Racing through the tropical rainforest
While forestry is the main reason for road building in the Congo Basin, not all roads result in deforestation. The decisive factor is how they’re used, writes Fritz Kleinschroth in an ETH Zurich Sustainability blog.
In their Nature Sustainability publication the authors propose that logging-concession holders together with governments, local communities and international funders engage in proactive environmental planning. Effective road planning notably influences the fate of forested ecosystems for the benefit of people, biodiversity and carbon storage.
This research was carried out by SPSW member professor Jaboury Ghazoul and his team at the ETH Zurich Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Reference publication
Fritz Kleinschroth, Nadine Laporte, William F. Laurance, Scott J. Goetz, Jaboury Ghazoul
Road expansion and persistence in forests of the Congo Basin
Nature Sustainability (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0310-6
Source
ETH Zurich Zukunftsblog | Sustainability, 25 June 2019