Denis Sonwa

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

Public administration in most countries is compartmentalised into sector-specific departments to maximise efficiency; but are such siloed organisational arrangements conducive to the integration of cross-cutting environmental considerations? We offer an answer in this article and sketch out two approaches to pursue environmental integration within...

In the context of emerging international trade regulations on deforestation-free commodities, the drivers of households’ deforestation in conservation landscapes are of interest. The role of households’ livelihood strategies including cocoa production, and the effects of human-elephant conflict are investigated. Using a unique dataset from a survey...

Disturbance, vegetation productivity, and recovery are crucial for aboveground biomass carbon (AGC) dynamics. Here, we use multiple satellite-based datasets to analyze the drivers of AGC dynamics in Central Africa. During 2010–2019, deforestation induced a gross AGC loss of 102.2 ± 17.1 Tg C year-1, which was counterbalanced by an AGC increase of 1...

The international initiative to combat deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+, was put on the DRC agenda following actors' policy discourse aimed at convincing policy-makers of its effectiveness. This paper uses discursive institutionalism (DI) as a theoretical and analytical framework to analyse a set of selected policy documents on...

Environmental policies ought to be integrated into economic sectors for successful outcomes. We assess to what extent Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD +) is integrated into land-use sectors driving deforestation in Cameroon. REDD + governance has been extensively examined, including the challenges of a multisectora...

Environmental policies ought to be integrated into economic sectors for successful outcomes. We assess to what extent Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD +) is integrated into land-use sectors driving deforestation in Cameroon. REDD + governance has been extensively examined, including the challenges of a multisectora...

Mangroves for fish or fish-smoking Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, are specific forest ecosystems situated between the sea and land. They are of great importance to coastal communities as they provide forest products,fishery resources, fuelwood and ecosystem services. Mangrove forests are globally threatened by a wide range of activi...

Background and Research Aims: Agriculture through deforestation is an important threat to biodiversity conservation in the Congo Basin's tropical forest. The policy challenge is not only to promote adaptation to perceived climate change but also to promote forest conservation. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence on the impact of...

In Tshopo, a forested province in the northeastern part of the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), the regulation of water availability and quality is crucial for sustaining livelihoods and protecting communities from natural hazards. These ecosystem services are crucial for reducing water vulnerability and providing sufficient water for domestic u...

The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contrib...

Establishing protected areas creates an opportunity to reduce deforestation. This study aims to inform the Congolese gov-ernment's efforts to promote forest and biodiversity conservation by assessing the effectiveness of the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) in reducing deforestation. Group and individual interviews designed to understand the causes...

The African Union's Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration recognize agricultural development as one of the most effective means of combating extreme poverty. Conservation Agriculture Practices (CAP) have been asserted to have the potential to boost agricultural output, improve livelihood and contribute to the conservation of natural resources. Thi...

It is well established that forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of forests and trees outside forests can help to reduce the vulnerability of both humans and ecosystems to climate change. Yet the role of forests and trees in providing multiple goods and services that contribute to the adaptive capacity and resilience of soci...

La REDD+ (Réduction des Émissions dues à la Déforestation et à la Dégradation des forêts) s’est installée dans l’architecture des négociations climatiques comme un des principaux outils pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effets de serre (GES) liées aux forêts. Très vite, il est apparu nécessaire de tenir compte d’autres secteurs dans le mécanisme,...

The African Union's Agenda 2063 and the Malabo Declaration recognize agricultural development as one of the most effective means of combating extreme poverty. Conservation Agriculture Practices (CAP) have been asserted to have the potential to boost agricultural output, improve livelihood and contribute to the conservation of natural resources. thi...

Despite its low carbon emission, Africa is one of the regions most impacted by the adverse effects of climate change. Because of its impacts on health, infrastructure, settlements, agriculture and food security, and forest ecosystems, climate change is an additional burden to sustainable development in Central Africa. As such, there is an urgent ne...

Les forêts tropicales de la République démocratique du Congo sont menacées par la déforestation et la dégradation forestière, qui affectent la structure et la diversité arborée. Cette étude a pour objectif de quantifier les pertes de biomasse et de diversité liées à la déforestation et à la dégradation, en se concentrant sur la réserve de biosphère...

This study was conducted on Manoka Island (Littoral Region of Cameroon) with the aim of analyzing climate change vulnerability and local adaptation strategies based on the local community’s perceptions and biophysical evidence. We used household surveys, focus group discussions, field observation, GIS, and remote sensing to collect data on variable...

Tshopo is one of the first provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be selected, in 2011, for the implementation of Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) projects. Since then, this province offers the opportunity to analyze the implementation of deforestation reduction initiatives in order to understand...

The Congo Basin hosts the largest continuous tract of forest in Africa, regulating global climate while providing essential resources and livelihoods for humans, while harbouring extensive biodiversity. The threats to these forests are expected to increase. A regional collaborative effort has produced the first systematically validated remote sensi...

CHAPITRE 7 Les engagements internationaux des pays d'Afrique centrale en réponse aux changements climatiques

Au niveau mondial, ce sont les écosystèmes des tourbières, ces zones humides dont le sol présente une accumulation de matière organique partiellement décomposée, qui stockent le volume le plus important de carbone terrestre par unité de surface (Rydin and Jeglum 2006 ; Leifeld and Menichetti 2018). Elles couvrent près de 3 % de la surface terr...

Land and resource use patterns in coastal areas play a key role in the resilience of ecosystems and populations to climate change. Knowing their spatiotemporal dynamics therefore constitutes a strategic tool to help decision-makers. Based on documentary research, geographic information system (GIS), image processing, and field work, this article ma...

Purpose This study aims to identify opportunities and constraints of community forestry in the context of forest decentralization in Cameroon and what can be capitalized on for sound REDD+ design and implementation. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach to data collection was used through content analysis of 1994 forestry law, reports...

In the South-Kivu province, wetlands are mainly converted into farmlands to ensure food and income security among rural populations. This study aimed at assessing the land use and land cover (LULC) change for the last three decades (1990–2020) in South-Kivu wetlands; mainly the Hogola and Chisheke, in Walungu territory, eastern Democratic Republic...

In the perspective of using cocoa as a response to climate change, a preliminary carbon stock assessment was conducted in cocoa agroforests of the Bengamisa-Yangambi forest landscape in the north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Data were collected in 25 plots of 2500 m2 each, spread over 16 villages. Above-ground carbon stock assessment...

Purpose This paper aims to produce a framework for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the Yangambi landscape, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This would enable the authors to identify agricultural practices, assess vulnerability to climate change, identify options for improving agricultural systems from a climate change mitigation and adapt...

The management of protected areas (PAs) and their surrounding landscapes is generally associated with the response of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to biodiversity conservation and climate change. The general aim is to reduce deforestation and preserve biodiversity. This preliminary study aims to identify the local knowledge and potent...

Riparian communities activities threaten conservation in biosphere reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) is no exception to this degradation. Thus, the objective of the presents study was to elucidate the local factors underlying the high pressure on natural resources and analyze the complexity of...

Since the outbreak in December 2019, in Wuhan (China) of COVID-19, approved drugs are still lacking and the world is seeking effective treatment. The purpose of this article is to review the medicinal plants with potential to be used as complementary therapies against COVID-19. Bibliographic information was searched in several databases (Google Sch...

In the tropics, the domestic water supply depends principally on ecosystem services, including the regulation and purification of water by humid, dense tropical forests. The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) landscape is situated within such forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Surprisingly, given its proximity to the Congo River, the...

There is evidence that institutions related to climate change and natural resource management influence each other’s performance, and that local settings also shape policy outcomes. We examine how policy implementation processes and institutional interactions affect the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program in...

Land use management by smallholders’ households in dry landscapes can be an important entry point for contending desertification, climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. Strategies employed by these households to address land use problems can bring together efforts of the three Rio conventions. Identifying the typology of the curre...

Since the outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan (China) of COVID-19, approved drugs are still lacking and the world is seeking effective treatment. The purpose of this article is to review the medicinal plants with potential to be used as complementary therapies against COVID-19. Bibliographic information was searched in several databases (Google Scho...

DRC has committed to reduce its emissions effectively, efficiently, and equitably from deforestation and degradation (REDD+). The country experiences complex relationships between drivers, agents, and institutions of deforestation nationally. The REDD+ policy arena is influenced by both governmental and non-governmental actors whose number have inc...

Cocoa agroforestry has evolved into an accepted natural resource conservation strategy in the tropics. It is regularly proposed as one of the main uses for REDD+ projects (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developin...

Since time immemorial, medicinal plants have been widely used for primary health care by human communities and the associated knowledge was transmitted through generations. But the medicinal knowledge and practices that traditional societies have accumulated are rapidly disappearing as traditional cultures and knowledge weaken with modern society h...

Forestry ecosystem of Democratic Republic of the Congo is the base of rural people economy. But, these people do not have sustainable practices on natural resources. Therefore, the objective Pursued in achieving the present study is to determine the impact of the peasant practices on the local natural resources and to analyze the role of traditiona...

Deforestation and land-use change are accelerating in the Congo Basin and elsewhere in the tropics affecting the soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG). There is a lack of data from Central Africa. We quantified fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O at the soil-atmosphere interface in a secondary forest, a cocoa agroforest, and an unfertilized cr...

Projects aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) have expanded in Central Africa following carbon certification standards, which were intended to demonstrate the feasibility of payments and rewards earned depending on a measured quantity of avoided deforestation. We used storytelling as a communication concept...

Climate change is a global phenomenon that indiscriminately affects all sectors of the economy and social life-support systems. New trends in climate change will leave high impacts on rural populations, whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and natural resources, leaving them increasingly vulnerable. Agrobiodiversity management is a promising met...

Humid conditions and equatorial forest in the Congo Basin have allowed for the maintenance of significant biodiversity and carbon stock. The ecological services and products of this forest are of high importance, particularly for smallholders living in forest landscapes and watersheds. Unfortunately, in addition to deforestation and forest degradat...

Forestry ecosystem of Democratic Republic of the Congo is the base of rural people economy. But, these people do not have sustainable practices on natural resources. Therefore, the objective Pursued in achieving the present study is to determine the impact of the peasant practices on the local natural resources and to analyze the role of traditiona...

Since the end of 2000s, many forest-rich countries have engaged into results-based deforestation reduction monitoring under REDD+ mechanisms. A set of methods and tools designed at international level is expected to be transferred to the domestic level in many developing countries, in order to generate information on how these countries contribute...

Since the end of 2000s, many forest-rich countries have engaged into results-based deforestation reduction monitoring under REDD+ mechanisms. A set of methods and tools designed at international level is expected to be transferred to the domestic level in many developing countries, in order to generate information on how these countries contribute...

Cocoa agroforests are growing in importance with a view to meeting farmers’ livelihood goals as well as ecological services. Following the recognition of cocoa agroforests as being useful for biodiversity conservation and farmers’ livelihoods, there is a growing discourse on the fact that they may also be useful in climate change mitigation and bio...

Les réserves de biosphère de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) désignées pour sauvegarder les ressources naturelles font actuellement l’objet de menaces de la part des populations locales. Sur les 7 axes de réponses à la déforestation et à la dégradation forestière proposés par la RDC à travers le processus REDD+, nous nous sommes intéressé...

This is the Summary for Policy Makers of the IPCC Special Report on Land and Climate Change, as approved by the IPCC member countries at the Plenary in Geneva, Aug 2-7 2019.

This chapter examines the scientific understanding of how climate change impacts land degradation, and vice versa, with a focus on non-drylands. Land degradation of drylands is covered in Chapter 3. After providing definitions and the context (Section 4.1) we proceed with a theoretical explanation of the different processes of land degradation and...

Rural Africa plays an important role in the stabilization of the world's climate. Given that greenhouse gases are emitted from different sources and places, they accumulate over time and mix globally. Climate change can then be effectively tackled if collective actions are taken at global level. Though most decisions are taken by international cons...

Quantification of forest biomass is a challenge for developing countries due to insufficient data and lack of expertise. Involving villagers in this work, especially in the case of local forests could improve the speed and efficiency of this quantification process. This article describes the participatory approach implemented to assess carbon stock...

Forest logging in the Congo Basin has led to forest fragmentation due to logging infrastructures and felling gaps. In the same vein, forest concessions in the Congo Basin have increasing interest in the REDD? mechanism. However, there is little information or field data on carbon emissions from forest degradation caused by logging. To help fill thi...

Abstract Although viewed as low-power income product, trade in Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in rural communities represent a major source of income for local residents who depend on them for revenue and subsistence. This study is based on monitoring and quantitative recording of each NTFP gathering by villagers. The results revealed that t...

The countries of Central Africa made international commitments to contribute to combating climate change through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the context of the twenty-first Conference of the Parties (COP 21) of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015. As 2020 approaches, the year in whi...

Les pays d’Afrique centrale ont pris des engagements devant la communauté internationale pour contribuer à la lutte contre les changements climatiques, via leur Contribution Déterminée au niveau National (CDN), en vue de la vingt-unième Conférence des Parties (COP 21) de la Convention Cadre des Nations Unies sur les Changements Climatiques (CCNUCC)...

Climate change will create challenges for forest-dependent communities in Africa. Local institutions play an important role in fostering community resilience in the context of change. The resilience of a community is influenced by social learning that can happen as people meet together and share their diverse experiences and knowledge. Surveys of 2...

Africa is facing serious constraints exacerbated by climate change. Several components of its development are now constrained by this global environmental problem. More important is the fact that the poorest who are less contributor of climate change are the most vulnerable. Response to this global threat needs to address both the causes of the pro...

Sustainable cocoa’ has attracted considerable attention. However, stakeholders in cocoa development may differ in their understanding of sustainable cocoa, their interests and actions taken in advancing sustainable cocoa. This article analyses cocoa sustainability at nested scales and analyses to what extent sustainability standards, policies and d...

This study assesses vulnerability to climate change and local adaption strategies in the Kribi-Campo coastal area. Variables of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are described and assessed based on the community's perception and biophysical evidence. Historical changes in rainfall and temperature variables, mangrove cover and occurrence o...

In rural African settings, people maintain diversified livelihood strategies to reduce risks and garner income. Although youth are currently the dominant demographic and an important group within forest communities of Central Africa, little is known about their dependence on the forest for their livelihoods. Given that young people are underreprese...

In the Congo Basin where nearly 20 million ha of concessions are exploited according to management plans, improved forest management (IFM) has become a strategy of prime importance when setting up the REDD+ mechanism. For logging companies, REDD+ projects provide the opportunity to compensate a voluntary reduction of the logging intensity by valuin...

Forests play a significant role in the global carbon budget, and can help to mitigate climate change impacts. Tropical forests which experience high rates of deforestation and forest degradation are particularly important, as they are the most active in winter. Based on academic research into global environmental policies in Central Africa, this st...

The distribution and composition of the tree component inside cocoa agroforests plays an important role in the economic and ecological services offered by these plantations. The presence of these plant components appears to be influenced by several factors controlling the introduction and management of associated plants inside cocoa agroforests. To...

L’utilisation des images images satellites même de haute résolution par les chercheurs ou les groupes forestiers pour l’évaluation des impacts de la déforestation sur les stocks de carbone reste limitée du fait de leur coût, de leur disponibilité, de leur qualité et de la ressource humaine. Or, les récentes évolutions technologiques ont montré que...

Despite evidence that cocoa agroforests are composed of different types of associated plants leading to varieties of structures, few studies have been done to assess the implications of these variations on carbon stocks. The current studies profile the carbon storage of cocoa agroforests in Southern Cameroon by: (1) evaluating the carbon stocks of...

Global Journal of Medical Research: B Pharma, Drug Discovery, Toxicology and Medicine Volume 15 Issue 5 Version 1.0 Year 2015 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA) Online ISSN: 2249-4618 & Print ISSN: 0975-5888 Ethnopharmacological Surveys’ Methodologies for Medicinal Plants uses...

The forests of the Congo Basin are subject to deforestation and land use change, which may severely influence the soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG). However, due to absence of analytical capacities in Central Africa, there is a lack of knowledge on fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O at the soil-atmosphere interface for natural and managed...

This study base on existing scientific literature makes an economic evaluation of carbon stocks gained under different deforestation and forest degradation scenarios (100, 50 and 25% avoided deforestation) during a 20 years period (2010-2030). It analyzes the associated financial commitments to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction, and further...

The vulnerability of rural communities to climate variability and change in developing countries is widely recognized. However, the question of what factors drive their vulnerability remains subject to different interpretations. This study explored the perceptions of local key informants on the factors influencing the vulnerability of forest commun...

Forest logging in the Congo Basin has led to forest fragmentation due to logging infrastructures and felling gaps. In the same vein, forest concessions in the Congo Basin have increasing interest in the REDD+ mechanism. However, there is little information or field data on carbon emissions from forest degradation caused by logging. To help fill thi...

Logging operations in Cameroon are based on the extraction of wood from natural forest. In this paper, we assessed the carbon stock (in a Forest Management Unit -FMU located in East Cameroon) from field inventory to post-felling operations up to sawmill and export terminals. Tree basal area and aboveground biomass were calculated based on trees inv...

Climate-related risks to African agriculture are highly contextual. Climatic conditions are changing in diverse agro-ecological environments throughout Africa, and populations are being affected by, and responding to, these changes. The paper describes how climate change risks in African agriculture are mediated by multiple factors, ranging from th...

In the forest sector of Cameroon, policy strategies such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) have the potential to contribute to global climate mitigation efforts. Similarly, forests support the adaptation of populations and economies dependent on climate-sensitive sectors including agriculture, fisheries, and en...

This paper seeks to determine and characterize social and cultural preferences for the conservation of endangered forest elephants (EFEs) in the Congo Basins Tridom Landscape. Using unique data from a stratified, random, face-to-face survey with 1,035 households in 108 villages in 2014, we combine double-bounded dichotomous choice with open-ended e...

The traditional medicine in Africa in general and specifically in Cameroon does not manage diabetes and arterial hypertension very well. Yet, these pathologies are becoming more prevalent among the populations that need adequate knowledge to fight against them. Therefore the present study was designed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and pract...

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the contribution of forests resource systems to the different aspects of community well-being, the implications of climate variability on the different sources of well-being and further identifies direct and indirect social and policy opportunities relevant for communities to enhance their capabilities in the fa...