Catchment measures; Global South; Gully expansion rate; Head and channel measures; Urban hazard; Water Science and Technology; Agronomy and Crop Science; Soil Science; Nature and Landscape Conservation
Abstract :
[en] Urban gullies are a rapidly growing concern in many tropical cities of the Global South. Various measures are already implemented for their stabilization. However, an overview of these measures and their overall effectiveness is currently lacking. We aim at addressing this gap by documenting existing initiatives to stabilize urban gullies in D.R. Congo and assessing their overall effectiveness. To this end we conducted extensive field campaigns in Kinshasa, Kikwit and Bukavu and combined our terrain observations with data on gully expansion rates (derived from series of satellite imagery). In total, we characterized present and past stabilization initiatives for 398 urban gullies. For 69 of these gullies, the effect of a specific measure on gully expansion rates could be estimated. Results show that for the large majority of gullies, various measures have been implemented. Yet, these are mainly ad-hoc measures installed by the affected population. More structural measures based on larger engineering works were observed for only 20–30% of gullies. The huge efforts invested in the installation of measures strongly contrast with their overall low impact. Among all strategies, only the deviation of runoff resulted in significantly lower expansion rates after installation. The numerous initiatives that rely on the sparse means available seem to have limited effects. This does not imply, however, that they are completely ineffective and should be abandoned. Based on our findings, we formulate recommendations for further research on how to effectively prevent and stabilize urban gullies, taking into account the difficult environmental and socio-economic context.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Lutete Landu, Eric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Sphères ; Department of Geoscience, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa Mont-Amba, Congo ; Department of Natural resources management, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa Mont-Amba, Congo
Ilombe Mawe, Guy ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Sphères ; Department of Geoscience, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa Mont-Amba, Congo ; Department of Geology, Official University of de Bukavu, Congo
Makanzu Imwangana, Fils; Department of Geoscience, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa Mont-Amba, Congo ; Geomorphology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Center for Geological and Mining Research, Congo
Bielders, Charles; Earth and Life Institute – Environmental Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Dewitte, Olivier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de mathématique > Didactique des sciences mathématiques ; Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Poesen, Jean ; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium ; Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Maria-Curie Sklodowska University (UMCS), Lublin, Poland
Hubert, Aurelia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Géomorphologie et Géologie du Quaternaire
Vanmaercke, Matthias ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Géomorphologie et Géologie du Quaternaire ; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
Effectiveness of measures aiming to stabilize urban gullies in tropical cities: Results from field surveys across D.R. Congo
Publication date :
14 October 2022
Journal title :
International Soil and Water Conservation Research
ARES - Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur
Funding text :
This research was funded by the Belgian ARES-PRD project PREMITURG (PREvention and MITigation of Urban Gullies). Special thanks to all students and colleagues who helped us during the field data collection, including Diego Dingadi, Alain Ndona, Patrick Nlandu, Linard Luzolo, Rosette Luemba, Samuel Ndiyo, Lise Olga Makonga as well as the numerous local stakeholders who provided information on the history of gullies and implemented measures as well as to the Civil protection of South Kivu.
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