, Isabelle & Le Velly, Gwenolé & Mertens, Benoit & Meyfroidt, Patrick & Sannier, Christophe & Makak, Jean-Sylvestre & Houngbedji, Kenneth, 2020. "Do forest-management plans and FSC certification help avoid deforestation in the Congo Basin?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    5. Saroj Koirala & Yiping Fang & Nirmal Mani Dahal & Chenjia Zhang & Bikram Pandey & Sabita Shrestha, 2020. "Application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) in Spatial Analysis of Water Stress in Koshi River Basin, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Diego Azqueta & Álvaro Montoya, 2017. "The social benefits of water and sanitation projects in Northern Colombia: Cost-Benefit Analysis, the Water Poverty Index and beyond," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35, pages 118-139, October.
    7. Julie Wilk & Anna Jonsson, 2013. "From Water Poverty to Water Prosperity—A More Participatory Approach to Studying Local Water Resources Management," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(3), pages 695-713, February.
    8. A. Majeed Nadeem & Roland Cheo & Huang Shaoan, 2018. "Multidimensional Analysis of Water Poverty and Subjective Well-Being: A Case Study on Local Household Variation in Faisalabad, Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 207-224, July.
    9. Bey, M. & Hamidat, A. & Nacer, T., 2021. "Eco-energetic feasibility study of using grid-connected photovoltaic system in wastewater treatment plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    10. Zhihe Chen & Shuai Wei, 2014. "Application of System Dynamics to Water Security Research," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(2), pages 287-300, January.
    11. Vishnu Pandey & Sujata Manandhar & Futaba Kazama, 2012. "Water Poverty Situation of Medium-sized River Basins in Nepal," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(9), pages 2475-2489, July.
    12. Hatem Jemmali & Caroline Sullivan, 2014. "Multidimensional Analysis of Water Poverty in MENA Region: An Empirical Comparison with Physical Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 253-277, January.
    13. Tung-Tsan Chen & Wei-Ling Hsu & Wen-Kuang Chen, 2020. "An Assessment of Water Resources in the Taiwan Strait Island Using the Water Poverty Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    14. Shan Huang & Qi Feng & Zhixiang Lu & Xiaohu Wen & Ravinesh C. Deo, 2017. "Trend Analysis of Water Poverty Index for Assessment of Water Stress and Water Management Polices: A Case Study in the Hexi Corridor, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Lisa Guppy, 2014. "The Water Poverty Index in rural Cambodia and Viet Nam: A holistic snapshot to improve water management planning," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(3), pages 203-219, August.
    16. Hatem Jemmali, 2018. "Water Poverty in Africa: A Review and Synthesis of Issues, Potentials, and Policy Implications," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 335-358, February.
    17. Vinita Yadav & Zeeshan Ibrar, 2022. "Relationship of Water Stress and Flood Damage for Sustainable Development," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(4), pages 1323-1338, March.
    18. Ran Zhu & Yiping Fang, 2022. "Application of a Water Supply-Demand Balance Model to Set Priorities for Improvements in Water Supply Systems: A Case Study from the Koshi River Basin, Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    19. Ashish Chopra & Parthasarathy Ramachandran, 2021. "Multidimensional analysis of water sector performance in India: an index approach," OPSEARCH, Springer;Operational Research Society of India, vol. 58(1), pages 109-124, March.
    20. De Angelis, Paolo & Tuninetti, Marta & Bergamasco, Luca & Calianno, Luca & Asinari, Pietro & Laio, Francesco & Fasano, Matteo, 2021. "Data-driven appraisal of renewable energy potentials for sustainable freshwater production in Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:2:p:165-:d:494727. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.