Basic HTML Version
3-72
for biodiversity benefits. Further spatial analyses looking at some of these drivers are included in
Musampa Kamungandu
et al.
(in prep.).
Conclusions and next steps
The DRC has great potential to realise biodiversity benefits from REDD+: the occurrence ranges
of eastern gorilla, common chimpanzee and bonobo, as well as Important Bird Areas all overlap
with areas that store important amounts of biomass carbon.
Protected areas store important amounts of biomass carbon and show considerable overlap with
areas of importance for biodiversity. However, effective and sustainable management of protected
areas will be important in order to successfully secure the valuable assets they contain, including
carbon, biodiversity and other ecosystem services.
The location of areas of recent forest cover loss can indicate where further deforestation is likely
to occur or is most difficult to halt. It can also help identify where implications for biodiversity may
be most serious and where current management of certain land designations may not be
effective. Overall, the information can thus help prioritise areas where reducing deforestation is
most appropriate. In order to address deforestation and forest degradation, however, it is
important to also look at the drivers of these processes. For example, improved road access to
currently poorly connected parts of the country may in the future increase the potential for
economic exploitation of these sites, for example for their mineral resources.
Although the data used for this work was the best available data at the time of production, it will
be useful to update the analyses for national level decision-making, i.e. integrate more recent,
more suitable and additional datasets relating to forest carbon stocks as well as values
associated with and pressures on forest carbon (e.g. population density, infrastructure, other
ecosystem services). These spatial analyses can be useful in a number of further activities to
ensure that REDD+ implementation will realise multiple benefits in the DRC, for example:
•
In a comparison of scenarios for Business as Usual development vs. REDD+
implementation in the DRC, they can help assess the difference that could be made by
REDD+ to the conservation of the DRC’s forests and biodiversity.
•
Taking into account the multiple benefits associated with REDD+ can be useful in
comparing the costs of different REDD+ strategies with the carbon and non-carbon
benefits to be gained.
•
By improving the understanding of the potential benefits and risks to people and the
environment of implementing REDD+, the analyses can help in the adaptation and
specification of social and environmental safeguards for application in the DRC’s national
context.