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16 Oct 2024

DRC's Haut-Lomami Region Registers New Fire Incident Amidst Ongoing Tree Cover Challenges
DRC's Haut-Lomami Region Registers New Fire Incident Amidst Ongoing Tree Cover Challenges

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recently experienced a new fire incident in the Haut-Lomami region, adding to the country's environmental challenges. Over the past two decades, the DRC has seen a substantial decline in its tree cover due to various factors, with shifting agriculture being the predominant cause.

Analysis of historical data reveals that the DRC has lost approximately 3.26% of its tree cover since 2001. Shifting agriculture alone accounts for a staggering 98% of this loss, highlighting the critical impact of agricultural practices on forest health. Other contributing factors include urbanization, forestry activities, and wildfires, although their combined effect is significantly less than that of agriculture.

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The recent fire incident, while seemingly minor with a single alert reported, is a reminder of the persistent threat wildfires pose to the DRC's forests. The country's tree cover extent, which once stood at over 199 million hectares, has been consistently declining, resulting in a net loss of around 6 million hectares when accounting for gains from reforestation efforts.

The DRC's vast forested area plays a crucial role in global climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. The ongoing loss of tree cover not only undermines these vital ecological functions but also poses risks to the livelihoods of local communities dependent on forest resources.

As the DRC continues to face these environmental challenges, the latest fire incident in Haut-Lomami serves as a call to action for sustainable management and conservation efforts to protect one of the world's most important forested regions.

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