How Rural Communities Relate to Nature in Sub-Saharan Regions: Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Wetlands in South-Kivu

Chuma B. Géant, Joost Wellens, Mushagalusa N. Gustave and Serge Schmitz ()
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Chuma B. Géant: UR-Spheres, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Joost Wellens: UR-Spheres, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Mushagalusa N. Gustave: Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Université Evangélique en Afrique, Bukavu 3323, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Serge Schmitz: UR-Spheres, Faculty of Sciences, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-31

Abstract: Research on ecosystem services (ES) has become central to landscape planning, framing the relationship between people and nature. In Sub-Saharan regions, local communities rely heavily on wetlands for various ES. For the first time, we assessed perceptions of ES provided by these wetlands, focusing on marshes, peatlands, swamps, and inland valleys/floodplains in eastern DR Congo. Fieldwork combined with a survey of 510 households, using both open-ended and 35 direct questions, evaluated perceptions of wetland ecosystem services (WESs). The most frequently reported WES were provisioning (38%) and regulating (24%), while supporting (22%) and cultural (16%) were less mentioned. These perceptions varied across wetland types and among communities based on gender, religion, seniority in wetland use, land tenure, and educational level. Rural communities had a deep relationship with nature, shaped by cultural, economic, and geographical factors. Wetlands are viewed positively as sources of goods but also negatively as sources of diseases. A structural equation model (SEM) helped in identifying four latent variables—livelihood, knowledge, personal, and geographical factors—driving WES perceptions. These findings are relevant for developing wetland management policies and suggest including community engagement and collaboration in wetland restoration and regulatory frameworks.

Keywords: wetland ecosystem services (WES); community perception; wetland types; household survey; structural equation model (SEM); sustainable development; D.R. Congo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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