How Rural Communities Relate to Nature in Sub-Saharan Regions: Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Wetlands in South-Kivu

peer reviewedResearch on ecosystem services (ES) has become central to landscape planning, framing the relationship between people and nature. In Sub-Saharan regions, local communities rely heavily on wetlands for various ES. For the first time, we assessed perceptions of ES provided by these wetlands, focusing on marshes, peatlands, swamps, and inland valleys/floodplains in eastern DR Congo. Fieldwork combined with a survey of 510 households, using both open-ended and 35 direct questions, evaluated perceptions of wetland ecosystem services (WESs). The most frequently reported WES were provisioning (38%) and regulating (24%), while supporting (22%) and cultural (16%) were less mentioned. These perceptions varied across wetland types and among communities based on gender, religion, seniority in wetland use, land tenure, and educational level. Rural communities had a deep relationship with nature, shaped by cultural, economic, and geographical factors. Wetlands are viewed positively as sources of goods but also negatively as sources of diseases. A structural equation model (SEM) helped in identifying four latent variables—livelihood, knowledge, personal, and geographical factors—driving WES perceptions. These findings are relevant for developing wetland management policies and suggest including community engagement and collaboration in wetland restoration and regulatory frameworks.11. Sustainable cities and communitie

Utilization of non-timber forest products as alternative sources of food and income in the highland regions of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

peer reviewedIn developing countries, studies on sustainable preservation of forests (including non-timber forest products NTFPs) have been poorly carried out for promoting alternative income generating activities (IGA) to alleviate pressure on praised resources by local communities living close by protected areas. This study aimed at (1) inventorying NTFPs exploited by local communities around the Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP), (2) assessing their therapeutic values and nutritional contributions, and (3) analyzing their rural and urban market values to determine their potential as alternative income sources as well as the major constraints in their exploitation. Individual interviews were conducted with 790 rural and urban households in Kabare, Walungu, Kalehe, and Bukavu City, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) coupled with focus group discussions with key stakeholders around KBNP. Street vendors, restaurants, hotels, and market owners were also interviewed on uses, awareness of the nutritional and therapeutic values, and factors hindering NTFPs wide use in Bukavu urban environments. Physicochemical analyses were also conducted on main NTFPs to determine their nutritional values. Results showed that local populations around KBNP exploit at least 55 NTFPs, mainly for self-consumption as food, feed, and medicine. NTFPs represent the second most important income source around KBNP, accounting for 23.3 % of total households’ income after agriculture that generates 25.7 % of total households’ income. Income from NTFP trade was primarily used for food supply (29 %), investment in small businesses (19.6 %), children's education (17.7 %), and healthcare expenses (5.1 %). These NTFPs had varying nutritional values (in terms of proximate composition, essential minerals, and bioactive compounds). Solanum nigrum (24.9 %), Termitomyces robustus (18.0 %), Amaranthus viridis (17.6 %), and Piper nigrum (16.9 %) are valuable sources of proteins while Zingiber officinale (25.5 %), T. robustus (15.4 %) and P. nigrum (14.3 %) are rich in dietary fibres. Piper nigrum (37.0 and 128.3 mg/kg) and Basella alba (35.1 and 108.7 mg/kg) had the highest zinc and iron contents, respectively. Some of the most nutritious NTFPs, such as S. nigrum, Dioscorea spp., and P. nigrum had high contents in anti-nutritional elements and should be processed properly to maximize bioavailability. Besides, NTFPs created employment opportunities for collectors, vendors, supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants both in rural and urban areas. Though varying with rural communities, the main challenges in the NTFP value chain were low market values (48.6 %), short shelf life (22.5 %), and excessive taxation (19.1 %) while in urban areas, seasonality (36.9 %), scarcity (17.7 %), and prohibiting high prices (17.7 %) were the major limiting factors. This study highlights the significant role played by NTFPs in providing healthy and nutritious food and income for households surrounding the KBNP, and thus emphasizes the necessity for their promotion as alternative income sources and healthy diets to alleviate poverty and hidden hunger around the KBNP

Current Practices and Prospects of Climate-Smart Agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo: A Review

peer reviewedClimate-smart agriculture (CSA) is one of the innovative approaches for sustainably increasing the agricultural productivity, improving livelihoods and incomes of farmers, while at the same time improving resilience and contributing to climate change mitigation. In spite of the fact that there is neither explicit policy nor practices branded as CSA in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), farmers are utilizing an array of farming practices whose attributes meet the CSA criteria. However, the intensity, distribution, efficiency, and dynamics of use as well as the sources of these technologies are not sufficiently documented. Therefore, this review paper provides a comprehensive evidence of CSA-associated farming practices in DRC, public and private efforts to promote CSA practices, and the associated benefits accruing from the practices as deployed by farmers in the DRC. We find evidence of progress among farming communities in the use of practices that can be classified as CSA. Communities using these practices are building on the traditional knowledge systems and adaptation of introduced technologies to suit the local conditions. Reported returns on use of these practices are promising, pointing to their potential continued use into the future. While progressive returns on investment are reported, they are relatively lower than those reported from other areas in sub-Saharan Africa deploying similar approaches. We recommend for strategic support for capacity building at various levels, including public institutions for policy development and guidance, extension and community level to support uptake of technologies and higher education institutions for mainstreaming CSA into curricula and training a generation of CSA sensitive human resources

Mapping small inland wetlands in the South-Kivu province by integrating optical and SAR data with statistical models for accurate distribution assessment.

peer reviewedThere are several techniques for mapping wetlands. In this study, we examined four statistical models to assess the potential distribution of wetlands in the South-Kivu province by combining optical and SAR images. The approach involved integrating topographic, hydrological, and vegetation indices into the four most used classifiers, namely Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Random Forest (RF), Boosted Regression Tree (BRT), and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt). A wetland distribution map was generated and classified into 'wetland' and 'non-wetland.' The results showed variations in predictions among the different models. RF exhibited the most accurate predictions, achieving an overall classification accuracy of 95.67% and AUC and TSS values of 82.4%. Integrating SAR data improved accuracy and precision, particularly for mapping small inland wetlands. Our estimations indicate that wetlands cover approximately 13.5% (898,690 ha) of the entire province. BRT estimated wetland areas to be ~ 16% (1,106,080 ha), while ANN estimated ~ 14% (967,820 ha), MaxEnt ~ 15% (1,036,950 ha), and RF approximately ~ 10% (691,300 ha). The distribution of these areas varied across different territories, with higher values observed in Mwenga, Shabunda, and Fizi. Many of these areas are permanently flooded, while others experience seasonal inundation. Through digitization, the delineation process revealed variations in wetland areas, ranging from tens to thousands of hectares. The geographical distribution of wetlands generated in this study will serve as an essential reference for future investigations and pave the way for further research on characterizing and categorizing these areas

Évaluation de la durabilité des exploitations maraîchères au Sud-Kivu (Est de la République Démocratique du Congo)

Le maraîchage est actuellement un secteur où certaines pratiques d’agriculture moderne comme la culture pure et l’utilisation des produits de synthèse se développent, mais sont de plus en plus questionnées. L’évaluation de la durabilité de ces pratiques n’a pas encore fait l’objet d’études dans les régions montagneuses du Sud-Kivu, à l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo. Pour y remédier, la durabilité de 368 unités de production maraîchère choisies de manière aléatoire et stratifiée a été évaluée grâce à l’outil « Indicateur de la durabilité de la production maraîchère » (IPDM). Les résultats obtenus font ressortir trois types d’exploitations dont 44 % sont de grande taille, 52 % de taille moyenne et 5 % de petite taille. Il a été constaté que, sur un maximum de 100 points possibles, les exploitations de petite taille obtiennent des scores de durabilité de 60 %, 53 % et 57 % sur les trois dimensions respectives de la durabilité : agroécologique, socio-territoriale et économique. Sur toutes ces dimensions, les grandes exploitations n’atteignent pas 50 %. Ces résultats montrent que les grandes exploitations, plus modernes, sont cependant moins durables. Afin de pérenniser le maraîchage au Sud-Kivu, il apparaît donc nécessaire de promouvoir l’intensification écologique, la diversification intégrée et la promotion des intrants locaux auprès des différents types d’exploitation, et en particulier des plus grandes, engagées dans des techniques intensives mais peu durables

Assessment of the nitrogen fertilizer split-application on maize grain yield and profitability on Nitisols of South-Kivu, Eastern D.R. Congo

Abstract Soil depletion constitutes a major challenge for agriculture and food security in highlands of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the split-application of nitrogen fertilizer on grain yield and profitability of maize on Nitisols in eastern DRC. The urea fertilizer (100 kg ha−1) was applied in single, two, and three split-applications on three maize varieties for two cropping seasons. Results showed that maize growth and yield parameters varied significantly with N splitting strategy, varieties, and cropping season (p < 0.01). The single N application at the 45th day after sowing presented the highest grain yield (5.5 t ha−1) compared to split-applications for both cropping seasons. The variety 'ZM 627' had the highest grain yield in both seasons (5.4 and 5.8 t ha−1 for 2017 and 2018 cropping seasons, respectively). The benefit–cost ratio analysis showed that single application was more profitable, i.e. 1.63 USD kg−1 of fertilizer compared to two (0.6 USD kg−1) and three splits (0.22 USD kg−1 of fertilizer), though dependent on used varieties. The trend was the same for agronomic efficiency (AE); the single application yielded 11 kg kg−1 of maize grains. In addition, the split applications resulted in additional labor costs. Results from this study do not, therefore, recommend the N splitting strategy for maize on South-Kivu Nitisols

Optimization of plant density and fertilizer application to improve biofortified common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) yield on Nitisols of South-Kivu, Eastern D.R. Congo

Soil nutrient depletion and poor farming practices are serious challenges limiting crop productivity in soils of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R. Congo). An experiment was conducted in two cropping seasons to assess the effect of plant density (25 plants m2 and 33 plants m2) and fertilizer application (with and without NPK) on the yield and yield components of three biofortified common bean varieties (HM21-7, RWR2245 and RWR2154). The experiment involved two plant densities, two fertilizer rates and three varieties arranged in a split-split plot design with three replications. Results showed that yield significantly varied with plant density, variety and fertilizer rate (p < 0.05). The best performing variety in terms of grain yield was HM21-7 (1.5 t ha−1) as compared to RWR2154 (1.09 t ha−1) and RWR2245 (1.14 t ha−1). The NPK fertilizer increased the grain yield by 38.2%. Grain yield increased also with the plant density, highest grain yield being recorded on higher plant density (1.37 t ha−1) as compared to low lower plant density (1.25 t ha−1). Agronomic efficiency (AE) was influenced by the variety, with the highest AE obtained on RWR2245 (23.27 kg kg−1) and on high plant density (20.34 kg kg−1). Therefore, we concluded that increasing the plant density by reducing the plant spacing, using NPK fertilizer and high yielding varieties provide with an opportunity to improving common bean yields on Nitisols dominating the highlands of eastern D.R. Congo

Current Practices and Prospects of Climate-Smart Agriculture in Democratic Republic of Congo: A Review

peer reviewedClimate-smart agriculture (CSA) is one of the innovative approaches for sustainablyincreasing the agricultural productivity, improving livelihoods and incomes of farmers, while at thesame time improving resilience and contributing to climate change mitigation. In spite of the factthat there is neither explicit policy nor practices branded as CSA in Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), farmers are utilizing an array of farming practices whose attributes meet the CSA criteria.However, the intensity, distribution, efficiency, and dynamics of use as well as the sources of thesetechnologies are not sufficiently documented. Therefore, this review paper provides a comprehensiveevidence of CSA-associated farming practices in DRC, public and private efforts to promote CSApractices, and the associated benefits accruing from the practices as deployed by farmers in theDRC. We find evidence of progress among farming communities in the use of practices that canbe classified as CSA. Communities using these practices are building on the traditional knowledgesystems and adaptation of introduced technologies to suit the local conditions. Reported returns onuse of these practices are promising, pointing to their potential continued use into the future. Whileprogressive returns on investment are reported, they are relatively lower than those reported fromother areas in sub-Saharan Africa deploying similar approaches. We recommend for strategic supportfor capacity building at various levels, including public institutions for policy development andguidance, extension and community level to support uptake of technologies and higher educationinstitutions for mainstreaming CSA into curricula and training a generation of CSA sensitive humanresources