African forests need urgent help

A press release in AllAfrica.com from the African Development Bank: Forests take up a huge amount of the continent, but are one of Africa's most misunderstood and undervalued natural resources. At a discussion on deforestation at the climate change conference, or COP 17, in Durban, delegates learned that forests account for 23 percent of Africa's land area. The largest are the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin and Upper Guinea.

However, their latent power to aid development is largely ignored, said Abdoulaye Dagamaissa, from the African Development Bank (AfDB). "The range of ecological, economic and social services African forests provide, as well as their immense potential to contribute to socio-economic development, is largely unrecognised," said Dagamaissa. manager of the AfDB's agriculture and agro-industry department.

This neglect has contributed to a loss of 3.4 million hectares of forestland each year between 2001 and 2010. Between 1990 and 2000, more than four million hectares a year were lost. "The reduction reflects a slight improvement in an otherwise dire situation," commented Dagamaissa.

The figures highlight the critical nature of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) programmes. Dagamaissa questioned whether Africa was doing enough to ensure SFM. Historically, Africa has put a low priority on forestry management compared to food security, health and education. Weak forestry institutions, policies and regulatory frameworks, coupled with inadequate human resources, made it difficult to lobby for the kind of long-term planning that SFM needs....

A village near a forest in Ghana, shot by Plasmodium, public domain