 Deforestation in the triple border of Angola, Congo and DRC. The dense moist forest in dark green is mostly at Angola's Cabinda enclave, from image center to upper left. In light green, deforestation, mostly along Chiloango River, crossing image NE to SW on Congo-DRC border, at image top, and Cabinda-DRC border below. Savanna-forest mosaic with extensive agriculture appears in orange and orangeish light green. | |
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
|---|---|
| Location | Congo Basin |
| Forest type | Rainforest |
| Forest area | 154,000,000 ha or 595,000 sq mi |
| Deforestation rate | 311,000 ha or 1,200 sq mi annually; 0.2%[1] |
| Main causes | Fuelwood and charcoal collection, artisanal and small-scale logging, industrial logging, clearing for agriculture, and road construction.[2][3] |
Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is an environmental conflict of international importance.[4] Most of the deforestation takes place in the Congo Basin, which has the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon. Roughly half the remaining rainforest in the Congo Basin is in the DRC.[1]
There are compounding causes[clarification needed] underlying deforestation in the DRC. Trees are slashed and burned for agriculture in the country.[5] Illegal logging, road development and city expansion are also among some of the causes for deforestation.
Deforestation in the DRC leads to biodiversity loss, soil erosion and contributes to climate change. The DRC is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with a significant wildlife that is harmed by habitat loss. For example, 60% of the forest elephant population drop is due to the loss of shelter caused by illegal logging.[6]
From 1990 to 2015, the rate of deforestation in the DRC remained constant at 0.2%, that is 311,000 hectares, or roughly 1,200 square miles, annually.[1] Three reasons have been suggested as to why deforestation rates remained relatively low: 1) the road network within the country has been gradually in decline making access to more remote areas more difficult; 2) political and regulatory changes have disincentivized investment in the country; and 3) agriculture has expanded outside of forest areas.[7]
While the rates of deforestation remained constant, wood removal (measured in cubic meters) continues to increase annually. Industrialized roundwood increased from 3.05 million cubic meters in 1990 to 4.45 million cubic meters in 2010, and fuelwood increased from 44.2 million cubic meters to 75.44 million cubic meters annually in the same period.[1]
From 2015 to 2019 the rate of tree-felling in the Democratic Republic of Congo doubled.[8]
- ^ a b c d The State of Forests in the Amazon basin and Southeast Asian (PDF). Brazzaville, Republic of Congo: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FOA). ISBN 978-92-5-106888-5. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ United Nations Environmental Programme (2011). The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment (PDF). Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme. pp. Entirety. ISBN 978-92-807-3226-9.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Iloweka 2004was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Deforestation in DRC threatens climate, wildlife". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "Congo, Democratic Republic of the (DROC) - Environment Read more: Environment - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (DROC) -Environment". Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ Butler, Rhett (23 January 2016). "Deforestation in the Congo Rainforest". Mongabay.
- ^ Wolfire, Deanna; Jake Brunner; Nigel Sizer (1998). Forests and the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF). Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. ISBN 978-1-56973-232-8. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ Kinver, Mark (12 September 2019). "World 'losing battle against deforestation'". BBC News.
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