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    Coupled forest zoning and agricultural intervention yields conflicting outcomes for tropical forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

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    Date
    2022
    Author
    Nackoney, J.
    Demol, M.
    Akpona, H.A.
    Bauters, M.
    Boeckx, P.
    Dupain, J.
    Facheux, C.
    Hansen, M.C.
    Kalemba, J.C.
    Kehbila, A.G.
    Potapov, P.
    Senga, A.T.
    Six, J.
    Turubanova, S.
    Williams, D.
    Vanlauwe, B.
    Type
    Journal Article
    Review Status
    Peer Review
    Target Audience
    Scientists
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract/Description
    Agricultural intensification and forest conservation are often seen as incompatible. Agricultural interventions can help boost food security for poor rural communities but in certain cases can exacerbate deforestation, known as the rebound effect. We tested whether coupling agricultural interventions with participatory forest zoning could improve food security and promote forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Simple agricultural interventions led to a >60% increase in cassava yields and a spill-over effect of improved cassava variety uptake in non-intervention zones. Household surveys conducted at the end of the 8 year project implementation period revealed that households that received agricultural interventions had more favorable attitudes toward forest zoning and conservation. The surveys also showed that farmers in the intervention domain practiced less land-intensive field and fallow management strategies compared to those practiced in the non-intervention domain. However, an 18 year time series analysis of Landsat satellite data revealed that agricultural expansion persisted in areas both with and without intervention assistance, and there is risk of a rebound effect. Approximately 70% of the tree cover loss that occurred outside of the agricultural areas was located within a 3 km buffer zone surrounding the outermost edges of the agricultural areas, which suggested that the majority of tree cover loss was caused by agricultural expansion. Within that 3 km buffer, average annual tree cover loss during the post-intervention period was higher in the intervention domain compared to the non-intervention domain (0.17% yr−1 compared to 0.11% yr−1 respectively, p < 0.001), suggesting risk of a rebound effect. The disconnection between household perceptions of zoning adherence and actual behavior indicates the importance of strengthening governance structures for community-based monitoring and enforcement.
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6ad8
    Multi standard citation
    Permanent link to this item
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/7493
    IITA Authors ORCID
    bernard vanlauwehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6016-6027
    Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6ad8
    Research Themes
    Natural Resource Management
    IITA Subjects
    Agronomy; Food Security; Plant Breeding; Plant Production
    Agrovoc Terms
    Sustainable Development; Forest Conservation; Remote Sensing; Forest Monitoring and Assessment; Africa; Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Regions
    Africa; Central Africa
    Countries
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Hubs
    Central Africa Hub
    Journals
    Environmental Research Letters
    Collections
    • Journal and Journal Articles5075
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