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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dc.creatorNackoney, J.
dc.creatorDemol, M.
dc.creatorAkpona, H.A.
dc.creatorBauters, M.
dc.creatorBoeckx, P.
dc.creatorDupain, J.
dc.creatorFacheux, C.
dc.creatorHansen, M.C.
dc.creatorKalemba, J.C.
dc.creatorKehbila, A.G.
dc.creatorPotapov, P.
dc.creatorSenga, A.T.
dc.creatorSix, Johan
dc.creatorTurubanova, S.A.
dc.creatorWilliams, D.
dc.creatorVanlauwe, Bernard
dc.date2022-06-01
dc.date2022-06-07T11:01:31Z
dc.date2022-06-07T11:01:31Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:53:38Z
dc.descriptionAgricultural 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.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/119757
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/116635
dc.languageen
dc.publisherIOP Publishing
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceNackoney, J., Demol, M., Akpona, H.A., Bauters, M., Boeckx, P., Dupain, J., ... & Vanlauwe, B. (2022). Coupled forest zoning and agricultural intervention yields conflicting outcomes for tropical forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Environmental Research Letters, 17(6), 1-11.
dc.subjectsustainable development
dc.subjectforest conservation
dc.subjectremote sensing
dc.subjectforest monitoring and assessment
dc.subjectafrica
dc.subjectdemocratic republic of the congo
dc.titleCoupled forest zoning and agricultural intervention yields conflicting outcomes for tropical forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
dc.typeJournal Article

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Instituto Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (IITA)