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 [BE]
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.
Adediji, A., Jeje, L.K., Ibitoye, M.O., Urban development and informal drainage patterns: Gully dynamics in Southwestern Nigeria. Applied Geography 40 (2013), 90–102.
Balzerek, H., Fricke, W., Heinrich, J., Moldenhauer, K.M., Rosenberger, M., Man-made flood disaster in the savanna town of Gombe/Ne Nigeria the natural hazard of gully erosion caused by urbanization dynamics and their peri-urban footprints. 2003, Erdkunde.
Bartley, R., Poesen, J., Wilkinson, S., Vanmaercke, M., A review of the magnitude and response times for sediment yield reductions following the rehabilitation of gullied landscapes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 24 (2020), 3250–3279, 10.1002/esp.4963.
Beck, H.E., Zimmermann, N.E., McVicar, T.R., Vergopolan, N., Berg, A., Wood, E.F., Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Scientific Data 5:1 (2018), 1–12.
Bédécarrats, F., Lafuente-Sampietro, O., Leménager, M., Sowa, D.L., Building commons to cope with chaotic urbanization? Performance and sustainability of decentralized water services in the outskirts of Kinshasa. Journal of Hydrology 573 (2016), 1096–1108.
Boix-Fayos, C., de Vente, J., Martínez Mena, M., Barberá, G.G., Castillo, V., The impact of land use change and check-dams on catchmentsediment yield. Hydrological Processes 22:25 (2008), 4922–4935, 10.1002/hyp.7115.
Boke-Olén, N., Abdi, A.M., Hall, O., Lehsten, V., High-resolution African population projections from radiative forcing and socio-economic models, 2000 to 2100. Scientific Data 4:1 (2017), 1–9.
BTC-CTB. Rapport sur les activités de lutte anti-érosive dans la ville de Kikwit exécuté par l'OVD sous le contrat de prestation de service N°BBK/KKT 027/07 du 01/03/2007. Coopération Technique Belge (CTB). 2007.
Castillo, C., Gómez, J.A., A century of gully erosion research: Urgency, complexity and study approaches. Earth-Science Reviews 160 (2016), 300–319.
Chen, H., Cai, Q.G., Impact of hillslope vegetation restoration on gully erosion induced sediment yield. Science in China - Series D: Earth Sciences 49:2 (2006), 176–192, 10.1007/s11430-005-0177-4.
De Albuquerque, A.O., De Carvalho Júnior, O.A., Guimarães, R.F., Gomes, R.A.T., Hermuche, P.M., Assessment of gully development using geomorphic change detection between pre-and post-urbanization scenarios. Environmental Earth Sciences 79 (2020), 1–14.
De Baets, S., Poesen, J., Knapen, A., Barberá, G.G., Navarro, J.A., Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff. Plant and Soil 294:1–2 (2007), 169–183 https://doi.org/10.1007.
Dewitte, O., Dille, A., Depicker, A., Kubwimana, D., Maki Mateso, J.C., Mugaruka Bibentyo, T., Uwihirwe, J., Monsieurs, E., Constraining landslide timing in a data-scarce context: From recent to very old processes in the tropical environment of the North Tanganyika-Kivu Rift region. Landslides 18 (2021), 161–177, 10.1007/s10346-020-01452-0.
Dille, A., Mugaruka, T., Delvaux, D., Ganza, G.B., Ilombe, G., Kalikone, C., Safari, E., Moeyersons, J., Monsieurs, E., Nzolang, C., Smets, B., Kervyn, M., Dewitte, O., Geomorphology Causes and triggers of deep-seated hillslope instability in the tropics – Insights from a 60-year record of Ikoma landslide (DR Congo). Geomorphology, 345, 2019, 106835, 10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106835.
Dos SantosRotta, C.M.D.S., Zuquette, L.V., Erosion feature reclamation in urban areas: Typical unsuccessful examples from Brazil. Environmental Earth Sciences 72:2 (2014), 535–555.
Ezeh, A., Kissling, F., Singer, P., Why sub-Saharan Africa might exceed its projected population size by 2100. The Lancet 396:10258 (2020), 1131–1133.
Fehr, S., Le climat d'une station des basses-latitudes: Kikwit (Bandundu Central-Zaïre). Travaux du Laboratoire de Geographie Physique Appliquee 12:1 (1993), 69–83.
Frankl, A., Nyssen, J., De Dapper, M., Haile, M., Billi, P., Munro, R.N., Deckers, J., Poesen, J., Linking long-term gully and river channel dynamics to environmental change using repeat photography (Northern Ethiopia). Geomorphology 129 (2011), 238–251, 10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.02.018.
Frankl, A., Nyssen, J., Vanmaercke, M., Poesen, J., Gully prevention and control: Techniques, failures and effectiveness. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 46:1 (2021), 220–238.
Gudino-Elizondo, N., Brand, M.W., Biggs, T.W., Hinojosa-Corona, A., Gómez-Gutiérrez, Á., Langendoen, E., Sanders, B.F., Rapid assessment of abrupt urban mega-gully and landslide events with structure-from-motion photogrammetric techniques validates link to water resources infrastructure failures in an urban periphery. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 22:2 (2022), 523–538.
Guerra, A.J., Sathler, R., Mendes, S.P., Silva, S.L.S., Guerra, T.T., Araujo, I.H.M., Ribeiro, F.V., Urban gully assessment in Sao Luis City (Maranhao State), Brazil, using penetrometer data and soil properties. 2006.
Haregeweyn, N., Tsunekawa, A., Nyssen, J., Poesen, J., Tsubo, M., Tsegaye Meshesha, D., Tegegne, F., Soil erosion and conservation in Ethiopia: A review. Progress in Physical Geography 39:6 (2015), 750–774.
Hayas, A., Peña, A., Vanwalleghem, T., Predicting gully width and widening rates from upstream contribution area and rainfall: A case study in SW Spain. Geomorphology 341 (2019), 130–139.
Hayas, A., Poesen, J., Vanwalleghem, T., Rainfall and vegetation effects on temporal variation of topographic thresholds for gully initiation in Mediterranean cropland and olive groves. Land Degradation & Development 28:8 (2017), 2540–2552.
Ilombe Mawe, G.I., Lutete Landu, E., Makanzu Imwangana, F., Nzolang, C., Nandefo, R.W., Poesen, J., Bielers, C., Dewitte, O., Vanmaercke, M., Quantifying the impacts of urban gullying at the scale of the Democratic Republic of Congo (No. EGU21-8831). Copernicus meetings, 2021.
Jones, A., Breuning-Madsen, H., Brossard, M., Dampha, A., Deckers, J., Dewitte, O., Zougmoré, R., Soil atlas of Africa. 2013.
Joseph, L.F., Der Westhuizen, V., Low-cost soil conservation technique for controlling gully erosion in the semi-arid area of the Free State province. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension 49:3 (2021), 136–142.
Junior, O.C., Guimaraes, R., Freittas, L., Gomes-Loebman, D., Gomes, R.A., Martins, E., Urbanization impacts upon catchment hydrology and gully development using multi-temporal digital elevation data analysis. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 35:5 (2010), 611–617, 10.1002/esp.1917.
Kayembe Wa Kayembe, M., Wolff, E., Contribution de l'approche géographique à l’étude des facteurs humains de l’érosion ravinante intra-urbaine à Kinshasa (R.D. Congo). Geo-Eco-Trop 39:1 (2015), 119–138.
Kayembe wa Kayembe, M., Ville et érosion ravinante intra-urbaine: Kinshasa: Facteurs, conséquences et interventions. 2020, Editions L'Harmattan.
KoBoToolbox. Official website. https://www.kobotoolbox.org/, 2022. (Accessed 24 March 2022)
Lakshminarasimhappa, M.C., Web-based and smart mobile app for data collection: Kobo Toolbox/Kobo collect. Journal of the Indian Library Association 57:2 (2021), 72–79.
Lasserre, G., L'Atlas de Kinshasa. Les Cahiers d'Outre-Mer 32:128 (1979), 413–417.
Lateef, A.S.A., Fernandez-Alonso, M., Tack, L., Delvaux, D., Geological constraints on urban sustainability, Kinshasa City, Democratic Republic of Congo. Environmental Geosciences 17:1 (2010), 17–35.
Linol, B., De Wit, M.J., Barton, E., Guillocheau, F., De Wit, M.C.J., Colin, J.P., Facies analyses, chronostratigraphy and paleo-environmental reconstructions of Jurassic to cretaceous sequences of the Congo Basin. de Wit, M.J., Guillocheau, F., de Wit, M.C.J., (eds.) Geology and resource potential of the Congo basin. Regional geology reviews, 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 135–161, 10.1007/978-3-642-29482-2_8.
Liu, X., Li, H., Zhang, S., Cruse, R.M., Zhang, X., Gully erosion control practices in Northeast China: A review. Sustainability, 11(18), 2019, 5065, 10.3390/su11185065.
Makanzu Imwangana, F., Etude de l’érosion ravinante à Kinshasa. 2014, Thèse de doctorat en Sciences, Faculté des Sciences, Université de. Kinshasa.
Makanzu Imwangana, F., Dewitte, O., Ntombi, M., Moeyersons, J., Topographic and road control of mega-gullies in Kinshasa (DR Congo). Geomorphology 217 (2014), 131–139, 10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.04.021.
Makanzu Imwangana, F., Vandecasteele, I., Trefois, P., Ozer, P., Moeyersons, J., The origin and control of mega-gullies in Kinshasa (D.R. Congo). Catena 125 (2015), 38–49, 10.1016/j.catena.2014.09.019.
Michellier, C., Contribuer à la Prévention des Risques D'origine Géologique: L'évaluation de la Vulnérabilité des Populations Dans un Contexte de Rareté de Données. Les cas de Goma et Bukavu (RD Congo), Ph.D. thesis, Université Libre de Bruxelles., 2017.
Miti, T.f., Aloni, K.J., Les incidences de l’érosion sur le développement socio- économique et l'urbanisation future de Kinshasa. Mouvements et enjeux sociaux 27 (2005), 15–28.
Moeyersons, J., The topographic thresholds of hillslope incisions in southwestern Rwanda. Catena 50:2–4 (2003), 381–400.
Moeyersons, J., Makanzu Imwangana, F., Dewitte, O., Site-and rainfall-specific runoff coefficients and critical rainfall for mega-gully development in Kinshasa (DR Congo). Natural Hazards 79:1 (2015), 203–233.
Moeyersons, J., Tréfois, P., Lavreau, J., Alimasi, D., Badriyo, I., Mitima, B., Mundala, M., Munganga, D.O., Nahimana, L., A geomorphological assessment of landslide origin at Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Engineering Geology 72 (2004), 73–87.
Ndona, A., Truong, P., Rachmeler, D., Community mobilization for the control of ravine erosion with vetiver technology in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (october). 2006, Rapport technique USAID, 1–13.
Nshokano Mweze, J.R., Origine des ravinements à Bukavu : inventaire, analyse morphometrique et compréhension de leur processus. Mémoire effectué dans le cadre de la formation en Géorisques donnée à l'UOB et à l'ISP, Bukavu, RDC (2014-2015), 2015.
Nyssen, J., Gebreselassie, S., Assefa, R., Deckers, J., Zenebe, A., Poesen, J., Frankl, A., Boulder-faced log dams as an alternative for gabion check dams in first-order ephemeral streams with coarse bed load in Ethiopia. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 143(1), 2017, 05016005, 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001217.
Nyssen, J., Poesen, J., Veyret-Picot, M., Moeyersons, J., Haile, M., Deckers, J., Dewit, J., Naudts, J., Teka, K., Govers, G., Assessment of gully erosion rates through interviews and measurements, a case study from Northern Ethiopia. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 31 (2006), 167–185.
Nyssen, J., Veyret-Picot, M., Poesen, J., Moeyersons, J., Haile, M., Deckers, J., Govers, G., The effectivenessof loose rock check dams forgully control in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Soil Use & Management 20:1 (2004), 55–64, 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2004.tb00337.x.
Pathak, P., Wani, S.P., Sudi, R., Gully control in SAT watersheds. Global theme on agroecosystems report no. 15. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh., 2005, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India.
Poesen, J., Conditions for gully formation in the Belgian loam belt and some ways to control them. Soil Technology Series 1 (1989), 39–52.
Poesen, J., Soil erosion in the anthropocene: Research needs. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 43:1 (2018), 64–84, 10.1002/esp.4250.
Poesen, J., Nachtergaele, J., Verstraeten, G., Valentin, C., Gully erosion and environmental change: Importance and research needs. Catena 50:2–4 (2003), 91–133.
Poesen, J., Vanwalleghem, T., De Vente, J., Knapen, A., Verstraeten, G., Martinez-Casasnovas, J., Gully erosion in Europe. Boardman, J., Poesen, J., (eds.) Soil erosion in Europe, 2006, Wiley, Chichester, 515–536.
Polade, S.D., Pierce, D.W., Cayan, D.R., Gershunov, A., Dettinger, M.D., The key role of dry days in changing regional climate and precipitation regimes. Scientific Reports 4:1 (2014), 1–8.
Pouclet, A., Bellon, H., Bram, K., The Cenozoic volcanism in the Kivu rift: Assessment of the tectonic setting, geochemistry, and geochronology of the volcanic activity in the South-Kivu and Virunga regions. Journal of African Earth Sciences 121 (2016), 219–246, 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2016.05.026.
Reubens, B., Poesen, J., Danjon, F., Geudens, G., Muys, B., The role of fine and coarse roots in shallow slope stability and soil erosion control with a focus on root system architecture: A review. Trees 21:4 (2007), 385–402.
Rey, F., Bifulco, C., Bischetti, G.B., Bourrier, F., De Cesare, G., Florineth, F., Stokes, A., Soil and water bioengineering: Practice and research needs for reconciling natural hazard control and ecological restoration. Science of the Total Environment 648 (2019), 1210–1218.
Salomon, J.N., Les phénomènes d’érosion accélérée du Plateau du Kwango (République Démocratique du Congo). Travaux du Laboratoire de Geographie Physique Appliquee 16:1 (1997), 45–63, 10.3406/tlgpa.1997.946.
Salvador Sanchis, M.P., Torri, D., Borselli, L., Bryan, R., Poesen, J., Yañez, M.S., Cremer, C., Estimating parameters of the channel width–flow discharge relation using rill and gully channel junction data. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 34 (2009), 2023–2030, 10.1002/esp.1887.
Sambiéni, K.R., Messina Ndzomo, J.P., Biloso Moyene, A., Halleux, J.-M., Occhiuto, R., Bogaert, J., Les statuts morphologiques d'urbanisation des communes de Kinshasa. Tropicultura 36:3 (2018), 520–530.
Stokes, A., Douglas, G.B., Fourcaud, T., Giadrossich, F., Gillies, C., Hubble, T., Kim, J.H., Loades, K.W., Mao, Z., McIvor, I.R., Mickovski, S.B., Mitchell, S., Osman, N., Phillips, C., Poesen, J., Polster, D., Preti, F., Raymond, P., Rey, F., Schwarz, M., Walker, L.R., Ecological mitigation of hillslope instability: Ten key issues facing researchers and practitioners. Plant and Soil 377:1 (2014), 1–23, 10.1007/s11104-014-2044-6.
Stumpf, A., Malet, J.P., Allemand, P., Ulrich, P., Surface reconstruction and landslide displacement measurements with Pléiades satellite images. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 95 (2014), 1–12.
Talema, A., Poesen, J., Muys, B., Padro, R., Dibaba, H., Diels, J., Survival and growth analysis of multipurpose trees, shrubs, and grasses used to rehabilitate badlands in the subhumid tropics. Land Degradation & Development 30:4 (2019), 470–480.
Tatem, A.J., WorldPop, open data for spatial demography. Scientific Data 4:1 (2017), 1–4.
Taye, G., Poesen, J., Vanmaercke, M., Van Wesemael, B., Martens, L., Teka, D., Nyssen, J., Deckers, J., Vanacker, V., Haregeweyn, N., Hallet, V., Evolution of the effectiveness of stone bunds and trenches in reducing runoff and soil loss in the semi-arid Ethiopian highlands. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 59:4 (2015), 477–493, 10.1127/zfg/2015/0166.
Torri, D., Poesen, J., A review of topographic threshold conditions for gully head development in different environments. Earth-Science Reviews 130 (2014), 73–85, 10.1016/j.earscirev.2013.12.006.
United Nations department of economic and social affairs population division. World urbanization prospects: The 2014 Revision, (ST/ESA/SER.A/366). https://population.un.org/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Report.pdf, 2015. (Accessed 4 June 2020)
Van Caillie, X., Hydrologie et érosion dans la région de Kinshasa. Analyse des interactions entre les conditions du milieu, les érosions et le bilan hydrologique. PhD. Thesis, 1983, Department of Geography and Geology, KU Leuven, Belgium.
Van Caillie, X., Erodabilité des terrains sableux du Zaïre et contrôle de l’érosion. Cahiers. ORSTOM, Sér. Pédol. 25:1–2 (1989), 197–208.
Van Engelen, V.W.P., Verdoodt, A., Dijkshoorn, J.A., Van Ranst, E., Soil and terrain database of Central Africa (DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda) Rwanda (SOTERCAF, version 1.0) (No. 2006/07). 2006, ISRIC-World Soil Information.
Vanmaercke, M., Panagos, P., Vanwalleghem, T., Hayas, A., Foerster, S., Borrelli, P., Rossi, M., Torri, D., Poesen, J., Measuring, modelling and managing gully erosion at large scales: A state of the art. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 103637.
Vanmaercke, M., Poesen, J., Maetens, W., de Vente, J., Verstraeten, G., Sediment yield as a desertification risk indicator. Science of the Total Environment 409:9 (2011), 1715–1725.
Vanmaercke, M., Poesen, J., Mele, B. Van, Demuzere, M., Bruynseels, A., Golosov, V., Yermolaev, O., Earth-Science Reviews How fast do gully headcuts retreat. Earth-Science Reviews 154 (2016), 336–355, 10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.01.009.
Vannoppen, W., Poesen, J., Peeters, P., De Baets, S., Vandevoorde, B., Root properties of vegetation communities and their impact on the erosion resistance of river dikes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 41:14 (2016), 2038–2046.
Vermeiren, K., Vanmaercke, M., Beckers, J., Van Rompaey, A., Assure: A model for the simulation of urban expansion and intra-urban social segregation. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 30:12 (2016), 2377–2400.
Wouters, T., Wolff, E., « Contribution à l'analyse de l’érosion intra-urbaine à Kinshasa (R.D.C.) », Belgeo [En ligne], 3 | 2010, mis en ligne le 15 décembre 2012, consulté le 30 septembre 2016. URL : http://belgeo.revues.org/6477, 2010.
Zegeye, A.D., Langendoen, E.J., Tilahun, S.A., Mekuria, W., Poesen, J., Steenhuis, T.S., Root reinforcement to soils provided by common Ethiopian highland plants for gully erosion control. Ecohydrology 11:6 (2018), 1–11, 10.1002/eco.1940.
Zolezzi, G., Bezzi, M., Spada, D., Bozzarelli, E., Urban gully erosion in sub-Saharan Africa: A case study from Uganda. Land Degradation & Development 29 (2018), 849–859, 10.1002/ldr.2865.
Zuquette, L.V., Pejon, O.J., Dantas-Ferreira, M., Rodrigues, V.G.S., A preliminary assessment of the distribution and consequences of natural and some anthropogenic hazard in Brazil. Soils Rocks 29 (2013), 1–29.
