Dynamics of Deforestation and Degradation of Forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1990 to 2018

Abstract

Improving conditions to maintain soil fertility levels by avoiding deforestation would require an assessment of the contribution of forests to soil regeneration in complex and unpredictable farming systems involving alternating slash-and-burn farming. Results on forest cover over the period 1990-2018 indicate a net annual deforestation rate of 2.12% ± 0.07% and 0.12% annual degradation. The rate of deforestation is estimated mainly in relation to dense forests. Deforestation is the degradation that seems relatively important for DR Congo with relative population densities or the demand for agricultural land is greater which will lead to several consequences such as climate change, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, CO 2 emissions, and natural disasters.

Droughts and deforestation: Does seasonality matter?

“…Our indicator is slightly higher than the average deforestation rate observed by other authors which instead spans from 0.15% to 0.4% in function of the years considered (results resumed by Kengoum et al [ 28 ]). This gap should not surprise, as it can be explained by the increasing trend already observed by Achille et al [ 33 ] and suggested by the World Bank [ 27 ] or simply by the particular definition of forests used by each author.…”

“…Unfortunately, despite the DRC’s peculiarities in terms of deforestation drivers and rates, which make the country an interesting case study, the literature addressing the DRC’s deforestation factors is rather limited. Achille et al [ 33 ] investigated the DRC’s dense forest clearing and degradation dynamics between 1990 and 2018. The authors showed that the total net deforestation rate was around 2.12%, while degradation was 0.12%, with a substantial acceleration after 2005.…”

“…Results are in line with Molinario et al [ 36 ], who investigated the period between 2000 and 2015. The drivers identified by Achille et al [ 33 ] are also potentially connected to the sociopolitical instability, which is recognized as having significant effects on deforestation in developing countries [ 37 ]. For example, Butsic et al [ 35 ] found that conflicts in the DRC are a significant driver of deforestation.…”

“…This result is consistent with results obtained by multiple authors. Achille et al [ 33 ] found a yearly deforestation rate of 0.42% between 1990 and 2018. Our indicator is slightly higher than the average deforestation rate observed by other authors which instead spans from 0.15% to 0.4% in function of the years considered (results resumed by Kengoum et al [ 28 ]).…”

Medicinal Plants Threatened by Undocumented Emerging Pollutants: The Sub-Saharan African Viewpoint

“…For example, the rate of the loss of natural forest cover or deforestation on the African continent is one of the highest globally [7,12]. Basically, the global deforestation rate stands at 0.6%, but this rate is at 6.5%, 5.0% and 2.1% in sub-Saharan Africa for countries such as the Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria and the DRC respectively [12,94]. Additionally, sub-Saharan African medicinal plants are affected by unsustainable harvesting methods [7,11,13,16,87], fires, wattle expansion or eradication program and grazing [7,87], coupled with human settlement expansions, including urbanization, as well as inexistent or weak legislations and/or enforcement failure of existing rules and regulations [16].…”