FOREST RESILIENCE FOR LIVELIHOODS AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES by Ashley D. Milton A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Environmental Science and Policy Committee: Dr. Daniel Sklarew, Dissertation Director Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre, Committee Member Dr. Hazel McFerson, Committee Member Dr. Toni-Lyn Morelli, Committee Member Dr. Albert Torzilli, Graduate Program Director Dr. Robert Jonas, Department Chairperson Dr. Donna Fox, Associate Dean, Student Affairs & Special Programs, College of Science Dr. Peggy Agouris, Dean, College of Science Date: Summer Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Forest Resilience for Livelihoods and Ecosystem Services A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by Ashley D. Milton Bachelor of Science Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, 2009 Director: Daniel Sklarew, Professor Department of Environmental Science and Policy Summer Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noderivs 3.0 unported license. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Patrice Hémery Lumumba iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge that Black Lives Matter. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ xii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ xiv Chapter 1: Forest resilience for livelihoods and ecosystem services: An Introduction to the ecological and sociocultural causes and effects of forest loss ...................................... 1 The State of Forests ..................................................................................................... 1 The Drivers of Rainforest Loss ................................................................................... 2 The Pressures of Rainforest Loss ................................................................................ 5 The Impacts of Rainforest Loss ................................................................................. 10 The Response to Rainforest Loss .............................................................................. 16 The Sustainable Forest Management Challenge ........................................................... 22 Problem Statement ..................................................................................................... 23 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 27 Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 28 Results ........................................................................................................................... 29 Dissertation Outline....................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 2: deforestation among riparian lake communities in Northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo ............................................................................................................ 32 Background ................................................................................................................... 32 State of DRC Forests ..................................................................................................... 33 Study Area ..................................................................................................................... 34 Materials and Methods .................................................................................................. 35 Study Site ................................................................................................................... 36 Analysis of Forest Cover Change .............................................................................. 39 Surveys ...................................................................................................................... 44 v Results and Discussion .................................................................................................. 44 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 3: Anthropogenic causes of deforestation in the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape of the Democratic Republic of Congo ............................................................ 54 Background ................................................................................................................... 54 Proximate Causes of Deforestation ........................................................................... 58 Underlying Drivers of Deforestation ......................................................................... 59 Tandem of Factors Causing Deforestation ................................................................ 60 Predictions ................................................................................................................. 63 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 63 Study Area ................................................................................................................. 63 Surveys ...................................................................................................................... 67 Literature review ........................................................................................................ 69 Mixed Method Data Analysis .................................................................................... 70 Results ........................................................................................................................... 72 Literature Review Results: Drivers causing deforestation ........................................ 72 Survey Results: Pressures causing deforestation ....................................................... 91 Mixed Methods Results: Driver-pressure Tandems causing deforestation ............... 95 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 104 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 115 Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 116 Chapter 4: Impacts of deforestation on ecosystem services, wildlife, and human health in the Northwest Democratic Republic of Congo ............................................................... 117 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 117 Hypothesis ............................................................................................................... 120 Materials and Methods ................................................................................................ 120 Study Site ................................................................................................................. 120 Survey Collection .................................................................................................... 121 Weather Data Collection ......................................................................................... 122 Remotely Sensed Data Collection ........................................................................... 123 Survey Analysis ....................................................................................................... 123 Mixed Method Analysis .......................................................................................... 124 Remote Sensing and Weather Results ......................................................................... 125 vi Survey Results ............................................................................................................. 129 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 133 Climate findings ...................................................................................................... 133 Remote sensing findings .......................................................................................... 134 Community health findings ..................................................................................... 135 Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................ 138 Chapter 5: Evaluation of REDD+ Strategies for Conserving Forests: A case study using the Lake Télé-Lake Tumba Landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo .............. 141 Background ................................................................................................................. 141 Introduction ................................................................................................................