UNIKIS Moving away from shifting cultivation? Implications for sustainable development in Tshopo District, DR Congo Pieter Moonen Bart Muys Bruno Verbist
Content The context: sustainable rural development in DR Congo How sustainable is the system? What should a future system look like? How to realize a transition? Conclusion: Opportunities and constraints for a transition in DR Congo
The global context: agriculture on a finite planet Steffen et al. (2015) Science Foley et al. (2011) Nature
Conservation of DRC s forests is of global importance DRC is a focus country for: o REDD+ o Biodiversity conservation o Poverty reduction
And of local importance Akkermans et al., 2014. Journal of Climate
Threat of deforestation and degradation
Forest cover loss 0,5 Deforestation rate (% / yr) 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 Primary Secondary Source: Ernst et al., 2013 Tyukavina et al., 2013
Bushmeat crisis
Challenges ahead green development path needed
Proposed solutions in humid forest zone Sedentarisation and intensification of smallholder agriculture Alternative activities + clarification of land tenure + land use planning at macro and micro-scale (village)
?
Straightforward plan and discourses Substitution of shifting cultivation and related activities through Increased land productivity Alternative income generating activities Reducing deforestation locally seen as valuable goal Shifting cultivation system is in crisis due to decreased land productivity Sole function of fallow is to restore productivity Local agents are able to shift to long term decisions (upfront financing available?) Alternative activities will substitute rather than complement deforestation/harvesting
3 questions: How unsustainable is the current system? What would a more sustainable system look like What needs to be done or which conditions need to be met What needs to be done or which conditions need to be met to achieve a transition?
Study area
Answering requires a holistic framework Adapted from Ostrom, 2009
2,5 Smallholder deforestation rates Deforested area (ha) 2 Sold (1000 USD) 1,5 1 Income from alternative activities (1000USD) 0,5 0 Market Integrated Diversified incomes households Agriculture dependent farmers Diversified income farmers Non-farmers and occasional farmers
Evolution of villages
Carbon dynamics in the fallow system 50 Mg ha -1 Mg ha -1 yr -1 40 30 20 Carbon stock Carbon increment 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 Number of cultivation cycles
Scarcity of forest products 100 % of respondants 80 60 40 20 Observes decreased availability Satisfied with availability 0 Bushmeat Fish Caterpillars Mushrooms Fruits Resources become scarce not by deforestation but by overharvesting (=degradation) With time, value of forest reduced to a land reserve only contradicting forest products scarcity as forest transition driver
Main perceived problems in agriculture Pests Diseases Disturbance of rain patterns Weeds Bawi (closest) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Diseases Distance to the forest Yaoseko Low prices Harassments on the road 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Knowledge of agricultural calendar Soil fertility Disturbance of rain patterns Weeds Yambela (farthest) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Few signs of intensification 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percentage of farmers having used intensification technique 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Current owners or being interested in a plantation Oil palm Coffee Fruit trees Wood Cacao Owners Interested
100 90 80 70 60 The forest will never end 50 40 30 Forest availability Bushmeat availability 20 10 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Distance to the forest edge from village (km)
Bawi workshop: changing perceptions Population 3167 Density (hab./km²) 22 Distance (km) 34 Population 650 Density (hab./km²) 7 Distance (km) 52 Source of land cover data: FACET, Potapov et al. 2012 Population 4250 Density (hab./km²) 75 Distance to city (km) 24
BAWI workshop
How should a future system look like? Depends Some crucial components (technical) o Protein sources (fish ponds, livestock, pulses, ) o Tree based value creation o Availability of seeds and improved varieties o Better management of soil carbon and nutrients. Were will the inputs come from? o Food processing and storage Local aspirations should determine components
What is needed for a transition Same perceptions of the problem Ownership of the problem -> participatory approach -> objective information -> location specific interventions Sustained support o capacity building o budget
Decision making, negotiations, awareness International donor Government NGO Local farmer
Leverage points for change one cannot make simple, predictive models of social ecological systems (SESs) and deduce universal solutions, panaceas, to problems of overuse or destruction of resources (Ostrom, 2009) Agrawal et al., 2014 Ostrom, 2009
In conclusion System is degrading (different speeds), depending on the resource, depending on the location Externally and locally perceived problems do not really match Reducing further degradation will require continued investments in participatory problem identification, land use zoning and agricultural extension Pilot studies and flexibility are needed
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