The politics of forest governance failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lessons from 35 years of political rivalries

International audienceThe promotion of good governance in the forestry sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was one of the major components of the policy reforms initiated by international organisations in the mid-1980s. This paper analyses concepts of 'good governance' in the forestry sector in the DRC between the mid-1980s and 2020 and highlights the recent history of forest policy reforms. From an empirical perspective, our analysis builds both on an extensive review of policy documents and field observations, as well as interviews with actors who have been involved with forest policy reforms or seen how they were implemented. The paper also describes the key actors involved in those reforms and investigates the coalitions formed between some of them to influence the forestland governance in the country. The paper demonstrates that international organisations have often played a decisive and intrusive role in the promotion of 'good governance' in the DRC forestry sector. Their strong involvement is sometimes seen as interference and has aggravated rather than alleviated the governance crisis. In some cases, politicians, military and administrative officers have used political and security unrest as a scapegoat to benefit from forest governance failure and the related business-as-usual in the DRC

The politics of forest governance failure in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): lessons from 35 years of political rivalries

International audience• Forest governance reforms in DRC have been dominated by the interests of powerful actors, such as the World Bank and political elites. • The most powerful international actors use incentives/disincentives and information to consolidate their influence. • Powerful international actors have exacerbated the crisis of forest governance in DRC. • Politicians, military and administrative officers in DRC resort to 'cunning government' strategies to obtain support from donors or assert their informal interests in times of political unrest. • The context of political disorder allows civil society organizations to position themselves and become one of the key actor groups of forest governance processes in DRC

Malaria severity: Possible influence of the E670G PCSK9 polymorphism: A preliminary case-control study in Malian children.

Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) is a hepatic secretory protein which promotes the degradation of low-density lipoprotein receptors leading to reduced hepatic uptake of plasma cholesterol. Non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms in its gene have been linked to hypo- or hyper- cholesterolemia, depending on whether they decrease or increase PCSK9 activity, respectively. Since the proliferation and the infectivity of Plasmodium spp. partially depend on cholesterol from the host, we hypothesize that these PCSK9 genetic polymorphisms could influence the course of malaria infection in individuals who carry them. Here we examined the frequency distribution of one dominant (C679X) and two recessive (A443T, I474V) hypocholesterolemic polymorphisms as well as that of one recessive hypercholesterolemic polymorphism (E670G) among healthy and malaria-infected Malian children.Dried blood spots were collected in Bandiagara, Mali, from 752 age, residence and ethnicity-matched children: 253 healthy controls, 246 uncomplicated malaria patients and 253 severe malaria patients. Their genomic DNA was extracted and genotyped for the above PCSK9 polymorphisms using Taqman assays. Associations of genotype distributions and allele frequencies with malaria were evaluated.The minor allele frequency of the A443T, I474V, E670G, and C679X polymorphisms in the study population sample was 0.12, 0.20, 0.26, and 0.02, respectively. For each polymorphism, the genotype distribution among the three health conditions was statistically insignificant, but for the hypercholesterolemic E670G polymorphism, a trend towards association of the minor allele with malaria severity was observed (P = 0.035). The association proved to be stronger when allele frequencies between healthy controls and severe malaria cases were compared (Odd Ratio: 1.34; 95% Confidence Intervals: 1.04-1.83); P = 0.031).Carriers of the minor allele of the E670G PCSK9 polymorphism might be more susceptible to severe malaria. Further investigation of the cholesterol regulating function of PCSK9 in the pathophysiology of malaria is needed

Genotype distribution among healthy and malaria children.

<p>Genotype distribution among healthy and malaria children.</p

<i>PCSK9</i> SNPs under study.

<p><i>PCSK9</i> SNPs under study.</p

Association analysis of PCSK9 SNPs and severe malaria.

<p>Association analysis of PCSK9 SNPs and severe malaria.</p