Plant Genetic Resources Used as Packaging on the Mongata-Kinshasa-Kisantu Axis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

The current relevance of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) as well as plant genetic resources (PGRs) for foresters and indigenous populations has prompted numerous initiatives in the last decade. In order to assess the environmental impact of the Plant Genetic Resources (PGRs) used as packaging, a survey was carried out on 64 respondents between April 2017 and March 2018 along the axes of Mongata-Kinshasa-Kisantu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The findings showed that 16 PGRs were identified, namely: (Lasimorpha senegalensis, Elaeis guineensis, Eremospatha haullevilleana, Eremospatha cabrae, Ectadiopsis oblongifolia, Cyperus papyrus, Hymenocardia acida, Musa spp., Saccharum officinarum, Triumfetta cordifolia, Urena lobata, Marantochloa congensis, Megaphrynium macrostachyum, Haumania liebrechtsiana, Sarcophrynium schweinfurthianum var . puberififolium, Thalia geniculata). They belong to 9 families, of which (Araceae, Arecaceae; Apocynaceae; Cyperaceae; Phyllanthaceae; Musaceae; Poaceae; Malvaceae/Tiliodeae; Marantaceae). Moreover, these resources constitute an additional source of income for households for their primary needs. While these resources are relatively threatened at their natural area if any sustainable management is not envisaged. These PGRs, after use, become organics wastes, which contribute both to insalubrity and to the visual as well as the olfactive pollution of public sites. At this rate of extraction for marketing and without a policy of supervision or support for predatory organizations, these plant resources are in danger of disappearing in the short term. The urgent need is to identify all these PGRs and to study their technical cultivation routes with a view to their domestication.