IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v9y2020i1p23-d309472.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contextualizing Landscape-Scale Forest Cover Loss in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2000 and 2015

Author

Listed:
  • Giuseppe Molinario

    (Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

  • Matthew Hansen

    (Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

  • Peter Potapov

    (Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

  • Alexandra Tyukavina

    (Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA)

  • Stephen Stehman

    (College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA)

Abstract

Shifting cultivation has been shown to be the primary cause of land use change in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Traditionally, forested and fallow land are rotated in a slash and burn cycle that has created an agricultural mosaic, including secondary forest, known as the rural complex. This study investigates the land use context of new forest clearing (during 2000–2015) in primary forest areas outside of the established rural complex. These new forest clearings occur as either rural complex expansion (RCE) or isolated forest perforations (IFP), with consequent implications on the forest ecosystem and biodiversity habitat. During 2000–2015, subsistence agriculture was the dominant driver of forest clearing for both extension of settled areas and pioneer clearings removed from settled areas. Less than 1% of clearing was directly attributable to land uses such as mining, plantations, and logging, showing that the impact of commercial operations in the DRC is currently dwarfed by a reliance on small-holder shifting cultivation. However, analyzing the landscape context showed that large-scale agroindustry and resource extraction activities lead to increased forest loss and degradation beyond their previously-understood footprints. The worker populations drawn to these areas create communities that rely on shifting cultivation and non-timber forest products (NTFP) for food, energy, and building materials. An estimated 12% of forest loss within the RCE and 9% of the area of IFP was found to be within 5 km of mines, logging, or plantations. Given increasing demographic and commercial pressures on DRC’s forests, it will be crucial to factor in this landscape-level land use change dynamic in land use planning and sustainability-focused governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Molinario & Matthew Hansen & Peter Potapov & Alexandra Tyukavina & Stephen Stehman, 2020. "Contextualizing Landscape-Scale Forest Cover Loss in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 2000 and 2015," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:1:p:23-:d:309472
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/1/23/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/1/23/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joel Hourticq & Carole Megevand & Eric Tollens & Johanna Wehkamp & Hari Dulal, 2013. "Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Agriculture [Dynamiques de déforestation dans le bassin du Congo : Réconcilier la croissance économique et la protection de la forêt - Document de travail ," World Bank Publications - Reports 16645, The World Bank Group.
    2. Carole Megevand & Hari Dulal & Loic Braune & Johanna Wekhamp, 2013. "Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Transport [Dynamiques de déforestation dans le bassin du Congo : Réconcilier la croissance économique et la protection de la forêt Document de travail no 3," World Bank Publications - Reports 16951, The World Bank Group.
    3. Nina Doetinchem & Carole Megevand & Loic Braune & Hari Dulal, 2013. "Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Logging [Dynamiques de déforestation dans le bassin du Congo : Réconcilier la croissance économique et la protection de la forêt - Document de travail n ° ," World Bank Publications - Reports 16646, The World Bank Group.
    4. Carter, Michael R. & Little, Peter D. & Mogues, Tewodaj & Negatu, Workneh, 2007. "Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 835-856, May.
    5. Kirsten Hund & Carole Megevand & Edilene Pereira Gomes & Marta Miranda & Erik Reed, 2013. "Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin : Mining [Dynamiques de déforestation dans le bassin du Congo : Réconcilier la croissance économique et la protection de la forêt - Document de travail n ° 4," World Bank Publications - Reports 16617, The World Bank Group.
    6. Hannah Behrendt & Carole Megevand & Klas Sander, 2013. "Deforestation Trends in the Congo Basin [Dynamiques de déforestation dans le bassin du Congo : Réconcilier la croissance économique et la protection de la forêt - Document de travail n°5 : Energie ," World Bank Publications - Reports 23698, The World Bank Group.
    7. Myroslava Lesiv & Linda See & Juan Carlos Laso Bayas & Tobias Sturn & Dmitry Schepaschenko & Mathias Karner & Inian Moorthy & Ian McCallum & Steffen Fritz, 2018. "Characterizing the Spatial and Temporal Availability of Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery in Google Earth and Microsoft Bing Maps as a Source of Reference Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, October.
    8. Pirard, Romain & Belna, Karine, 2012. "Agriculture and Deforestation: Is REDD+ Rooted In Evidence?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 62-70.
    9. Damania,Richard & Wheeler,David J., 2015. "Road improvement and deforestation in the Congo Basin countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7274, The World Bank.
    10. Siti Nuryanah & Sardar M. N. Islam, 2015. "The Context of the Case Study," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Corporate Governance and Financial Management, chapter 5, pages 145-156, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pietro De Marinis & Samuele De Petris & Filippo Sarvia & Giacinto Manfron & Evelyn Joan Momo & Tommaso Orusa & Gianmarco Corvino & Guido Sali & Enrico Mondino Borgogno, 2021. "Supporting Pro-Poor Reforms of Agricultural Systems in Eastern DRC (Africa) with Remotely Sensed Data: A Possible Contribution of Spatial Entropy to Interpret Land Management Practices," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Antoine Leblois, 2021. "Mitigating the impact of bad rainy seasons in poor agricultural regions to tackle deforestation," Post-Print hal-03111007, HAL.
    3. Jeffrey Chiwuikem Chiaka & Lin Zhen, 2021. "Land Use, Environmental, and Food Consumption Patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2015: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Kylie Clay & Lauren Cooper, 2022. "Safeguarding against Harm in a Climate-Smart Forest Economy: Definitions, Challenges, and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Shapiro, Aurélie & d’Annunzio, Rémi & Desclée, Baudouin & Jungers, Quentin & Kondjo, Héritier Koy & Iyanga, Josefina Mbulito & Gangyo, Francis Inicko & Nana, Tatiana & Obame, Conan Vassily & Milandou,, 2023. "Small scale agriculture continues to drive deforestation and degradation in fragmented forests in the Congo Basin (2015–2020)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

    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. Samndong, Raymond Achu & Bush, Glenn & Vatn, Arild & Chapman, Melissa, 2018. "Institutional analysis of causes of deforestation in REDD+ pilot sites in the Equateur province: Implication for REDD+ in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 664-674.
    2. Shapiro, Aurélie & d’Annunzio, Rémi & Desclée, Baudouin & Jungers, Quentin & Kondjo, Héritier Koy & Iyanga, Josefina Mbulito & Gangyo, Francis Inicko & Nana, Tatiana & Obame, Conan Vassily & Milandou,, 2023. "Small scale agriculture continues to drive deforestation and degradation in fragmented forests in the Congo Basin (2015–2020)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    3. World Bank, 2017. "Ethiopia Country Environmental Analysis," World Bank Publications - Reports 33947, The World Bank Group.
    4. Sawssen Khlifi & Ghazi Zouari, 2021. "The Impact of CEO Overconfidence on Real Earnings Management: Evidence from M&A Transactions," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 402-424, September.
    5. Abdoul G. Sam & Babatunde O. Abidoye & Sihle Mashaba, 2021. "Climate change and household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa: empirical evidence from Swaziland," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(2), pages 439-455, April.
    6. Skutsch, Margaret & Turnhout, Esther, 2020. "REDD+: If communities are the solution, what is the problem?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Gignoux, Jérémie & Menéndez, Marta, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 26-44.
    8. Philip Antwi-Agyei & Andrew J. Dougill & Lindsay C. Stringer, 2017. "Assessing Coherence between Sector Policies and Climate Compatible Development: Opportunities for Triple Wins," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Janz, Teresa & Augsburg, Britta & Gassmann, Franziska & Nimeh, Zina, 2023. "Leaving no one behind: Urban poverty traps in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    10. Valentin-Marian Antohi & Monica Laura Zlati & Romeo Victor Ionescu & Mihaela Neculita & Raluca Rusu & Aurelian Constantin, 2020. "Attracting European Funds in the Romanian Economy and Leverage Points for Securing their Sustainable Management: A Critical Auditing Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-27, July.
    11. Carmenta, Rachel & Cammelli, Federico & Dressler, Wolfram & Verbicaro, Camila & Zaehringer, Julie G., 2021. "Between a rock and a hard place: The burdens of uncontrolled fire for smallholders across the tropics," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    12. Dai, Jiangyu & Wu, Shiqiang & Han, Guoyi & Weinberg, Josh & Xie, Xinghua & Wu, Xiufeng & Song, Xingqiang & Jia, Benyou & Xue, Wanyun & Yang, Qianqian, 2018. "Water-energy nexus: A review of methods and tools for macro-assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 393-408.
    13. Hallegatte, Stéphane & Dumas, Patrice, 2009. "Can natural disasters have positive consequences? Investigating the role of embodied technical change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 777-786, January.
    14. Anne Ventura & Van‐Loc Ta & Tristan Senga Kiessé & Stéphanie Bonnet, 2021. "Design of concrete : Setting a new basis for improving both durability and environmental performance," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(1), pages 233-247, February.
    15. Boris Rumanko & Zuzana Lušňáková & Monika Moravanská & Mária Šajbidorová, 2021. "Succession as a Risk Process in the Survival of a Family Business—Case of Slovakia," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, September.
    16. Subhani Keerthiratne & Richard S. J. Tol, 2017. "Impact of Natural Disasters on Financial Development," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 33-54, June.
    17. Christophe Béné & Timothy Frankenberger & Tiffany Griffin & Mark Langworthy & Monica Mueller & Stephanie Martin, 2019. "‘Perception matters’: New insights into the subjective dimension of resilience in the context of humanitarian and food security crises," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 19(3), pages 186-210, July.
    18. Wehkamp, Johanna & Aquino, André & Fuss, Sabine & Reed, Erik W., 2015. "Analyzing the perception of deforestation drivers by African policy makers in light of possible REDD+ policy responses," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 7-18.
    19. Kong, Ling & Wang, Dongbo, 2020. "Comparison of citations and attention of cover and non-cover papers," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).
    20. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14371 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Loconto, Allison & Desquilbet, Marion & Moreau, Théo & Couvet, Denis & Dorin, Bruno, 2020. "The land sparing – land sharing controversy: Tracing the politics of knowledge," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(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:9:y:2020:i:1:p:23-:d:309472. 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.