The Report conclude that the main drivers of deforestation are the development of commercial agriculture, accounting for about 40 per cent of deforestation, subsistence farming, accounting for about 20 per cent and the collection of fuelwood, also accounting for about 20 per cent. With regard to forest degradation, the report cites the main causes as the collection of fuelwood, accounting for about 55 per cent of all degradation, industrial and artisanal forestry, accounting for about 15 per cent and illegal forestry, accounting for as much as 14 per cent.

Rome (Italy) - 8 February 2013: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) has released five reports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the causes of deforestation and forest degradation.

The reports, prepared in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and others, are one component of the DRC's REDD+ preparation process and include an analysis of drivers based on field studies, remote sensing and statistical analysis of deforestation and forest degradation in post-conflict DRC.

These studies, conducted in 2011-2012, have enabled the DRC to reach a national consensus on the main drivers of deforestation in the country. Previous to this, various stakeholders had very different understandings about what these drivers were. The studies are therefore a very important step in advancing REDD+ efforts in the country.

The studies were done by various actors, including civil society from the DRC, FAO, Catholic University of Louvain and UNEP. Various tools and methodologies were used to conduct these studies, including focus groups, remote sensing and statistical analysis. Their results have been compared in order to insure the reliability of the final conclusions.

Overall, the reports contain information on moist tropical forests, mountain forests, Miombo forests and the forest-savanna mosaic. In these forest types, the publications conclude that the main drivers of deforestation are the development of commercial agriculture, accounting for about 40 per cent of deforestation, subsistence farming, accounting for about 20 per cent and the collection of fuelwood, also accounting for about 20 per cent. With regard to forest degradation, the report cites the main causes as the collection of fuelwood, accounting for about 55 per cent of all degradation, industrial and artisanal forestry, accounting for about 15 per cent and illegal forestry, accounting for as much as 14 per cent.

♦ Study 1: Summary report presenting and comparing results from the various studies undertaken on the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in the DRC
Conducted by: UN-REDD Programme/FAO

♦ Study 2: Qualitative study of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the DRC
Conducted by: DRC civil society, UN-REDD Programme/FAO

♦ Study 3: Quantitative study of the variables explaining deforestation and forest degradation in the DRC: data from remote sensing, and historical and statistical analysis
Conducted by: Catholic University of Louvain, UN-REDD Programme

♦ Study 4: Quantitative study of the variables explaining deforestation and forest degradation in the DRC: data from the field
Conducted by: DRC civil society, UN-REDD Programme

♦ Study 5: Qualitative study of the causes and agents of deforestation and forest degradation in a post-conflict DRC
Conducted by: UNEP

Source: Climate Change policies and practices: http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/un-redd-outlines-main-drivers-of-deforestation-and-forest-degradation-in-drc/ and UN REDD : Report and Analysis: http://www.un-redd.org/Newsletter35/DRC_Drivers_of_Deforestation/tabid/105802/Default.aspx