Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion

Aline Umutoni; Wukui Wang

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion

Aline Umutoni, Wukui Wang

Published in American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics (Volume 3, Issue 3)

Received: 14 November 2018 Accepted: 18 December 2018 Published: 18 January 2019

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Abstract

In 2015 forest area of Rwanda was only limited to 19.5%. Rwanda’s goal is to extend its forests area 30% of its total land area by 2035 in order to meet the requirements of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature; ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests published in 2009. Despite reforestation efforts, there has been a drastic reduction in total forest cover in Rwanda during the recent decades. Indeed, forest resources have been under increasingly severe stress, due to high population growth, resettlement of displaced persons, related demands for agricultural land, firewood and other forest related products. Due to a high population density and high population growth, it is becoming harder and harder to meet the needs for settlement, agricultural and other economic activities hence even more difficult for afforestation land availability. In this paper we propose some areas that could be afforested or reforested in order to increase area of conservation of biodiversity in Rwanda and to comply with ITTO/IUCN guidelines of conservation areas protection and degraded area rehabilitation. We used high definition aerial images and applied Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the availability of potential land area that are likely suitable for new forest plantations. The criteria of area selection were most inconvenient land for human settlement and most inconvenient agricultural land. The results have shown that 15.14% of total country area has a slope over 30%. Among the land areas with a slope over 30%, forested land areas occupy 5.25%. According to the results a total land area equivalent to 9.89% is available for forest plantations. This research will help to identify new and suitable land area for forest plantation and it will be useful for policy-makers in Rwanda. The government should encourage the plantation of forests in new identified areas by facilitating farmers to change their land use and discouraging other activities carried out in the identified available land areas.

Published in	American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
Page(s)	31-39
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Land Use, Afforestation, Forest Restoration, Forest Site Selection

References

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[9]	R. Sidle, "The Role of Environmental Management and Eco-Engineering in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation," ProAct Network, Gokasho, 2008.
[10]	FAO, "Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010: Socio-economic functions of forest resources," 2010.
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[13]	L. L. Bremer and K. A. Farley, "Does plantation forestry restore biodiversity or create green deserts? A synthesis of the effects of land-use transitions on plant species richness," Biodivers Conserv, p. 3893–3915, 2010.
[14]	A. M. Kandari, S. Kasim, M. A. Limi and J. Karim, "Land Suitability Evaluation for Plantation Forest Development Based on Multi-criteria Approach," Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 228-238, 2015.
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[19]	H. O. Ørka, O. M. Bollandsås, E. H. Hansen, E. Næsset and T. Gobakken, "Effects of terrain slope and aspect on the error of ALS-based predictions of forest attributes," Forestry, pp. 1-13, 2017.
[20]	I. Albaba, "The effects of slope orientations on vegetation characteristics of Wadi Alquf forest reserve (WAFR) West Bank-Palestine," International Journal of Agricultural and Soil Science, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 118-125, 2014.
[21]	S. Hu, i. Ma, H. H. Shugart and X. Yan, "Evaluating the impacts of slope aspect on forest dynamic succession in Northwest China based on FAREAST model," Environmental Research Letters, 2018.
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APA Style

Aline Umutoni, Wukui Wang. (2019). Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 3(3), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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ACS Style

Aline Umutoni; Wukui Wang. Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. Am. J. Environ. Resour. Econ. 2019, 3(3), 31-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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AMA Style

Aline Umutoni, Wukui Wang. Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. Am J Environ Resour Econ. 2019;3(3):31-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11,
  author = {Aline Umutoni and Wukui Wang},
  title = {Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {31-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajere.20180303.11},
  abstract = {In 2015 forest area of Rwanda was only limited to 19.5%. Rwanda’s goal is to extend its forests area 30% of its total land area by 2035 in order to meet the requirements of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature; ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests published in 2009. Despite reforestation efforts, there has been a drastic reduction in total forest cover in Rwanda during the recent decades. Indeed, forest resources have been under increasingly severe stress, due to high population growth, resettlement of displaced persons, related demands for agricultural land, firewood and other forest related products. Due to a high population density and high population growth, it is becoming harder and harder to meet the needs for settlement, agricultural and other economic activities hence even more difficult for afforestation land availability. In this paper we propose some areas that could be afforested or reforested in order to increase area of conservation of biodiversity in Rwanda and to comply with ITTO/IUCN guidelines of conservation areas protection and degraded area rehabilitation. We used high definition aerial images and applied Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the availability of potential land area that are likely suitable for new forest plantations. The criteria of area selection were most inconvenient land for human settlement and most inconvenient agricultural land. The results have shown that 15.14% of total country area has a slope over 30%. Among the land areas with a slope over 30%, forested land areas occupy 5.25%. According to the results a total land area equivalent to 9.89% is available for forest plantations. This research will help to identify new and suitable land area for forest plantation and it will be useful for policy-makers in Rwanda. The government should encourage the plantation of forests in new identified areas by facilitating farmers to change their land use and discouraging other activities carried out in the identified available land areas.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion
AU  - Aline Umutoni
AU  - Wukui Wang
Y1  - 2019/01/18
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
T2  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
JF  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
JO  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
SP  - 31
EP  - 39
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-787X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
AB  - In 2015 forest area of Rwanda was only limited to 19.5%. Rwanda’s goal is to extend its forests area 30% of its total land area by 2035 in order to meet the requirements of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature; ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests published in 2009. Despite reforestation efforts, there has been a drastic reduction in total forest cover in Rwanda during the recent decades. Indeed, forest resources have been under increasingly severe stress, due to high population growth, resettlement of displaced persons, related demands for agricultural land, firewood and other forest related products. Due to a high population density and high population growth, it is becoming harder and harder to meet the needs for settlement, agricultural and other economic activities hence even more difficult for afforestation land availability. In this paper we propose some areas that could be afforested or reforested in order to increase area of conservation of biodiversity in Rwanda and to comply with ITTO/IUCN guidelines of conservation areas protection and degraded area rehabilitation. We used high definition aerial images and applied Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the availability of potential land area that are likely suitable for new forest plantations. The criteria of area selection were most inconvenient land for human settlement and most inconvenient agricultural land. The results have shown that 15.14% of total country area has a slope over 30%. Among the land areas with a slope over 30%, forested land areas occupy 5.25%. According to the results a total land area equivalent to 9.89% is available for forest plantations. This research will help to identify new and suitable land area for forest plantation and it will be useful for policy-makers in Rwanda. The government should encourage the plantation of forests in new identified areas by facilitating farmers to change their land use and discouraging other activities carried out in the identified available land areas.
VL  - 3
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Aline Umutoni

Electronic-Commerce/Management Science and Engineering Department, School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
Wukui Wang

Electronic-Commerce/Management Science and Engineering Department, School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China

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APA Style

Aline Umutoni, Wukui Wang. (2019). Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics, 3(3), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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ACS Style

Aline Umutoni; Wukui Wang. Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. Am. J. Environ. Resour. Econ. 2019, 3(3), 31-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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AMA Style

Aline Umutoni, Wukui Wang. Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion. Am J Environ Resour Econ. 2019;3(3):31-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11,
  author = {Aline Umutoni and Wukui Wang},
  title = {Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion},
  journal = {American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {31-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajere.20180303.11},
  abstract = {In 2015 forest area of Rwanda was only limited to 19.5%. Rwanda’s goal is to extend its forests area 30% of its total land area by 2035 in order to meet the requirements of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature; ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests published in 2009. Despite reforestation efforts, there has been a drastic reduction in total forest cover in Rwanda during the recent decades. Indeed, forest resources have been under increasingly severe stress, due to high population growth, resettlement of displaced persons, related demands for agricultural land, firewood and other forest related products. Due to a high population density and high population growth, it is becoming harder and harder to meet the needs for settlement, agricultural and other economic activities hence even more difficult for afforestation land availability. In this paper we propose some areas that could be afforested or reforested in order to increase area of conservation of biodiversity in Rwanda and to comply with ITTO/IUCN guidelines of conservation areas protection and degraded area rehabilitation. We used high definition aerial images and applied Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the availability of potential land area that are likely suitable for new forest plantations. The criteria of area selection were most inconvenient land for human settlement and most inconvenient agricultural land. The results have shown that 15.14% of total country area has a slope over 30%. Among the land areas with a slope over 30%, forested land areas occupy 5.25%. According to the results a total land area equivalent to 9.89% is available for forest plantations. This research will help to identify new and suitable land area for forest plantation and it will be useful for policy-makers in Rwanda. The government should encourage the plantation of forests in new identified areas by facilitating farmers to change their land use and discouraging other activities carried out in the identified available land areas.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Using ArcGIS to Analyze Land Availability for Rwanda’s Forest Area Expansion
AU  - Aline Umutoni
AU  - Wukui Wang
Y1  - 2019/01/18
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
T2  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
JF  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
JO  - American Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics
SP  - 31
EP  - 39
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-787X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajere.20180303.11
AB  - In 2015 forest area of Rwanda was only limited to 19.5%. Rwanda’s goal is to extend its forests area 30% of its total land area by 2035 in order to meet the requirements of International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature; ITTO/IUCN guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests published in 2009. Despite reforestation efforts, there has been a drastic reduction in total forest cover in Rwanda during the recent decades. Indeed, forest resources have been under increasingly severe stress, due to high population growth, resettlement of displaced persons, related demands for agricultural land, firewood and other forest related products. Due to a high population density and high population growth, it is becoming harder and harder to meet the needs for settlement, agricultural and other economic activities hence even more difficult for afforestation land availability. In this paper we propose some areas that could be afforested or reforested in order to increase area of conservation of biodiversity in Rwanda and to comply with ITTO/IUCN guidelines of conservation areas protection and degraded area rehabilitation. We used high definition aerial images and applied Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the availability of potential land area that are likely suitable for new forest plantations. The criteria of area selection were most inconvenient land for human settlement and most inconvenient agricultural land. The results have shown that 15.14% of total country area has a slope over 30%. Among the land areas with a slope over 30%, forested land areas occupy 5.25%. According to the results a total land area equivalent to 9.89% is available for forest plantations. This research will help to identify new and suitable land area for forest plantation and it will be useful for policy-makers in Rwanda. The government should encourage the plantation of forests in new identified areas by facilitating farmers to change their land use and discouraging other activities carried out in the identified available land areas.
VL  - 3
IS  - 3
ER  -

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