Landslides, land use and the anthropization of a rural environment: focus on the Rift flanks west of Lake Kivu (DR Congo)

Maki Mateso, Jean-Claude [UCL] Monsieurs, Elise [Department of Geography, University of Liège, Belgium] Bielders, Charles [UCL] Dewitte, Olivier [Royal Museum for Central africa, Depart. of Earth Sciences, Tervuren, Belgium]

The Rift flanks west of Lake Kivu are one of the regions in DR Congo naturally most affected by landslides. This mountain region, located between the sprawling cities of Goma and Bukavu, is also one of the most densely populated areas of DR Congo, with a density of up to 200 inhabitants per km2, and its population is expected to continue to grow in the future. Besides population growth, the region has been facing important land use/land cover changes. Despite the large impact landslides have in this area, little is known regarding the interactions between this land degradation process and land use/land cover changes. Here we present the research strategy and the methodology that was specifically designed for this data-scarce region which will allow us to investigate these intertwined issues so that better land management strategies can be proposed. First results at regional scale showing the distribution of more than 1,500 landslides with regard to land cover and anthropic activities (such as mining and quarrying) will also be shown.