The study of political ecology comes down to truly understanding trends and how they will affect a given nation's domestic and international relationships with regard to environmental sustainability. In the spectrum of global environmental change, far too often discussions surrounding ecological procurement tend to include only the well-being of industrialized powers that seem to run the world, rather than recognizing the significant role third-world nations play in the scheme of the debate. As a result, when collaborative talks are warranted to delve into the future potential and risks of a given country's sensitive ecosystems, more often than not the implemented plans are intermittent failures for the developed countries that may not be facing the same imminent ecological peril. The key word here is intermittent, as it has been shown that this process of negating third-world nations' individual needs has both helped and hurt those country's long-term environmental processes. For the purpose of this paper, a brief look at population growth and how it affects the political ecology of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be used, since this region is facing immediate human expansion, civil unrest, political disparities, and the severe threat to the welfare of its native non-human primate populations. I will be focusing solely on the gorilla and chimpanzee groups because they have been brought to the forefront recently, not only with regard to environmental degradation, but also as it relates to cultural adaptation of the Congolese populations living within the region.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is located in the central part of the African continent, roughly encompassing 2.3 million square kilometers, with a current population estimate of nearly 68 million people (Pavlov, 2012). Ranking 6th in the world for annual population growth (behind only industrialized nations such as China, the United States, and Brazil), it's projected that by the year 2030, there will be more than double the number of people residing within this relatively small land mass (Pavlov, 2012). With such a rapid expansion in human settlement and resulting resource exploitation, it should come as no surprise that this region has been thwarted into the spotlight of many international environmental and political conversations. It should also come as no shock that the sheer number of people currently inhabiting the area has inadvertently added undue stress on the country's already unstable political system, inviting rebel groups that create civil unrest and restrictions on the access the Congolese government has to the endangered gorilla and chimpanzee populations living within the Virunga and Gombe National Forest systems. In order to properly address how the rapid increase in human population directly correlates with the political ecology of the region, it's best to examine the three tiers of evolution of the environmental longevity of the DRC in the projected future (specifically in the year 2030), in order to better determine whether or not the currently-instituted plans will be successful in protecting the Congo's natural landscape and thus, its dwindling non-human primate populations.
The Good Undoubtedly, the best attribute to a primate's longevity has been its ability to adapt to situational changes in not only its local habitat, but along the evolution of the landscape as well. Gorillas and chimpanzees, much like human populations themselves, have an innate ability to mold to the changing tides in order to continue to survive in a manner that most closely relates to their natural inclinations. In the year 2030, the political system of DRC may find comfort in knowing that it's previous decades worth of land clearing and human development projects, which displaced hundreds of chimpanzee and gorilla family groups from their native homes, actually created a interloping of the species that is biologically stronger and more capable of molding to this anthropomorphic change. A 2004 article presented by BBC News talked of such an occurrence, and how a new species of “giant ape” was discovered in the Congo. It appeared as though lowland mountain gorillas and chimpanzee populations, which were once hundreds of miles apart from one another, had started to mate and created an apparent super-species. Physically similar in stature to a gorilla, but behaviorally similar to a chimpanzee, they are stronger, more agile, and more successful at long-term migration in the event of habitat encroachment by outside forces ("'New' giant ape," 2004) .
The Bad Though chimpanzees and gorillas have apparently developed a natural answer to the imposing human population groups invading the vast region of the Congo, with the interaction these primates face with outsiders, the heightened risk of deadly viruses also starts to rise. The Congo's human population is mostly comprised of rural tribal groups and native foragers, yet outside aid from developed nations to combat the spread of disease and assist in community development has introduced a wave of the ebola virus to the region, with no clear usable vaccine in the foreseen future. A 2006 research expedition headed by the Lossi Sanctuary, which is based on the DRC, found that 130 of the previously monitored 143 apes had disappeared, and there was an apparent rise in infected carcasses being found on a monthly basis (Shogren, 2006). The investment of outside interests in bettering the communities that inhabit the Congo has also paved the way for the native chimp and gorilla populations to face a new battle in the struggle to survive. In just a few short years many of the once native ape populations have either died off or have been forced to relocate, further threatening their likelihood of falling victim to the bushmeat industry or human endangerment. By 2030, it's expected that the only likely living great apes in the world will only be found in captivity, completely altering their biology and ability to live in the wild.
The Worst What many people outside of the environmental and political fields fail to realize is the naturally-rich deposits of usable crude oil that are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. China, which is one the fastest growing nations in the world, reportedly imports roughly one-third of its annual oil use from this region of the world alone, making it one of the most heavily depended upon geographic land masses on Earth (Alessi, 2012). What this means is that in order to maintain its economic independence, as well as bring much-needed financial means to a developing nation, China will continue to play a significant role in the posterity and future of the African ape populations that are threatened daily by the impeding oil drilling operations. As of 2009, China was Africa's largest trade partner, with the Sino-African trade agreement bringing in approximately $126.9 billion dollars in revenue between the two nations (Alessi, 2012). The sheer economic possibilities presented by China's involvement with the DRC means that the threat to the chimpanzee and gorilla groups will only be addressed following the political and financial evaluations of just how important the oil export business is to Africa as a whole. By the year 2030, it's expected that Africa could potentially provide crude oil deposits to the predominant industrial powers, far surpassing the once heavily-depended on Middle East, leading to a likely scenario whereby the delicate ecosystems that existed once undisturbed will be abolished or permanently changed.
So what does all of this mean in the realm of political ecology? Simple---the financial and political stability of the DRC makes it increasingly difficult to protect the dwindling wild primate populations that have been forced to evolve in seemingly unnatural ways. The demand for domestic independence, as well as outside assistance in order to protect these endangered species leads to a dangerous bias toward securing international attention in lieu of ecological peril. The political system in Africa is still far less developed than most other nations in the world, which makes the next 20 years of development one of the most unknown and highly sensitive in the world.
Works Cited:
Alessi, C. (2012, February 8). Expanding China-Africa oil ties. Council on Foreign Relations.
'New' giant ape found in DR Congo. (2004, October 10). BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/3730574.stm
Shogren, E. (2006, December 9). Ebola virus killing gorillas, chimps in Congo. National Public Radio (NPR), Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6603661
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