Socio-Economic Value and Availability of Plant-Based Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) within the Charcoal Production Basin of the City of Lubumbashi (DR Congo)
Nghonda, D.-d.N.; Muteya, H.K.; Moyene, A.B.; Malaisse, F.; Sikuzani, Y.U.; Kalenga, W.M.; Bogaert, J. Socio-Economic Value and traditional knowledge; forest degradation; economic and cultural value; secondary forest products; miombo woodlands; Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Geography, Planning and Development; Building and Construction
Abstract :
[en] The overexploitation of forest resources in the charcoal production basin of the city of
Lubumbashi (DR Congo) is reducing the resilience of miombo woodlands and threatening the survival of the riparian as well as urban human populations that depend on it. We assessed the socioeconomic value and availability of plant-based non-timber forest products NTFPs in the rural area of Lubumbashi through ethnobotanical (100 respondents) and socio-economic (90 respondents) interviews, supplemented with floristic inventories, in two village areas selected on the basis of the level of forest degradation. The results show that 60 woody species, including 46 in the degraded
forest (Maksem) and 53 in the intact forest (Mwawa), belonging to 22 families are used as sources of NTFPs in both villages. Among these species, 25 are considered priority species. NTFPs are collected for various purposes, including handcrafting, hut building, and traditional medicine. Moreover, the ethnobotanical lists reveal a similarity of almost 75%, indicating that both local communities surveyed use the same species for collecting plant-based NTFPs despite differences in the level of degradation of the miombo woodlands in the two corresponding study areas. However, the plant-based NTFPs that are collected from miombo woodlands and traded in the urban markets have significant economic
value, which ranges from USD 0.5 to USD 14.58 per kg depending on the species and uses. NTFPs used for handicraft purposes have a higher economic value than those used for other purposes. However, the sustainability of this activity is threatened due to unsustainable harvesting practices that include stem slashing, root digging, and bark peeling of woody species. Consequently, there is a low availability of plant-based NTFPs, particularly in the village area, where forest degradation is more advanced. It is imperative that policies for monitoring and regulating harvesting and promoting the sustainable management of communities’ plant-based NTFPs as a priority, be undertaken to
maintain their resilience.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Khoji Muteya, Héritier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Bogaert, Jan ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Biodiversité et Paysage ; Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
N'tambwe Nghonda, Dieu-Donné ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; UNILU - Université de Lubumbashi [CD] > Gestion des ressources naturelles
Language :
English
Title :
Socio-Economic Value and Availability of Plant-Based Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) within the Charcoal Production Basin of the City of Lubumbashi (DR Congo)
