Conflicts decimate African Forests, FAO Says
Regional, Agriculture, 2/24/2000

Civil unrest and the rapid conversion of land for agriculture have been identified as the major factors behind the disappearance of Africa's forests.

A report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Wednesday also attributed the losses to overgrazing, wildfire, over-logging and the cutting of trees for fuel wood and charcoal production.

The study is one of the documents being discussed by the 21st FAO regional conference for Africa taking place in Yaounde, Cameroon from 21-25 February.

It said that deforestation is a serious threat for most African countries.

Between 1990 and 1995, Africa lost 3.7 million hectares of forests every year, a deforestation rate of 0.7 percent, more than twice the world average of 0.3 percent, the study said.

"It is estimated that Africa lost 10.5 percent (approximately 60 million ha) of its forests between 1980 and 1995," the report adds.

Africa's forest cover is currently estimated at 520 million hectares, making the continent the world's second largest reservoir of tropical forests, after Latin America.

One of the factors contributing to the disappearance of forests is the fact that Africans who live south of the Sahara increasingly rely on fuel wood to meet their domestic energy needs, particularly for cooking and preservation of food items.

"It is estimated that 70-90 percent of total energy consumption is coming from wood, and this dependence on the forests is likely to increase because of low incomes and poverty," the study says.

Of the almost 570 million cubic meters of round wood produced in 1994, 84 percent was used for fuel wood. With a growing population, this trend will continue, the report says.

Currently, several countries on the continent are involved in military conflicts. "The forests of these countries remain unsafe to manage. The growing number of displaced persons ravage forest resources beyond national boundaries," the document said.

In addition, land mines have been planted in many of the of the forests, making it almost impossible to manage them on a sustainable basis.

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