Growing Trees In Urban Kinshasa

The study allowed us to understand that the urban vegetation of Kinshasa has been declining over the years, especially in the neighborhoods of the old municipalities and a slow progression in the new neighborhoods of the peripheral municipalities. This general downward trend should bring us awareness so that we can maintain and protect the existing urban vegetation. This downward trend can be explained by the fact that the area occupied by the constructions in the plots becomes larger and larger, that is to say that over the years, the old constructions from the beginning during the the acquisition of the plots disappear in favor of new larger and more comfortable constructions in the plots. Moreover, at the beginning of the birth of the district, the owners are mainly interested in planting the trees in the plot, but as the district ages, the urban vegetation becomes dense and the interest of planting other trees are no longer justified. It is also a regrettable fact to note that no tree has been detected in the streets of African neighborhoods and this because of the narrowness of the streets or a simple omission of the town planner, who has not made the relevant arrangements during the development of these districts. Planting a fruit tree in your plot is a profitable initiative as the fruits are an important source of nutrients. In this case, the fruit tree not only provides fruit but also provides shade and also improves the living environment in the plot.

The study allowed us to understand that the urban vegetation of Kinshasa has been declining over the years, especially in the neighborhoods of the old municipalities and a slow progression in the new neighborhoods of the peripheral municipalities. This general downward trend should bring us awareness so that we can maintain and protect the existing urban vegetation. This downward trend can be explained by the fact that the area occupied by the constructions in the plots becomes larger and larger, that is to say that over the years, the old constructions from the beginning during the the acquisition of the plots disappear in favor of new larger and more comfortable constructions in the plots. Moreover, at the beginning of the birth of the district, the owners are mainly interested in planting the trees in the plot, but as the district ages, the urban vegetation becomes dense and the interest of planting other trees are no longer justified. It is also a regrettable fact to note that no tree has been detected in the streets of African neighborhoods and this because of the narrowness of the streets or a simple omission of the town planner, who has not made the relevant arrangements during the development of these districts. Planting a fruit tree in your plot is a profitable initiative as the fruits are an important source of nutrients. In this case, the fruit tree not only provides fruit but also provides shade and also improves the living environment in the plot.

Policymakers should recognise the size and value of the woodfuel sector and its importance to many people. Harvesters and producers need better access to trees and land to promote better management and reduce conflicts. The tax system for woodfuel should be revised to be transparent and pragmatic. Woodfuel from plantation forests and agroforestry should be favoured over woodfuel from valuable or threatened tree species. More attention should be paid to energy-efficient charcoal kilns and cooking stoves, as well as activities to promote their use. Management options that combine agroforestry, plantations and improving energy efficiency need collaboration from different sectors: energy, forest, land-use planning and agriculture.

Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is significantly lower than in other heavily forested tropical countries. However, there is increasing concern that this rate is likely to accelerate. Many of those concerned about future deforestation argue that shifting cultivation is the primary driver and that if nothing is done to change the practice, it will cause even more forest loss. This study reviews the evidence in support of these claims. In the first section, we compare the results of the most recent remote sensing-based studies on the rate of change in forest cover and try to explain why and how they differ. We then review the literature on the relationship between agriculture and deforestation in the DRC, with particular attention to the role of shifting cultivation. Finally, we integrate the insights from both the remote sensing studies and the broader literature to arrive at a general picture of the current state of the forest in the DRC and the risks for its future. Overall, we find that while there is substantial variation in the recent deforestation estimates for the DRC depending on definitions, methods and approaches, some deforestation is taking place — albeit at a slower rate than in the rest of the tropics. This deforestation is concentrated in Kinshasa and Bas-Congo provinces, in the eastern DRC and around medium-sized cities along the Congo River. Agriculture appears to be the main driver of deforestation and its impact will likely increase as the country’s population grows. While some researchers argue that this presents a real threat to the future of the DRC’s forests, there is a lack of strong evidence to show the magnitude of this threat. If the impact continues to be felt mainly in the areas where it is currently taking place, the overall ensuing deforestation may not be very extensive. While the local impacts may be real, given the vast size of the DRC and the location of its large tracts of forests, there is a strong possibility that the overall biodiversity and carbon impacts of such deforestation will be limited.

Today, 20 percent of the global food supply relies on urban agriculture: social-ecological systems shaped by both human and non-human interactions. This book shows how urban agroecologists measure flora and fauna that underpin the ecological dynamics of these systems, and how people manage and benefit from these systems. It explains how the sociopolitical landscape in which these systems are embedded can in turn shape the social, ecological, political, and economic dynamics within them. Synthesizing interdisciplinary approaches in urban agroecology in the natural and social sciences, the book explores methodologies and new directions in research that can be adopted by scholars and practitioners alike. With contributions from researchers utilizing both social and natural science approaches, Urban Agroecology describes the current social-environmental understandings of the science, the movement and the practices in urban agroecology. By investigating the role of agroecology in cities, the book calls for the creation of spaces for food to be sustainably grown in urban spaces: an Urban Agriculture (UA) movement. Essential reading for graduate students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers, this book charts the course for accelerating this movement.

From the Pharaohs to Fanon, Dictionary of African Biography provides a comprehensive overview of the lives of the men and women who shaped Africa's history. Unprecedented in scale, DAB covers the whole continent from Tunisia to South Africa, from Sierra Leone to Somalia. It also encompasses the full scope of history from Queen Hatsheput of Egypt (1490-1468 BC) and Hannibal, the military commander and strategist of Carthage (243-183 BC), to Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana (1909-1972), Miriam Makeba and Nelson Mandela of South Africa (1918 -).

Foregrounding an innovative and radical perspective on food planning, this book makes the case for an agroecological urbanism in which food is a key component in the reinvention of new and just social arrangements and ecological practices. Building on state-of-the-art and participatory research on farming, urbanism, food policy and advocacy in the field of food system transformation, this book changes the way food planning has been conceptualised to date and invites the reader to fully embrace the transformative potential of an agroecological perspective. Bringing in dialogue from both the rural and urban, the producer and consumer, this book challenges conventional approaches that see them as separate spheres, whose problems can only be solved by a reconnection. Instead, it argues for moving away from a ‘food-in-the-city’ approach towards an ‘urbanism’ perspective, in which the economic and spatial processes that currently drive urbanisation will be unpacked and dissected, and new strategies for changing those processes into more equal and just ones are put forward. Drawing on the nascent field of urban political agroecology, this text brings together: i) theoretical re-conceptualisations of urbanism in relation to food planning and the emergence of new agrarian questions, ii) critical analysis of experimental methodologies and performing arts for public dialogue, reflexivity and food sovereignty research, iii) experiences of resourceful land management, including urban land use and land tenure change, and iv) theoretical and practical exploration of post-capitalist economics that bring consumers and producers together to make the case for an agroecological urbanism. Aimed at advanced students and academics in agroecology, sustainable food planning, urban geography, urban planning and critical food studies, this book will also be of interest to professionals and activists working with food systems in both the Global North and the Global South.

Reviewing the conditions in which the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism is being established in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is part of Component 1 of the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (GCS-REDD) being conducted by the Center for International Forestry Research. The overall aim of this global study is to provide decision-makers, practitioners, donors and the scientific community with reliable information on the dynamics of national actions related to the REDD+ mechanism. Discussions on REDD originally seemed to focus on the construction of a global structure and the establishment of a multilateral instrument to replace the Kyoto Protocol. But at the 14th Conference of Parties (CoP 14), held in Poznan in 2008, discussions on the reliability of REDD+ focused more on the dynamics of national- and local-level actions and brought out the need to better understand, analyze and explain the national institutional context of REDD+ development. Subsequently, this review used the extractive approaches. The first inputs were reports, articles, books and documents on the DRC that were directly related to forest management, socioeconomic and political institutions, etc., whether published or not. Because of the diversity of sources, the quantitative data sometimes seem contradictory and conflictual. In the next step, semi-structured interviews were held with experts working in the forestry sector and data were obtained from the participants’ observations. Since this analysis covers the period between May 2011 and June 2012 actions in the field and the institutions after those dates were not included.