{"id":2982,"date":"2022-12-15T14:21:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T04:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/?post_type=publications&p=2982"},"modified":"2023-10-26T12:24:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T02:24:08","slug":"community-evaluation-of-forest-governance-in-the-drc","status":"publish","type":"publications","link":"https:\/\/primaryforestsandclimate.org\/publications\/community-evaluation-of-forest-governance-in-the-drc\/","title":{"rendered":"Community evaluation of forest governance in the DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t

Forests are vital ecosystems that provide valuable ecosystem services and are crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Global tropical primary forest loss and degradation in less developed countries has negative consequences for the livelihoods and food security of forest-dependent communities.<\/p>\n

Protecting primary forests is essential for addressing the global climate change and biodiversity crises. Good governance is essential for effective and sustainable forest management and has seen an increase in focus on community-based forest governance. REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) is a climate mitigation mechanism that pays developing countries for reducing carbon emissions through reducing deforestation and forest degradation, conserving forests and managing forests sustainably.<\/p>\n

A well-designed REDD+ mechanism, with good governance and effective institutional frameworks, can support sustainable development. However, most REDD+ countries have low to moderate administrative capacity and governance structures. The DRC has approximately 152 million hectares of dense tropical forest, with the majority considered primary forest. These forests are home to considerable biodiversity and provide valuable ecosystem services, including water regulation services for the Congo river. The forests also provide valuable non-timber forest products for the local population and have the potential to be the basis of a green economy.<\/p>\n

From a global perspective, the forests remove 337 MtCO\u2082e\/year between 2001 and 2020. Although the DRC has a relatively low deforestation rate, the total area of deforestation is large, losing 15.9 Mha of tree cover between 2001 and 2020. This deforestation is largely due to subsistence agriculture, but improving agricultural productivity and food security has the potential to reduce it. However, there is a risk that development will bring with it increased risk of deforestation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Article authors<\/h2>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Ed Morgan<\/a><\/h3>
Dr Ed Morgan is a Research Fellow at the Cities Research Institute, Griffith University. He is developing landscape planning for ecosystem-based climate change adaptation and forest protection. <\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"Dr<\/a><\/div>

Glenn Bush<\/a><\/h3>
Dr. Glenn Bush is an environmental economist driven by a desire to find equitable resolutions to the long-standing conflict between human development and environmental conservation. <\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

Joseph Zambo<\/a><\/h3>
Joseph is a field researcher for Woodwell Climate Research Center based in Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/div><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\n
\n\t

Additional authors<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Tek Mareseni<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t

Reference<\/h3>\n

Morgan, E. A., Bush, G., Mandea, J. Z., & Maraseni, T. (2023). Community evaluation of forest and REDD+ governance quality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Journal of Environmental Management<\/em>, 328, 116891. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jenvman.2022.116891<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t

Mr. Joseph Zambo began his professional career at the Botanical and Zoological Gardens of Kinshasa before becoming a technical advisor for the Forest Working Group (GTF), an environmentally focused civil society group. He then worked as a technical assistant to the president of the Commission for Dense Humid Forest in Central Africa (CEFDHAC).<\/p>\n

Joseph\u2019s passion for forest issues led him to begin volunteering for the Congolese National REDD+ Coordination (CN-REDD), working to create socio-environmental standards for REDD+ around the Reservation for the Biosphere of Luki in Kongo Central. Following this work, he was appointed to the position of REDD+ Focal Point for \u00c9quateur province.<\/p>\n

When Projet \u00c9quateur began in 2013, Joseph was instrumental in the daily operations of the project, working as the technical assistant in charge of communication and monitoring evaluation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

The Woodwell Climate Research Center is a leading source of climate science that drives the urgent action needed to solve the climate crisis. More about Woodwell Climate Research Center<\/a>.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"Woodwell<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Joseph's project publications<\/h2>
\"Undertaken<\/a><\/div>

Community evaluation of forest governance in the DRC<\/a><\/h3>