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<p>The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation. However, over the past three decades, the increasing human pressures have led to natural forest fragmentation. This study assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and forest fragmentation in the high-altitude (HA) part of the KBNP from 1994 to 2024. We evaluated the impacts of fragmentation and identified the leading causes and consequences using the Landsat image data and the survey responses. A supervised classification of the images was carried out using the Random Trees Classifier (RTC) algorithm for the years 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2024, accompanied by the calculation of fragmentation indices and field surveys of the local population and park managers. Over the 30-year study period, the HA part of the KBNP lost 164.4 km<sup>2</sup> of forest cover, at an estimated annual deforestation rate of 1.11%. During this period, 43.24% (212.528 km<sup>2</sup>) of the forest was converted to non-forest land uses and 48.29 km<sup>2</sup> of the non-forest to forest land use. The maximum number of forest patches was low (74 forest patches) in 1994 and rose by 351 over the 30 years, reflecting a significant fragmentation or dissection of the forest. Landscape fragmentation shows an overall trend of increasing fragmentation and isolation of forest patches between 1994 and 2024, with a brief improvement in 2014, indicating progressive landscape degradation. A survey of 45 park staff and 153 households within a 5-km KBNP buffer zone revealed that 62.2% of respondents considered the park to be highly fragmented, mainly by logging (76%), illegal mining (65%), and agricultural activities (62%). The key consequences of KBNP forest fragmentation included a decline in natural resources (88%), such as timber and medicinal plants, a loss of biodiversity (59%), and an erosion of traditional knowledge (55%). To address these challenges, inclusive and participatory conservation strategies involving local communities could reduce illegal logging, mining, and agricultural activities causing landscape fragmentation, thus reducing the loss of natural resources and biodiversity in the KBNP by promoting forest restoration and sustainable management efforts.</p>

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Nature’s cracks: the destructive force of forest fragmentation in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Eastern DR Congo

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月26日

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  • Serge Mugisho Mukotanyi,
  • Stéphanie Wambili,
  • David Bawela Mulungula,
  • Daniel Muhindo Iragi,
  • Eli Mutwedu Mwishingo,
  • Janvier Bashagaluke,
  • Aimé Heri-Kazi,
  • Andrew Ogolla Egesa,
  • Dieudonné Bahati Shamamba

摘要

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation. However, over the past three decades, the increasing human pressures have led to natural forest fragmentation. This study assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and forest fragmentation in the high-altitude (HA) part of the KBNP from 1994 to 2024. We evaluated the impacts of fragmentation and identified the leading causes and consequences using the Landsat image data and the survey responses. A supervised classification of the images was carried out using the Random Trees Classifier (RTC) algorithm for the years 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2024, accompanied by the calculation of fragmentation indices and field surveys of the local population and park managers. Over the 30-year study period, the HA part of the KBNP lost 164.4 km2 of forest cover, at an estimated annual deforestation rate of 1.11%. During this period, 43.24% (212.528 km2) of the forest was converted to non-forest land uses and 48.29 km2 of the non-forest to forest land use. The maximum number of forest patches was low (74 forest patches) in 1994 and rose by 351 over the 30 years, reflecting a significant fragmentation or dissection of the forest. Landscape fragmentation shows an overall trend of increasing fragmentation and isolation of forest patches between 1994 and 2024, with a brief improvement in 2014, indicating progressive landscape degradation. A survey of 45 park staff and 153 households within a 5-km KBNP buffer zone revealed that 62.2% of respondents considered the park to be highly fragmented, mainly by logging (76%), illegal mining (65%), and agricultural activities (62%). The key consequences of KBNP forest fragmentation included a decline in natural resources (88%), such as timber and medicinal plants, a loss of biodiversity (59%), and an erosion of traditional knowledge (55%). To address these challenges, inclusive and participatory conservation strategies involving local communities could reduce illegal logging, mining, and agricultural activities causing landscape fragmentation, thus reducing the loss of natural resources and biodiversity in the KBNP by promoting forest restoration and sustainable management efforts.