The impact of war on forest areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

This paper provides a review of data on the effects of the civil war on forest areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Only a few of these effects were beneficial, the most important being the collapse of the wood industry. However, the war has increased the number of people that rely on wood for fuel and bushmeat for protein. The presence of soldiers and refugees aggravates this pressure. When people hide they do not necessarily refrain from hunting, because goods, including ivory, can be stocked to be traded when the situation improves. War seems beneficial to the environment only if it keeps people out of large areas. It could be useful to extend the concept of peace parks to war zones. The idea of an international ‘green force’ to protect biodiversity hotspots should be given serious consideration. Awareness is growing that political instability should not preclude conservation efforts from being continued.

Conserving biodiversity in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a brief history, current trends and insights for the future

“…Four protected areas suffered from their proximity to the Rwandan border; refugee camps provided space for more than two million refugees between July 1994 and October 1997 (Hart & Hart, 1997;Inogwabini et al, 2000b). Chronicles describing the side-effects of the war on DRC's protected areas abound (Biswas & TortajadaQuiroz, 1996;Saegusa, 2000;Sato et al, 2000;Kalpers, 2001;Draulans & Van Krunkelsven, 2002) but a snapshot of events is worth emphasising. All the areas suffered in one way or another during the period 1994 -2013.…”

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“…Chronicles describing the side-effects of the war on DRC's protected areas abound (Biswas & TortajadaQuiroz, 1996;Saegusa, 2000;Sato et al, 2000;Kalpers, 2001;Draulans & Van Krunkelsven, 2002) but a snapshot of events is worth emphasising. All the areas suffered in one way or another during the period 1994 -2013.…”

From vision to narrative: A trial of information-based gorilla tourism in the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon

“…Great apes are hunted for the bushmeat trade (BowenJones and Pendry 1999); and timber exploitation and forest clearing for agriculture cause habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation Fernandez 1984, White 1992). Human conflict and civil war also affect their habitat and provoke the killing of great apes (Draulans andvan Krunkelsven 2002, Kasereka et al 2006,). In addition, infectious diseases have a serious effect on the population dynamics of great apes (Wallis and Lee 1999).…”