Deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is an important environmental issue that affects the world. Most deforestation happens in the Congo Basin, which is the second largest rainforest on Earth after the Amazon. About half of the remaining rainforest in the Congo Basin is located in the DRC.
Many factors contribute to deforestation in the DRC. People cut down and burn trees to grow crops. Other causes include illegal logging, building roads, and expanding cities.
Deforestation in the DRC harms wildlife, causes soil erosion, and worsens climate change. The DRC is one of 17 countries with a wide variety of plant and animal life. Habitat loss harms these species. For example, 60% of the decline in the forest elephant population is linked to the destruction of their homes due to illegal logging.
Between 1990 and 2015, the rate of deforestation in the DRC stayed the same at 0.2% each year. This rate equals about 311,000 hectares, or roughly 1,200 square miles, of forest lost annually. Three reasons are given for why deforestation rates stayed low during this time: 1) the country’s road network has been shrinking, making it harder to reach remote areas; 2) changes in political and legal rules have made it less attractive for investors to operate in the DRC; and 3) farming has grown in areas outside of forests.
Although the rate of deforestation stayed the same, the amount of wood removed from forests has increased each year. Industrialized roundwood removal rose from 3.05 million cubic meters in 1990 to 4.45 million cubic meters in 2010. Fuelwood removal also increased, from 44.2 million cubic meters in 1990 to 75.44 million cubic meters in 2010.
From 2015 to 2019, the rate of tree cutting in the DRC doubled.
Causes of deforestation
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The direct causes of deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are well known and have been identified by many sources. The main causes are: 1) the development of roads and infrastructure, 2) clearing and burning forests to change forest land into farmland, 3) collecting fuelwood and charcoal for energy, and 4) unregulated small-scale logging. The United Nations Environment Programme has said that the most important issue to address first is slash and burn agriculture, followed by fuelwood collection, then unregulated small-scale logging, and finally road construction.
Both mining and logging cause similar indirect deforestation through road building. Logging companies often build new roads into remote forest areas, which makes it easier to change logged forests into farmland. This has led to the movement of landless farmers, especially from eastern savanna areas, into primary forest areas through these logging roads.
These incoming farmers cause a lot of damage to the land as they convert forests into farmland. It has been suggested that when farmers see higher returns from their crops, they may grow larger farms and shorten the time they let the land rest, which can lead to large-scale destruction of natural forests.
The United Nations Environment Programme has identified slash and burn agriculture, which uses short fallow periods, as the most urgent issue related to deforestation in the DRC. This is the process of clearing land for farming by burning the forest. This method has been used for a long time because much of the DRC's population depends on it for food. However, using this type of agriculture with little rest time for the soil causes soil degradation and desertification. This has led to more food insecurity, and it is estimated that about 70% of the DRC's population is malnourished, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme.
As the soil becomes worse and desertification happens, farmers are forced to move further out to find new land to farm, repeating the process again and again. This makes the clearing of natural forests worse. Also, current farming practices are not efficient or sustainable. When farmers move further away from their farms, they are farther from markets where they can sell their produce. With very few facilities for storing and cooling food, post-harvest crop losses can be as high as 80%.
The DRC relies heavily on imported food, which puts more pressure on forest lands to be cleared for farming. In 2010, the DRC's largest import from the United States was meat, while they exported oil resources.
Fuelwood and charcoal collection is a major cause of deforestation because it provides 95% of the population's energy needs. People's reliance on fuelwood for energy creates areas of fragmented forest around cities, which leads to longer trips to collect fuelwood. The United Nations Environment Programme's Post-conflict Environmental Assessment Synthesis for Policy Makers reported that about 89 hectares of forest were lost each day due to illegal fuelwood harvesting during the peak of the post-Second Congo War conflict. It is estimated that 72 million cubic meters of fuelwood and charcoal are produced annually.
Charcoal, or makala, is not very efficient to produce but is a popular energy source in the DRC. Although fuelwood is almost free to use, charcoal is preferred because it has a higher energy value per unit weight (31.8 MJ per kg) compared to fuelwood (16 MJ per kg), and it is smaller and easier to store. Charcoal is also mostly smokeless and not affected by fungi or insects like fuelwood. These benefits make charcoal especially popular in cities. However, even in rural areas, such as Goma in North Kivu, charcoal is widely used. On average, each person uses 1 to 1.6 cubic meters of fuelwood and 80 to 95 kg of charcoal annually.
Regardless of whether it is for commercial or personal use, fuelwood and charcoal are mostly collected by women and children in most regions of Africa. Charcoal is more expensive in cities, especially large ones like Kinshasa, because large areas of forest are cleared near the city, increasing transport costs.
Logging without permission from the national government is called artisanal logging. Unregulated artisanal and small-scale logging is estimated to supply 75% of the DRC's timber exports and happens at a rate 5 to 8 times greater than industrial logging. However, this is still much less than the amount of wood being gathered for fuelwood and charcoal production, which is 30 times greater than artisanal logging. There are three types of forest codes in the DRC—public institutions, private, and community forests. Artisanal logging takes place in community forests.
Community forests are owned by community chiefs or landlords, who have the power to grant small-scale logging concessions that are not regulated by the national government. Many of these community-owned forests with artisanal logging are in the northeast. Artisanal logging is profitable, but it is also mostly illegal. However, corruption in the local government allows the logging to continue.
To perform artisanal logging, the logger needs to get a permit from the local government. With approval from the community chief, loggers can get a permit; however, they have to report the harvest to local forestry technicians. These local forestry offices are considered the appropriate entity for approving logging permits, but they do not have the capacity to conduct forest inventory or mapping. Since the forest code does not have comprehensive mechanisms to stop such logging activities, loggers continue to buy logging rights from the local community. Depending on the scale of the logging, the community may demand different types of payment from loggers. In one community in the North Kivu area, they asked the logger to give them a 4×4 truck and upgrade public infrastructure, which are not well provided for by the local government. Although the logger did not accept the request, this shows why locals support artisanal logging.
Although artisanal logging provides some income for the community in the short term, it does not improve living conditions in the long run. The communities receive payments that are not enough to cover the loss of their natural resources. Since there is no monitoring system, loggers report less logging to pay less tax to the local government. Some loggers cut one tree and leave the rest intact to mimic natural disturbance. To improve the situation, the DRC government needs better monitoring and better forest codes to manage logging activities.
Compared to agricultural land transformation, fuelwood and charcoal collection, and artisanal logging, industrial logging has a smaller direct impact on forest destruction in the DRC in recent years due to the collapse of local markets in the early 1990s. However, logging has significant indirect effects because of the roads built for it. The collapse of the logging industry in the 1990s changed it into one of selective logging, where only very large trees of high value are being extracted for export.
As of 1999, 87% of the total volume of wood harvested was from one of five species of African mahogany. These selective logging practices yield only 8.7 cubic meters (the volume less than that of one tree) per hectare. Thus, many roads are created to move very few trees from the forest. This allows people to access the forest more easily, leading to further deforestation.
Consequences of deforestation
Deforestation can change the climate in two main ways: by affecting the amount of greenhouse gases in the air and how rain falls, or by changing how forests provide important services like rainfall. Forests store large amounts of carbon, especially rainforests. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), forests are estimated to hold about 23 billion tons of carbon, the largest amount in Africa. Between 2015 and 2019, the government estimated that deforestation released about 1 billion tons of carbon each year. However, a 2023 report showed that in 2018, deforestation released about 500 million tons of carbon, while forests also absorbed about 500 million tons of carbon.
Research shows that replacing rainforests with grasslands can cause harmful climate changes in Africa. Forests also help create rainfall. When forests are destroyed, this service is lost, and the landscape changes. In heavily deforested areas, rainfall may decrease throughout the year. If deforestation happens in southern Africa, it might increase rainfall in the southern part of the DRC. This increases the loss of topsoil, stops tall plants from growing back, and worsens climate changes. These changes harm both plants and animals. Scientists predict that if deforestation continues in the DRC, many species will be lost. For example, Salonga National Park could lose about 7 mammal species by 2050 and 19 species by 2080 if emissions from deforestation are not reduced.
Roads increase farming and also affect hunting and the bushmeat trade. Bushmeat is meat from wild animals in forests. In the DRC, most bushmeat comes from artiodactyla animals, which make up about 90% of the trade. Primates are the next largest group, at about 5%. Even elephants, hunted for ivory, are also targeted for bushmeat because one elephant can provide thousands of kilograms of meat. From 2002 to 2013, the DRC’s elephant population dropped from about 62,000 to 5,000. In the DRC, bushmeat trade is widespread, and little can stop it. Over 1.7 million tonnes of bushmeat are consumed yearly in the DRC, valued at over US$1 billion.
Roads for logging and mining make hunting easier, as hunters can travel shorter distances. More logging also increases the demand for bushmeat. Loggers eat bushmeat more often than others, and logging vehicles help transport hunted animals. This increases the export of bushmeat from forests.
Soil erosion happens in deforested areas of the DRC, especially in the south and in cities like Kinshasa, Luberu, and Kasenyi. Soil erosion has many causes, including poor land use, climate change, farming practices, and lack of protection for soil. Poor land management is a big problem in the DRC. Cities have not updated their plans for decades, leading to rapid growth and more deforestation. Kinshasa, for example, still uses old colonial-era infrastructure but now has over 10 million people.
Urbanization usually brings jobs and growth, but in the DRC, cities like Kinshasa face population stress from refugees fleeing conflict. As noted by Nelson Mandela, urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa is linked to negative economic growth. Without enough infrastructure, informal settlements form on the edges of cities. Refugees clear forests to build homes on hills, increasing erosion and landslide risks. These settlements are illegal, and the government lacks the power or will to manage them.
Without formal income, these communities use slash-and-burn farming, resting the land every 2–3 years. This depletes the soil quickly, leading to desertification. Farmers then cut down more forests, expanding desertified land that is prone to erosion.
Although soil erosion is known, few solutions have been implemented. Small projects help protect soil, but large-scale efforts lack funding. Soil erosion is so serious that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that it could threaten nuclear power plants in Kinshasa.
Changes in the landscape also affect weather. The Congo Basin used to be covered by rainforests, but deforestation has turned parts of Central Africa into savannahs with more sandy soil. Forests help create rainfall, but deforestation has disrupted this system. Now, the region has a heavy rainy season and a long dry season. Without forests, the climate becomes more extreme, with more intense rains and longer dry periods. This causes sparse vegetation, which worsens soil erosion during rainy seasons.
Response
People in nearby countries have different opinions about deforestation in the Congo Basin. Some are worried about hunger because farmers often cut down trees to make charcoal and sell it quickly instead of waiting two years to grow cassava. Deforestation also causes fewer animals in the area because they must move to new places. Others believe deforestation is a way for farmers to survive. Selling firewood can earn about $1,000 each month for farmers who produce 100 sacks of 15-kilo firewood, which sells for around $10 in most areas.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the government started a program called the Agricultural and Rural Sector Rehabilitation Support Project (PARSAR). However, corruption among government officials allows deforestation to continue. Laws exist to stop large-scale destruction of the forest, but bribes to officials may explain why little progress has been made. Many people involved in selling wood and charcoal are former soldiers, which raises concerns that a civil war might return if their goods are taken.
The international community has shown interest in the issue. On April 2, 2009, the World Bank approved a grant to help the DRC’s Ministry of Environment improve its ability to manage forest projects and work with groups like civil society and government agencies. On July 14, 2011, the World Bank approved a $13 million grant to support efforts by Congo Basin countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest damage, known as REDD+.
The REDD campaign plans to provide improved ovens to about 5 million urban homes. Another plan is to supply electricity to certain areas to meet 60% of energy needs by 2030. Private groups like Mercy Corps and WWF are helping by creating fuelwood plantations, such as the EcoMakala reforestation project, and teaching people to build fuel-efficient stoves, like the Goma Stove.
Some organizations are testing alternatives to fuelwood, such as biomass briquettes, to reduce demand. Sustainable methods for producing fuelwood are also being used. The EcoMakala project, supported by WWF, plans to plant trees on 4,500 hectares by 2012 to provide fuelwood for people in Goma. Local farmers own the trees and can make charcoal using a clamp. However, this effort is small compared to the 300,000 hectares of forest destroyed each year. The REDD campaign aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by about 17 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent by 2020 to reach a target of 445 parts per million of CO₂ equivalent in the atmosphere.
Research suggests that international groups like the World Bank may have worsened problems with forest governance in the DRC. Studies show that incentives from partnerships between international organizations and NGOs were seen as foreign interference that harmed local government interests.
It is unclear if these efforts will stop deforestation. Many people rely on fuelwood and charcoal for cooking and survival. Until the country provides alternatives like electricity and jobs, the situation may not improve. Some jobs have been created through projects like a hydroelectric plant (Virunga Energies), a chocolate factory (Virunga Origins Chocolate), and a soap factory. A chia seed factory is also nearby.
The DRC’s Minister for the Environment and the European Union Commission agreed to start a program called the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) agreement. This program aims to create a system to track and ensure the legality of wood imported to Europe. Independent programs, like those by Resource Extraction Monitoring, can help verify timber legality and support governments working to reduce corruption.
In August 2021, UNESCO removed Salonga National Park from its list of threatened sites. Stopping oil drilling and reducing poaching were key to this success. This event is a major victory for the DRC, as Salonga is Africa’s largest protected rainforest. African intact rainforests absorb carbon dioxide more effectively than rainforests in South America and Asia.
Tree cover extent and loss
Global Forest Watch uses satellite images from the Landsat program to create yearly reports about tree cover loss and the total tree cover area in 2000. These reports are part of the Global Forest Change dataset. In this system, "tree cover" means vegetation taller than 5 meters, such as natural forests and planted trees. "Tree cover loss" is when all the tree cover in an area disappears during a year, no matter the reason.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reports show that between 2001 and 2024, a total of 21,072,346 hectares (210,723.46 square kilometers) of tree cover was lost. This loss equals about 10.6% of the country's tree cover area in 2000. For areas with more than 30% tree cover, the total tree cover area in 2000 was 199,272,120 hectares (1,992,721.2 square kilometers). Charts and tables below show these numbers. The annual loss number represents the area where tree cover disappeared in a specific year. The extent number shows how much of the 2000 tree cover remains after subtracting all the loss over time. Forest regrowth is not included in these data.
REDD+ forest reference emission level and monitoring
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) submitted a national forest reference emission level (FREL) under the UNFCCC REDD+ framework. This submission was reviewed by experts from the UNFCCC. On the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform, the country’s reference level is marked as “assessed.” A safeguards information summary (related to the Cancún safeguards) and a national forest monitoring system are marked as “reported,” while the national strategy is marked as “not reported.”
In its 2018 submission (updated during the assessment), the DRC proposed a national FREL focused on the REDD+ activity of reducing emissions from deforestation. The FREL used a historical reference period of 2000–2014 and a method that uses a straight-line pattern to estimate future trends based on past data for the monitoring period that followed. The technical assessment noted that the FREL included carbon dioxide emissions from above-ground and below-ground biomass but excluded deadwood, litter, and soil organic carbon (as well as non-CO2 gases). Explanations were provided for these exclusions, and a plan for gradual improvements was linked to expanding national data, including the national forest inventory.
The assessed FREL was used as a time-varying benchmark for 2015–2019, averaging 1,078,235,017.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO2 eq) per year over that five-year period. In its technical annex on REDD+ results (included with its first biennial update report) and the following UNFCCC analysis, the DRC reported average emission reductions from deforestation of 524,240,000 t CO2 eq per year for 2015–2018, measured against the assessed FREL.