Impacts of Road Expansion on Deforestation and Biological Carbon Loss in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This paper develops a nested land use model for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The model is capable of systematically representing broad land covers and allocating agricultural area to the country relevant crops. We apply the model to assess the potential environmental impacts of road development in the country. Results indicate that an ongoing plan for road network expansion in the country would cause a reduction of more than 2 % in the existing forest resources, an increase of about 16 % in the current agricultural land, and a total loss of carbon stock estimated to be 316 TgC. The DRC government should consider forest protection a priority as road development is promoted. A plan for agricultural intensification could be safely pursued if coupled with necessary resources to prevent deforestation.