Climate change and hunter-gatherers in montane eastern DR Congo

Batumike, Rodrigue; Bulonvu, Franklin; Imani, Gérard; Akonkwa, Désiré Balagizi; Gahigi, Aimable; Klein, Julia A.; Marchant, Robert; Cuní-Sanchez, Aida

doi:10.1080/17565529.2021.1930987

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In the same vein, Lawrence and Vandercar (2015) warned of the consequences of continuing deforestation trends on agricultural productivity in the tropics, because of the induced increase in mean temperature and rainfall disruptions. In our study area, Batumike et al (2021) have shown that local people have been aware of reduced rainfall and fog, and increased temperatures, resulting in reduced crop yields and the rarity of some forest products such as caterpillars, mushrooms and honey. This concurs with the findings of Mubalama et al (2020) who reported that, apart from recognizing increased temperatures and reduced rainfall, local people were progressively devising new strategies (early planting, improved varieties and crop rotation, etc.)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Deforestation and its potential disruption of the weather patterns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Insights from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park landscape

Amani¹,

Pham²

2023

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Regions surrounding the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) and other areas of South Kivu Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been losing their natural forests for decades. •There is a positive correlation between deforestation and CO 2 emissions. Our research shows that deforestation increases temperature and negatively impacts rainfall, although not significantly. •Deforestation and its effects on the local climate are very likely to disrupt local agricultural practices and severely impact the unique biological diversity of the region. •Understanding the important role of forests in regulating climate not only helps to develop appropriate climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies but also to attain better biodiversity conservation and food security, and to go beyond just carbon sequestration services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Deforestation and its potential disruption of the weather patterns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Insights from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park landscape

Amani¹,

Pham²

2023

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“…For example, farmers, hunters, and fishers have experiential knowledge of local ecology that is valuable for environmental and conservation research (e.g. Batumike et al 2022).…”

Section: How Can Public Trust Be Improved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public trust in science

Goldenberg

2022

Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

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It is widely recognized that the public benefits from well-placed trust in science. While expert advice may be wrong at times, nonexperts, on balance, benefit from following scientific experts rather than ignoring them. In short, the public needs science. Numerous professional codes such as the 2017 European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, scientific reports (e.g., American Association of Arts and Science. 2014. Public Trust in Vaccines: Defining a Research Agenda. https://www.amacad.org/sites/ default/files/ publication/downloads/publicTrustVaccines.pdf) and academic scholarship emphasize the importance of public trust in science and recommend a variety of ways to promote it. 1 Less attention, however, is given to the converse relation between science and the public, namely how much science needs the public. This article examines this two-way relationship by considering the role of trust in science, both within scientific communities and between science and the public, where and how public mistrust arises, and what can be done to improve public trust in science.

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“…Research on local knowledge can also help us to understand smallholder farmers concerns and priorities, offering new opportunities to better target climate change adaptation policies and development interventions that are more fitted to the local context(s) [1,3]. Smallholder farmers have addressed (or tried to address) the effects of climate change, including food shortages and reduced health and income, e.g., [4]. by implementing different measures, often classified as 'coping strategies'-when addressing the post-disaster damages-or as 'adaptation of strategies', when they are carried out before a hazardous climate event occurs [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent work from Mt. Kahuzi in eastern DR Congo, which also combined gauge-based rainfall estimates with farmers' perceptions, showed changing season lengths but reduced overall rainfall [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent work from Mt. Kahuzi showed that smallholder farmers were implementing only four on-farm strategies (improved seeds, new crops, irrigation, and increased farm size) and only two off-farm strategies (diversification into animal rearing, diversification into selling charcoal/timber) [4], with labour and membership in farmers' organisations not being cited. Indeed, many mountain communities continue to face socioeconomic difficulties that constrain their ability to enact their own locally appropriate responses to climate change [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Change Perceptions and Adaptations among Smallholder Farmers in the Mountains of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Amani

Riéra

Imani

et al. 2022

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The warming rates in many mountain areas are higher than the global average, negatively impacting crop systems. Little is known about the climatic changes which are already being observed in eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, due to the lack of long-term meteorological data. Local perceptions could help us to understand not only the climatic changes and impacts but also which adaptation strategies are already being used by local smallholder farmers. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 300 smallholder Bafuliru (n = 150) and Lega (n = 150) farmers living in the Itombwe Mountains. The respondents reported climatic changes and impacts, with the Bafuliru—living on the eastern drier slopes—reporting more changes and impacts. While the Bafuliru were implementing several adaptation strategies (e.g., increased irrigation and use of inputs, more soil conservation, more income diversification), the Lega were implementing very few, due to soft limits (access to inputs, markets, and information) and culture (less interest in farming, less capacity to organize into groups). The results highlight important differences in sociocultural contexts, even for one ‘remote’ mountain, calling for a more collaborative approach to adaptation planning and action.

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Climate change and hunter-gatherers in montane eastern DR Congo

Cited by 14 publications

References 54 publications

Deforestation and its potential disruption of the weather patterns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Insights from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park landscape

Deforestation and its potential disruption of the weather patterns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Insights from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park landscape

Public trust in science

Climate Change Perceptions and Adaptations among Smallholder Farmers in the Mountains of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

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