SUSTAINABLE
FOREST
MANAGEMENT
IN AFRICA:
Some Solutions to
Natural Forest
Management
Problems in Africa
Edited by:
C.J. Geldenhuys
C. Ham
H. Ham
Geldenhuys C.J, Ham C, & Ham H (eds.), 2011. Sustainable Forest Management in Africa:
Some Solutions to Natural Forest Management Problems in Africa. Proceedings of the
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa Symposium. Stellenbosch, 3 – 7 November 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-7972-1345-6
Published by:
Department of Forest and Wood Science
Stellenbosch University
Private Bag XI
7602 Matieland
South Africa
Editors:
C.J. Geldenhuys
C Ham
H Ham
Cover Design:
H Ham
Photographs:
C.J. Geldenhuys
Copyright – the Authors and Editors – All rights reserved, 2011.
Copyrights of contents in this publication are governed under international copyright
conventions and by South African legislation. Copyright of each individual article rests with
its author(s). Copyright of composition and compilation of this book belongs to the editors.
Contents
Contents
Foreword
Overview:
The dry forests of sub-Sahara Africa: Making their case
G. Kowero
2
Current status and trends of forest management in tropical Africa
F. Castañeda
22
Beyond timber: Making multiple use forest management a reality in Central
Africa forests
R. Nasi
33
African Forests and Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges
P. Minang
47
Forest disturbance and recovery processes:
Disturbance and recovery in natural forests and woodlands in Africa: Some
concepts for the design of sustainable forest management and rehabilitation
practices
C.J. Geldenhuys
61
Linking disturbances to sustainable management of the Copperbelt Miombo
woodland ecosystems of Zambia
S. Syampungani, C.J. Geldenhuys & P.W. Chirwa
71
Impacts of utilisation on the composition and diversity of Mopane woodlands
in northern Namibia
I. Mapaure & A Ndeinoma
88
Analysis of the degradation of the forest ecosystem of Mbiye Island (Kisangani,
D.R. Congo)
S-M. Nshimba, I. Bamba, W. Iyongo, M-B. Ndjele & J. Bogaert
100
iv
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Contents
Wild fauna and forest management in D.R. Congo: Bats, Birds and Elephant
Shrews in Yoko Forest Reserve
G-C. Gembu, A. Bapeamoni, K. Kaswera, A. Upoki & A. Dudu
111
Resilience of Sudanian Savanna-woodlands in Burkina Faso
P. Savadogo, D. Tiveau, L. Sawadogo, D. Zida & D. Dayamba
118
Historical changes in the extent, structure and composition of the forest patches
on the KwaNibela Peninsula, St Lucia in South Africa
B.M. Corrigan, B-E van Wyk & C.J. Geldenhuys
136
Litterfall and nutrient input in African tropical secondary forests, with special
reference to Okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) forests of Congo
J.J. Loumeto
145
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests:
Synthesis of growth at stand level in 16 South African evergreen forest plots
after 10 years
C.J. Geldenhuys
158
Putting the forestry into participatory forest management – Simple inventory
protocols for sustainable logging
S.M.J. Ball
175
Assessing the sustainable management of Entandrophragma cylindricum using
the stock recovery rate
N. Picard, S. Namkosserena, Y. Yalibanda, F. Baya, S. Gourlet-Fleury & R.
Nasi
186
The quest for sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products:
Development of harvest systems and management prescriptions
W.J. Vermeulen, K.J. Esler & C.J. Geldenhuys
198
Resource harvesting and use management practices:
Regeneration of selected trees in Dambwa forest reserve following introduction
of joint forest management
M. Phiri & P.W. Chirwa
209
v
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Contents
Preliminary data on trade and management of rattan in and around Kisangani
(D.R. Congo)
J-M. Kahindo, J. Lejoly, J-P. Mate & R. Nasi
218
Forest agriculture, sustainable livelihoods
conservation in southern Cameroon
W.A. Mala, C.J. Geldenhuys & R. Prabhu
227
strategies
and
biodiversity
How people, biodiversity and trees can get in each other’s way
M.W. Snoep & F. Kizza
241
Modelling woody-plant domestication and local knowledge within agricultural
landscape mosaics in southern Cameroon
A.W. Mala, C.J. Geldenhuys & R. Prabhu
251
Matching resource use needs with resource status and population dynamics of
target species in Transkei Coastal Forests to sustain resource use, Port St. Johns
Forest Estate, South Africa
C.J. Geldenhuys & S.G. Cawe
264
Multiple resource use for diverse needs:
The impact of policy on resource use in Mozambique:
Pidanganga
M.P. Falcão & C.J. Geldenhuys
A case study of
280
Towards the improvement of policy and strategy development for the sustainable
management on non-timber forest products: Swaziland – a case study
C.S. Dlamini & C.J. Geldenhuys
305
Natural resources from community forests:
sustainable for the communities?
P. Cuny
Are socio-economic benefits
326
Household vulnerability and the safety-net function of NTFPs in the Eastern
Cape and Limpopo provinces of South Africa
F. Paumgarten & C.M. Shackleton
337
Generating incomes from dry forest products: Case studies from Mwinilunga,
Kapiri and Chongwe districst, Zambia
M. Husselman
351
vi
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Contents
Forest Management through institutional arrangements
Trading legality with precaution: Preliminary impacts of management plans and
forest certification in the Cameroonian forests
P. Cerutti, L. Tacconi & R. Nasi
361
Benefits and shortcomings of decentralised forest management in Burkina Faso
Z.H-N. Bouda, D. Tiveau, P. Savadogo & B. Ouedraogo
375
Twenty years of experience of joint dry forest management in Burkina Faso
L. Sawadogo & D. Tiveau
392
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests:
Germination of Widdringtonia whytei seed to provide alternative resources of
this narrow endemic timber tree in Malawi
D. Gondwe, M. Sacande, E. Sambo, D. Nangoma & E. Chirwa
406
Informing forest restoration: An appraisal of local ecological knowledge from a
community on the Wild Coast of South Africa
D.J. Weyer, S.E. Shackleton
417
Impact of changing groundwater table on tree growth in Zazamalala forest
W. van Roy & R. De Wulf
428
Forests and Climate Change Response:
Changing fire regimes in the Cote d’Ivoire savanna: Implications for greenhouse
emissions carbon sequestration
K. Moussa, T.J. Bassett & J.N. Nkem
441
The sustainable forest management puzzle: Policies, legislation, deforestation
and the climate change issue in Ghana
B.A. Gyampoh, S. Amisah, M. Idinoba & J. Nkem
454
Reforestation and afforestation for adaptation and mitigation in Burkina Faso:
Limits, benefits and synergies
F.B. Kalame, M. Idinoba, J. Bayala, J. Nkem & Y. Coulibaly
466
vii
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Contents
Forest goods vulnerability to climate change in West Africa: Voices from local
communities on medicinal plants and prescribed actions for adaptation
M. Idinoba, F.B. Kalame, Y. Coulibaly, J. Nkem, B. Gyampoh & S. Lartey
478
Towards sustainable forest management in Ghana: Understanding the climatic
risk and adaptation maze
S.L. Tekpetey, K. F. Mensah & M. Idinoba
493
Community forest management: A strategy of safeguard of the dry natural
forests in the context of the climate change in Burkina Faso
M.N. Médah & J.I. Boussim
500
Climate change impacts on local communities in the Congo Basin forests:
Perceptions and adaptation strategies
F. Ngana, M. Idinoba, M.Y. Bele & J. Nkem
514
Forestry, climate change adaptation and national development in Cameroon
M.Y. Bele, C. Jum, J. Nkem & M. Idinoba
528
viii
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Foreword
FOREWORD
The bulk of African forests occur in the countries of Central Africa (37%) and Southern
Africa (28%). The forests vary from tropical rainforests to warm-temperate forests (at higher
altitudes and latitudes) to tropical-subtropical deciduous woodlands and wooded savannas.
The forests constitute an immense value but are under severe pressure for harvesting of
diverse timber and non-timber forest products for sustainable livelihoods and for clearing for
agricultural production and infrastructure. Much information deal with the negative aspects of
forest cover loss through degradation and deforestation but more information surfaces on
other aspects of forest cover changes, including forest gains, and positive issues of forest
management. Relatively little information is available on the assessment of forest productivity
and stand dynamics (recruitment, growth and mortality). This knowledge gap is compounded
by the practicing of little to no sustainable forest management, and little to no integration
between management for forestry, agriculture and nature conservation, for timber and nontimber products, or for industry and rural livelihood needs. The growing population and
recent upturn of many African economies provide rapidly growing domestic markets for
forest products and services, but there is no assessment of the capacity of the African forests
to produce them. Climate change scenarios for Africa and its forest ecosystems add new
challenges with great implications for the forests, household livelihoods, and national and
economic development; these need to be incorporated into planning climate change response
strategies, nationally and internationally.
Perspectives on the role of forests in development have evolved significantly since the Rio
Summit in 1992. In many African countries, there is a growing recognition of the need to
address the issues of poverty in national development programs, such as Poverty Reduction
Strategies to meet the Millennium Development Goals and objectives of the New Economic
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Some global initiatives include Tropical
Forest Action Plans (TFAPs), National Forestry Programmes (NFPs), the Intergovernmental
Panel on Forests (IPF), Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), and the United Nations
Forum on Forests (UNFF). However these initiatives have had little impact on reversing the
declining capacity to manage African forests. In part, this has been ascribed to the low
participation of Africa in international dialogues on relevant forestry issues and the lack of a
forum on the African continent that could facilitate African stakeholders to dialogue on these
and other issues.
Technical and scientific exchanges in Africa on both the implications and applications of
sustainable forest management for adaptation to climate change without compromising forest
ecosystem resilience, and their critical mitigation activities, are therefore important. An
Africa-wide dialogue on issues of sustainable forest management needs to be pursued to find
African solutions to African problems in the context of sustainable management of the
African natural forest ecosystems. What is the true state of African forests and their
management? Do the African forest ecosystems have unique features that need to be
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Foreword
incorporated into sustainable forest management strategies? Are there scientific and
traditional knowledge systems of the African forest ecosystems to guide the world on sound
multiple-use, multi-disciplinary and integrated forestry-agriculture-conservation strategies and
actions?
The International Symposium on Sustainable Forest Management in Africa was hosted in
Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 3 to 7 November 2008, to facilitate a discussion of these
issues. It was organized by the Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch
University, and the Commercial Products from the Wild Group, in collaboration with the
Copperbelt University (Zambia), Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), the
Research Institute in Tropical Ecology of the National Centre for Scientific and
Technological Research (Gabon), the Centre for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR), the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO), and the
Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nations (FAO). The objectives for the
symposium was to
bring together national, regional and international policy- and decision-makers, forest
scientists, forest ecologists, planners and resource managers (public and private
sectors), rural communities, farmers and individuals, the education community,
consumers of forest/tree-derived products, NGOs with forest, environment, social and
other foci of work, and others;
share information, concepts and ideas on a broad range of topics (papers and posters);
facilitate networking among diverse stakeholders in forestry in Africa;
facilitate development of specific programs, projects and activities that address
priority issues, and facilitate coordination, collaboration, dialogue and funding;
facilitate advocacy activities with the potential to raise the profile of forestry, to
highlight threats to forest resources and the environment, and to champion better
management of African forests.
The symposium was attended by 102 participants from 23 countries representing 41
institutions. A total of 53 oral papers were presented. This collection of symposium papers
includes the four keynote presentations, and 38 papers presented in seven themes.
The mid-symposium excursion took participants to the Newlands urban forest within the
Table Mountain National Park on the Cape Peninsula, managed by the South African National
Parks. Today 3.4 million people live in and around Cape Town, with associated pressures on
the natural areas with their very small patches of natural forest. The forests are affected
(positively and negatively) by commercial timber plantations, controlled and uncontrolled
fires, outdoor recreation, and illegal plant and bark collection mainly for traditional medicine.
The visit focused on options to use the stands of plantation and invader plant species to
rehabilitate natural forest, and thereby recover the regeneration and population status of the
tree species negatively impacted by bark harvesting.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Foreword
The post-symposium tour visited the Southern Cape Afrotemperate Forests, the largest natural
forest area in South Africa, in collaboration with South African National Parks, who manages
most of those forests. The visit focused on forest ecological research and the sustainable
multiple-use forest management in which ecosystem conservation (species and processes)
remains the overriding management objective. Secondary objectives included the utilization
of timber, ferns and medicinal plants, outdoor recreation, research and community
development through participatory forest management (PFM). Management of these areas
received international recognition through FSC certification in December 2002.
We hope that the enthusiasm with which participants took part in the deliberations and
discussions will continue to stimulate research and sustainable forest management in Africa,
with more regular dialogue within Africa to find African solutions for African problems in
sustainable management of the African forests for the benefit of African Society.
Coert J Geldenhuys, Cori Ham and Hannél Ham
Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University
October 2011
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Overview
Overview:
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
1
Overview
THE DRY FORESTS OF SUB-SAHARA AFRICA:
MAKING THEIR CASE
G. Kowero
The African Forest Forum, c\o World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya
Corresponding author: g.kowero@cgiar.org
Abstract
The dry forests of Africa are known for their immense support to many forms of life on the
continent. It is in these forests that human, animal and forest interactions are very pronounced
and threaten there very survival. The agricultural belt is practically sandwiched by forests,
making agriculture and animal husbandry encroach on them. Further, these forests support the
head waters of many rivers, with many river basins found within them. The dry forests are
therefore important in supporting agricultural expansion and in quality supplies of water to
man and animals.
Africa is urbanizing fairly rapidly but with low industrialization that is accompanied with
high unemployment, increased housing using traditional material and increased dependence
on traditional energy sources. Much of the expansion spills over into forests in terms of
demand for land for habitation as well as demand for forest products and services.
Many policies continue to create favourable conditions for better management of the dry
forests. There is increased global recognition and support to sustainably supply international
public goods and services from forests. African stakeholders are increasingly coming together
and speaking with one voice on many forestry issues.
There are many opportunities for socio-economic development using forests and tree
resources, largely in the form of markets resulting from rapid urbanization, growing markets
in Asia, requirements for carbon sequestration and satisfying the needs of a growing African
population.
Introduction
The world's forests, oceans and other water bodies are the main life-supporting mechanisms
for planet earth. The forests are key to sustaining the biodiversity of natural ecosystems and in
regulating the world's climate system. Africa has about 16% of the world’s forests (636
million hectares). The bulk of these forests are found in several countries in Central Africa
(37%) and Southern Africa (28%). These two sub-regions account for 65% of the forest
resources, with three other sub-regions together account for the remaining 35%: West Africa
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
2
Overview
and North Africa with 11% each; and East Africa with 13%. About 38.4% of the African
forest estate is tropical rain forests. The tropical moist deciduous and tropical dry forests
cover respectively 24.2% and 29.2% of the forests; i.e. 53.4% of the total forest area. There
are about 8 million hectares plantation forests (FAO 2003, 2007). Possibilities also exist to
extend the forest area by rehabilitating degraded forests and establishing forestry plantations
and agro-forestry farming systems in countries and areas that are wood deficit or where it is
environmentally necessary.
Sustainable management of the vast and diverse African natural forest resource is proving to
be extremely challenging. There is scanty information on the biophysical aspects of the
natural forest estate, and even less on the properties and end use of the various tree species.
There is much less information on socio-economic and policy aspects related to the forest
condition and responses to the same by users of such resources. In short there is scanty
information, and of questionable quality and quantity, to guide rational decision making in
planning and managing the resources, and in particular on how to use the resources in ways
that alleviate rural poverty and promote environmental protection. Further, large tracts of
natural forests in Africa are being treated as open access resources.
There are other constraints that continue to make it difficult for the majority of African
countries to manage these forests sustainably. Firstly, the sector continues to receive low
government priority in terms of support, and this has worsened because governments are
pressurized by economic reforms to reduce public expenditure. The result is insufficient
budgetary allocations to the sector. On the other hand, in many African countries, policy and
market failures have promoted the liquidation and degradation of the forest resources,
sometimes to finance government expenditure and support livelihoods. Secondly, many
African countries, in their day-to-day struggle to satisfy the most basic needs of their
populations (notably food), cannot accommodate the long-term investment period required for
the successful implementation of forestry management programmes. Further, credit is
increasingly available at rates of interests that make investments in primary forest production
and to some extent in wood processing not attractive. There is in addition, lack of incentives
in particular to local communities and the private sector to sustainably manage and use natural
forest resources. Thirdly, forestry institutions in many African countries are weak, again
mainly due to economic reforms that lead to inadequate funding and constrained recruitment
of staff for the sector. This then compounds the problem of adequately conserving and
managing the continent’s forest resources. Fourthly, the nexus between rapid population
growth, poor agricultural performance, rural poverty, environmental degradation, market and
policy failures, and the use of inappropriate technologies provides the basic context within
which deforestation and forest degradation are taking place in Africa. This seriously hampers
sustainable management and use of forest resources.
In the last two and half decades several planning frameworks under such names as National
Forestry Action Plans, Forestry Master Plans, Forestry Sector Reviews, and National Forest
Programmes have been undertaken in many countries. They have led to revisions and/or
instituting forestry policies, legislation and plans. Further, many African governments have
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
3
Overview
participated in numerous forestry related international processes, thereby becoming
signatories to various international agreements and conventions. In this regard African
countries have underlined their commitment to the sustained production of forestry related
international public goods and services. African governments are embracing new paradigms
on both political and economic fronts. There is increasing participation of local communities
in decision making. This has gradually been extended to managing natural forest resources.
Local communities are becoming more empowered to undertake ownership and management
functions from central governments. On the economic front there is increased private sector
participation in the national economies. This has seen the increasing opening up of the
forestry sector to private investment. Industrial plantation management in Africa has not been
very challenging because investors could draw upon experiences from other countries.
Further, African governments are increasingly becoming aware of the role of natural forest
resources to the socio-economic development and environmental stability of their countries.
The forests are valued for their habitats for wildlife, beekeeping, unique natural ecosystems
and genetic resources. They occur in the catchments of many rivers that are cornerstones of
economic development on the continent. The critical functions of the natural forests in
protection of soils and watersheds and the conservation of biological diversity have great
economic and social implications in Africa. For example, adequate forest cover is a prerequisite for sustainable agricultural production systems, wildlife management and tourism in
many African countries. There is therefore increasing recognition that forests and agriculture
are the pivot of the rural economy in Africa. Efforts to alleviate poverty cannot be successful
unless the roles of trees and forests in the rural economy are fully addressed. Sustainable
livelihood, especially in rural areas, is partly dependent on the judicious management of forest
resources. In addition, the natural forest resources are increasingly receiving global attention
because of their share in biological diversity, potential for industrial timber exports, capacity
for mitigating adverse effects of global climate change, livelihood 'safety nets', and as levers
for rural development.
The majority of the forests that provide these functions on the continent are the dry forests.
They are the focus of this paper that briefly attempts to put up their case by outlining the
threats to and potentials in them; specifically with highlights on population growth,
agricultural expansion, water resources, urbanization, globalization and economic reforms,
increasing interest in forestry and climate change.
Distribution and significance of dry forests
Dry forests constitute one of the major terrestrial ecosystems, existing in all developing
regions of the world: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Proportionately, they are most
prominent in Africa, where drier forests in all their varieties - from the desert margin scrub to
closed woodlands to deciduous forests - support the most people, livestock and wildlife in all
the continent’s ecosystems. In Sub-Sahara Africa dry forests cover approximately 17.3
million km2, and as estimated in 2003, they support nearly 505 million people (Chidumayo
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
4
Overview
2004). The Congo Basin forests support about 50 million people and are receiving much more
attention (and most likely resources) than the dry forests.
Dry forests in Sub-Saharan Africa can be categorized as follows:
Warm humid dry forests with a dry season that lasts 1 to 4 months, and with 1,000 –
2,000 mm average annual rainfall.
Warm sub-humid dry deciduous forests with a dry season that lasts 4 -7 months, and
with 800 – 1,500 mm rainfall.
Warm very dry wooded savannas with a dry season that lasts 7 – 9 months, and with
400 – 800 mm rainfall.
The dry forests are found in 74% of the 41 countries (excluding island states) in Sub-Saharan
Africa (Figure 1). They are the dominant vegetation in 63% of the countries (ibid).
According to CIFOR (2007) “Dry forests are found in a band across Africa from Senegal in
the west, making a loop around the Congo basin, to Ethiopia in the east and South Africa in
the south. Dry forests partly or fully cover Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Dry forests cover a spectrum
of vegetation types from deciduous forests with a continuous tree canopy to moist savannas,
dry deciduous woodlands, dry savannas and very dry scrub. Dry forest landscapes are very
variable, with crop lands, grazing lands and woodlands existing side-by-side”. Although data
on forest productivity are scanty, available estimates indicate wood yields of 0.1 – 1.0 m3ha-1
compared to the potential of 1 – 10 m3ha-1 (Haveraan 1988).
Dry forests are key to rural livelihoods in Africa, for grazing and a range of timber and nontimber forest products and services. While they are critical as safety nets, they also support a
diverse range of cash income-generating activities. In some cases up to a third of rural
household incomes originate from these forests. The forests play crucial roles in times of
crisis (e.g. during and after droughts). Apart from farming and livestock husbandry,
alternative economic opportunities to support people in these areas are few and they remain
under-developed. The potential of dry forests is not fully known and tapped, making their
contributions to be consistently under-estimated. Further, dry forest goods and services are
hardly fully captured in national and local planning initiatives.
Like other forest types, the dry forests are also important in maintaining high water quality
and protecting soil from erosion. They offer the bulk of fodder for vast livestock and wildlife
populations. They provide fuel wood for domestic and rural industry uses, including for
drying major agricultural crops and fish. They offer construction material for farm structures
and homes for millions of people in both rural and urban areas. They have often
unacknowledged and significant support roles for agricultural production. These forests are
home to precious woods, such as African ebony, valued in handicraft industries or for quality
musical instruments. They provide raw materials for packaging and wares used in homes and
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
5
Overvieew
in harveesting farm produce. They
T
are thee source of important
i
non-timber
n
fforest produ
ucts such
as mediicines, wild meat, and other
o
foods..
Note: (1) Warm humidd dry forests, (2)
(2 Warm sub--humid dry
forests an
nd (3) Warm vvery dry wood
ded savannas. Based on
Haveraan
n (1988). Souurce: Chiduma
ayo 2004
F
Figure
1: Diistribution oof dry forestts in Sub-Saaharan Africca
Much aas the dry foorests suppo
ort most of A
Africa’s willdlife and to
ourism poteential, these wildlife
ment. But
areas arre not conssidered as forests beccause the prrimary use is wildlifee managem
wildlifee needs thee fodder, sh
hade and w
water found
d in these forests.
f
Thhe degradattion and
converssion of dry forests to other
o
uses, especially into croplan
nd, is far m
more advancced than
that of w
wet forests.
There hhave been many
m
changees in forest managemeent and think
king in Afri
rica and globally, as
well as an increasee in consum
mption of forrest productts and services which jjustify rekin
ndling of
the interrest in dry forests.
f
Of particular
p
im
mportance are
a the follow
wing:
D
Decentralisation and devolutionn of admiinistration and increaased emph
hasis on
ccommunityy participatio
on in forest managemeent.
C
Changes inn forest ad
dministratioon especiallly through
h the estabblishment of
o more
aautonomous boards, au
uthorities annd commisssions.
IIncreased roole for the private
p
secttor in forestry productio
on and proccessing; thiss has led
tto privatisaation of pub
blic-owned commerciaal enterprises, includinng forest in
ndustries
aand plantatiions in man
ny countries .
IIncreasing role of civil
c
societty – espeecially national and internation
nal nonggovernmenttal organisaations - in iinfluencing forest resource managgement, parrticularly
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
6
Overview
through their advocacy role and also through direct involvement in forestry initiatives
in supporting community participation.
Concerns about global changes, especially those stemming from demands that forest
also in Africa shall provide global public goods and services, and environmental
protection in particular, as reflected in various international arrangements including
treaties and conventions (Tieguhong and Nair 2004).
These deserve to be understood better, and the new understanding needs to be brought to the
attention of policy makers. This calls for a better way of making the case for the dry forests at
national, sub-regional, regional and global levels.
Threats to and opportunities in dry forests
Often the threats to the forests are more emphasised than the opportunities the forests have,
for example, to improve livelihoods, national incomes and the environment. In many cases the
threats could be turned around into opportunities. For this reason threats and opportunities are
treated together in this text, the intention being to highlight opportunities that accompany
some of the threats.
Population growth and agricultural expansion
Population growth is one of the stimuli for expanding agriculture in order to feed more
people. In Africa this is mainly due to the state of agricultural technologies employed by
farmers, making population growth go hand in hand with cropland expansion.
The distribution of the human population on the continent mirrors that of the dry forests
(Figures1 and 2). Agricultural expansion is the major cause of forest loss and degradation in
Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) practically all agricultural land lies within the dry forests
(Figure 3), making forestry and agriculture compete for land.
However, such expansion is necessary for socio-economic development of African countries,
much as the opportunity cost is mainly forest loss and degradation. Population growth creates
more demand for forest products and services. This in turn opens up employment
opportunities to supply such markets and creates incomes at all levels, from rural households
to national governments. Not always considered is the trade off in the gains from agricultural
expansion against the forest loss and its degradation. One should also consider, in this
equation, the trees that are coming up on farms to augment the supply of tree based products.
It is the dry forests that offer most of the potential agricultural expansion frontier in Africa.
About 70% of Africans live in rural areas. Also about 80% of the poor in Africa live in rural
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
7
Overvieew
areas (E
ECA 2008). In fact abo
out 70% of tthe people in
i Africa wh
ho live on leess that 1US$ a day
live in rrural areas (ECA
(
2007)).
hensive Afrrica Agriculture Development Proogramme (C
CAADP)
The Afrrican Unionn’s Compreh
aims to attain an avverage annu
ual growth of 6% in ag
griculture. In
I the recennt years thiss growth
has averraged 3.9% annually, though
t
foodd security co
ontinues to be alarmingg. In fact the impact
of the ‘‘green revoolution (196
60-2000)’ inn developin
ng countries is minim
mal for Sub--Saharan
Africa. The subconntinent benefited little from the developmen
d
nt of moderrn or high- yielding
crop varrieties, an effort
e
that has been chaampioned mainly
m
by in
nternational agriculturaal centers
in collaaboration with
w
nationaal agricultuural institutiions. Yield
d growth m
made only marginal
m
contribuutions to grrowth in crrop producttion. The sh
hare of imp
proved cropp varieties to yield
growth was also loow. Producction growthh is reporteed to have been
b
almosst entirely based
b
on
vation (Eveenson and Gollin
G
2003).
extendinng the area under cultiv
Figure 2:
2 Populatio
on distributiion in Africca (Adapted
d from Ashtoon 2007)
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
8
Overvieew
Notte: Cropland is based on M
Mayaux et al. (2003).
(
Sourcce: Chidumayy 2004
F
Figure 3: Diistribution of
o dry forestts (A) and cropland
c
(B) in Sub-Sah
aharan Africca.
ood suppliess and securiity is to sign
nificantly inncrease its cropland
c
One appproach to inncreasing fo
area unnder irrigatiion. It is in
n this conteext that thee dry forestts become crucially im
mportant
becausee nearly all the major river basinns in Sub-S
Saharan Afrrica are eithher located or have
most off their headw
waters in dry
y forests (F
Figure 4).
Note: Senegal (11), Niger (2)), Volta (3), Chad
(4), Congo
C
(5), N
Nile (6), Zam
mbezi (7), Lim
mpopo
(8) an
nd Orange (99). Source: Chidumayo
C
2004
F
Figure
4: Major
M
river bbasins in dry
y forests areeas in Africca
For irriggated agricuulture to maaterialise, A
Africa will need
n
to careefully manag
age the shareed water
basins. Already in many of th
hem water resources are
a approacching ‘closuure’ with veery little
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
9
Overview
water left for additional activities. In other water basins water resources are under increasing
pressure and this call for very close cooperation in their management (Figure 5). There are
already recorded conflicts over water resources (Figure 6) (Ashton 2007).
Such a water scenario, combined with the prevailing poverty on the continent, the dismal state
of technology used by African farmers, among other constraints, dictate that CAADP’s
objectives, even if attained modestly, will largely be through extensive agriculture that will
spill over into dry forests, resulting into more deforestation and forest degradation.
Agriculture is and will continue for the foreseeable future to be the main engine of economic
growth in many tropical forest countries. The move from sedentary to more productive ways
of agriculture demands a good balance between the unreliable rain-fed agriculture and
irrigated agriculture. Rosegrant et al. (2002) report that in 1995 rain-fed agriculture
contributed about 58% of world cereal production and that rain-fed cereal yields averaged 1.5
metric tons per hectare as compared to 3.3 tons per hectare from irrigated agriculture in
developing countries. This underlines the importance of securing water resources for global
food security and socio-economic development.
However, much as forests will continuously be lost, more trees are coming up on farms. In
some cases households derive a third of their tree based requirements from their farms. The
landscape is now a mosaic of a continuous belt of trees as a forest, trees on farms, patches of
forests, grasslands and other land cover. The landscape is changing fast and there is little that
can be done to stop this.
The challenge facing foresters and other land users is how to manage this change in ways that
ensure sustainable supplies of food, fodder, timber and non-timber forest products, and
environmental services, among others, to a growing African population and with a surplus for
export. This will call for a new and innovative way of doing business in agriculture and
forestry. It will therefore require the evolution of new perspectives on forestry, science and
techniques of managing the changing landscape to meet people’s requirements in a
sustainable manner and without compromising on the quality of the environment they live in.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
10
Overvieew
Figgure 5: Thee water reso
ources situattion in shared river water basins (A
Adapted fro
om:
A
Ashton 2007
7)
Figuree 6: Sites off disputes an
nd conflictss over waterr resources (Adapted
(
frrom: Ashton
n 2007)
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
11
Overvieew
Urbanisation
Africa iis urbanizinng faster thaan any otherr region, at rates that ranges from
m 5-10% perr annum.
The Afrrican rural population
p
growth
g
averrages 2.5% per annum. The highesst rates are found in
the nortthern and soouthern parrts of the coontinent (EC
CA 2008). Unlike
U
Euroope, urbanissation in
Africa iis occurringg at rates thaat are almosst three timees those exp
perienced byy European
n cities at
the heigght of the inndustrial reevolution. B
But in SSA urbanizatio
on appears tto be growing with
low inddustrializatiion that is accompannied with high unem
mployment, increased housing
construcction using traditional material
m
andd increased
d dependence on traditioonal energy
y sources
(Chidum
mayo 2004))
There iss widespreaad urban po
overty that ccontinues to grow and
d has made a number of
o urban
househoolds in SSA
A grow crop
ps or raise llivestock in
n urban env
vironments tto supplement their
livelihoods. Prevailing high prrices for oill, food (duee to scarcitiees) and otheer commodities and
servicess like educaation and heealth, are strretching to the
t limits th
he incomes of the alreaady poor
societies in urban areas.
a
The consequence
c
e is that a siignificant prroportion off the urban dwellers
will conntinue to livve in the gro
owing slumss that lack basic
b
servicees and securre tenure.
mayo (2004)) reports th
hat there arre 43 cities in Africa with popullations of over
o
one
Chidum
million people (Fiigure7). Maany of them
m are with
hin the dry forests bellt. These cities
c
are
projecteed to increase to 70 by 2015. A keey concern in many countries is thhe lack of provision
p
of utilitiies, especiaally water an
nd energy.
Note: (1) warm humid dry forests,
f
(2) warm
sub-h
humid dry foorests and (3)
(3 warm verry dry
wood
ded savannass. Source: Ch
hidumayo 20
004
Figure 7:
7 Major cities and tow
wns (■) in and
a around dry
d forests iin Africa
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
12
Overview
While the impact of urbanization is varied, it has important implications on forests, including:
Increased demand for wood, especially wood fuel, that could result into overexploitation of forests and woodlands initially close to urban centres and progressively
those that are further from such centres. For example, the city of Lusaka in Zambia
obtains charcoal from some 300-400 km north of the city. Similar distances have been
observed for cities like Maputo (Mozambique), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Khartoum
(Sudan) and Dakar (Senegal). In some cases charcoal contributes 60-80% of rural
household income and is therefore key to poverty reduction (ibid).
Increased use of charcoal, which requires higher wood input and thus accelerating
forest clearance.
Need to improve the urban environment, especially for green space.
Increased demand for land that could come from the nearby or surrounding forests.
On the other hand urbanisation is creating an exponential increase in the demand and markets
for forest products and services. It should not be viewed solely as a threat to forests but also
as an opportunity for the sector to professionally supply the growing markets with the forest
products (like firewood, charcoal and poles) and services (like water and carbon
sequestration) and on a sustainable basis. The challenge is how to make forestry and urban
development plans and programmes that can secure sustainable supplies of forest products
and services to urban dwellers.
Improved political climate: democracy and good governance
Democratisation and good governance initiatives are very indirect means by which to actually
promote the welfare of rural communities. They are taking root in many African countries.
One of the spinoffs of the growing democratization in Africa to the forestry sector is
increased participation of stakeholders in key decisions on management, use and ownership of
forest resources. This has led to Participatory Forest Management (PFM) practices like Joint
Forest Management (JFM) largely between governments and private sector with local
communities, and Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) that places the
management of forest resources in the hands of local communities. These practices are more
pronounced in the dry forests than in the rain forests. In essence these management
approaches have evolved due to closer and frequent human interaction with the forest
resources. The dry forests are more open and with many more people interacting with the
forest resources as compared with the rain forests. The JFM and CBFM have succeeded in
putting more forest resources under some kind of administration. These are still emerging
approaches on the continent that hold potential to increase the scope of forest management.
However, one of the shortcomings, especially with CBFM is that local communities are in
many cases allocated forests of low quality, and are not provided with sufficient
information/knowledge, skills and other resources required for managing such resources.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
13
Overview
What has been largely achieved is protection of the forest resources, but beyond that their
management and efficient use remain questionable. The danger with this is that local
communities could lose momentum on CBFM initiatives and the forestry practice could revert
to the status quo.
The emphasis on good governance, and especially good forest governance, provides an
opportunity to the forestry sector to conduct its business in an ethical, professional and
transparent way. However, the presence of institutions such as African Forest Law
Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) on the sub-continent, the frequent news and reports
on illegal forest activities, among others, demonstrate that all is not well in the forestry sector.
Emerging trends in trade and markets for forest products
The traditional export markets for industrial wood and wood products from Africa have
mainly been in Europe, owing to links dating back to the colonial period. However, trade is
increasing between Africa and some Asian countries notably China. With the advent of
increased trade in certified timber in European countries, and the fact that many Asian
markets are not sensitive to such trade, there is a potential likelihood for increased trade
between African and Asian countries in uncertified timber. The Asian markets are not as
selective; in fact they absorb timber and related products from many African tree species. This
has opened up markets for timber and other products from some otherwise ‘lesser known tree
species’.
At a time the African forest sector needs more income to finance its rapidly expanding
functions; the availability of such markets should logically be welcome news. However, some
concerns have been voiced that these emerging Asian markets could deplete forest resources
from some African countries. The challenge is for the sector to position itself to supply, in a
sustainable and professional manner, such markets. There is no reason as to why the harvest
of these new tree species should not follow the annual allowable cut approach that is used to
supply other traditional markets.
Dominance of the informal sector in forestry
Forestry business in many African countries is mainly transacted in the informal sector. This
is a sector that operates at the interface of the monetised and traditional economies. The types
of activities that characterise the sector include subsistence collection of forest products,
processing and trade in firewood, charcoal, forest foods and handicrafts. It is assumed that in
some countries, business conducted in the informal forestry sector may contribute more to
rural livelihoods than that in the formal forestry sector. The informal sector has no
institutional visibility, lacks supportive or enabling policies, plans, development strategies and
a champion for its causes. Further, the sector is very amorphous in terms of size, entry and
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
14
Overview
exit, and has players that are largely unknown to national governments and therefore escapes
national statistics (Kowero et al. 2001). The economic reforms implemented by many African
governments should ideally pay greater attention to the informal forestry sector, especially on
how the sector functions and how to foster its better performance in the future.
Globalisation and economic reforms
In the recent past there has been an increasing trend in the globalisation of the world
economy, and with mixed results. Wade (2003) notes that evidence from many years of
globalisation (started around 1980) confirms that more open economies are more prosperous
and those economies that liberalise progress faster than those that resist economic
liberalization. The World Bank (2002) reports that over the last two decades the number of
people living on less than $1 a day has fallen by 200 million, after rising steadily for 200
years. Dollar and Kraay (2002) also report that globalisation has promoted economic equality
and reduced poverty. However, Mazur (2000) cited in Wade (2003) as well as Wade (2003)
report that globalisation has dramatically increased inequality between and within nations.
The macroeconomic policies, and especially economic reforms implemented by many African
countries since the 1980s, have at times increased rural poverty, deforestation and
environmental degradation.
The combined result of the effects of globalization and macroeconomic reforms is that rural
poverty has increased in many African countries. This has been accompanied by increasing
dependency on natural forest resources for survival. Growing populations and rural poverty,
increasing demand on diminishing natural forest resources, and industrial pollution have all
combined to exacerbate environmental problems, including global warming, droughts and
floods. These events have the potential for a vicious cycle that entrenches poverty, especially
due to the decreasing capacity of forest resources as safety nets for the rural poor.
Further, globalisation and economic reforms favour private sector initiatives. The
entrenchment of the private sector through globalisation and economic reforms, if not
tempered with other measures, would most likely concentrate resources such as capital, land,
access to information and technology in the hands of a few, who are already largely confined
to industrial forestry. It is therefore necessary to evaluate how compliance to economic
reforms and globalisation can be maintained while at the same time promoting the value of
forest resources, their sustainable management, as well as their capacity to improve the
welfare of rural communities.
On the other hand globalisation has also attracted new capital flows from outside Africa. The
market growth in telecommunication networks coupled with external investments by
multinational corporations are good examples. Such an influx of capital and technology
provides a stepping-stone to knowledge and service industries that the forestry sector should
take advantage of.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
15
Overview
Increased recognition of and cohesion in African forestry
Forestry issues are increasingly receiving prominence in various global, regional, sub-regional
and national level discourses. A number of institutions, networks, agreements and
conventions, to mention a few, have been put in place to guide dialogue and action on forestry
related issues. Recently the world adopted a Non-Legally Binding Instrument (NLBI) on all
types of forests, a result of protracted negotiations at the United Nations Forum on Forests
(UNFF). Forestry is featuring prominently in climate change debates, in poverty alleviation
policies, in provision of environmental services and environmental protection. The regional
economic groupings in Africa are taking on board forestry issues in a sub-regional
perspective, e.g. a forest policy being developed for ECOWAS countries, a Forest Protocol
for Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, a Forest Law Enforcement
and Governance (FLEG) process being initiated in East African Community (EAC) and
SADC countries.
African stakeholders are coming together in focused networks and groupings such as: the
African Forest Forum (AFF), African Forest Research Network (AFORNET), African
Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE),
Commission des Forêts d’ Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC), Network for Natural Gum and
Resins in Africa (NGARA), African Model Forest, to mention a few. Africa needs to
capitalize on the synergies and complementarities in these frameworks, to harmonise its
efforts so as to strongly bear on issues in a holistic manner, avoid duplication of activities, and
increase efficiency and impact.
Climate change and dry forests
Climate change and variability is not new. Neither is adaptation to and mitigating against its
adverse effects. African societies, especially those in the dry forests and drylands demonstrate
some of the best examples of successful adaptation, for the people, their food systems and the
environment. The cultivation of Acacia senegal and Faidherbia albida in agroforestry
systems in some dry forest and dryland countries demonstrates the capacity of these societies
to adapt their production and livestock systems to climate variability. The drylands are also a
showcase of ecosystem resilience, from an ecological viewpoint, i.e. the ability to withstand
change and recover after adverse effects. The current talk on ‘greening the Sahel’ is a case in
point. As compared to the rain forests the dry forests are simpler ecosystems that could be
relatively easy to manage, from an ecological point of view, and have even an intrinsic
capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. For example there are considerable annual
fires and droughts in some of these forests, but the forests eventually recover, if they are left
alone.
However, what is happening today with respect to climate change and variability is that the
intensity with which it is taking place and the risks and potential grave consequence this could
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
16
Overview
have on mankind and the environment. This is especially of concern to Africa where
dependence on natural biophysical resources is high; agriculture is the mainstay of most
people, poverty is rampant and infrastructure to support socio-economic development is
weak. Climate change is therefore expected to put a lot of strain on the biophysical, economic,
social and even political systems that regulate life on the continent, with the Eastern and
Southern African regions and the Sahel becoming more vulnerable because of dependence on
already marginal lands.
According to the IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report (2007), Africa is one of the most
vulnerable continents to climate variability and change. The report predicts that by 2020,
between 75 and 250 million people are likely to experience increased water stress that would
largely be attributed to climate variability and change. Further, agricultural production and
overall access to food in many African countries could be severely compromised by climate
variability and change, largely because cropland area, cropping seasons and crop productivity
are expected to decrease, especially on land that is already marginal, in semi-arid and arid
areas.
There is a lot of talk about carbon in forestry discourses these days. There are many
stakeholders and money involved in carbon. But this talk is also reminiscent of the great
attention given to fuel wood in the 1970s and 1980s. Many papers were written about the
impending fuel wood crisis and alarming predictions made on this. A lot of attention and
other resources on forestry were on this issue. Many village woodlots and plantations to
supply urban areas were established, in addition to better charcoal kilns and cooking stoves.
Although the crisis never materialized as forecasted, African countries are still struggling with
fuel wood problems, despite the huge investments made. They are a long way from solving
these problems.
While climate change is a very serious global issue, and indeed for African forestry, the
forestry sector should not diminish its attention to other important forestry issues, because
they are also very important to livelihoods and the environment. It would appear that the
attention and resources for climate change bear more on the rain forests than on the bulk of
the forest resources of Africa; the dry forests. The dry forests support the majority of the
people in Africa. They are apparently not receiving attention commensurate to their size and
capacity to support livelihoods, livestock and wildlife, and the environment in Africa.
Africa has 14% of the world population and has relatively few consumers of fossil fuels.
Further, Africa’s emission of climate-change inducing carbon dioxide is low, estimated at
3.5% of world’s total. The African forests are important sinks for carbon but they are sources
of carbon dioxide emissions through annual burning, clearance for agriculture through slash
and burn and other ways. But the net effect of the emission from these forests and carbon
sequestration is hardly known given the nature of information available. However, they are
potentially important as sinks and in carbon trade. Many threats to the forests hold the
potential to reduce their capacity as carbon sinks. In individual countries, action to mitigate
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
17
Overview
adverse effects of climate change through trees and forests can be viewed at two levels: the
forestry sector and at the national or macroeconomic level.
At the forestry sector level, it is lamentable that the African forestry sector is a very late
comer to the climate change debate. Much as the potential to sequester carbon exists in the
African forests and trees, the sector has yet to seriously look at other potential implications of
climate variability and change on its resources. It is therefore desirable to consider, among
others, the following issues, that are not particularly specific to the dry forests but could as
well be extended to other forest conditions:
The limited understanding of the responses of dry forests and trees to climate change.
The little information available suggests that the sensitivity of dry forest tree species is
both species-specific and possibly varies among different growth phases: seed,
seedling, sapling and adult phases.
How the different phenological processes in dry forest trees are affected by climate
variables.
The effects of short-term and medium-term climate variations on dry forest growth
and productivity.
The effects of interactions between climate variations and anthropogenic fire in dry
forests.
The potential effects of climate variability and climate change on forest growth and
productivity. This might affect returns on investment in forest management, including
plantation forestry.
How land tenure and different types of forest management models (i.e., public,
private, communal, etc.) impact on the ability of forests to mitigate climate change.
Which forest management practices (fire protection, select felling, controlled grazing,
enrichment planting, and agroforestry) yield the best climate change mitigation
potential.
What should be the response of the African forest sector to climate change. Certainly
it is not just carbon sequestration and trade.
There is a variety of forest management models and practices in Africa. However, the
efficiency of these models and practices in adapting to and militating against climate change
has not been adequately evaluated. The approach, impact and carbon sequestration potential
are likely to vary between models and practices.
While addressing these and other relevant issues, the African forestry sector could also take
advantage of the expanding carbon trade and other incentives related to reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions.
At the macroeconomic or national level, mitigation policies must address the factors or
economic sectors in which significant reduction of emissions and/or carbon sequestration are
possible. This means formulating policies which address the core causes of deforestation. By
and large, African forests are lost through clearing for farming and pasture, extraction of
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
18
Overview
wood fuel and fodder, and harvesting timber for industry and domestic consumption. The
policies that promote agricultural production, consumption and trade in forest products,
general economic development that has a bearing on type and quantity of energy consumed,
and the institutions that promote good governance and compliance to law are outside the
forestry sector. It is therefore important to look outside the sector to identify other action areas
that could contribute to mitigation of climate change through reduced and avoided
deforestation as well as through increased afforestation and reforestation.
Further, the information on climate change in Africa is growing rapidly. However, much of
this information is based on highly aggregated data from the IPCC Data Distribution Centre
and General Circulation Models (GCM). Further, the climate data used in African agriculture
is generated by a few key international organizations, including the Hardley Centre (UK Met
Office), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the USA and the
Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS) of France. The use of data from these
sources is not always to suit the problem situation, but more often because of their
accessibility and familiarity to users (Ziervogel et al. 2008). Africa therefore needs to increase
its capacity to understand and work with the information available, build its own information
sources, create networks that can increase critical mass to bear on problems as well as share
information and experiences, and develop and support good adaptation and mitigation
measures for climate change.
Conclusions
Africa is facing a number of challenges in the forestry sector, but some of the more serious
ones include:
The rapid deforestation of natural forests and slow growth in plantation forests. These
could combine to create serious industrial wood shortages. Already some countries
that were net exporters of timber products are now net importers of the same.
Many policies hold potential for better forest management as well as threats to these
resources.
The forestry sector is undergoing rapid changes in line with national economic
reforms. However, the peculiarities of the sector and its demands are not adequately
addressed.
Constrained recruitment of forestry staff due to economic reforms and loss of the same
through natural attrition and HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases like malaria.
Lack of adequate capacity (human, financial and otherwise) to bear on these
challenges.
It is noteworthy that the African forest landscape and policy scene is changing. The way
forests are viewed and managed is also changing. The challenge is how to manage these
changes. These challenges are not insurmountable.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
19
Overview
On the other hand, there are many opportunities to the sector. The key ones include:
The many opportunities, largely in form of markets, resulting from rapid urbanisation,
requirements for carbon sequestration, and satisfying needs of a rapidly growing
African population.
There are also exponentially growing markets in Asia for products from otherwise
under-utilised or even unused tree species from African forests. These markets had
better not be seen as threats to African forests, but rather as opportunities that the
forest sector should position itself to take advantage of and in a very professional
manner.
Many trees are coming up on farms. Many household needs of forest/tree nature are
met this way.
Many African economies are growing; democracy and good governance are becoming
a way of life in many countries.
Increased global recognition and support to sustained supply of international public
goods and services from forests.
The African forestry stakeholders are gradually coming together and speaking with
one voice on many issues.
All these combine to create a favourable environment for forestry business. There is therefore
a potentially favourable future for African forestry.
There is no information available on the scale of funding needed to address the challenges
confronting the African forestry sector and taking advantage of the opportunities in the sector.
It is clear that much more funding than is currently being provided to the sector is needed to
move forest management on the continent away from unsustainable to sustainable practices;
and eventually increasing the sectors contribution to socio-economic development and
protection of the environment. Increased funding per se is not sufficient to address the
challenges and the opportunities. Increased levels of funding should be accompanied by
sustained political will and commitment; incentives to attract local communities, the private
sector and other interested players to participate in forest development, management and
utilization; and strengthening of forestry and related institutions at all levels (local
community, private sector, government and other players). All these have to be done within a
conducive policy and legal framework that supports sustainable forestry management in
Africa.
References
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seminar on “The second scramble for Africa: lifting the resources curse”, by the South
African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, South Africa. November 2829, 2007.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
20
Overview
CIFOR
2007.
Dry
forests:
CIFOR’s
research
on
African
dryland.
http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/dryforest/_ref/home/map.htm
Chidumayo E N. 2004. Key external underlying threats to dry forests of sub-Saharan Africa:
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Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 23pp.
Kowero GS, Spilsbury MJ, Chipeta M. 2001. Research for sustainable forestry development:
challenges for sub-Saharan Africa. A background paper for FAO Forestry Sector
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Pretorius C, Thompson M, Cherlet M, Pekel J-F, Defourny P, Vasconcelos M, Di
Gregorio A, Fritz S, De Grandi A, Elvidge C, Vogt P, Belward A. 2003. A land cover
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
21
Overview
CURRENT STATUS AND TRENDS OF
FOREST MANAGEMENT IN TROPICAL AFRICA
F. Castañeda
Tropical Forest Management, Forestry Department, FAO, 00100 Rome, Italy.
Corresponding author: Froylan.Castaneda@FAO.org
Abstract
A significant extent of African forests continues to be destroyed and the remaining managed
improperly resulting in considerable deforestation. More efforts are needed to quantify the
social benefits of the forest, to define their ownership and to introduce economics into longterm forest management planning for more realistic decision-making and projection especially
by the private forestry sector. The collection, analysis and reporting of forestry information
needs to be intensified. Progress, however, is being made as the area of forest under a
management plan has slightly increased from previous years. Other positive changes are
noticeable in the management, conservation, protection and sustainable use of Africa’s forests
as many countries have started to take significant steps in the forestry sector through
institutional reforms, enhancement of political awareness, intersectorial and international
dialogue and the exploration of new opportunities for goods and services from the forests
rather than concentrating solely on the harvesting of timber. Yet the challenges facing
sustainable forest management are still very great in Africa; some examples include an
increase in logging intensity without a significant improvement in the quality of the
operations; high levels of illegal logging; weaknesses of community-based forest management
initiatives, reduced participation of minority groups in the benefits of forest management, a
serious lack of trained forest technicians, and above all a worrying scarcity of information,
statistics and data in general about African forests to name a few. This paper documents the
current situation of forest management in Africa based on internationally recognized criteria
and looks at its trends and tendencies relating to socio-economic, institutional, financial and
technical aspects and mechanisms for promoting better forest management practices within
the framework of national forest programmes. It also highlights the needs to consider
ecological principles when planning forest management.
Introduction
The most ecologically and endangered ecosystem of the world is Africa’s 500 million
hectares of tropical forest. This resource is disappearing at a faster rate than any other,
creating international concern but apparently less at national level. According to FAO et al.
(2005) annual global deforestation in the tropics amounted to 14 million ha during 1990-2000
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
22
Overview
against 13 million ha during 2000-2005. These figures show that the rate of global
deforestation is decreasing; however, the total area deforested is still significant.
In most cases the deforestation and degradation of the tropical forest is the result of non
existent, overlapping and sometimes contradictory agricultural and forest policies. However,
poor forest management planning and implementation may very well be the main cause of the
destruction of the resource. It is common to see forests being ‘managed’ under a plan, when in
reality such plan is usually taken as an authorization to cut trees. Once the extraction of the
logs is completed, forest management activities are likewise discontinued even though most
plans prescribe post-harvest silvicultural activities; in practice these consist of the
establishment of permanent sampling plots to estimate future volume growth. Unfortunately,
often these are abandoned after a few years of measurement.
Current situation of forest management in tropical Africa
Progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM) is not easy to assess unless there are
common harmonized grounds and definitions of what it really means. This led to the
intensification of efforts by regional and international processes, which resulted in the
development of the following criteria for forest management: extent of forest resources,
biological diversity, forest health and vitality, productive and protective functions of forests,
socio economic functions and a legal, policy and institutional framework (FAO 2003a). Most
new global assessments and reporting on progress towards SFM are based on some of these
criteria.
Extent of forest resources in Africa
A forest resources assessment report (FAO 2006) sets the extent of forests in Africa as 635.4
million ha or about 16.1% of the world’s forest cover. Other wooded lands account for 406
million ha or 29.5% of the total. Western and central Africa, eastern and southern Africa
report a higher forest cover than that of northern Africa, with 277.8, 226.5 and 131.0 million
ha of the total forest area, respectively. Gabon is the country in Africa with the highest forest
cover: 84.5% of the total land area.
Deforestation has taken its toll of Africa. The calculated annual rate (1990-2005) was 4.4
million ha, i.e. -0.64%/year. Between 2000-2005 the rate decreased to -0.62% per year or 4.0
million ha. The improvement may be due to the fact that by 2005 the extent of productive
forest plantations in Africa was estimated at 10.8 million ha, or 2.5% of the total forest area.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
23
Overview
Biological diversity
Timber production continues to dominate the use of forests. However, consumers keep
demanding other products, uses and forms of forest life. Assessing biological diversity is not
easy. Often estimates of this criterion are based mainly on parameters related to primary
forests, where the richness of diversity is found, and to conservation and protected forests. It
is estimated that Africa has a total of 37.7 million ha of primary forest; this represents only
2.3% of the world’s total primary forests and 8.7% of global total forest area. Gabon has the
highest percentage of primary forests in Africa with 81%.
The current area of forest designated for conservation of biodiversity in Africa is 38.8 million
ha (FAO 2006) representing 3.75% of the global area set aside for conservation and 33% of
the total forest cover of the continent. Up to 2000 the annual change rate of designated areas
for conservation was 0.2% per year increasing to 1.8% during 2000-2005. Native tree species
richness is high in central Africa, particularly in Madagascar, yet the percentage of threatened
tree species as compared to the total number of native tree species is around 7%; the highest
being in eastern and southern Africa.
Forest health and vitality
Several criteria can be used to assess forest health and vitality, such as defoliation, postlogging woody debris, invasive tree species and pollution; but technically these are difficult
and expensive to measure. Most African countries lack the technical know-how, equipment
and financial resources to establish long-term programmes to assess these criteria.
Consequently, monitoring of forest health and vitality may be restricted to monitoring forest
fires, insects and diseases and occasionally damages by animals. This causes a serious lack of
good quality information and Africa is not the exception.
A global survey reports that Africa repeatedly registers the most fires (FAO 2007). In 2000
some 2.3 million ha burned in Africa, i.e. 7.7% of the continent and 54% of the global number
of fires. Another study by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2004
registered the same percentage for 2000. Burning in 2000 was most extensive in eastern
Africa (873,840 km² or 15% of the forest area), central Africa (539,225 km², 13.5%) and
southern Africa (677,123 km², 11.5%) (FAO 2006).
Chad seems to be the most vulnerable African country to fires. However, annual land use fires
seriously affect extensive areas in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. An essential problem in most countries of
sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of prevention programmes and basic knowledge of fire
behaviour. Unfortunately, most African countries designate resources for controlling fires
rather than to preventing them.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
24
Overview
A literature review did not reveal specific data for the area of forests affected by insects and
diseases and by invasive tree species in Africa; and, when found, reports were based on few
countries making it difficult to make inferences. However, there are reports on the types and
behaviour of some forest insects in Africa such as the introduction of the cypress aphid
(Cinara cupressivora), pine woody aphid (Pineus boerneri) and the pine needle aphid
(Eulachnus rileyi) in eastern and southern Africa. A recently established Forest Invasive
Species Network for Africa (FISNA) has started to network with African countries on issues
related to invasive forest species. Other FAO web sites give information on the status of some
insects, diseases and invasive forest species in Africa.
Productive functions of forests
The productive functions of forests are easier to assess and report by measuring the area
designated as productive forest, area under plantations and removal of wood products.
Growing stock, including commercial, and removals of non-wood forest products (NWFPs)
are also indicators for this criterion. On a regional basis the tendency is to over harvest the
forests under a sustained yield production approach: potential production versus volume
actually harvested or “equilibrium harvesting”.
The volume of wood products harvested in Africa varies by region: in central Africa, more
wood volume is extracted than what is produced standing. In western Africa the ratio can be
as much as 200% of the potential including illegal logging. Additionally due to international
market demands, logging is commonly concentrated in a few species of known high economic
value. In spite of this, the calculated average extraction is around 40 m3/ha.
In general the area designated for the extraction of wood in Africa is about 30% of the total
forest area; the trend decreased by -0.58% per year by 2000 and -0.76% by 2005. This is in
part because the area of protected forests has increased.
In 2005, 2.5% of the total forest area of the continent consisted of plantations; these are
concentrated in a few countries and are gradually changing people’s attitude towards a more
multiple use approach. 51% of the plantations are in eastern and southern Africa. South Africa
is among the top ten developing countries with approximately 1.4 million ha of plantations,
mainly Pinus, averaging 15 m³ and Eucalyptus with 20 m³ per hectare per year. In western
and central Africa 71% of the plantations in this region is found in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria,
Rwanda and Senegal. Except for northern Africa, all the other regions of the continent show
an increase in productive forest plantations, yet some progress in the establishment of forest
plantations is reported in Ethiopia, Morocco and Sudan.
Wood removals in Africa are among the highest in the world with western and central Africa
leading the figures (661 million m³ in 2005). The trend has increased from 499 million m³ in
1990 to 661 million m³ in 2005. 88.5% of removals constitute firewood and only about 12%
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
25
Overview
is industrial round wood. Madagascar is the only country in Africa that reported a decrease
(FAO 2006).
Although the importance of NWFPs is recognized, data concerning volumes of removals are
rare or unreliable. In Africa this category usually includes the removals of live animals, hides
and skins, trophies, wild honey and wax. Bush meat is another important NWFP but statistics
are also not readily available.
Protective functions of forest resources
Forests influence climatic conditions. They protect against wind, help reduce erosion, serve as
pollution filters and protect water sources. Statistics for Africa on this criterion are found for
western and central Africa but are generally scarce. However, 4.6% (20.8 million ha) of its
total forest area in 2005 was designated primarily for protection; this trend has remained
steady since 1990.
Protective functions of plantations are also recognized. According to FAO (2006), Algeria
and Sudan were among the 10 countries with the largest area of protective forest plantations.
In general, the area of plantations for protection in Africa has increased since 1990 (1.9
million ha) to some 2.4 million ha in 2005 with the higher increase found in northern Africa.
Socio-economic functions
Three parameters commonly used to quantify these functions include: value of removals of
wood and NWFPs, employment in forestry activities and ownership of the forest. Others
include the area of forests designated for social services and for the extraction of firewood but
these are usually not recorded or not adequately reported.
Globally firewood accounts for US$7 billion, or 11% of the total world value of removals.
Round wood amounted to US$57 billion in 2005. In Africa the income from industrial round
wood removals has been on the rise since 1990 (US$999 million); in 2000 and 2005 those
figures more than doubled to US$1826 and US$2361 million, respectively. Africa shows the
third highest income among all continents from NWFPs but with a small steady increase
during 1990-2005 (US$847 to 897 million).
The number of persons employed in forestry activities is also another important socioeconomic parameter but figures are either difficult to find or unavailable for Africa. Yet
information in FAO shows that in Africa in 2000 some 870,000 person-years’ were employed
in the production of primary wood goods, guides in parks and safaris. South Africa is the
largest industrial round wood producer in Africa employing 60,000 people plus up to another
50,000 in the secondary products sector (Barklund and Teketay 2004).
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
26
Overview
Private forest ownership in Africa is still unclear and in most countries forests are public
domain and government controlled (FAO 2006); many still belong to local communities. In
South Africa private ownership of forests is one of the highest in the continent with around
37% and the extent of public forests is more than 62%. In some cases user and customary
rights, permits to hunt and to collect dead wood and NWFPs are leased by the state to
indigenous communities and user groups. The trend from public to private ownership is
positive but slow; Ghana was once owned by traditional communities and indigenous groups
and now is almost entirely government owned (Repetto and Gillis 1988).
Not everything is bad: forest under a forest management plan
ITTO (2006) reported that about 14.2% of Africa’s natural forests have a management plan of
which only 6.1% are “sustainably managed”. This indicates that there are cases of forest
management in Africa that are positive; from these good forest management experiences can
be drawn, but little is known about them outside their context mainly due to the lack of
funding to document and share them with others.
Forest management in Africa is changing from timber harvesting, as the main objective, to a
multiple use approach. A study identified and described 14 cases as exemplary (FAO 2003b),
which are an encouraging step towards SFM in Africa. One conclusion drawn from the study
is that after decades of implementing forest management exclusively for timber, multiple use
forest management is becoming increasingly popular. Up to then, management models had
generally failed to incorporate other forest products and services. In addition, only in the last
decade, communities and indigenous groups in Africa have gained legal access to large tracts
of forest. This has created interest among communities, governments and other stakeholders
in promoting this new approach.
Some African governments are trying to implement better forest management by introducing
reduced impact logging practices but with questionable results (De Blas and Ruiz Pérez
2008). Many projects also have developed “best management guidelines” and manage their
forests using software, developed by them, which may be used with smaller electronic
devices, becoming good tools to help implement forest management. Concessions of larger
tracts of forests, especially those owned by governments and practiced in some parts of
Africa, can substantially help improve forest management but better regulations are necessary
(Karsenty et al. 2008).
Tendencies and perspectives of forest management practices in Africa
In the more developed countries a positive attitude towards forestry continues to grow
especially in respect of forest industry, as their population is convinced it generates welfare
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
27
Overview
for the livelihood of all. Unfortunately, one cannot say the same for other parts of the
developing world. Forest management in Africa continues to be under scrutiny by the world
population. Its results and effects are continuously questioned and is commonly considered a
destructive activity and not socially acceptable. The public opinion is partly correct as in most
tropical countries officially approved forest management plans are not fully implemented and
continue to be seen just as a “permit to harvest”.
According to ITTO (2006), 27% and 32%, respectively, of all natural production forests and
plantations in the permanent tropical forest estate have a management plan. But only about
7.1% of the world’s permanent total natural production forest estate is managed sustainably.
To improve that figure, many countries have reviewed their forest management plan policies
and have simplified plans for improving forest management.
International organizations, as well as the donor community, continue to devote a
considerable amount of funds to knowledge building and sharing of forest management in
Africa. In an attempt to fill gaps in information sharing, the “Knowledge Reference Data
Base” of FAO houses several hundred case studies of SFM available on the Web.
Governance and participation have become important issues in achieving SFM. For example,
in an attempt to apply the principle of “governance”, forest authorities of Ghana and Togo
have given indigenous people and peasant communities the opportunity to manage their own
forests. To make this more effective, decentralization of forest administration is necessary but
the lack of technical skills and financial means on the part of the communities and forestry
administration, along with not clearly defined forest policies, continue to be a problem to the
detriment of SFM.
The need to find extra funding and/or incentives to help reduce management costs, and
consequently make the activity more attractive, has resulted in a slight increase in certified
forests in Africa. In 2003 Africa had 1.6 million ha certified (Barklund and Teketay 2004) i.e.
4% of the world’s certified forests; today it has 1.5 million ha. South Africa registers the
highest. An estimated 1.48 million ha or 2% of the natural forests with a management plan
are certified (ITTO 2006). It is expected that certification in Africa will continue to be a
“catalyst for change” and incentive for good forest management.
There is limited information on the “economics of forest management” and not only on
harvesting costs as is often the case. Forest management is commonly out-competed by other
land uses and thus it is often assumed that it “does not pay”. This is difficult to assess, as in
most cases production, mainly timber, is done based on growth increments of the remaining
forests and not necessarily on economic projections over several rotation scenarios. This
indicates that there is an urgent need to put more economics into forest management in order
to be able to determine over a long period whether the activity is sustainable or not.
Payment for environmental services is another scheme for financing forest management but
this practice is more commonly applied in the establishment and management of planted
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
28
Overview
forests. However, some incentives do apply for the management of the forest itself. This
modality has been practised in various countries for several years and the changes are
noticeable. Exemplary cases of this modality are found in Maloti Drakensberg Bioregion
between South Africa and Lesotho, in Susumua and Shapole (Kenya); in Bwindi and
Mgahinga (Uganda) and Fouta Djallon (Guinea). But accessing those funds is difficult; it is
also hard to estimate how much has been granted in Africa (Holopainen and Wit 2008).
“Carbon markets” could be a partial answer to complementing the financing of forest
management but the level of understanding of the protocol is rather low among stakeholders.
Designing projects for funding under the scheme has proven to be difficult, financial risks
may be involved and there is a lack of understanding of legal implications for CDM projects.
Extensive training is needed if this scheme is to be effective in the future in Africa. These can
be the reason why Africa accounts for only 3% of CDM projects (Holopainen and Wit 2008).
The lack of legal access to forest land, the high value of some timber species, reduced
capacity of forestry administrations to supervise forest management activities may be the
principal causes of illegal logging in Africa. For example, Swaziland has only about 15
foresters to manage the entire country’s forest resources; the number of trained forest
technicians in Namibia is also very low. In general there is a decrease in the number of forest
technicians in Africa (FAO et al. 2005). Some African countries have tried solving illegal
logging by declaring logging bans or promoting boycotts to the trade of tropical timber.
Neither of these seems to work as in most cases the bulk of the timber harvested is consumed
at the national level. Cameroon and Liberia have designed methodologies to monitor the
movement of logs from the forest up to the export yard; Liberia has developed its own
reduced impact logging guidelines. However, the bottleneck continues to be the high costs of
the equipment and machinery needed for reducing environmental impacts and the lack of
trained personnel to implement such guidelines.
The latest issue influencing forest management is climate change. Countries now are faced
with providing answers to questions such as “what needs to be done for forestry to respond to
climate change?” Providing answers to new demands requires that forest planning and
management be implemented with the participation of all stakeholders and that large areas
may have to be set aside untouched for conservation and protection. Planted forests for
landscape restoration, rehabilitation and protection have been increasing but need to be
augmented as a possible solution to climate change mitigation. A recent international meeting
on climate change, forest management and health implies that this subject will need to be
addressed also by African countries.
South Africa, Burundi and Mauritania have embarked on the development of national
guidelines for planted forests and their adaptation to national overall socio economic,
environmental and political conditions. Such guidelines are important to help countries
introduce changes in reforestation policies, design strategic and economic planning, train the
general public on the benefits of plantations, network for intensive tree planting and identify
ways to involve all stakeholders in reforestation programmes, to give a few examples.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
29
Overview
Forest fires influence forest management considerably. Although this practice continues to be
used mainly for agricultural purposes, unfortunately the end results over the years is land use
change. Efforts need to be made to teach users that fires can be an “environmental friendly”
tool in support of forest management. National guidelines for fire management are necessary
to help curb the area burnt annually. Networking for the proper use of fire and the
establishment of international alliances for supporting initiatives by less developed countries
in preventing forest fires is a means to reduce their incidence. Examples of cooperative
agreements need to be enhanced, for example between networks like AfriFireNet and other
topical networks and partners such as the Global Observation of Forest Cover/Global
Observation of Landcover Dynamics - Fire Mapping and Monitoring Regional Southern
Africa Team.
A vision of dealing with forest management is through a landscape and ecosystem
management approach. This approach looks at the entire surroundings and the effects that
forest practices can have on the landscape and on the livelihoods of the communities. Model
forests – with their regional coverage concept and partnership approach – can be an answer to
promoting participatory forest management. At present some 40 model forests have been
established, representing approximately 20 million ha. Cameroon is the only African country
with pilot model forest sites in Campo Ma’an and Dja and Mpomo.
Much needs to be done on the social aspects of forest management. Working conditions for
labourers, especially in harvesting and sawmilling operations in general, are not appropriate:
training, leisure facilities, proper working and protective clothing and job security in most
operations are non existent. Most logging camps lack good quality food, running water,
dormitory facilities and bathrooms.
Tree ecology has received limited consideration in forest conservation and management
decisions in some countries. Consequently, several cases of forest management in the tropics
are being seriously questioned and in some cases even certification licences are being rejected
(Mount Elgon, Uganda). It is essential to define new practical silvicultural recommendations
based on ecology with the aim of maintaining productivity (Peña-Claros et al. 2008; De
Freitas and Pinard 2008).
Reaching sustainability of forest management is not only a technical matter. Much needs to be
done in the political arena by continuing to participate in international discussions such as in
UNFF, CBD, CITES and FAO’s forestry commissions. Unfortunately, most African countries
lack the financial means to participate, thus missing out on important discussions that affect
forest management. Such debate should continue with all stakeholders and the more
developed nations should facilitate the participation of poorer African countries.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
30
Overview
Conclusions
Forest management planning and policies are hampered by the lack of quality forest data as in
some African countries where often information is not reported maybe because they do not
have it or do not see the importance to share it. Reporting in itself requires not only the
necessary means and the know-how but also a commitment to share the information with the
national and the international communities.
However, progress is being achieved in this respect as several African countries have taken
the lead to obtain and share such information by strengthening national forest programmes.
Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Kenya and Zambia have carried out national forest
assessments through which countries get information not only on tree population, biomass
and species distribution but also on social and economic aspects of forests such as who is
living in the forests and what uses are being made of the resource. Angola, Burkina Faso,
Cap-Vert, Chad, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania,
Gambia, Uganda and Yemen have also seen the importance of these assessments and are
planning to do their own assessments.
References
Barklund Å, Teketay D. 2004. Forest certification: a potential tool to promote SFM in Africa;
report prepared for the project: Lessons learnt on sustainable forest management in
Africa. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), September 2004. 17pp
De Blas DE, Ruiz Pérez M. 2008. Prospects of reduced impact logging in Central African
logging concessions; Forest Ecology and Management 256: 1509-1516.
De Freitas JV, Pinard MA. 2008. Applying ecological knowledge to decisions about seed tree
selection in selective logging in tropical forests. Forest Ecology and Management 256:
1434-1442.
FAO 2003a. Report of the international conference on the contribution of criteria and
indicators for sustainable forest management: The way Forward (CICI - 2003);
Guatemala City, Guatemala, 3–7 February 2003. Volumes 1 and 2
FAO 2003b. Sustainable management of tropical forest in central Africa: In search of
excellence. FAO Forestry Paper 143. FAO, Rome.
FAO 2006. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005: Progress towards sustainable forest
management. FAO Forestry Paper 147. 322 pp.
FAO 2007. Fire management – global assessment 2006. FAO Forestry Paper 151. 156pp.
FAO, ANAFE, SEANAFE. 2005. Forestry education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast
Asia: trends, myths and realities. In: Temu AB, Rudebjer PG, Kiyiapi J, Van Lierop P.
(eds). Forestry Policy and Institutions Working Paper No. 3, Rome. 34pp.
Holopainen J, Wit M. (eds) 2008. Financing sustainable forest management; ETFRN and
Tropenbos; Issue No. 49, September 2008. 176pp.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
31
Overview
ITTO 2006. Status of tropical forest management 2005. ITTO Technical Series No. 24,
Yokohama, Japan. 305pp.
Karsenty A, Garcia Drigo I, Piletty M-G, Singer S. 2008. Regulating industrial forest
concessions in Central Africa and South America. Forest Ecology and Management
256: 1498-1508.
Peña-Claros M, Fredericksen TS, Alarcón A, Blate GM, Choque U, Leaño C, Licona JC,
Mostacedo B, Pariona W, Villegas Z, Putz FE. 2008. Beyond reduced-impact logging:
Silvicultural treatments to increase growth rates of tropical trees. Forest Ecology and
Management 256: 1458-1467.
Repetto RC, Gillis M. 1988. Public policies and the misuse of forest resources. World
Resources Institute. Published by Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
32
Overview
BEYOND TIMBER: MAKING MULTIPLE –USE
FOREST MANAGMENT A REALITY IN CENTRAL AFRICA
R. Nasi
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
Corresponding author: r.nasi@cgiar.org
Abstract
Multiple-use forest management is considered by many as a preferable alternative to singleuse (generally timber-dominant) management models. In the Congo Basin, integration of
timber and non-timber forest resources plays a key role in the subsistence and market
economies of rural communities, enhancing their well-being and reducing economic risk. This
is however largely happening as an informal sector economy. Managing for multiple use in
“legal” designated land-use types (industrial logging concessions, protected areas or cashcrop plantations) appears hampered by the spatial overlap of different interests and bargaining
power, the multiple-uses of some favorite timber species, inadequate institutional support,
inappropriate policies and incentives, poor law enforcement and unclear (or at least
unrecognized) tenure and use rights. This paper explores the main land-use and management
models in Central Africa. Most of the current land-use types and associated management
models focus on only one or two goods or services in one management unit while, for the
most advanced, trying as much as possible to reduce disturbance and degradation of the other
non-managed forest goods and services. The only ‘true’ multiple-use management system
appears to be traditional shifting cultivation but this is not a forest land use and it induces
important changes in the flora and fauna. A few promising but yet ‘unfinished’ examples of
multiple-use management models do exist. We contend however that true multiple-use could
be realized through new innovative land-use units, integrated production and conservation
territories, allowing a spatial cohabitation of the interests of local people, conservation
proponents and extractive industries in the same land-use unit.
Introduction
Multiple-use forest management (MUM) for timber, non-timber forest products and
environmental services is considered broadly by many as a preferable alternative to single-use
(generally timber-dominant) management models. MUM implies more equitable strategies of
satisfying the demands from multiple stakeholders, and a more benign harvesting approach. It
should add more value to forests and make them more robust to conversion. It has become a
common and prime management objective under the sustainable forest management (SFM)
paradigm (Garcia-Fernández et al. 2008). Its implementation in the tropics has however been
lagging behind expectations.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
33
Overview
In the Congo Basin, integration of timber and non-timber forest resources plays a key role in
the subsistence and market economies of rural communities, enhancing their well-being and
reducing economic risk (Ndoye and Tieguhong 2004). This is however largely happening as
an informal sector economy. Managing for multiple use in “legal” designated land-use types
(industrial logging concessions, protected areas or cash-crop plantations) appears hampered
by the spatial overlap of different interests and bargaining power, the multiple-uses of some
favorite timber species, inadequate institutional support, inappropriate policies and incentives,
poor law enforcement and unclear (or at least unrecognized) tenure and use rights.
What is indeed the actual situation in Central Africa? Does MUM exist already? What are the
prospects for a wide implementation of this concept?
Congo basin forests are more than timber
The six countries (Table 1) of the Congo Basin (Cameroon, Central African Republic – CAR,
Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) represent the
second largest contiguous block of tropical rainforests after the Amazon Basin. They
represent also a significant part of African open forests and woodlands that, though less
emblematic, are home of a rich biodiversity and source of many goods and services. The
population density averages 23 inhabitants/km2. About 40% live in cities (32% in DRC, 84%
in Gabon) making the rural population density 14.5 inhabitants/km2 and, generally less than 1
inhabitant/km2 in dense forest areas. The rural people and in some cases a great part of the
urban people rely heavily on forest goods and services for their everyday life. The countries
rely overall on natural resources such as minerals and forests for their development but tend
to consider forests only as a source of timber or a reservoir of land for alternative land uses
like perennial crop plantations (oil palm). Still forests are much more than timber. In Gabon,
for example, the estimated annual value of the bushmeat trade is about 40 million US$
(Wilkie et al. 2006). Also in Gabon, protected areas cover 2.86 million hectares; if we assume
that one hectare of intact tropical forest stocks about 150 tonnes of carbon (IPCC 2006) and a
market value of 4.10 US$ per tonne of carbon offset in 2006 (Hamilton et al. 2008), then the
overall carbon offset value of the Gabonese protected areas would hypothetically be up to
1.76 billion US$ or annually, based on a 25 year cycle (like timber), 70 million US$. These
values are to be compared with the value of exported timber products estimated at about 401
million US$ in 2006 (ITTO 2007). Table 2 gives some examples of the economic value of
different goods and services extracted for specific total economic valuation studies and
highlight the significant value of non- timber products and environmental services. These
values should be recognized, and forests accordingly managed for multiple uses.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
34
Overview
Current land uses and related management practices
The two principal “legal” land uses in the Congo Basin sub-region (Table 3) are industrial
logging concessions (59.5 million ha) and protected areas (44.5 million ha). The most
common agriculture system (shifting cultivation) is not easy to detect using low resolution
satellite imagery but as a first approximation could be estimated at 30.9 million ha (Mosaic
Forest/Croplands of Table 4) and thus represents the third largest land use type (though some
areas overlap with logging concessions and protected areas). Community forests exist only in
Cameroon (though they are mentioned in recent forestry laws of the DRC and Gabon) and
represent around 6,300 km2. The few significantly sized industrial plantations are the 430 km2
(CDC website) of the Cameroon Development Corporation (oil palm, rubber, bananas), 260
km2 of SOCAPALM (oil palm) and the 480 km2 of Eucalyptus Fibre Congo (EFC) clonal
eucalypts plantations (MAG Industries website).
Industrial logging concessions
Out of the 369 allocated logging concessions in 2008 representing 558,828 km2, 151 (41%)
were engaged in forest management (Table 5). The 218 (59%) concessions not yet engaged in
developing a proper management plan can safely be considered as having a single use
management system, with timber as the sole commodity for an immediate profit, and without
long term sustainability concerns.
Most current forest management plans in the Congo Basin are built around a common set of
principles and differ only marginally from each other (Nasi et al. 2006). Depending on
available remote sensing and cartographic documents, a set of base maps is developed and a
management inventory carried out to provide an assessment of the timber resource. At the
same time additional information (tree regeneration, fauna, non-timber forest products, human
activities, etc.) is collected. If sites of particular importance (biodiversity or cultural aspects)
are identified during the inventory, specific studies can be commissioned or the sites
immediately taken out of the production area and assigned to the protection area of the
concession. A study of the socio-economic characteristics of the concession and its
surrounding area is carried out to obtain data on the human settlements and of the various
forest uses by local people. When all this baseline information has been collected the
determination of the specific management parameters for the concession is conducted as a
negotiation between the firm preparing the plan, the logging company, the national forestry
administration and eventually local authorities. We can characterize such management with
optimization for a single good (timber being the only managed good) but with consideration
given to the preservation of other goods and services for long term sustainability, in the form
of constraints to timber profit maximization.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
35
Overview
Protected areas
Not surprisingly, protected areas are managed for protection (though a significant part is
neither managed nor protected). About 60% of the forest protected areas belong to IUCN
categories Ia (strict nature reserves) and II (national parks); the remaining 40% belong to
categories IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) 16% and VI (Managed Resource Protected
Areas) 24%. The dominant paradigm (76%) is therefore strict conservation and the only
activities officially recognized in these protected areas are research and recreation (ecotourism). Protected areas in Central Africa are managed for two services (biodiversity and
recreation) with consideration given to the preservation of other goods and services.
Shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation as practiced in the tropics is characterized by a shift between fields rather
than between crops on the same field, short (1-3 year) cropping periods alternating with
longer fallow periods (4-60 years), cutting and burning of the fallow vegetation at the
commencement of each cropping period, and the almost exclusive use of human energy in
land management operations (Watters 1971). It creates unique landscapes composed of a
shifting patchwork of crop fields, fallows of various ages, secondary forest derived from
fallows, and remnants of the original vegetation which appear as a mosaic of forests and
croplands on low resolution satellite imagery. The presence of fallows, defined by Burgers et
al. (2000) as the vegetation and associated fauna occupying land cleared for cultivation but
not currently so used, with their associated multiple uses (provision of firewood or non-timber
forest products, hunting grounds, etc.) makes shifting cultivation a multiple use management
system. This is however primarily an agricultural land use system whose purpose is to fulfil
nutritional and income needs of local farmers even if it creates landscapes that could maintain
high levels of biodiversity (Finegan and Nasi 2004).
Community forests
Formal community forests exist only in Cameroon with provisions for such land use in the
recent forestry laws of Gabon, DRC and CAR. In Cameroon, a community forest is a forest
area from the non-permanent forest domain, smaller than 5,000 ha where full use rights to
forest resources is granted to a community for a 25-year period. Therefore, community forest
status does not carry permanent property rights to the area allocated and is similar to a
concession (De Blas et al. in press).
Results from a recent survey (De Blas and Ruiz Pérez 2005) show that in the South Province
in Cameroon all management plans make an assessment of the NTFP potential but once
implemented communities focus on logging production as the main income activity and give
up the option to develop NTFPs, because of the high labor cost compared to the benefits. In
contrast, the western provinces with high demographic pressure, relatively poorer forests and
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
36
Overview
more organized user groups (honey collectors, carvers, trappers of small mammals, medicinal
plant collectors, herders, etc.) are managed for the commercialization of NTFPs. This shows
that NTFPs are usually a second-best option compared to timber and are extracted when
opportunities are available. However, for some niche products like Prunus africana bark, they
can yield a substantial income (Ruiz-Pérez et al. 2004).
Industrial plantations
These are the epitome of single-use management with generally high intensity management
practices, limited diversity and improved planting materials. This does not mean that they are
necessarily evil and indeed Eucalypts Fibre Congo is trying to achieve an FSC certification
but they represent the single-use end of the single- multiple-use spectrum.
In conclusion of this brief review, most of the current land-use types and associated
management models focus on only one or two goods or services in one management unit
while, for the most advanced, trying as much as possible to reduce disturbance and
degradation of the other non-managed forest goods and services. The only ‘true’ multiple-use
management system appears to be traditional shifting cultivation but this is not a forest land
use and it induces important changes in the flora and fauna.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
37
Overview
Table 1: Some indicators for Central Africa countries
Country
Total area
Km2
Cameroon
C.A.R.
Congo
D.R. Congo
Gabon
Eq. Guinea.
Congo Basin
475 440
622 984
342 000
2 345 410
267 667
28 051
4,081,552
Population
(est. 2008)
(x1000
Growth
hab.)
rate %
GDP/capita (est.
2007)
US$
Growth
rate %
18,467
4,434
3,903
66,514
1,486
616
95, 420
2,100
700
3,700
300
14,100
28,200
1,201
2.22
1.49
2.60
3.24
1.95
2.73
3.3
4.2
-1.6
6.3
2.1
5.6
Forest cover (2000)
Dense
forests
(x1000ha)
21,436
8,227
25,914
124,566
21,190
1,843
203,176
Mosaics
(x1000ha)
7378
21395
1221
22707
1006
312
54,019
Open
forests
(x1000ha)
10951
24746
1421
53879
219
15
145,250
HDI (2005)
Value
Rank (out
of 177)
0,532
0,384
0,548
0,411
0,677
0,642
0.444
144
171
139
168
119
127
161-162
Sources: Total area, Population and GDP: CIA World Fact Book 2008; Urban %: World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision
Population Database,Forest cover: Mayaux et al. (2003); HDI (Human Development Index): Human Development Report, 2007
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
38
Overview
Table 2: Example of estimated economic values of forest goods and services
Forest Goods or Services (in
discounted US$/ha or in US$/ha/yr)
General
(Pearce and Pearce 2001)
Cameroon (Lescuyer
2007)
Gabon (National Park)
(Lescuyer 2006)
Cameroon (community forests)
(Akoa Akoa 2007)
200 - 4,400
560
98
25-78
40
61
Not assessed
165
0 - 100
41 - 70
3
172
0 - 3,000
7
1<
Not assessed
Recreation
2 - 470
19
4
34
Watershed benefits
15 - 850
54 - 270
0
998
360 - 2,200
842 - 2,265
211
632
Option values
2 -12
3
Not assessed
Not assessed
Non-use values
4,400
19 - 32
24
Not assessed
Timber
Fuel wood
NTFPs
Genetic resources
Climate benefits
Table 3: Area estimates by country and affectation (logging, protection)
Countries
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Congo
Democratic Rep. of Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
CONGO BASIN
Land area (km2)
465,445
620,152
342,766
2,328,225
26,730
262,538
4,045,856
Designated for protection
Area (km2)
%i
37,450
8.05
76,743
12.37
35,993
10.50
261,063
11.21
5,104
19.09
28,620
10.96
444,973
11.00
Designated for logging
Area (km2)
%i
60,935
13.09
34,293
5.53
147,127
42.93
248,276
10.66
14,375
42.93
90,375
34.60
595,381
14.72
i:% of land area
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
39
Overview
Table 4: Area (ha) estimates by land-cover classes and affectation (logging, protection)
Land cover class
Closed evergreen lowland forest
Submontane forest (900-1500m)
Montane forest (>1500m)
Swamp forest
Mangrove
Total humid forests
Mosaic forest/croplands
Mosaic forest/savanna
Closed deciduous forest
Deciduous woodland
Open deciduous shrubland, sparse trees
TOTAL Subregion (Congo Basin)
Area
(x1000ha)
155,615
11,192
2,354
13,298
194
182,672
30,916
54,492
20,682
63,089
30,122
404,588
% subregion
38%
3%
1%
3%
0%
45%
8%
13%
5%
16%
7%
100%
Protected
(x1000ha)
18,788
2,329
787
1,028
24
22,958
1,300
4,987
1,622
6,435
4,607
44,497
% land cover class
protected
Allocated for logging
(x1000ha)
12%
21%
33%
8%
12%
13%
4%
9%
8%
10%
15%
11%
48,168
153
2
2,857
2
51,183
4,586
1,628
472
168
1,078
59,538
% land cover class
for logging
31%
1%
0%
21%
1%
28%
20%
3%
2%
0%
4%
15%
Source: GLC 2000, FORAF
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
40
Overview
Table 5: Industrial logging concessions
Logging concessions
Country
Cameroon
CAR
Congo
DRC
Gabon
Total
MnP in preparation
N
ha
N
ha
103
11
48
156
50
368
6,074,033
2,321,844
10,833,973
22,200,962
10,027,405
51,458,217
38
4
26
46
9
123
1,866,171
999,435
4,005,758
6,590,628
1,471,567
14,933,559
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
MnP approved,
implemented
N
ha
65
8
3
0
9
85
4,207,862
1,739,055
1,907,843
0
2,917,888
10,772,648
Certified for legality
Certified for SFM
No management
N
ha
N
ha
N
ha
21
1
4
3
2
31
1,722,786
195,500
2,183,839
723,873
622,399
5,448,397
7
0
2
0
4
13
558,114
0
834,302
0
1,813,658
3,206,074
0
5
19
110
32
166
0
1,096,049
4,920,372
15,610,334
5,637,950
27,264,705
41
Overview
Towards an integrated production/ conservation territory
Can we go further and develop true multiple use management for the Congo
Basin forests?
The suggestion is to combine (at least) the two major land use types, a logging concession and
a protected area with community-based managed areas in one land-use management unit that
could become an integrated production/conservation landscape. The overall result would be a
protected area inserted in the local economic context and a multiple-use production area
sustainably managed ensuring the long term funding of conservation and local livelihoods.
This cohabitation would allow defining large territories with a mixed production/conservation
vocation optimizing economic potential and long term protection of environmental services.
It is possible to envision a temporal cohabitation with a first logging cycle using the best
available techniques followed by a conservation cycle of similar length. This option however
may have the following problems:
It will be more difficult to organize on a temporal basis with cycles of at least 25
years.
Uses by local people might become problematic during the conservation cycle
depending on the land and resource right allocation and on who ‘manages’ the land.
What will happen to the extractive industry during the conservation cycle?
Etc.
We thus suggest a spatial cohabitation model of conservation and production where regular
income from the production side could be used to help the conservation side. In addition, a
well designed spatial cohabitation will allow benefiting optimally from source-sink dynamics
for wildlife management
Utopia or possible?
An interesting example of integrated landscape management is found in Guyana. Acting
under a mandate from Guyana and the Commonwealth to develop sustainable management of
the Iwokrama forest, the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and
Development (IIC) has invested significant capital in surveying and inventorying the
Iwokrama Forest resources. Of the total forest area of 371,681 ha, 184,506 ha are designated
as a Sustainable Utilisation Area (SUA); the other 186,175 ha being set aside permanently as
Wilderness Preserve (WP). The SUA is managed for logging under FSC certification by a
joint venture company with private partners and shares attributed to IIC, private partner and
local communities. The WP is managed for ecotourism with active participation of the
communities. Local communities keep the right to use natural resources within the Iwokrama
forest and benefit from employment and economic diversification (for more details consult
the Iwokrama website).
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
42
Overview
In the Congo Basin there are few initiatives of such integrated management for multiple uses;
promising but still incomplete in design and institutionally fragile. They depend heavily on
external funding and not really achieving integration and multiple uses.
Since 2002, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) has organized its interventions
around 11 large landscapes integrating protected areas and other adjacent areas (concessions,
customary lands, etc). Most of the work is funded through the USAID CARPE program. After
six years however it appears that though the results in terms of conservation are real, there is
no true integration of conservation and development through multiple use management. Yet,
promising agreements exist between environmental non-governmental organizations
(ENGOs) and various logging companies operating in the Dja-Minkébé-Odzala Tri National
landscape (Pallisco/WWF, Bordamur/WWF and CIB/WCS). These collaborations have
contributed to the mainstreaming of conservation approaches in the logging concession and to
the appropriation of biodiversity concerns (mainly linked to bushmeat hunting) by concession
managers. Reciprocally it helped the ENGOs to better understand the rules of the game and
the constraints faced by forest managers.
In Cameroon, the so-called Operational Technical Units (UTO) are also an unfinished case of
integration and multiple use management at the landscape level. The Campo Ma’an UTO is a
700,000 ha area comprising a national park, several logging concessions, a multiple-use area
for local people and industrial agricultural plantations. The national park and logging
concessions are part of the permanent forest domain, the multiple-use area part of the nonpermanent forest domain. The UTO is a decentralized management structure attached to the
Ministry of Forests in charge of the national park, the sustainable management of forest
resources and to develop an integrated coastal management plan while ensuring participation
of local communities to management and coordinating police operation (illegal logging,
poaching). A management committee with members from the state, the logging operators and
the local communities reviews and approves annual work plans. Most of the activities are
financed through GEF funding abounded by oil companies as a compensation for the ChadCameroon pipeline.
Is MUM possible in the Congo basin?
In a recent paper Garcia-Fernández et al. (2008) conclude that “multiple-use forest
management remains a valid management alternative under specifically favourable local
context conditions, especially when practiced at the landscape scale, but these conditions are
less frequent than commonly assumed” and that “special scenarios with favourable
preconditions are required for MUM to work, including a new mindset and incentives to
successfully compete with more specialized land-use options”.
We believe that in spite of the enormous problems of governance and unclear land tenure or
use rights it is possible to develop multiple-use forest management units at the landscape
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
43
Overview
scales gathering local people, conservation proponents and extractive industry actors
backstopped by formal recognition at the national level (like in the Iwokrama case).
One could envision (Billand and Nasi 2008) specific charters for these
conservation/production territories fostering policy incentives involving both conservation
and exploitation players. These partnerships would go much further than existing ENGOscompanies collaborating towards the co-management with communities’ involvement of large
landscapes while ensuring a local redistribution of the benefits of the production side to the
communities and to the protection side. This could be done following several options:
Wherever possible, try to realize the economic potential of the conservation side (ecotourism, biological prospection, payment for environmental services, etc);
Manage and valorize informal sectors like hunting, fishing or NTFP extraction outside
of the conservation area for local livelihoods;
Use part of the income generated by the industrial production side for the management
of the conservation area in search of reciprocal benefits (image of the logging sector,
certification of management or labelled products, cash for conservation activities or to
compensate local people, etc.)
Some minimal enabling conditions have to be put into place for such an integrated approach:
Some starting funds are needed to cover initial transaction costs either from
international donors, from the extractive industry or both). This money should go
together with the presence of some coordination platform or agent.
The willingness for the production sector to engage into certification otherwise there is
no valid reason for the industrial operators to go further than the classical timber-based
forest management plan approach.
A political support either proactive (creating specific land-use units, accepting a
redistribution or a waiver on royalties from extractive industries) or, at least, neutral
(no undue interference from the State).
References
Akoa Akoa R. 2007. Economic analyses of community forest projects in Cameroon. Masters
of Science (M.Sc.) in Tropical and International Forestry, Georg-August University of
Göttingen, Faculty of Forest Science and Wood Ecology, Göttingen, 105p.
Billand A, Nasi R. 2008. Production dans les forêts de conservation, conservation dans les
forêts de production : vers des forêts tropicales durables, à partir du cas de l'Afrique
central. In: Méral P, Castellanet C, Lapeyre R. (eds). La gestion concertée des ressources
naturelles – L’épreuve du temps. Coll. Économie et développement, Editions Gret et
Karthala, pp 201-219.
Burgers P, Hairiah K, Cairns M. 2000. Indigenous fallow management. Lecture Note 4.
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, South East Asian Research
Programme, Bogor, Indonesia.
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Overview
Cameroon Development Corporation website. Accessed 01/09/2008 http://www.cdccameroon.com/about%20us%20page.htm
De Blas DE, Pérez MR. 2005. Community forests: shadows and lights in rural Cameroon. A
report prepared for the WWF. Department of Ecology, University Autonomous of
Madrid, Madrid, 40p
De Blas DE, Pérez MR, Sayer J, Lescuyer G, Nasi R, Karsenty A, in press. External
influences on and conditions for community logging management in Cameroon. World
Development (2008) doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.03.011
Finegan B, Nasi R. 2004. The biodiversity and conservation potential of swidden agricultural
landscapes. Pp. 153-197 in Agroforestry and Biological Conservation in Tropical
Landscapes. Island Press
Garcia-Fernández, C., M. Ruiz-Pérez, S. Wunder, 2008. Is multiple-use forest management
widely implementable in the tropics? Forest Ecology and Management 256(7): 14681476
Hamilton K, Sjardin S, Marcello T, Xu G. 2008. Forging a frontier: State of the voluntary
carbon market 2008. A report by Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance.
Online at http://ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/article.news.php?component_id=5794
&component_version_id=8505&language_id=12
IPCC 2006. 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, Prepared by the
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Eggleston HS, Buendia L, Miwa K,
Ngara T, Tanabe K. (eds).
Online at http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html
ITTO 2007. Annual review and assessment of the world timber situation. Document GI-7/07.
International Tropical Timber Organization. Yokohama, Japan, 210p.
Online at http://www.itto.or.jp
Iwokrama website. Accessed on 02/09/2008 http://www.iwokrama.org
Lescuyer G. 2006. L’évaluation économique du Parc National de l’Ivindo au Gabon : une
estimation des bénéfices attendus de la conservation de la nature en Afrique centrale.
Rapport final préparé dans le cadre du Programme Sectoriel de Valorisation des Aires
Protégées au Gabon (PSVAP Composante 2), CNPN IRET CIFOR, Libreville, 54p.
Lescuyer G. 2007. Valuation techniques applied to tropical forest environmental services:
rationale, methods and outcomes. Paper presented at the “West and Central Africa
Tropical Forest Investment Forum: Issues and opportunities for investment in natural
tropical forests” sponsored by ITTO August 28-30th 2007, Accra, Ghana
MAG Industries website. Accessed on 01/09/2008 http://www.magindustries.com/
detail.php?id=654
Mayaux P, Barthlome E, Massart M, Van Cutsem C, Cabral A, Nonguierma A, Diallo D,
Pretorius C, Thompson M, Cherlet M, Pekel J-F, Defourny P, Vasconcelos M, Di
Gregorio A, Fritz S, De Grandi A, Elvidge C, Vogt P, Belward A. 2003. A land cover
map of Africa. European Commission Joint Research Centre, http://europa.eu.int.
Nasi R, Cassagne B, Billand A. 2006. Forest management in Central Africa: where are we?
International Forestry Review 8(1): 14-20
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Overview
Ndoye O, Tieguhong JC. 2004. Forest resources and rural livelihoods: the conflict between
timber and non-timber forest products in the Congo Basin. Scandinavian Journal of
Forest Research 19, 1–9.
Pearce D, Pearce C. 2001. The value of forest ecosystems: A report to the Secretariat
Convention on Biological Diversity. University College London, London
Ruiz-Pérez M, Belcher B, Achdiawan R, Alexiades M, Aubertin C, Caballero J, Campbell B,
Clement C, Cunningham T, Fantini A, de Foresta H, García Fernández C, Gautam KH,
Hersch Martínez P, de Jong W, Kusters K, Kutty MG, López C, Fu M, Martínez Alfaro
MA, Nair TR, Ndoye O, Ocampo R, Rai N, Ricker M, Schreckenberg K, Shackleton S,
Shanley P, Sunderland T, Youn Y. 2004. Markets drive the specialization strategies of
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Watters RF. 1971. La agricultura migratoria en América Latina. Cuadernos de fomento
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Wilkie DS, Starkey M, Bennett EL, Abernethy K, Fotso R, Maisels F, Elkan P. 2006. Can
taxation contribute to sustainable management of the bushmeat trade? Evidence from
Gabon and Cameroon Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy 9(4): 335 - 349
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
46
Overview
AFRICAN FORESTS AND CLIMATE
CHANGE: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
P.A. Minang
ASB Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins / World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi,
Kenya
Corresponding author: a.minang@cgiar.org
Abstract
Forestry for climate change mitigation and adaptation introduces new opportunities and
challenges for sustainable forest management in Africa. Climate change forestry could help
provide additional funding for sustainable forest management through carbon and other
environmental services markets while reducing deforestation. This presentation examines
Africa’s performance in current UNFCCC and related carbon forestry mechanisms (Clean
Development Mechanism-CDM, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and DegradationREDD and other markets) and adaptation. It also reviews conditions necessary for successful
implementation of climate change forestry in Africa, including improving Africa’s
participation in ongoing climate change talks, the need for strategic approaches to planning
forestry for climate change, inter-departmental collaboration at national level, the need for
better research and technology development and stronger sub-regional action. Lastly, specific
sub-regional policy challenges for enhancing the contribution of climate change forestry to
poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods are highlighted.
Introduction
According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (IPCC 2007) Sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA) is likely to be the most affected by climate change especially in dry, urban and coastal
areas. Most countries in SSA are experiencing increasing variability in temperature and
rainfall. Climate change is likely to aggravate these stresses as well as create new impacts.
Unfortunately, with widespread poverty, slow economic development and low education
levels, adaptive and mitigation capacity of societies in the region is low (Boko et el. 2007,
UNFCCC 2007).
Little attention has been given to understanding how forestry might contribute to mitigation
and adaptation to climate change in Africa. This paper reviews that state of forestry for
climate change in Africa. It examines the stakes, what is currently being done and highlights
the challenges for enabling sustainable forestry that also adequately serve climate change.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
47
Overview
What are the climate change stakes for Africa?
Africa’s stakes in climate change can be seen from three main angles. Firstly, climate change
brings with it a specific challenge for Africa due to the enormous proportions of the expected
impacts of climate change to various sectors of life on the continent. Secondly, besides the
enormity of projected impacts, the continent is classified as very vulnerable due to the
extremely low adaptive capacity. Thirdly, the current climate change policy architecture
provides specific opportunities for Africa to take necessary action to improve adaptive
capacity, reduce vulnerability and take advantage of carbon market opportunities.
Cross sectoral impacts
The IPCC predicts that global changes in temperature and rainfall patterns due to
anthropogenic factors would aggravate current impact of rainfall variability in SSA and drive
changes in forests and land use management with varied impacts on other related sectors.
These sectors include water, terrestrial ecosystems, agriculture and food security, coastal
zones and health (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Climate change vulnerability in Africa
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
48
Overview
Water stress and scarcity is expected to increase with between 75 and 250 million people
projected to be exposed to increased water stress (i.e. less than 1,500 m3 /capita/year) by 2020
(IPCC 2007, FAO 2005). Terrestrial ecosystems would experience vast changes. Climate
change is projected to increase semi-arid and arid land areas in Africa between 5-8% by 2080.
The IPCC estimates that loss of land to desertification, especially in Sahelian and Southern
Africa, would lead to degradation of forests in these areas and consequently about 20-40% of
species in the continent would be endangered. Coastal areas in West Africa and the
woodlands in East and Southern Africa are particularly threatened by potential sea level rise
and increasing aridity respectively. Climate Change induced temperature increases and
rainfall changes are expected to reduce yields from rain-fed agriculture by up to 50% by 2020
and net revenues from crop yields could drop by as much as 90% by 2100 in Africa (IPCC
2007). Pressure on Africa’s forest resource base is increasing due to climate change induced
declining productivity of agricultural land. Declining agricultural productivity is driving
extensification at the expense of forests.
In terms of health, spatial and temporal transmission patterns of disease vectors for malaria,
dengue fever, meningitis, cholera and others would be altered. For example, previously
malaria free highlands in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi could experience improved
suitability conditions for malaria by 2070 (Boko et al. 2007).
Peculiar vulnerability
Sub-Saharan Africa is considered the most vulnerable region to climate change owing to a
number of factors. First, it is a continent already under pressure from extreme climatic events,
and secondly, it is a region facing huge developmental challenges including widespread
poverty, HIV-Aids, conflicts and others.
Most of Africa is currently experiencing increasing frequencies and intensities of extreme
events such as droughts and floods, and high climatic variability (especially inter-annual
variability in rainfall and temperature), with events occurring in new areas. The widespread
disruption of socio-economic well-being and famine that is caused by these events and
variability would be aggravated by the impacts of climate change.
The many developmental challenges facing the African continent are likely to contribute to
and compound the impacts of climate change and also limit the adaptive capacity (ability to
cope with) of the region. These challenges include widespread and endemic poverty, weak
institutions, limited infrastructure, low levels of education, low levels of technology and
information, poor planning, poor access to resources (financial, technological) etc. (UNFCCC
2007, Boko et al. 2007).
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
49
Overview
Benefiting from carbon market opportunities
Climate change is influencing the commoditization and growth in markets for ecosystem
services such as carbon sequestration. For example, carbon markets worth US$64 billion in
2007 are growing by almost 50% from USD 31 billion in 2006 with Africa having only about
5% of the market share (Capoor and Ambrosi 2006, 2008). There are two kinds of market
mechanisms, i.e. regulated carbon markets within the UNFCCC processes, and voluntary
markets. Regulated markets include the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and possibly
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing countries (REDD) - a
mechanism under discussion for the post 2012 climate regime. Current UNFCCC mitigation
rules allow for developing country participation in a carbon market mechanism known as
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The best known example of a voluntary market
system is the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): The CDM is one of three “flexible mechanisms” in
the Kyoto Protocol designed to accomplish the objectives of the UNFCCC. It makes provision
for investment by industrialized countries and industry in projects related to carbon emission
reduction and carbon sequestration in developing countries. These projects should contribute
to sustainable development in developing countries (i.e. Non-Annex 1 countries) while
enabling developed countries (i.e. Annex 1 countries with quantified emission reduction
targets) to meet the Kyoto emission reduction and quantified emission limitation targets (Art.
12.2 of the Kyoto Protocol). CDM rules are only valid for the first commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol from 2008 – 2012. Only afforestation and reforestation are eligible during the
first commitment period. Negotiations for the second commitment period are underway and
the future of the CDM post 2012 is unclear.
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD): During the 13th COP /
MOP in Bali Indonesia a decision was reached, on a procedure and guidelines for negotiating
modalities for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) as a potential
mechanism for a post 2012 climate agreement (Decision 2 CP.13). It opens the possibilities of
including avoided deforestation and forest management as eligible forestry activities during
the post 2012 period.
The REDD idea suggests a mechanism in which countries that elect to reduce national level
deforestation to below an agreed baseline would receive post facto compensation, whilst they
commit themselves to stabilize or further reduce deforestation in the future. Besides a number
of proposals put forward for discussions (Achard et al. 2005, Santili et al. 2005), no specific
rules have been agreed for REDD. However, some indicative guidance for engaging in REDD
demonstration activities was given in the Bali road map as follows:
Demonstration activities should be undertaken with the approval of the host Party.
Estimates of reductions or increases of emissions should be results based,
demonstrable, transparent, and verifiable, and estimated consistently over time.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
50
Overview
The use of the methodologies is encouraged as a basis for estimating and monitoring
emissions.
Emission reductions from national demonstration activities should be assessed on the
basis of national emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Sub-national demonstration activities should be assessed within the boundary used for
the demonstration, and for associated displacement of emissions.
Reductions in emissions or increases resulting from the demonstration activity should
be based on historical emissions, taking into account national circumstances.
Sub-national approaches, where applied, should constitute a step towards the
development of national approaches, reference levels and estimates.
Demonstration activities should be consistent with sustainable forest management and
considers the relevant provisions of the United Nations Forum on Forests, United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
How is Africa doing on climate forestry?
Adaptation - reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity
African countries can leverage urgently needed climate change adaptation funding through
various mechanisms within the UNFCCC. The Stern Review highlighted that the costs of
strong and urgent action on climate change will be less than the costs thereby avoided of the
impacts of climate change under business as usual (Stern 2006). African countries are already
experiencing the impacts of climate change, yet they are poor and have very little adaptive
capacity (human, financial and technological). Adaptation to climate change is urgent and
costly, hence would put tremendous pressure on the budgets of these poor countries. These
African countries would therefore benefit by taking urgent measures to plan adaptation within
the context of sustainable development in order to be cost effective and also benefit from
current ODA funding for climate change adaptation (UNFCCC 2007)
Only about 24 African countries have prepared National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA;
www.unfccc.int). Almost all of these plans have been done with the support of the UNFCCC.
Few countries, outside the UNFCCC list of Least Developed Countries have prepared
NAPAs. Hence, most strategic action on adaptation is donor driven. Implementation of
planned adaptation action identified by the NAPAs has been slow to start due to lack of
funding and other institutional challenges. Furthermore, few NAPAs articulate the role of
sustainable forest management.
Most climate change adaptation activities in Africa are small project-based activities done in
specific project areas at sub-national level by several international bodies. Some examples
include the IDRC –DFID Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) research and
capacity building project, the UNDP-GEF community-based adaptation project, Coping with
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
51
Overview
Drought and Climate Change (in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia), Adaptation to
Climate and Coastal Change in West Africa (ACCC) (in Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau,
Gambia and Mauritania) and Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern and Southern Africa
(ACCESA) - Kenya, Mozambique and Rwanda. These projects cover a wide range of
adaptation activities including adaptive capacity, improving resilience and reducing
vulnerability.
Carbon forestry
Africa’s participation in current climate change mechanisms has been extremely weak. In
addition, participation in climate change talks towards a post 2012 climate regime has also
been poor. Participation in carbon market mechanisms (CDM and voluntary markets) needs to
be improved. Only four CDM forestry projects from Africa are being considered from a list of
37 forestry projects (as at September 2008): one Afforestation Project from Mali and three
Reforestation projects from Congo DRC, Tanzania and Uganda respectively. All four projects
are at the validation stage hence are a long way from trading carbon credits. However, only
one CDM forestry project has received carbon credits so far in the world.
Regarding voluntary markets, about 60 forestry-based carbon sequestration related projects or
planned projects have been identified in Africa (Jindal et al. 2008). East Africa is hosting
about half of these projects while Central Africa is hosting only three projects. Most of these
projects are at planning level with fewer than five projects actually trading or making any
form of payments.
Tremendous potential for REDD exists in the countries around the Guinea forests of West
Africa and in the Congo Basin (Gibbs and Brown 2007) (Figure 2). In addition, African
countries are amongst those with the highest deforestation rates and deforestation by area over
the last decade. Between 2000-2005 Africa recorded seven of the ten countries with the
largest annual net negative forest change rates with the first five being Comoros (-7.4%);
Burundi (-5.2%); Togo (-4.5%); Mauritania (-3.4%); and Nigeria (-3.3%) (FAO 2005). On the
other hand only one country was counted amongst the countries with the largest positive
annual net forest change, i.e. Rwanda (6.9%) (ibid). Africa also counted six countries
amongst the top ten countries with largest annual net loss in forest area, i.e. totalling 2.5
million ha per year with Sudan (-589,000 ha/yr), Zambia (-445,000 ha/yr) and Tanzania (412,000 ha/yr) leading (ibid).
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
52
Overview
Figure 2: Carbon sequestration potential in Africa (Source: Gibbs and Brown 2007)
Unlike the CDM, a few countries are making some progress with respect to readiness for any
REDD mechanism in a post 2012 era. About 15 countries have made an effort to plan for
REDD through the development of REDD Readiness Plan Idea Notes (R-PINs) demanded by
the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank. Tanzania and DRC are also
receiving support from the Norwegian Government and UN REDD respectively to help
prepare for participation in any eventual REDD framework. However, many of the R-PINs
were done in a hurry and by a small number of “insiders” or consultants. No country has
undertaken the kind of concerted REDD planning analysis or inclusive consultation that was
held in Indonesia in late 2007.
What are the challenges for climate forestry in Africa?
Improving negotiations
Current bargaining positions and participation in UNFCCC post 2012 negotiations are weak.
Most countries are represented by one or two negotiators compared to tens in European or US
delegations. The issues being assessed are complex and multi-disciplinary hence delegations
need technical expertise on their teams to respond to such complexity as well as large enough
teams to attend multiple and often parallel sessions. Hence countries must increase the
capacity of the negotiating teams in terms of numbers and the diversity of knowledge and
skills involved.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
53
Overview
Though a very diverse continent, Africa shares common interests in many of the issues being
discussed within the UNFCCC. Yet African countries often negotiate individually with
smaller delegations and little technical capacity. African countries stand greater chances if
they adopt common position during these discussions. However, there is a consensus that any
common position needs to adequately recognize the diversity in interests in the continent with
respect to humid forests, dry forests and woodlands.
One challenge in addressing climate change mitigation is to overcome the emerging
inequality between dry and humid forest countries. The shift in focus from CDM forestry to
REDD seems to be marginalizing dry forest countries with funding for REDD readiness and
negotiations concentrating on the humid forest countries. With the exception of Kenya and
Zambia, few dry countries have received any direct support for mitigation activities. It is
interesting to note that countries such as Sudan and Mauritania feature amongst the highest in
terms of areas and rates of deforestation respectively (FAO 2005). REDD projects in drier
areas may yield significant adaptation benefits (Verchot et al. 2007). The COMESA
declaration on REDD during its Ministerial meeting held in Nairobi in November 2008
indicates how relatively drier countries are articulating their interests in REDD by calling for
broad landscape carbon stock accounting.
Improving knowledge and technology
The knowledge and technological requirements for understanding and acting on climate
change remain a huge challenge for Africa. This is aggravated by the fact that Africa is an
extremely data scarce environment in the area of natural resource management (Dalal-Clayton
et al. 2003). There is general consensus that remote sensing (with appropriate ground
truthing) could be the main method for carbon estimation and monitoring (see summary
reports of the UNFCCC REDD Methodology workshops held in Rome, Cairns and Tokyo at
www.iisd.ca or www.iisdrs.org). Forest degradation might be more expensive to measure.
Regarding adaptation, few countries have adequate hydro-meteorological data and know-how
to model local climate change impacts (Ziervogel et al. 2008). Data infrastructures for
forestry and meteorology are not sufficiently equipped for climate change responses in most
parts of Africa, yet they need to develop cost-effective methodologies for REDD planning and
monitoring.
Countries need to understand the drivers of deforestation in their countries if they want to
devise the right policy incentives for REDD. They would also need to understand the
opportunity costs of REDD and trade-offs involved in climate forestry - especially relating to
how these might affect livelihoods and other development alternatives (Swallow et al. 2007,
Minang et al. 2008a).
Capacity thus needs to be built on the continent to enable an adequate response to the
challenges of climate change at multiple levels. National, macro and meso level data
infrastructure for forestry, agriculture and land use need to be developed in this regard
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
54
Overview
(Minang et al. 2008b). This would require huge investments in training and research in
African countries.
Institutional challenges
Making forestry work for climate change in Africa would require adapting the forestry
institutional landscape to the needs and exigencies of climate change mitigation and
adaptation. The UNFCCC climate change framework requires institutions for various
purposes. National institutions are required to develop national communications on climate
change and for promoting and validating CDM projects. More African designated operational
entities are required for project verification and certification in order to reduce costs given the
relatively high costs of foreign based designated operational entity involvement.
Current proposals for REDD imply that countries might take responsibility for reducing
deforestation and degradation and hence would need institutional arrangements to ensure that
it happens. Institutions would be required to measure and monitor changes, to oversee
demonstration activities, to manage risks such as fires and curb illegal logging and to ensure
any payments are equitably distributed to those who contributed to reduced emissions on the
ground. These institutions would be needed at multiple levels of government in the country.
Most countries would need to reinforce collaborative action between various ministerial
departments. Climate change focal points in most African countries are hosted by Ministries
of Environment and often delinked from other key ministries such as forestry, agriculture,
energy, planning etc. Given the cross-sectoral nature of potential impacts of climate change in
Africa, it is only logical that action on climate change is coordinated and involves all the
actors concerned. However inter-ministerial commissions in Africa often face funding
challenges and representatives are changed too often (Michealowa 2003, Minang et al. 2007).
These challenges need to be given specific attention if progress is to be made.
Tackling some of the challenges of climate change such as increased water stress and
measuring and monitoring REDD might be optimized at a regional level. A great part of the
continent is covered by transboundary / transnational water basins, therefore having whole
basin approaches in the management of water issues within adaptation would be helpful. The
cost of monitoring REDD might also be very high for individual countries especially
regarding the use of remote sensing. These countries would thus benefit from economies of
scale in instances where regional approaches are adopted. The Congo Basin satellite
monitoring initiative might be an example to learn from.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
55
Overview
Policy and legal challenges
Policy gaps and poor policy implementation has widely hampered the development of climate
change mitigation activities in Africa (Desanker 2005). The following policy and legal aspects
appear important:
Providing definitions of forest as required by current rules under the CDM;
Clarifying rights and ownership of carbon and carbon revenues;
Improving investment environments to enable CDM project development;
Developing policy incentives for carbon project development; and
Mainstreaming climate adaptation into development policy.
Most African countries are yet to provide definitions of forest to the CDM executive board,
hence projects being submitted from these countries for CDM forestry cannot be considered
by the executive board. Countries have to adopt a definition within the parameters of canopy
cover (between 10%-30%), tree height (2- 5m) and minimum area (between 0.05 – 1ha) and
submit to the CDM executive board to enable advancements in carbon forestry.
Tenure rights to carbon services and revenues from these services remain unclear in many
countries. This provides a disincentive for investments at multiple-level carbon forestry
activities in Africa. Fear of usurpation of revenues from these activities by government or
brokers is a genuine concern for the development of carbon forestry projects. However, there
is evidence of ad hoc arrangements being made in order to move forward with initiatives. For
example, the Greenbelt Movement in Kenya was able to sign an agreement with the
government acknowledging community rights to carbon and carbon payments in a bid to
secure community ownership rights to ecosystem services remain unclear in Kenya as in most
of Africa. While such arrangements can secure rights in the short term, more long term
solutions are needed.
Investment incentives for carbon forestry need to be improved. Most carbon forestry projects
need considerable upfront investments with payments being offer only upon delivery of
certified emission credits. Raising these resources is difficult and specific tax breaks and or
subsidies and other incentives should be considered as means of motivating potential
investors.
Mainstreaming adoption remains a serious challenge for African policy makers. Current
National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) does not sufficiently link with forestry, poverty
reduction strategies and other key programs in the country. Many of these NAPAs are yet to
be implemented, and activities need to be scaled out in few instances where local projects are
being implemented in different countries if significant adaptation objectives are to be attained.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
56
Overview
Conclusion
This paper set out to review the state of climate change forestry in Africa. The potential
impacts of climate change on Africa, low adaptive capacity and little climate action calls for
accelerated and proactive action on climate change adaptation. Africa’s participation in
current climate change mechanisms have been very poor, with Africa having less that 5% of
the carbon market share.
Africa stands to benefit more by embracing and utilizing current opportunities within global
climate change architecture. For this to happen, Africans must adopt proactive and strategic
approaches to climate change. Important conditions for achieving success need to be
addressed as part of the strategic approach. These include, improving their negotiation skills
to cater for the diverse interests of each sub-region, building knowledge, technology and
skills, improving the climate change institutional infrastructure and the policy and legal
frameworks for climate change. These challenges show that improving the political economy
of climate change forestry is as important as the technical challenges and must both be
addressed with sufficient attention.
Even more important for enabling significant contributions from forestry to climate change
mitigation and adaptation, is the necessity for Africa to recognize and adopt a new sustainable
forest management paradigm, i.e. one that uses a business approach capable of fulfilling the
certification requirements for CDM and/or any eventual REDD mechanism, while
recognizing the role of forests in poverty alleviation and development. Such a paradigm
would best operate by combining the provision of carbon, water and biodiversity services in
order to optimize profitability. Africa lags behind Asia and Latin America in exploring the
combined opportunities that climate change, energy and environmental service markets offer
(Ferro 2007, Jindal et al. 2008). Africa needs to take quick action in this regard.
Acknowlegements
The authors wishes to thank Brent Swallow of the World Agroforestry Centre, Johnson Nkem
and Yemi Katerere of the Center for International Forestry Research and Heidi Vanhanen of
the Finnish Forestry Research Institute (METLA) for sharing useful thoughts on some of the
issues expressed in this paper at different times.
References
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Forest disturbance and
recovery processes:
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
DISTURBANCE AND RECOVERY IN NATURAL FORESTS
AND WOODLANDS IN AFRICA: SOME CONCEPTS FOR
THE DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT
AND REHABILITATION PRACTICES
Coert J Geldenhuys
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Corresponding author: cgelden@mweb.co.za
Abstract
The general perception of people is that disturbance is bad and should be avoided. Yet,
disturbances at different scales are a natural part of all vegetation formations. Species, the
biological components of all vegetation types, are adaptations to different disturbance
regimes, and form part of and have their optimum development in different recovery stages of
the vegetation. Hence the total biodiversity of a particular vegetation formation depends on
the maintenance of the different disturbance-recovery processes in that vegetation. Human
activities in a forest simulate the natural disturbances to which that natural forest system and
its components are adapted. However, different scales of disturbance (disturbance regimes)
require different recovery processes and therefore different periods of recovery towards the
original condition of the forest prior to the disturbance event. Our general perceptions and
actions in forest management and rehabilitation indicate that we often ignore the basic
ecological understanding that is required to manage the forest systems sustainably. This paper
conceptually compares the natural and human disturbances at different scales, and the
associated recovery processes, from small damage to part of one tree to total removal of a
forest and the substrate on which it was growing. Two examples are used to demonstrate what
kind of management interventions would be required to ensure recovery of the resource and
the system in timber harvesting. The concepts used have implications for all our management
activities in natural forests and woodlands.
Introduction
Many people perceive that a disturbance is bad, consider it as synonymous with degradation,
and think that it should be avoided or prevented, particularly when they talk about natural
forests. Think of the images we see on TV, in newspapers, or even in real situations, of the
impacts of resource use (timber harvesting, cutting of poles, bark harvesting, charcoal
production, traditional slash-and-burn agriculture, mining, etc), fire, plant invasions, and
infrastructure developments (road construction, power lines, residential developments,
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
settlements), i.e. issues that many people consider as very bad for the natural
forests/woodlands. How should we think about or evaluate different scales of timber
harvesting operations in a forest? People have very general perceptions around forest
management issues, such as
• African forests are declining.
• We need to protect forests by all means.
• Fire is a major cause of forest destruction and should be stopped.
• Slash-and-burn traditional agriculture is a major cause for forest loss.
• Alien invader plants threaten forests.
• Harvesting of timber and other products from forests cannot be managed sustainably.
Maybe such generalized perceptions, responses and actions are a reflection of the status of our
understanding of how natural forest and woodland systems function and of the ecological
processes that underlie and maintain forest biodiversity and productivity. Maybe we have to
think beyond our fixed and often emotional mindsets.
Disturbances at different scales are a natural part of all types of vegetation, and also of natural
forests and woodlands. A forest is not a museum piece – it is actually a very dynamic system
to have survived some severe landscape and habitat changes over millions of years! Human
activities in a forest simulate some kind of natural disturbance to which that natural forest
system and its components are adapted. It is possible that what looks good is not always
ecologically good, and what looks bad may in reality be good, at least for some components
of the forests. Our challenge is to determine for ourselves what criteria should we use for an
objective assessment of each situation - visual appearance of what we perceive as good or
bad, or mode and rate of recovery of affected components?
Every time I am confronted with such situations of apparent forest disturbance and
degradation in the real world, I ask myself: Is this acceptable or bad? If it is bad, how bad?
Why? Can it be restored? Is human resource use always bad? Or is conservation always good?
I suggest that we have to differentiate between perceptions and objective assessment, without
taking out the emotions that the forest environment generates within the minds of people. In
this paper I describe how I perceive a disturbance and then I try to give perspective to three
questions that often cross my mind when I have to deal with sustainable forest management:
• What disturbance-recovery processes form part of this forest/woodland system and
how did they shape the species and appearance of this woody system?
• What multiple-use forest management systems will simulate the natural processes that
would help me to maintain the natural diversity and productivity of this system when I
harvest forest products and use the services that the forests can provide?
• Is it possible to rehabilitate natural complexities (mixed-species, mixed-age) in
degraded forests?
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
What is a disturbance?
A disturbance is a discrete event (volcanic eruption, fire, browsing, tree fall, branch break,
etc.) that changes the species composition, the looks (physiognomy/structure) and/or
physiological processes and resources, such as light, temperature and nutrients, in any
vegetation system. Many disturbances happen but we do not even know about them. Others
leave a long-term scar in the biological components which experience such an extreme event,
or the landscape. A disturbance operates in a specific regime (frequency of recurrence, area of
impact, and intensity of change). Frequency can mean dry/wet season sequences (annually),
drought/flood intervals (decades), extreme fire/frost events (centuries); long-term climate
cycles (105 years); and sporadic plate tectonics (107 years). Extremes in all these types of
change occur very infrequently, such as Tsunami floods or earthquakes or
cyclones/hurricanes, or black frost. The area or spatial dimension of a disturbance can have
nested levels such as at level of the individual, a population of similar individuals (species), a
community of different species, a landscape of different communities, and so on. Intensity of
impact may relate to the season of its occurrence or duration of the event.
We generally have three categories of a disturbance: a non-event (NE) if the frequency or
intensity is too minor to elicit a response; an incorporated disturbance (ID) if the entity is
adapted to the scale of a disturbance event which then becomes necessary to maintain the
entity in its present state; or a disaster (D) if the scale of the disturbance forces the entity into
a new state (Hansen and Walker 1985). The frequency of such disasters is likely to occur
within the life cycles of successive generations and increases the fitness of the entity through
natural selection. The entity could be an individual, a population, a community, an ecosystem
or the landscape. It is therefore necessary to categorize a disturbance in relation to the level of
the entity. For example, a disaster at the population level may be an incorporated disturbance
at the community level and a non-event at the ecosystem level.
The interaction between the regime of a particular type of disturbance and the habitat/site
within which a suite of species live, determine how the species adapt to survive in that
particular environment. This process of interaction and adaptation contributes to the
vegetation and biodiversity patterns we see in the landscapes around us; the main type of
disturbance becomes the driver of the system. The evergreen forests are generally driven by
shade-tolerance of the different species as they have adapted to gap size to become either
shade-tolerant or light-demanding. The deciduous woodlands are generally driven by
tolerance to fire in the dry season to become tolerant or intolerant to fire, with adaptation to
grazing/browsing becoming an important secondary driver. The dominant species represent
adaptations to different disturbance regimes as shown by their suite of different growth/life
forms such as trees, shrubs, herbs, etc., their different kinds of bark, different kinds of leaves,
different kinds of fruit/seed types, etc. The suite of life/growth forms in a tropical moist forest
is different from those in typical warm-temperate Afromontane evergreen forests or dry
deciduous woodland. Tropical moist forest generally has smooth surface barks when
compared to the generally rough barks of fire-adapted woodland trees. Tree fruits are often
large and fleshy in tropical moist forest, small and fleshy in warm-temperate evergreen forests
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
or dry and hard in dry deciduous woodland. Further, the impact of a disturbance may vary
depending on its regime, the species that form a dominant part of the particular system and
their adaptations. We may therefore see grassland, shrubland, thicket, woodland and forest in
different zones all in the same area, or different communities in the same forest.
Disturbances at different scales are a natural component of all vegetation formations. The
species (biological components) of all vegetation types therefore generally represent
adaptations to different disturbance regimes, and also form part of different recovery stages of
the vegetation. The total biodiversity of a particular vegetation system therefore depends on
the maintenance of different natural disturbance-recovery processes in that vegetation to
which the different component species are adapted to. If we totally protect a system, we may
lose important biodiversity components of the system. We therefore need to understand the
dominant disturbance-recovery regimes of the different evergreen forest and deciduous
woodland systems in Africa, and how they determine their floristic and structural
composition, and their stand dynamics (changes).
Natural versus human-caused disturbances
All/most human activities in a forest simulate some natural disturbance to which that natural
forest system and its components are adapted. It is therefore necessary to understand to what
natural disturbance regime our resource use activities relate and what response could be
expected. In the following paragraphs the different human activities at different entity levels
are assessed by the category of disturbance (NE, ID or D) and compared with similar natural
disturbances.
i)
Human disturbances at individual level (parts of a tree). This may include the
harvesting of bark or roots for use as medicine, food, fibre or construction, or branch
pruning or cutting of one of several stems in a multi-stem tree or shrub. Similar natural
disturbance events may include bark damage by branch/tree falls, elephant or
porcupine or fire, or branch or crown breaks caused by strong winds. The impact of
the disturbance would depend on the species and severity of damage. For example,
some species such as Rapanea melanophloeos and Parinari curatellifolia easily die
(disaster) from bark harvesting, but for other species such as Ocotea bullata, Prunus
africana and Pterocarpus angolensis bark harvesting would be an incorporated
disturbance (quick recovery of the wound through bark edge or sheet regrowth)
(Geldenhuys et al. 2007). At the population and higher levels such a disturbance is
generally a non-event, depending on the number of trees affected.
ii)
Human disturbances at the population level (whole tree[s] of one species). This may
include single or group harvesting of trees of specific species for timber, poles and/or
firewood, or protection of a forest without disturbances for light or fire demands of
key species to enable their regeneration. For example, changing of the fire regime
towards protection in Zambian Undifferentiated Woodland in western Zimbabwe
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prevented tree regeneration and caused crown die-back of mature trees of the firetolerant Pterocarpus angolensis but facilitated abundant regeneration of the firesensitive Baikiaea plurijuga (CJ Geldenhuys, personal observation, 1975) Or timber
harvesting caused water-logged conditions that caused the group die-back of Ocotea
bullata in the Southern Cape Afrotemperate forests (Lübbe and Geldenhuys 1990).
Natural disturbance events may include insect pests or fungal/bacterial disease causing
crown dieback of specific species, selective damage or push over of trees of specific
species by animals, and windfalls and water-logging (from floods) of sensitive
species. The impact of the disturbance would depend on the species and the number of
trees affected. It would be a disaster if many small and big trees of a species are lost or
if the conditions are not suitable for the regeneration of specific species. It would be
an incorporated disturbance if the species regenerates well from seed and/or from
sprouting. It is usually a non-event for the population, community or ecosystem if
single/few trees are dead, dying or harvested, and the degree of stand structure change.
iii)
Human disturbance at community level (different tree species). This occurs during
uncontrolled, over-use of resources for different needs: timber, poles, firewood, bark
medicines and fibre, or insensitive group-felling of trees of several species during
timber harvesting, or impacts of invasive alien plants (destroying grassland but
nursing establishment of shade-tolerant forest species) (Geldenhuys 1997, Loumeto
and Huttel 1997). Natural disturbance events may include windfalls from strong wind
and cyclones/hurricanes, lightning (with no fire) or wild fires (only kill the trees). The
impact of the disturbance would be a disaster for shade-tolerant species with large
gaps, for light-demanding species with small gaps, for fire-tolerant species with fire
control, or for fire-sensitive species with frequent fires. It would be an incorporated
disturbance if the invader plant stands facilitate recovery of shade-tolerant species, or
gaps are of intermediate size. It would be a non-event if the gaps are small (shade
tolerant species) or gaps are large (light-demanding species).
iv)
Human disturbance at total community level (woody & herbaceous). This happen
during uncontrolled and overuse of timber, non-timber and non-wood forest products,
clearing forest stands for slash-and-burn traditional agriculture and the preparation of
charcoal. Such events benefit the light-demanding and fire-tolerant species of the
different systems. In nature similar scale disturbances occur during intense wildfires,
lightning with fire (as in Bloukrans Pass in Southern Cape Afrotemperate forests,
Geldenhuys et al. 1994) and river floods. The impact would be a disaster at the
individual and population level for many species, and if the disturbance event is
repeated at short intervals. It will be an incorporated disturbance if the changed site is
small in relation to the forest canopy height. It could be a non-event if the period of
resource use is short with long fallow periods.
v)
Human disturbance at ecosystem level (all vegetation and topsoil). This occurs in
areas of surface mining (diamonds, coal, bauxite, etc), conversion of forest and
woodland to intensive crop cultivation, and high density urban development with
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clearing all vegetation. Natural disturbance events may include floods with sheet
erosion and landslides. The impact would be a disaster with a continued activity, with
no corridors provided, or an incorporated disturbance if the land use activity is
abandoned or restored with pioneer tree species or suitable invaders, and a non-event
if light-demanding pioneer tree species establish on the site.
When we look at disturbances in these different situations we have to acknowledge that all
our resource use and development activities simulate natural disturbance events. The
important points to consider are that:
the actions of a disaster to one level may benefit species and vegetation systems at
another level. For example, the breakdown of community structures of the mature
forest may benefit the populations of pioneer or early regrowth species.
a disturbance to one level may benefit another component at the same level. For
example, the lack of regeneration of pioneer species (disaster for the pioneer species)
in a stand of such a pioneer species may benefit regeneration of more shade-tolerant
species (incorporated disturbance or non-event).
a greater disaster of disturbance at the more complex levels (ecosystem to landscape)
needs a longer period of recovery of that component/level.
we need to keep human resource use disturbances and rural developments to the level
of a non-event or an incorporated disturbance at the level of a population and
community.
Allowable scales of disturbance and recovery in sustainable resource use
and development
Understanding the disturbance and recovery processes and rates of change provides the basis
for silviculture and sustainable forest management (applied ecology). It is therefore necessary
to compare the impact and rate of recovery of what we do in the natural forests and
woodlands to what happens with the natural processes. We also need to understand the
species we use from these systems: in what kind of system do they grow naturally and
productively; under what conditions do they regenerate and become established; how do they
respond when they are damaged or cut – do they regrow from seed or from sprouts, and how
fast, and how would the bark regrow if damaged by different means? For example, the bark of
Ocotea bullata regrows well and fast as long as the tree is not ring-barked, and if it is dying it
is necessary to cut the tree before it is dead - even if this causes a conflict in the minds of
many people (Geldenhuys 2004). If a dying O. bullata tree is cut before it is dead, we actually
help the tree to survive by reducing the stress on the root system with stored reserves; the
sprouting stems on the cut stump grow fast (3 to 4.5 m height in 18 months) because of the
established root system; and all the bark and the timber of one cut tree could be used and
fewer trees will be damaged.
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Silviculture applied as disturbance-recovery ecology of different forest systems
in developing forest product harvesting systems
Disturbance-recovery processes and rates of change are the basis for silviculture and
sustainable forest management. Species dominance changes from early regrowth stands
towards mature forest and our target species have their optimum development and growth in
some of these development stages. The appropriate silvicultural system depends on the
position of our key species (economically and ecologically) within the vegetation
development stages of the disturbance-recovery processes/regimes. We need to focus at the
development stage in which our target species develops optimally. The challenge is to
develop an appropriate silvicultural management system for the target species within the
context of the forest as a whole, particularly when we know very little of the target species in
an area with very little or no ecological information.
The forest inventory is an important tool to develop a first approximation of the silvicultural
system. The following process should be followed:
1. Classify forest communities and calculate the importance values of species across
different communities (biodiversity). This will provide an understanding of the
association of the target species with other species in the different communities in
which the species is present.
2. Calculate grain of the particular type of forest to understand the scale of the ecological
processes (ecological processes underlying biodiversity), i.e. what determines the
relationship between the composition of canopy species in the regeneration and
canopy of the same stand (Midgley et al. 1990, Everard et al. 1995, Geldenhuys
1996a). For example, in the gap-size driven Southern Cape Afrotemperate Forest in
South Africa, the mountain forests are coarse-grained and the coastal platform forests
are fine-grained (Geldenhuys 1996a). In the Mountain forests the composition of
canopy species is very different between the canopy and the understorey of the same
stand. The canopy is dominated by light-demanding species (Ocotea bullata and
Cunonia capensis) typical of early regrowth forest, but the understorey is dominated
by regeneration and pole-sized stems of the shade-tolerant species that dominate the
canopy of the mature fine-grained Coastal Platform forests (Podocarpus latifolius and
Olea capansis subsp macrocarpa), where these species are also abundant in the
understorey seedlings, saplings and poles. In the fire-driven Undifferentiated
Zambezian deciduous woodlands in northern Namibia the fire-tolerant Pterocarpus
angolensis dominates in the fine-grained woodland with regular fire, whereas the firesensitive Baikiaea plurijuga dominates in the coarse-grained woodland where
conditions preclude regular fire, or regenerates in abundance when fire is controlled
(Geldenhuys 1993).
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3. Calculate stem diameter distributions for important species over different communities
to determine regeneration requirements or constraints and resource status for the
specific species (Geldenhuys 1993, 1996a, 1996b). The Inverse J-shaped stem
diameter distribution is typical of the species that regenerate regularly under the
specific conditions of the closed evergreen forests (shade-tolerant Podocarpus
latifolius and Olea capensis subsp macrocarpa) or the deciduous woodlands with
regular fire (fire-tolerant Pterocarpus angolensis). The Bell-shaped stem diameter
distribution is typical of the species that require different conditions than those
prevailing in the system, such as species that require disturbed conditions of a large
gap in the evergreen forest (light-demanding Cunonia capensis and Ocotea bullata,
and invasive alien tree species), or species that require the control or elimination of
fire in the deciduous woodlands (fire-sensitive Baikiaea plurijuga in Namibian
woodlands or Millettia stuhlmannii in Mozambican Miombo woodland). Regeneration
events for these bell-shaped species occur at infrequent intervals.
The grain analysis and the stem diameter distributions analysed from the resource inventories
are therefore useful tools to determine the specific shade or fire tolerance characteristics of
key tree species, as a first approximation. This could be further developed and refined through
appropriate monitoring feedbacks. A fine-grained forest/woodland with inverse J-shaped
curves for the dominant canopy species suggest that the canopy species are generally adapted
to small gaps (shade tolerant) or regular fires (fire tolerant). This means that the canopy
species regenerate regularly within the stand under the evergreen forest canopy or with
regular fires in the woodland. Silvicultural management should implement single-tree
selection system with small gaps for the main species to maintain good regeneration of shadetolerant canopy species in the evergreen forest, or should maintain regular fires to maintain
good regeneration of fire-tolerant canopy species in deciduous woodland. A coarse-grained
forest/woodland with bell-shaped curves for the dominant canopy species suggest that the
canopy species are generally adapted to large gaps or disturbed conditions (light-demanding)
or infrequent occurrence of fires (fire sensitive). This means that the canopy species can only
regenerate sporadically within part of the stand with the formation of large gaps in the
evergreen forest canopy or with control of fires in the woodland. Silvicultural management
should implement a group-felling system with larger gaps for the light-demanding species and
single-tree harvesting with small gaps for shade-tolerant species, or should maintain regular
fires in communities where fire-tolerant species dominate, and control fires in communities
where fire-sensitive species dominate, to maintain good regeneration of the different types of
species.
Forest rehabilitation through management of succession
Similar concepts can be used to develop rehabilitation strategies to recover processes towards
regrowth stands of diverse species and structure. Forest pioneer stands and stands of lightdemanding introduced plantation and/or invader plant species (Geldenhuys 1997, Loumeto
and Huttel 1997) develop from mono-specific pioneer stages to complex advanced stages of
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
recovering forest. Natural pioneer/regrowth stands on the evergreen forest margin or large
gaps facilitate several targeted timber species to establish after fire in abandoned slash-andburn and charcoal production sites (with pioneer species). Planting should be confined to
species that will not easily become established. The natural regeneration through pioneer tree
species (indigenous and/or introduced species) is financially a better option because such
species have a much better adaptation to establish under the disturbed conditions, while they
grow fast to cover the site, control erosion, contribute to restoring the nutrient cycling through
litter and organic material, and facilitate the natural regeneration of the shade-tolerant forest
species.
Conclusions
The African forests and woodlands are diverse in terms of species, growth forms and size
ranges of stems. They represent many diverse adaptations to ecological processes and drivers
such as shade or fire tolerances and grazing/browsing by animals (from insects to elephants).
We can accommodate such diversity through silvicultural management when we consider
species in the context of their natural development stages. We need multiple management
systems and approaches to accommodate diverse adaptations of key economic/ecological
species in management of forest complexity in relation to diverse resource use needs.
The same principles and concepts apply in rehabilitation of such complexities in degraded or
cleared forests. It is important to put the natural processes (vegetation cover, stand
microclimate, erosion control, litter input, seed dispersal) in place to facilitate a faster, more
diverse recovery of the diverse forest systems, at relatively low cost, towards the recovery of
complex structure and diversity of mature forest – over many years, particularly if the
disturbance was severe.
Different scales of disturbance require different recovery processes and therefore different
periods of recovery towards the original condition of the forest prior to the disturbance event.
Our general perceptions and actions in forest management and rehabilitation indicate that we
often ignore the basic ecological understanding that is required to manage the forest systems
cost-effectively and sustainably. We change towards reduced impact logging (which many
people perceive as keeping gaps small) when our target species are light-demanding and need
large logging gaps. We do rehabilitation plantings with species not always suitable for the
disturbed state, at high costs with doubtful success. If we re-assess the perceptions listed in
the introduction, then maybe we will think differently about the apparent degrading forest
activities. Some disturbances are definitely not good, but others are necessary!
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References
Everard DA, Midgley JJ, Van Wyk GF. 1995. Dynamics of some forests in KwaZulu-Natal,
South Africa, based on ordinations and stem-diameter distributions. South African
Journal of Botany 61: 283–292
Geldenhuys CJ. 1993. The use of diameter distributions in sustained use management of
forests: examples from southern Africa. In: Piearce GD, Gumbo DJ. (eds). The ecology
and management of indigenous forests in southern Africa. Proceedings of an
International Symposium, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 27-29 July 1992, Zimbabwe
Forestry Commission & SAREC. p154-167
Geldenhuys CJ. 1996a. Forest management systems to sustain resource use and biodiversity:
examples from the southern Cape, South Africa. In: Van der Maesen LJG, Van der
Burgt XM, Van Medenbach de Rooy JM. (eds). The Biodiversity of African Plants.
Proceedings of XIVth AETFAT Congress, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Kluwer
Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. p317-322
Geldenhuys CJ. 1996b. Options for sustainable harvesting of timber products from
woodlands: Examples from southern Africa. In: Mushove PT, Shumba EM, Matose F.
(eds). Sustainable management of indigenous forests in the dry tropics, Proceedings of
an International Conference, Kadoma, Zimbabwe, 28 May to 1 June 1996. Zimbabwe
Forestry Commission & SAREC-SIDA p124-142
Geldenhuys CJ. 1997. Native forest regeneration in pine and eucalypt plantations in Northern
Province, South Africa. Forest Ecology and Management 99: 101-115
Geldenhuys CJ. 2004. Meeting the demand for Ocotea bullata bark: implications for the
conservation of high-value and medicinal tree species. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC,
Shackleton CM. Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa:
Policy, people and practice. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Scottsville,South
Africa. p517-550
Geldenhuys CJ, Van der Merwe CJ, Jacobs CJ. 1994. Lightning: a disturbance factor in the
mixed evergreen forests of the southern Cape. Report FOR-DEA 833, Division of
Forest Science and Technology, CSIR, Pretoria
Geldenhuys CJ, Syampungani S, Meke GS, Vermeulen WJ. 2007. Response of different
species to bark harvesting for traditional medicine in southern Africa. In: Bester
JJ,Seydack AHW, Vorster T, Van der Merwe IJ, Dzivhani S. (eds). Multiple use
management of natural forests and woodlands: Policy refinement and scientific
progress. Natural Forests and Savanna Woodland Symposium IV, Port Elizabeth, South
Africa, 15-18 May 2006. p55-62
Hansen AJ, Walker BH. 1985. The dynamic landscape: perturbation, biotic response, biotic
patterns. SAIE Bulletin 4(2): 5-14
Loumeto JJ, Huttel C. 1997. Understorey vegetation in fast-growing tree plantations on
savanna soils in Congo. Forest Ecology and Management 99: 65-81
Lübbe WA, Geldenhuys CJ. 1990. Decline and mortality of Ocotea bullata trees in the
southern Cape forests. South African Forestry Journal 154: 7-14
Midgley JJ, Seydack A, Reynell D, McKelly D. 1990. Fine-grain pattern in southern Cape
plateau forests. Journal of Vegetation Science 1: 539-546
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LINKING DISTURBANCES TO SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT OF THE COPPERBELT MIOMBO
WOODLAND ECOSYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA
S. Syampungani1*, C.J. Geldenhuys2 and P.W.Chirwa3
1
School of Natural Resources, The Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest & Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa
3
Department of Forest & Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South
Africa
*Corresponding author: ssyampungani@yahoo.com; syampungani@cbu.ac.zm
2
Abstract
Deforestation of woodlands and forests all over the world is an emotional topic of popular
environmental debate today. Many people concerned about the environment have been
persuaded by graphic images of either burning forests or the sight of the complex ancient
forests being felled by commercial loggers, or slash-and-burn agriculturalists or charcoal
producers who seem to care little for the losses to global heritage, biodiversity and impact on
the global climate. This mindset created by this paradigm links loss to forests with
degradation of the environment. The mindset has led to the formulation of a variety of
policies that seek to protect forests and their ecosystems from the local communities who
utilize the forests for charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture in preference for
single tree selection harvesting. However, recent research has shown the regrowth of a wide
range of species over areas previously deforested. Perhaps what is important is to try and
classify the impact of these forms of forest utilization at both population and stand level. This
paper summarizes and synthesizes information from various studies undertaken to determine
the regeneration and recovery potential of miombo woodland under different disturbance
factors. It characterizes the miombo woodland response to these disturbances based on the
size class profiles exhibited at both population and stand levels. It also compares these with
the undisturbed woodland. The results indicate that single tree selection as a disturbance at
stand level is a non event while at population level, this disturbance may be a disaster.
Additionally, the results also reveal that miombo woodland is dominated by mostly lightdemanding species. Such species require large gaps for regeneration establishment and
development. As such, the dominant species perform better in open areas than under closed
canopy. The study concludes that these species are better adapted to the kind of disturbancerecovery processes associated with charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture. The
study recommends the need for integrating these forms of forest utilization on a controlled
basis into the forest management programs so as to reduce undesired destruction of the
woodlands.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Introduction
Deforestation, not only of the Zambian Copperbelt woodlands but of many forests all over the
world, is an emotional topic of the popular environmental debate today. Graphic images of
burning forest, or the sight of complex ancient forests being felled in minutes by commercial
loggers, or slash-and-burn agriculturalists and charcoal producers who seem to care little for
losses to global heritage, biodiversity and impact on global climate, persuade many people to
be concerned about the environment (Forsyth 2003). Many authors (Richards 1952, Myers
1984, Mather 1992, UNCED 1992, Bradley and Dewees 1993, GRZ 1998, Mather and Needle
2000, Brown 2001) have outright condemned deforestation and associated it with massive
loss of fauna, flora and some high productive forest ecosystems. Such commentaries assume a
direct relation between area of forest lost and the species lost (Forsyth 2003). The mindset
created by this paradigm links the loss of forests with degradation of the environment. This
mindset has led to the formulation of a variety of policies that seek to protect forests and their
ecosystems against interference from the local communities for charcoal production and
slash-and-burn agriculture. Such policies have condemned these two practices as forms of
forest utilization in preference for single tree selection harvesting which is perceived to result
in minimal negative impact on forests and woodlands. By contrast, later research has shown
that this direct relationship between the area of forest lost and species lost overestimates the
reality on the ground (Wu and Loucks 1995) and many species tend to survive in the
remaining clumps of forests. Many studies in other parts of the world (Fairhead and Leach
1998, Schmidt-Vogt 1998, Sillitoe 1998, Fox et al. 2000) have shown the occurrence of a
wide range of species over areas previously deforested. Perhaps what is most important is to
classify the disturbances based on their associated impacts at both stand and population levels
for a particular woodland. This approach helps to understand the implication of each
disturbance and also how such a disturbance may be incorporated into sustainable forest
management. A disturbance can either be a non-event or incorporated or a disaster or
catastrophe relative to the scale at which it occurs, such as individual, population, community
and landscape (Hansen and Walker 1985). A specific disturbance is a non-event if it does not
alter the functional environment of an entity or may do so with a frequency too minor to elicit
a response. It is an incorporated disturbance if it elicits dynamics of a scale to which the entity
is adapted and thus necessary to maintain the entity in its present states. It is a disaster or
catastrophe if it forces the entity into a new state.
This paper reports on a study which attempted to develop a new understanding of the
regeneration and recovery potential of miombo woodland and the selected key miombo
woodland species when exposed to single tree selection harvesting (STSH) for timber, slashand-burn agriculture (SBA) and charcoal production (CP). These disturbances vary in
intensity and in effects on the systems. STSH involves the removal of some trees, some
opening of the canopy, and some soil disturbance. SBA removes most or all of the trees,
burns the tree debris over the site, and cultivates the soil to various degrees which may
continue intermittently over several years. CP removes most of the canopy and includes some
soil turnover and fire in specific localities. The Copperbelt miombo woodland study of
vegetation recovery after human disturbance was done at three sites in Zambia (Kaloko,
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Mwaitwa and Katanino/Kashitu), each containing areas under disturbance categories of
STSH, SBA and CP in the past in close proximity to each other. In each study area, study
sites with vegetation recovery ages of 2-3, 5-6, 10-12 and 15+ years after termination of land
use activities were selected from within each disturbance category. Additionally, undisturbed
miombo woodlands (UMW) was selected in each study area to act as a control. The selected
practices bring into context the classification of the land use disturbances in miombo
woodland based on their impacts at both population (species) and stand (ecosystem) level.
This paper assesses how the results from the individual studies (Syampungani 2008) answered
the research questions posed to achieve the specific and overall objectives posed for the study.
It reviews and synthesizes the information on the regeneration characteristics and
characteristic development stages of miombo woodland that has been under STSH, SBA and
CP. In conclusion, the new understanding of regeneration and recovery potentials is assessed
with a view to effectively integrate these disturbances into sustainable forest management.
Evaluation of methodological issues developed for the study
Five specific studies were conducted to examine different parts of this overall study with most
requiring development of different methods (Syampungani 2008):
(i)
miombo woodland utilization; management and conflict resolution among
stakeholders: Semi-structured and key informant interviews were selected to generate
the data. Assistants in data collection were familiar with and well-known within the
communities to minimize discrepancies rising from such errors as fear, ignorance,
hope of benefits by the respondents, etc. (see Chamber, 1983). In group meetings
community members were divided into user groups to discuss issues relating to
woodland utilization and management. This paper does not include the results from
this component of the study.
(ii)
use of species-stem curves in sampling the development of miombo woodland species
in charcoal and slash-and-burn regrowth stands over time; The recovery stages over
time of post-utilization stands are highly variable in both plant stocking and species
composition (Strang 1974, Stromgaard 1985). STSH does not clear the woodland and
stem density does not change from pre-harvested stands. Regrowth of cleared current
woodland for SBA and CP results in dense stands of small stems which gradually
grow taller over time with reduction of stem density through natural thinning, and
increase in stem diameters. Traditional methods of fixed plot sizes, such as 0.4 ha
(Lees 1962), 20 x 20 m (Lawton 1978) and 40 x 40 m (Scholes 1990), may be too
large and time consuming (impractical) for young, dense regrowth stands (Mark and
Esler 1970). The species-stem curve technique developed here uses a fixed number of
plants in data collection, derived from the species-stem curves, to compare species
responses to different land uses. The technique has significant implications for
sampling regrowth stands in terms of time and number of species captured in the
different regrowth stands. It avoids measuring too many plants in one plant age
category with too few in other age categories, or to adjust sample size from one type
of stand (land use x age) to another.
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(iii)
(iv)
(v)
impact of human disturbance on the floristic composition of miombo woodland (using
fixed number of stems obtained from species-stem curve approach);
regeneration and recruitment potentials of key species of miombo woodland species
after disturbance and recovery of the woodland and species population structure;
age and growth rate determination using selected dominant miombo woodland species
within stands of different land use and recovery period: Stem discs were cut at 10 to
20 cm from the ground level, or stump in case of a shoot.
Resource use and perceptions on Miombo woodland recovery
The resources of miombo woodlands are central to the well-being and livelihood systems of
millions of rural and urban people (Grundy 1990, Tuite and Gardiner 1990, Dewees 1994,
Campbell et al. 1996, Syampungani, 2008), particularly charcoal and firewood as wood fuel,
building material (timber and poles) and slash-and-burn agriculture. The most important
products in the region are charcoal and firewood for the urban areas (Campbell et al. 1996),
and ash for fertilizing the cultivation of crops for the rural population, which are also the most
controversial uses in terms of their impacts.
Charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture
CP along roads in the Zambian Copperbelt Province to satisfy the increased demand for both
industrial and household wood fuel in urban centers, has had a perceived negative impact on
the woody vegetation of both forest reserves and open areas (Chidumayo 1987, GRZ 1998,
Katsvanga et al. 2008). Deforestation arising from SBA has been reported to be high in
Zambia (Syampungani 2008). Deforestation arising from both CP and SBA happens also in
other parts of the miombo ecoregion. In Tanzania the estimated decrease in forest cover due
to CP ranged from 300,000 – 400,000 ha/year (Ahlback 1988), with impacts including soil
erosion and biodiversity loss (Monela et al. 1993). In Mozambique CP and SBA has been
associated with loss of both forest cover and biodiversity (Mlay et al. 2003). In general, these
practices are blamed as the principal causes of deforestation and its associated negative
environmental impacts in tropical Africa (Myers 1989, Jepma 1995, GRZ 1998). This
perception may be attributed to inadequate information on the recovery of the woodland once
these disturbances cease. Some of the available information seems to suggest that woodland
recovery for the southern African woodland is not possible (Walker 1981, Stromgaard 1986).
Additionally, some of the available information on the growth rate of miombo woodland
seedling shoots (Lees 1962, Chidumayo 1992) suggests very low growth rates and therefore
may support the perception that CP or SBA does not result in woodland recovery once these
are terminated over an area.
The response of miombo woodland to clearing for either CP or SBA is reflected in the
development of regrowth stands once these disturbance factors are terminated over an area.
On the Zimbabwean highveld system Brachystegia spiciformis and Julbernadia globiflora
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remained the characteristic and dominant species throughout the developmental stages of
miombo succession after land clearing (Strang 1974). Pterocarpus angolensis occurred and
performed well in miombo areas in Tanzania previously under SBA (Boaler and Sciwale
1966), and also in Zambezian Undifferentiated Woodland in northern Namibia (Graz 1996).
In Zambia, the development of regrowth stands have been reported in various studies
(Chidumayo 1988, 1993a, 1993b, 2004) although the studies did not deal with individual
species development over time after termination of the disturbance, nor did they compare
woodland response to different disturbances. Fanshawe (1971) noted that Zambian miombo
woodland regrows virtually unchanged following clearing. Stromgaard (1986) reported that
although the initial stages of the regrowth stand development of a previously cultivated area is
a composition of fire resistant and some key miombo species, the development of miombo
regrowth does not revert back to the original miombo.
Single tree selection harvesting
STSH for timber, poles or wood carving has been perceived to have no serious negative
impact on the woodland ecosystem as a whole. For example, STSH for timber in Tanzanian
miombo woodland did not show any significant change in species richness and stocking
(Schwartz and Caro 2003). However, other studies reported the negative implication of STSH
in many parts of Tanzania (Hall and Rodgers 1986, Nduwamungu and Malimbwi 1997,
Mbwambo 2000, Luoga et al. 2002). Both Nduwamungu and Malimbwi (1997) and Luoga et
al. (2002) observed very low levels of mature Pterocarpus angolensis due to past harvesting
of this species for window frames and doors. Such a situation is referred to as an economic
extinction of the species (Schwartz et al. 2002), which allows such species to persist at low
densities which make their exploitation costly. The impact of STSH on species richness has
also been reported in other parts of the Miombo ecoregion: Malawi (Konstant 1999,
Makungwa and Kayambazinthu 1999); Mozambique (Grundy and Cruz 2001); Zimbabwe
(Grundy et al. 1993, Mudekwe 2006). These studies showed that the commonly harvested
species for either timber or pole production, namely P. angolensis, Erythrophleum africanum,
Brachystegia boehmii, Brachystegia spiciformis, Brachystegia bussei, Brachystegia utilis,
Pericopsis angolensis, Khaya anthotheca and Afzelia quanzensis exhibit unstable population
structures with reduction in absolute densities and also species richness. Similarly,
Brachystegia floribunda, Pterocarpus angolensis and Albizia antunesiana had unstable
population structures and low densities in mature miombo woodland stands in which these
species were under single tree harvesting.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Results from Copperbelt Miombo woodland study of vegetation recovery
after human disturbance
Species and diversity over time
The occurrence and diversity of species tend to differ from one disturbance type to another
and also with stand age within the same disturbance type. CP tends to yield the highest
number of species compared to either SBA or STSH or UMW. SBA regrowth stands tend to
result in more species than either the post STSH stands or the UMW stands. This suggests
that opening up of miombo woodland enhances species richness of the area. Many miombo
woodland species require high light intensities to regenerate and establish (Lees 1962). Under
the canopy the growth and abundance of understory vegetation of miombo, as in many other
vegetation types (Bassaz and Wayne 1994), are strongly limited by heavy shade and root
competition for moisture with canopy species. Increased light, soil moisture and nutrient
availability and creation of microsites for colonization associated with canopy disturbance
promote succession dependent on the intensity of disturbance (Reader and Bricker 1995).
Rapid development of miombo regrowth in abandoned cleared plots in certain parts of the
Miombo Ecoregion, such as in Tanzania (Boaler and Sciwale 1966), Zambia (Chidumayo
1988, 2004) and Zimbabwe (Strang 1974) supports the significance of light intensity and
reduced competition for nutrients and water in promoting regeneration. Some new species
gained in 2-3 year old regrowth stands after SBA and CP are those of ubiquitous and chipya
ecological groups (Kikula 1986) such as Dalbergiella nyasae, Garcinia huillensis, Hexalobus
monopetalus and Ozoroa reticulata, all typical miombo sub-canopy and understory species
(Fanshawe 1971, Storrs 1995). Some species were typical of only one disturbance type. For
example, Protea spp, Rhus longipes, Bridelia macrantha and Burkea africana were typical of
the CP regrowth stands. However, some species were lost during the development of CP and
SBA regrowth stands, with the greatest loss over time in CP stands. A mixture of Mateshi,
Chipya and Ubiquitous ecological group species were gained through CP, such as Bridelia
macrantha, Diospyros spp., Cassia singueana, Afzelia quanzensis, etc while some, such as the
Uapaca ecological group, were lost over time. The entrance of a mixture of species of
different ecological groups in the early stages may suggest a variation in environmental
conditions such as fire intensities within the same land use disturbance type. The abundance
of some Uapaca spp. decrease due to natural mortality as the canopy of the regrowth stands
begin to close (Kikula 1986). Species of the Chipya and Uapaca ecological groups can only
grow well under light canopies (Lawton 1978). This explains why even though the members
of the miombo group regenerate under the protection of the Uapaca and Chipya groups, these
groups get eliminated later when the canopy of the miombo group gets dense (Kikula 1986).
Clayton (1962) made a similar observation on the reduction in prevalence of Uapaca
togoensis as regrowth stands advance in the Nigerian wooded savanna.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Mechanisms and management of miombo woodland recovery
The mechanism of regeneration for individual miombo species is mostly dependent on the
disturbance mechanism. For example, in STSH and SBA stands, Parinari curatellifolia
mostly develop by root suckering while Albizia antunesiana, Brachystegia floribunda,
Brachystegia longifolia, Brachystegia spiciformis, Isoberlinia angolensis, Julbernadia
paniculata, Pericopsis angolensis, Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia and Pterocarpus
angolensis from seed. This observation offers a potential approach for managing individual
forest crops based on their mode of regeneration. For example, the establishment and
development of Parinari curatellifolia could be enhanced by disturbing its root system to
produce root suckers. However, the management of Albizia antunesiana, Brachystegia
floribunda, Brachystegia longifolia, Brachystegia spiciformis, Isoberlinia angolensis,
Julbernadia paniculata, Pericopsis angolensis, Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia and
Pterocarpus angolensis in STSH and SBA stands requires enhancing seedling establishment
and growth, as shown by the Syampungani (2008) study. If these light-demanding species
remain under the canopy cover, they may either die or remain suppressed in a stunted form
(Werren et al. 1995), during which period they remain susceptible to fires, water stress,
insectivory and herbivory (Savory 1963, Chidumayo 1997). Most of the photosynthetic
products during seedling development are allocated to root growth while shoot growth may be
further hampered by recurrent annual die-back caused by drought or fires (Chidumayo 1989,
1991, 1992). Management of young regrowth stands arising from SBA should include
protection of seedlings against either fire or drought. Weeding around seedlings would reduce
fire risks during their tender age, and reduced stocking may reduce water stress. However, in
CP regrowth stands, coppicing is common in Albizia antunesiana, Brachystegia floribunda,
Isoberlinia angolensis, Julbernadia paniculata and Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia.
Management of such species in CP regrowth stands should focus on coppice enhancement
and development. Stumps of almost all miombo tree species produce coppices once cut
(Banda 1988). Management of coppicing species should protect the cut stump against
desiccation, and then protect the coppicing stumps against fires and herbivory to increase their
survival rate. Increased stump heights during felling in CP sites can enhance the survival of
stumps and coppicing. Grundy (1990) observed a reduction in coppices in lower stumps (<5
cm) compared to higher stumps (>1.3 m) for Brachystegia spiciformis. Additionally, adhering
to optimum diameters within which particular species coppice optimally can enhance coppice
regrowth of such species. Brachystegia longifolia, Brachystegia spiciformis and Isoberlinia
angolensis have high coppicing ability in trees of 15 to 36 cm DBH (Handavu 2008).
Thinning of developing coppice shoots could be done to reduce competition for moisture and
nutrients between the multiple many shoots developing from one stump (Banda 1988,
Chidumayo 1989).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Structural changes over time under different disturbance categories
The size class profile, such as a stem diameter class distribution, at the community (stand) or
population (species) level can explain the response of the stand or population to specific stand
conditions resulting from particular disturbance regimes (Peter 2005). For example, the bellshaped stem diameter profile characterizes both the UMW and STSH stands which suggest
that the miombo woodland ecosystem is composed of populations which experience sporadic
or irregular seedling establishment and requires large gaps to become established (DWAF
2005, Peter 2005). The observed fluctuations in stem density between diameter classes close
to each other may be attributed to differences in regeneration intensity from time to time
which result in notable peaks or ‘valleys’ in the stem diameter distribution. The irregularity of
regeneration may be attributed to the effect of periodic extreme fires occurring in miombo
woodland (Trapnell 1959). However, the similarity in stem diameter profiles between UMW
and STSH stands implies that STSH as a disturbance in miombo woodlands is a non-event as
it does not alter the functional environment of the miombo woodland or if it does then its
impact is too minor to elicit a response of the miombo ecosystem as a whole.
The inverse J-shaped stem diameter profile that characterizes both SBA and CP regrowth
stands up to about 10-12 years shows that these stands have adequate regeneration. In short,
the opening up of the woodland through SBA and CP enhances regeneration which is present
in the form of root suckers and recruitment of old stunted seedlings existing under the forest
canopy (Chidumayo and Frost 1996, Geldenhuys 2005). However, the 15+ year old CP
regrowth stands show the bell-shaped stem diameter profile and casual observation indicated
that the canopy of this age group began to close. Canopy closure in CP regrowth stands
happens faster than in SBA regrowth stands because stems of <3.2 cm diameter are left
behind during charcoal production (Chidumayo 1990), and these trees may grow faster due to
reduced competition for nutrients and sunlight. The bell-shaped stem diameter distribution in
CP regrowth stands may develop over time because of the differential growth of stems of
generally similar age and with almost no recruitment of young stems into such a dense stand.
A similar stem diameter distribution profile would develop in SBA regrowth stands with time.
The slower development of this profile in SBA regrowth stands over time could also be
because CP regrowth stands develop mostly from coppices from already established root
stocks whereas SBA regrowth stands develop from seedlings. In coppice regrowth most of the
biomass is allocated to stem development, but in seedlings most of the biomass is allocated to
root growth in the seedling phase (Chidumayo 1991).
At the population level of individual species, Brachystegia floribunda, Pterocarpus
angolensis and Albizia antunesiana exhibit a static stem diameter distribution profile and low
densities in mature miombo woodland stands from which these species are harvested within
STSH. These species develop the inverse J–shaped stem diameter disributio profile up to 1012 years in CP regrowth stands and up to 15+ years in SBA regrowth stands. Despite ample
regeneration, seedling establishment and development for these species under the canopy are
limited because of their requirement for high light intensities to develop and grow (Lees
1962), and for reduced competition for nutrients and moisture. This explains why saplings of
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
dominant miombo species occur in larger numbers in SBA and CP regrowth stands as
compared to UMW and STSH stands. The key miombo woodland species tend to be present
throughout the different age class categories for each disturbance during woodland recovery
contrary to the perception of non recovery of miombo (Walker 1981) or non existence of
dominant miombo species in the early development stages of stand regrowth (Boaler and
Sciwale 1966). This suggests that miombo woodland species are adapted to the kind of
disturbances associated with either SBA or CP, i.e. the miombo woodland ecosystem is
capable of incorporating the disturbances arising from these two land uses.
The static stem diameter distribution profile (low stem numbers throughout) exhibited by
species under STSH shows the negative impact of species preference and single tree selection
harvesting on the overall population of such species, and confirm observations in other parts
of the miombo ecoregion: Tanzania (Hall and Rodgers 1986, Nduwamungu and Malimbwi
1997, Mbwambo 2000, Luoga et al. 2002); Malawi (Konstant 1999, Makungwa and
Kayambazinthu 1999); Mozambique (Grundy and Cruz 2001); Zimbabwe (Grundy et al.
1993). Very low levels of the profile were observed for such species under the STSH,
emphasizing their economic extinction (Schwartz and Cor 2003), which can result in limited
availability of such light-demanding commercial species, even if they appear to have ample
regeneration. This situation has the potential to result in decrease of the likelihood of
conspecific replacement and increasing the risk of collapse of the natural successional
pathway (McKenzie 1988). Even though many authors have outright condemned
deforestation and associated it with massive loss of fauna, flora and some high productive
forest ecosystems (Richards 1952, Myers 1984, 1989, Mather 1992, UNCED 1992, Bradley
and Dewees 1993, Jepma 1995, GRZ 1998, Mather and Needle 2000, Brown 2001), this study
has shown that STSH has a negative effect on species richness and population status of
harvested stands. It can therefore be concluded that STSH can be a disaster at population level
for some species (many commercial species) although it is non event at stand level.
Growth rates of selected miombo woodland species
The growth rates of miombo woodland seedlings and shoots have been said to be very low
(Lees 1962, Chidumayo 1992). Some miombo woodland species showed very slow growth
rates in other woodland types. For example, Pterocarpus angolensis showed mean annual
diameter growth of 4.5 mm and 0.3 -2.8 mm respectively in the studies of Groome et al.
(1957) and Shackleton (2002) in South African savannas. This information may support the
perception that miombo woodland may not recover from SBA or CP clearing. However, this
study showed mean annual ring width ranging from 4.4 to 5.6 mm or diameter growth of 0.9
to 1.1 cm/year in Julbernadia paniculata, Brachystegia floribunda and Isoberlinia angolensis
in both SBA and CP regrowth stands. Geldenhuys (2005) considered mean diameter growth
of 1 cm/year in miombo woodland in Zambezia Province in Mozambique as very productive
miombo regrowth. The relatively high productivity of miombo woodland is supported by the
higher mean annual diameter growth in this study, compared to those observed by Chidumayo
(1988) in his long term study of diameter growth of miombo canopy species. It can therefore
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
be concluded that the SBA and CP regrowth stands are very productive. The growth rate
information generated from this study give a different perspective on the productivity of
miombo woodland, and provided a means of collecting growth data relatively easy which
could be used in yield regulation and carbon sequestration. This data could be supplemented
with other growth data for trees of known age or long-term growth plots.
Integrating different land use disturbance into sustainable management of
Miombo woodland
The realization of the importance of miombo woodlands to the livelihood security of rural
people is a key to integrating livelihood needs and environmental security. The national
planning sectors in Zambia have not adequately integrated timber harvesting by
concessionaires, land use practices of rural communities, miombo woodland conservation and
environmental security in general. Rural economics is mainly based on the premises of CP,
SBA and to some extent STSH. These activities are on the increase and the result has been
accelerated deforestation from SBA and CP. Currently, the deforestation rate in Zambia is
estimated to range from 250,000 to 300,000 ha/year (MENR 2002). SBA and CP activities
have increased in Zambia like in many other parts of the miombo ecoregion which was
attributed to the slow growth in per capita income of 0.1 % between 1990 and 1999
(Kaimowitz 2003). SBA and CP do change the stand structure of mature miombo woodland
over large areas, and the rate at which this takes place, is too fast and uncontrolled. However,
this study has shown that both SBA and CP may be incorporated disturbances as clearing of
up to 3.5 ± 0.4 ha for SBA and 1.9 ± 0.9 ha for CP can still support woodland recovery
(Syampungani 2008). But when large tracts of woodland are cleared for these two land uses,
this tend to be a disaster for the miombo woodland. Hence sustainable management of
miombo woodland and its ecosystems need to find a way to integrate STSH with controlled
SBA and CP to provide for adequate regeneration of harvested species, and integrated
resource management in contrast to the current segregated agriculture, forestry and
conservation activities.
Zonation of forest resource area into management classes
The integration of STSH, SBA and CP into miombo woodland management should involve
zoning the forest resource area into management classes, such as for timber, poles, charcoal,
wild fruit, crop cultivation, grazing, and protection. Each management class would require
specific resource use management systems, which could be integrated on the same area,
depending on the woodland type and condition of each mapping unit (Geldenhuys 2005). .
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Fruit production
The collection of wild fruit by local communities is an important activity throughout the
miombo ecoregion in Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania (Mbwambo 2000) and
Malawi (Akinnifesi et al. 2006). Income generation from the sale of wild fruit was recorded
for Zambia (Chidumayo and Siwela 1988) and other parts of the ecoregion (Campbell 1987,
Olsen et al. 1999). Such sales help to meet specific cash needs, and provide a contingency in
case of crop failure (Brigham et al. 1996). Important wild fruit species Uapaca kirkiana and
Anisophyllea boehmii are among the dominant species in the early stages (2- 6 years) of
woodland recovery from CP. Integration of fruit production into forest management can
enhance financial security among local community members and may help to reduced
undesired woodland destruction. CP regrowth stands can be managed to yield wild fruit of the
light-demanding U. kirkiana and A. boehmii through control of dominance of the miombo
ecological species such as Isoberlinia angolensis and Julbernadia paniculata, to prevent stand
canopy closure.
Timber and pole production
Both SBA and CP result in enhanced seedling and vegetative regrowth with fast growth of a
range of timber species when the disturbance impacts are terminated over an area
(Geldenhuys 2005, Syampungani 2008). SBA farmers and charcoal producers can manage
such regrowth through pruning and thinning of selected trees to facilitate different
commercial timber species to grow into good-sized trees with potentially high quality logs
which could be sold to timber concessionaires. The thinned stems can be used as poles for
construction. Such integrated management of SBA and CP regrowth could produce additional
income to the local farmer or other entrepreneur (see Geldenhuys, 2005) and could change the
rate of woodland clearing.
Conclusions and recommendations
This Copperbelt Miombo Woodland study has shown that mature miombo woodland (both
timber harvested and undisturbed stands) are dominated by species whose regeneration
require large canopy gaps to become established. There is ample regeneration but in a stunted
form. By contrast, and contrary to general perception, regrowth stands after abandonment of
fields after slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal production, have most of the canopy
species and also other species of the mature woodland recovering at a relative fast and
productive rate. The results suggest that single tree selection harvesting as disturbance event
of the woodland stands is a non-event but does not stimulate the regeneration of the harvested
and specifically the commercial timber species (a disaster at population level of the specific
light-demanding species). The study concludes that the characteristics of the dominant
miombo woodland species are adapted to recover more effectively and productively from
charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture. It is acknowledged that the drivers of
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
deforestation such as unemployment and poverty are prominent in the region. It is therefore
concluded that deforestation will continue unless slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal
production are not incorporated into forest management systems to control the rate of
deforestation and to provide incentives to local farmers to benefit financially from managing
timber trees on their farms. The study recommends that miombo woodland management
should incorporate and integrate charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture as they
are necessary components of the miombo woodland to which the system and the majority of
species are adapted. These disturbance-recovery systems also provide an opportunity for
managing the miombo woodland for fruit production by manipulating species composition of
the charcoal regrowth stands in the early stages of woodland recovery.
The study also recommends the need to carry out further research to determine:
the optimum size of the cleared area for either charcoal production and slash-and-burn
agriculture to guide the best response/recovery of miombo woodland;
growth rates of miombo woodland species (both other canopy species and understory
species) to enhance understanding of the system dynamics in different areas.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for funding the study. Many
thanks go to Dr Martin Kidd, Centre for Statistical Consultation (University of Stellenbosch),
for assisting in data analysis, and also the following people: Mssrs. Ferdinand Handavu,
Biggie Ng’ona and James Mbunda for assisting in data collection
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IMPACTS OF UTILIZATION ON THE COMPOSITION AND
DIVERSITY OF MOPANE WOODLANDS IN NORTHERN
NAMIBIA
I. Mapaure1* and A. Ndeinoma2
1
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, University of Namibia (Ogongo
Campus), Oshakati, Namibia.
*Corresponding author: imapaure@unam.na
2
Abstract
Impacts of woodland utilization on plant species composition, richness and diversity were
investigated in mopane woodlands of Omusati Region, northern Namibia. A protected game
park, a densely-populated (central) area and a sparsely-populated (western) area were
compared. Utilization levels, species composition and stump densities were quantified in 58
plots. A Χ2-test showed that utilization levels differed significantly among sites, with up to
34% of the central area under heavy utilization. Species richness and diversity were
significantly lower in the central area as a direct consequence of heavy disturbance. Dead
stump densities in the western area were significantly higher than at other sites because of less
population pressure compared to the central area, where they are continuously harvested for
firewood. Live stump densities were significantly higher in the central area, indicating
continual heavy cutting of remaining trees in that area. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis showed
significant changes in species composition due to woodland utilization, the heavily disturbed
central area having become more uniform due to loss of less resilient species and the
preponderance of just a few tolerant dominants. Detrended Correspondence Analysis further
demonstrated a gradient of vegetation change mediated by local-level utilization, which
significantly contributed to the 64.8% variation in species data along the first axis, as shown
by Monte Carlo Permutation tests. From these findings, it is evident that heavy woodland
utilization is a significant disturbance factor which may lead to undesirable changes in
woodland composition and diversity. Community-based management interventions should,
therefore, be put in place to ensure sustainable woodland utilization without causing further
woodland degradation in central Omusati.
Introduction
The need for sustainable use of natural resources has been placed high on the priorities for
most countries as the world faces an ever-increasing human population which puts pressure
on the resources. The problem is more acute in Africa where the majority of people live in
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abject poverty and thus rely directly on natural resources, including woodlands, for their
survival. In addition to playing important roles in local cultures and economies of many
societies (Fotso 1998) woodlands provide many goods and services for local communities
(Grundy et al. 1993, Campbell and Marsh 2000, Mafuta and Mukwekwerere 2000). It is
therefore, generally recognized that woodland resources are critical for meeting human needs
and for improving and maintaining the quality of human life, especially in communal areas
(Mazambani 1992).
Sustainable management of woodland resources, as well as their protection, have been
inherent in the practices of many rural communities. But increasing population pressure and
poor management practices have led to their degradation in many parts of the world,
especially those under open access tenure regimes. Such resources need to be properly
managed to ensure that they continue to provide for household needs in the future
(Geldenhuys 1996, Lynam et al. 1998).
Southern Africa is endowed with woodland resources that sustain millions of people,
particularly rural peasants. One such woodland type is that dominated by Colophospermum
mopane. Mopane is native to hot, tropical climates and occurs in various physiognomic types.
The ecology and importance of mopane have been reviewed by various authors (Mapaure
1994, Timberlake 1996). Due to increasing awareness of the importance of mopane, many
initiatives have commenced within southern Africa to provide a greater degree of support to
the local people whose livelihoods depend on its sustainable management.
In Namibia, mopane woodlands occur mostly in the northern parts of the country, which are
home to at least 60% of the rural human population of the country. Concern has been
expressed about the dwindling woodland resources due to human pressure. In Omusati
Region in particular, the Directorate of Forestry cautioned that woodland use was apparently
unsustainable (Selänniemi et al. 2000). It was in view of this concern that this study was
carried out in Omusati Region in northern Namibia to do an inventory and assess the state of
mopane woodlands and investigate the impact of woodland utilization on the species
composition and diversity in the area.
Methods
Study area
The study was carried out in Omusati Region, northern Namibia (Figure 1). Omusati is one of
the 13 political regions of Namibia and covers 26,573 km2. It is bounded by Kunene Region
in the west and south, Oshana and Ohangwena Regions in the east and Angola in the north.
Omusati has a human population of 228,842, and has a high mean population density of 8.6
persons/km2 (NPC 2007), ranging between 1.8 and 54.6 persons/km2 (Figure 1). Two
communal sites were selected for study on the basis of the differences in the living styles and
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population densities of the respective ethnic groups: one in western Omusati (predominantly
OvaHimba tribe) and one in central Omusati (Owambo tribe). The Ogongo game park, a
protected area since 1996, was selected as the third site.
Topography is characterised by flat plains which form part of the Etosha depression. In the
western part, the land rises gently to the foothills of the Kaokoland. Annual rainfall ranges
between 450-500 mm in the north east and 250-300 mm in the south west (NPC 2007). Mean
maximum and mean minimum temperatures range between 32-34oC and 6-8oC, respectively.
The vegetation is classified into four broad types (Selänniemi et al. 2000): palm savanna,
bush Mopane savanna, seasonally flooded grasslands with patches of Mopane and Acacia,
and open shrub savanna of Mopane and Acacia.
Field assessments
Fifty-eight plots were demarcated in total, 21 in central Omusati, 18 in western Omusati and
19 in the game park. Trees and stumps were assessed in 20 m x 20 m plots while 5 m x 5 m
subplots nested within the 20 m x 20 m plots were used for shrub and sapling assessments.
Grasses and forbs were inventoried in 1 m x 1 m subplots nested within the 5 m x 5 m
subplots. Woody plants with basal circumferences ≥15 cm were regarded as trees while
shrubs and saplings were <15 cm (Anderson and Walker 1974). All plants in the respective
plots were identified, while stumps were further categorized as dead or alive. The number of
coppice shoots on each live stump was recorded. In each 20 m x 20 m plot, human utilization
levels were assessed and scored on a scale adopted and modified from those generally used
for wild herbivore ‘damage’ to vegetation (Anderson and Walker 1974, Ben Shahar 1996,
Mapaure 2001). The utilization scale comprised five levels of percentage of the woody plants
showing evidence of utilization: 0 = no use, 1 = light use (<10%), 2 = moderate use (10-25%),
3 = heavy use (25-50%) and 4 = very heavy use (>50%).
Data analyses
Utilization levels were calculated as the numbers of plots falling in each utilization category
at each site, and differences among sites were tested using a Χ2-test. Stump densities were
calculated and differences among sites were tested using One-way ANOVA, with Tukey’s
post hoc analyses. At each site, comparisons between dead and live stumps were done using a
t-test. Differences in Shannon diversity index and species richness were tested by a KruskalWallis test. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) (van Tongeren 1995) was used to test for
differences in species composition among sites. Species presence/absence data and the
average linkage cluster method were used in HCA. Detrended Correspondence Analysis
(DCA) (ter Braak 1986, 1995, ter Braak and Smilauer 2002) was performed on species binary
data to elucidate relationships amongst the various plant associations and hypothesize on any
utilization or other environmental gradients. The significance of the contribution of utilization
to variation in species data was tested by Monte Carlo Permutation tests.
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Figure 1: Location of Omusati Region in northern Namibia (left) with indication of
population densities of various areas within Omusati Region (right) (NPC 2007)
Results
Fifty plant species (34 woody, 16 herbaceous) were recorded during the inventories. Of all
woody plants encountered, 87.2% were Colophospermum mopane. More trees were recorded
in the western area and game park than the central area while more live stumps were recorded
in the central area than the other two sites (Table 1).
Table 1: Numbers of trees, shrubs and stumps recorded in central area, western area and the
game park in Omusati Region in northern Namibia.
Life form
Trees
Shrubs
Stumps - Live
Stumps - Dead
Central
85
123
547
71
Site
Western
Game park
TOTAL
335
332
752
58
102
283
100
52
699
81
26
178
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Levels of woodland utilization differed significantly among sites (χ2 = 129.50, p <0.001). As
expected, a large proportion (51%) of the plots in the game park showed no utilization (level
0), but only 41% and 22% showed no utilization in the western and central areas, respectively
(Figure 2).Only 2% of the plots were heavily utilised (level 4) in the game park and 6% in the
western area compared to 34% in the central area. There was a much higher than expected
heavy to very heavy utilization level (levels 4 and 5) in the central area. Most stumps
recorded (98.6%) were Colophospermum mopane, with the rest being Combretum
apiculatum, Combretum collinum, Kirkia acuminata, Terminalia prunioides and Acacia
nilotica. Dead stump densities differed significantly among sites (F = 4.48, p < 0.05), with
higher densities in the western area than the game park (p <0.05) (Figure 3). All other
comparisons were not significant. Densities of live stumps also differed significantly among
sites (F = 13.70, p <0.001) (Figure 3), with significantly higher densities in the central area
than at the other two sites (p <0.001). There was no significant difference in live stump
densities between the western area and the game park. There were significantly higher
densities of live than dead stumps in the central area (t = 2.02, p <0.001) (Figure 3) but no
significant differences were detected at the other two sites.
All the live Colophospermum mopane stumps recorded in the study were coppicing, with an
average of 5.3 (range 1 to 27) coppice shoots per stump.
Figure 2: Variations in woodland utilization levels in central area (a), western area (b) and
game park (c) in Omusati Region, northern Namibia (Levels are 0 = no use, 1 = light
use , 2 = moderate use, 3 = heavy use, 4 = very heavy use)
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Figure 3: Differences in the densities of dead and live stumps in mopane woodlands at three
sites in Omusati Region, northern Namibia
Species richness in the central area was significantly lower than the western area (H = 12.59,
p <0.01), other comparisons were not significant. Species diversity also differed significantly
among the sites (H = 12.59, p <0.01) (Table 2), with significantly lower diversity in the
central area than at the other two sites. There was no significant difference in species diversity
between the western area and the game park.
Table 2: Differences in plant species diversity and richness in mopane woodlands at three
sites in Omusati Region, northern Namibia (different subscripts for each variable
indicate significant differences)
SITE
Central
Western
Game park
Shannon Diversity Index
Species richness
Mean
SE
Mean
SE
1.0377a
0.0724
3.0p
1.30
1.4887b
0.1099
4.9q
2.71
1.3629b
0.0913
4.2q
1.69
Hierarchical Cluster Analysis separated the plots into three major clusters, largely conforming
to the three sites, indicating clear differences in species composition among the sites (Figure
4). The central area had a more uniform composition compared to the western area. Much of
the differences manifested themselves in the herbaceous and shrub composition. However, the
western area had more woody species than the other two sites, resulting in this separation.
Notable additional species in that area include Terminalia prunioides, Commiphora
glandulosa, Acacia nilotica and Combretum apiculatum.
Ordination results indicate that 64.8% of the variation in species data was accounted for along
DCA Axis 1, with the level of disturbance (human utilization) decreasing from left to right
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along this axis. The second, third and fourth axes accounted for 56.5%, 40.3% and 33.3% of
the variation, respectively. Monte Carlo permutation tests showed that the influence of
utilization on the variation in species data was significant (F = 3.346, p <0.001). The plots
were generally grouped according to the three sites (Figure 5), supporting the HCA
classification. The gradient associated with the second axis is not clear but possibilities are
discussed below.
Figure 4: A Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) dendrogram of species presence/absence
data of plots inventoried at three sites in Omusati Region, northern Namibia.
Figure 5: A Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) ordination diagram of the species
presence/absence data of plots from three sites in Omusati Region, northern Namibia.
Larger circles indicate higher species diversity while smaller circles indicate lower
species diversity (C = central area, W = western area, GP = Game park)
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Discussion
This study has clearly demonstrated that utilization pressure has significantly impacted on
mopane woodlands in northern Namibia, in central Omusati in particular. This trend is not
unexpected in communal areas with high population densities and where property regimes are
open access in nature. Subsistence harvesting of woody plants by local communities in
southern Africa has been shown to result in significant changes in woodland structure and
functioning. Local Owambo people in northern Namibia use the largest quantity of wood for
homestead construction than any other tribe in southern Africa (Erkkilä 2001). Although
western Omusati is generally less populated, the OvaHimba people traditionally use less
wood for construction. They engage mainly in livestock husbandry than crop farming, hence
they keep woodlands for their livestock. Cunningham (1993) emphasized that patterns of
woodland use and depletion vary according to settlement patterns, abundance and patchiness
of favoured plant species and their sizes.
Demand for woodland resources depends on human population densities and replacement
times of construction timber. The extent to which the woodlands have been degraded in
central Omusati should be a cause for concern. In central Omusati, the pattern is indicative of
a woodland dominated by smaller trees, disproportionately fewer individuals in the middlesize classes and much higher than expected numbers of large trees (Mapaure 2006). The fact
that 58% of the sites in central Omusati show heavy utilization levels (compared to 21% and
12% in western Omusati and the Game Park, respectively) is clear testimony of high pressure
on the resources. Higher densities of live stumps (between 342% - 910% more than western
area and game park) bears more evidence for this. Dead stumps are subsequently harvested
for firewood, hence the lower densities recorded in central Omusati.
Species composition has significantly changed due to woodland utilization in the area. The
mixture of plots from the game park with those from western Omusati in Fig 4 indicates more
similarities between the two sites. The game park is geographically in central Omusati, and
one would therefore expect it to be more similar to central than western Omusati. It can,
therefore, be concluded with certainty that human pressure in central Omusati contributed to
the observed differences in species diversity and composition between these two sites.
According to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (Schwilk et al. 1997, Skowno et al.
1999), it would be expected that areas with moderate disturbances such as the game park and
western Omusati would have higher diversity than heavily disturbed areas such as central
Omusati. Further support for this is provided by the DCA ordination which shows up to a
50% species turnover between the game park and central Omusati, and woodland utilization
contributed significantly to the observed variation in species data. However, some of the
variation is attributable to other factors (associated with DCA axis 2) such as variations in
soils and geology, landscape type and grazing pressure.
It is evident that woodlands in central Omusati have been significantly degraded with
increased scarcity of woodland resources in this area. People from this area travel to western
Omusati to obtain wood and other resources such as mopane caterpillars (Mapaure 2006).
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Such activities were already evident more than a decade ago (Erkillä and Siiskonen 1992) but
the incidences have intensified in the last few years. All these are indications of a nonsustainable situation. The assertion by Selänniemi et al. (2000) that woodland use in Omusati
Region appeared to be non-sustainable is confirmed. From this study, however, it is not
possible to calculate a sustainable harvesting rate that would encourage woodlands in central
Omusati to recover.
Mopane coppices readily (Gelens 1996, Timberlake 2000, Mlambo and Mapaure 2006), a
property supported by the fact that all live stumps encountered in this study were coppicing.
This indicates that mopane is a very resilient species, which can recover if properly managed.
Unless local communities in central Omusati start to sustainably manage these woodlands in
the manner suggested by Musvoto et al. (2006), the situation is bound to worsen. In order to
achieve this, enforcement of existing natural resource policies should be effectively carried
out. More awareness is required to sensitise local communities on sustainable management
practices. The concept of Community Forests promoted by the Forest Policy of Namibia
should be implemented in more areas, provided financial and other challenges are addressed.
Conclusions
Heavy woodland utilization in central Omusati has resulted in declines in species diversity
and species richness. This has also led to undesirable changes in species composition to more
homogenous vegetation. Whilst human pressure on the woodlands can account for some of
these changes, part of the observed differences are not due to utilization but other factors may
play a role. Such factors include livestock grazing, landscape type, topography, variations in
edaphic factors and small-scale variability in rainfall. It is evident that mopane woodlands in
the game park have not fully recovered from past use, and regular illegal harvesting in the
park is slowing down the recovery process. Colophospermum mopane regeneration from
coppicing is prolific. Therefore, proper coppice management and pollarding of remaining
mopane woodlands in central Omusati is essential if the situation is to be reversed. Woodland
utilization in central Omusati is therefore unsustainable, as evidenced by the scarcity of
woodland resources in the area. The concept of Community Forests should be expanded to
such areas in order to promote sustainable utilization of woodland resources.
Acknowlegements
We are grateful to the African Forestry Research Network (AFORNET) of the African
Academy of Sciences (AAS) for providing funds to carry out this research. The local
communities in Omusati were very cooperative during our data collection and the University
of Namibia provided logistical and other support. We thank our research counterparts in
Zimbabwe, Dr Connie Musvoto, Mr Tendayi Gondo and the late Mr Takaendesa Mujawo.
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Leonard Hango and Josephine Ashipala helped in the field data collection, for which we are
grateful.
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NPC 2007. Regional poverty profile: Omusati. Based on village-level participatory poverty
assessment in Omusati Region, Namibia, December 2005-February 2006. Summary
Report, National Planning Commission, Republic of Namibia.
Schwilk DW, Keeley JE, Bond WJ. 1997. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis does not
explain fire and diversity pattern in fynbos. Plant Ecology 132: 77-84
Selänniemi T, Chakanga M, Angombe S. 2000. Inventory report on the woody resources in
the Omusati Region. Directorate of Forestry. Windhoek, Namibia
Skowno AL, Midgley JJ, Bond WJ, Balfour D. 1999. Secondary succession in Acacia nilotica
(L.) savanna in Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Africa. Plant Ecology 145: 1-9
Ter Braak CJF. 1986. Canonical correspondence analysis: A new eigenvector technique for
multivariate direct gradient analysis. Ecology 67: 1167-1179
Ter Braak CJF. 1995. Ordination. In: Jongman RHG, ter Braak CJF, van Tongeren OFR.
(eds). Data analysis in community and landscape ecology. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, pp. 91-173
Ter Braak CJF, Smilauer P. 2002. CANOCO Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows
User’s Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordinations Version 4.5.
Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, New York
Timberlake J. 1996. A review of the ecology and management of Colophospermum mopane.
In : Flower C, Wardell-Johnson G. Jamieson A. (eds). Management of mopane in
southern Africa, pages 10-16. Proceedings of a conference held at Ogongo
Agricultural College, Namibia, 26-29 November, 1996. ODA/Directorate of Forestry,
Windhoek, Namibia
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Timberlake J. 2000. Assessment of levels and sustainabiliy of firewood utilization on the
Malilangwe Estate, Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. Consultancy report. Biodiversity Foundation
for Africa, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Van Tongeren OFR. 1995. Cluster Analysis. In: Jongman RHG, ter Braak CJF, van Tongeren
OFR. (eds). Data analysis in community and landscape ecology, pp. 174-212.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
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ANALYSIS OF THE DEGRADATION OF THE FOREST
ECOSYSTEM OF MBIYE ISLAND (KISANGANI, D.R.
CONGO)
S-M, Nshimba1, 2*, I. Bamba1, W. Iyongo1,3, M-B, Ndjele2 & J. Bogaert1
1
Université libre de Bruxelles, Laboratoire d’Ecologie du Paysage et Systèmes de production
Végétale, Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, CP 169, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgique.
2
Université de Kisangani, Faculté des Sciences, Département d’Ecologie et Gestion des
Ressources Végétales (EGRAV), B.P 2012, Kisangani
3
Institut Supérieur d’Etudes Agronomique Bengamisa, BP 212, Kisangani
*Correspondence author: hippolyteseya@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Mbiye Island is located upstream of the Wagenia falls on the Congo River and covers about
56 km2. The forest ecosystems of this island are under severe human pressure. Once covered
by a dense tropical forest, it became the target of surrounding populations as a refuge, a place
to practice shifting cultivation and harvest forest resources. The present study aimed to
quantify the deforestation dynamics between 1990 and 2005 in order to raise awareness for
the design and implementation of a conservation strategy adapted to this fragile insular
environment. Landscape ecology approaches combined with GIS have shown that in 15 years,
the area of original forests decreased by 20% while secondary forests increased by 5%. Areas
of anthropogenic activity increased from 5.3% to 20.2% during the same period. The most
affected areas are the periphery of the island and the side facing the city of Kisangani. If
nothing is done for conservation of natural resource areas and to raise population awareness,
then in a few years this island of great biodiversity interest, will disappear to only remain a
souvenir in memory.
Introduction
Deforestation is a problem of world-wide concern because of its impacts on the ecosystems,
biodiversity and the climate. Between 2000 and 2005 the annual forest loss was 13 million ha
(FAO 2007), mainly in South America, Southeast Asia and the Congo Basin. During 1990 to
2005 (15 years) Africa lost more than 9% of its forest surface. The main reasons are the
expanding slash-and-burn agriculture, the increasing population and the socio-political
instability.
The Congo Basin contains about 20% of the world tropical moist forests and is the second
largest tropical moist forest area of the world, after the Amazon and ahead of Southeast Asia.
Its location around the equator makes it of specific interest in terms of conservation of
biodiversity. The annual deforestation rate in the Congo Basin is estimated as 0.6% (FAO
2007). The DR Congo has about 65% of this forest cover, and these forests are threatened
more and more to lose some of its faunal richness as well as numerous plant species of high
commercial value through the processes of forest degradation and deforestation, with negative
100
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
impacts on the ecosystems, the life styles of the local populations, and on the entire humanity
because of the global climate change (MMFT 2002).
The islands along the Congo River are particularly sensitive to these forest changes, and more
specific Mbiye island on the south-eastern periphery of Kisangani. It once was covered by
intact, very dense forest, but now has decreasing forest cover based on satellite images.
Except for floristic and phytosociological studies that had been done by the University of
Kisangani on this island (Nshimba 2005, 2008), no studies were done of forest structure to
gain understanding of forest dynamics. It was considered important to complete these studies
with a landscape approach to relate the habitat (soil types) with forest content (biodiversity).
The objective of this paper is to quantify the rate of deforestation on the island between 1990
and 2005 as basis for a conservation strategy for this very fragile insular island ecosystem.
Methods
Study area
Mbiye Island is situated in the Oriental Province, in the centre of the Democratic Republic of
Congo. It is located to the southeast of the capital city of Kisangani, between 0°31' North and
25°11' East (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Location of Mbiye Island in the Oriental Province of the DR Congo.
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The island within the Congo River may have an own microclimate, but no specific weather
data are available for the island. The description here is based on weather data for the city of
Kisangani for which the climate is classified as Köppen type Af (tropical wet). The all-year
rainfall of 1,728.4 mm (range 1,417.5 mm to 1,915.4 mm) includes two short dry seasons
during December-February and June-August (Nyakabwa 1982). The mean temperature
oscillate between 23.5°C and 25.3°C. Two primary forest formations are recognized: rain
forest on well-drained sites and swamp forest on hydromorphic soils.
During the last three decades the island experienced a major increase in people escaping from
the wars and rebellions, also in the city of Kisangani (Nshimba 2008). They used the forest
biodiversity for their food and medicinal needs.
Mapping
Two land-cover images for the FRM Kisangani area for 1990 and 2005 were used. The
mapping was done using Arcview 3.3 and ArcGis 9.2 software. The two images were
georeferenced. Three land-cover types were identified based on the objectives of the study
and field experience: dense forest, secondary forest, and ‘other’, representing human activities
(fallows, fields and bare soil). The maps were digitized based on the stains in vector format
(group of pixels with a similar vector represented by a specific colour). The perimeter and
area for each of the polygons were obtained from the digitization to determine the spatial
configuration of the different land-cover classes of the island.
Matrix of transition
The transition matrix between two states (t0 and t1) is obtained from the values obtained from
the GIS software and treated in Excel, i.e. a square matrix describing in condensed format the
state changes of the elements of the system over the study period presented by the data
(Bamba et al. 2008). The cells of the matrix contained the value of a variable having passed
from class i (initial) to class j (final) during the active period of t0 to t1. The values of the
columns and rows represent proportions of the areas occupied by every class of land cover for
the specific period.
Areal distribution of the land-cover classes
The cumulated frequency distribution of stains representing the three land-cover types over
the map area was used to compare the changes in the three land-cover types. This method
avoids the use of stain classes with no information. Many classes of stains have low
frequencies and use was made of where a class approaches 100% and the levelling of the
curve (Bamba 2006).
Indications of spatial change were determined from the number of stains belonging to a landcover class j (nj). This indicated the fragmentation of a cover class between two periods. The
increase in the number of stains of a class can be due to the degree of fragmentation of this
class (Davidson 1998).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
The total area ( atj ) occupied by the j-th class (in km²) has been calculated according to the
equation (1) indicating the area of the i-th stain of the j-th class:
atj aij .
nj
(1)
i 1
The mean area a j (the mean value of the area of the stain of the j-th class) has been
calculated according to the following formula:
aj
atj
(2)
nj
The maximal area amax j (in km²) is the largest area given by the stains of the j-th class. This
was calculated to show the difference between the largest and smallest areas.
The dominance D j a indicates the proportion of area occupied by the dominant stain in the
j-th class, i.e. it shows the part occupied in the total area ( atj ) by the largest stain frequency of
the j-th class noted as amax j (McGarigal and Mark 1995):
D j a
amax j
atj
100
(3)
0 D j a 100 : The higher the stain frequency of a class, the less the class is fragmented.
The variety or diversity of the areas of the stains of the j-th class, noted as H j a , was
calculated by Shannon Diversity Index (Bogaert and Mahamane 2005), given by formula (4)
where ln represents the natural logarithm:
nj
aij aij
H j a In
a
i 1
tj atj
(4)
This index measures the relative diversity of the stains relative to the level of the class. The
a
value of H j a depends on the number of stains present ( n j ), their relative proportions ( ij )
atj
and the basis of the logarithm. It is equal to 0 when the class is constituted of only one stain
and its value increases with the number of stains and with the equitability between the areas
covered by the stains of a class (McGarigal and Mark 1995). The index of equitability of
Pielou of the areas of the stains E j a is calculated from the formula:
E j a
H j a
In n j
(5)
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Where In n j is the potential maximum diversity (or H max ). The values obtained from the
calculation of the diversity index H j permit the calculation of the index of equitability or
regularity (E or R). It varies between 0 (very little equitable) and 1 (good equitability between
the stain classes).
Results
Mapping
The maps produced from the different analyses show the changes in the land-cover types over
the 15 years between 1990 and 2005 (Figure 2). The cover types show different patterns of
change in different parts of the island. There is a strong decrease in the area of closed forest
and an increase in area of secondary forest and human-occupied land (‘Other’). The cover
type ‘Other’ (fallows, fields and bare soil) shows a strong expansion in the northern part of
the island, closer to Kisangani, and also along the boundary of the island.
Matrix of transition
Between 1990 and 2005 land cover of the island changed with a loss of dense forest and
increase in the cover of secondary forest and human-occupied (other) land (fallow, fields and
bare soil) (Table 1, Figure 3). Dense forest cover decreased from 67.0% to 46.5% (net loss of
-20.5%), with 17% going to secondary forest and 6.1% to ‘Other’, but also a 2.2% gain from
secondary forest and 0.4% from ‘Other’, but 43.9% remained intact (undamaged). Secondary
forest cover increased from 27.7% to 33.3% (+5.6%). Human-occupied land (‘other’)
increased from 5.3% to 20.2%, with 12.1% gain (i.e. destroyed) from secondary forest and
6.1% from dense forest.
Cumulative frequency distribution of the size of individual stands by land
classes
The development of the cumulative frequency curves shows that most of the stains for dense
forest and secondary forest represent small areas (Figure 4), i.e. for both dense and secondary
forest almost 90% of the stains represent areas smaller than 1 km² and more small stains exist
in the classes of 1990 that in those of 2005 (the curves for 2005 occur below the curves for
2005). Even if the number of stains is few, they are particularly small.
104
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest ddisturbance and
a recovery processes
o the threee land-coveer types (Occupation du
d sol) of cclosed foreest (foret
Figure 2: Maps of
ddense), secoondary foreest (foret seecondaire) and human-occupied lland (autress) of the
M
Mbiye Islannd in 1990 and
a 2005.
Table 1: Matrix off transition of
o the land- cover typess (in %) betw
ween 1990 and 2005.
Den
nse forest
Secoondary foreest
Other
Totaal 2005
1990 coverr changed to
t or remained as in 22005
Tottal
199
90
Dense
D
foresst
Secon
ndary foresst
Othher
433.9
17.0
6.1
67.0
22.2
13.4
12.1
27.7
00.4
2.9
2.0
5.3
466.5
33.3
20.2
100.0
1
105
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
100 Proportions %
90
1990
80
2005
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Dense forest
Secondary forest
Other
Figure 3: Proportions of the land-cover classes (dense forest, secondary forest, other as
human-occupied land) of Mbiye island in 1990 and 2005.
Figure 4: Curves of the accumulated frequencies of the areas of the pixels representing the
cover classes of forest: A: Dense forest; B: Secondary forest.
Index of spatial structures
The indices calculated for the changes in spatial configuration and structure of the three landcover classes on Mbiye island between 1990 and 2005 showed the spatial transformation of
the forest (Table 2). For dense forest the number of stains (10 stains) remained the same over
the 15 years, but the total area, mean area, the area of the largest stain and its dominance
decreased, and diversity and equitability increased. In secondary forest the number of stains
and total area increased, but the mean area, the area of the largest stain and its dominance in
the landscape decreased, and the diversity and equitability of the areas of the stains increased.
In human-occupied land (Other) the number of stains, total area, mean area, maximum area
and dominance increased, but diversity and equitability decreased.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Table 2: Summary statistics for the indices of spatial structure calculated for each of the landcover classes on Mbiye island between 1990 and 2005.
Variable
Number of stains
Total area, km2
Mean area. km2
Maximum area, km2
Dominance
Diversity
Equitability
Dense forest
Secondary forest
Others
1990
2005
1990
2005
1990
2005
10
10
20
28
34
79
39.956 22.867
13.622
16.387
2.593
9.921
3.295
2.286
0.681
0.585
0.076
0.125
32.115 20.017
9.178
3.879
0.463
4.116
97.000 87.530
67.400
23.670 17.800 41.500
0.145
0.509
1.107
2.131
2.949
2.916
0.063
0.221
0.369
0.640
0.836
0.667
Discussion
The extent of deforestation is clearly visible on the map of the island of 2005. The northern
zone, closer to the Kisangani metropole is the most affected, but also the accessible edges of
the whole island. All 2005 zones of receding forest are zones that were small points of
villages, fields or fallows in 1990. There is an undesirable intensification of human activities
in and impact on the forests of the Mbiye island. Around the developed zones are secondary
forests between the human activities and the primary forests, forming a landscape mosaic on
the island similar to the landscape sequence model of Forman (1995) with the anthropogenic
activities forming the core. The danger of this model is that if the diffusion of the core
continues for too long, with shorter fallow periods, then the degradation will affect the
remaining primary forest. In Africa, 75% of farmers take advantage of the openings to reclaim
the primary forest (Gasana 2002).
In general, the forest constitutes an important economic and social value to the people in the
area. Degradation of Mbiye Island is one of the main concerns for the entire population of
Kisangani. It provides natural resources and food to the population but also constitutes an
important economic and social capital for the future, i.e. sources of energy through biomass,
traditional medicines, and a sanctuary. Deterioration of the forests through human activities is
the main reason for forest loss, particularly from rural communities from different remote
areas. This results directly into a deterioration of their livelihoods and endanger their life
styles (Anonymous 2007). From this context, it is important to sensitize the people on the
importance of maintaining the forests and its biodiversity.
Matrix of transition
The cycle of normal vegetation change in the study area constitutes in part a loss of forest
towards more degraded systems, with a small component of forest recovery through forest
succession (Figure 5; based on Table 1 values).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Figure 5: The reality of the cyclic change in land cover on Mbiye island near Kisangani
There is a major loss of primary forest becoming secondary forest through degradation (17%),
and similarly a loss from degraded forest becoming human-occupied land (12%), following
the general trend observed with slash-and-burn agriculture (Anonymous 2005). However,
there is also a reverse trend, although small, of cultivated land developing through fallow land
towards secondary forest, and from secondary forest developing towards more mature forest.
The zones that are least affected are the swampy forests. The focus should therefore be to
reverse the trend of forest degradation towards more forest recovering via secondary forest
towards mature regrowth forest, and a decrease in clearing mature forest. If long fallow
periods can be maintained then the development of more secondary could be expected
(Locatelli 2000).
Distribution of the areas of the stains in the forest classes
The reason why the cumulative frequency curves of 1990 lie above those of 2005 (Figure 4) is
that there were more small stains in 1990 that in 2005. In 1990 this may have been due to the
few and small sites of human-occupied land, and the forests were presented by very few
discontinuous stains. In 2005, although the numbers of stains of the two forest classes were
relatively low (10 for primary forest and 28 for secondary forest; Table 2), their
concentrations were dislocated in part (Figure 2). This supports the increase in equitability in
these two forest classes. The people focused their activities in areas where there had been
some fragmentation of the larger blocks of intact forest. This caused the decrease in area of
the large stains. This situation causes a severe threat to the preservation of the biodiversity of
the island because it is well-known that fragmentation of the habitat can be a source of
biodiversity loss (Henry et al. 2007).
Indices of spatial structures
The indices of spatial configuration and structure indicated a process of spatial transformation
and fragmentation of the primary forest (Bogaert and Mahamane 2005). It confirms the spatial
change observed in the map for 2005 which shows the incursion of human activity into the
forest. The change in total surface of secondary forest between 1990 and 2005 and the
increased number of stains show that secondary forest are in a process of being created. The
structure of the stains showed a decrease in the size of the largest stain which also suggests
degradation in secondary forest. The increase in equitability and reduced dominance of the
area occupied by the largest stain indicate a partition of the stains of these forest classes. A
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
similar observation was made in Bas-Congo (Bamba et al. 2008) where the larger forests have
been fragmented with parts developing into savannas, fallows and fields.
Conclusion
This study allowed a presentation of evidence, through the methods of landscape ecology and
mapping of spatial change, of the degradation of the landscape of the Mbiye island between
1990 and 2005. The matrix of the vegetation of the island was dominated by primary forest
(67% of the landscape in 1990) but currently large parts had been changed through human
activity. This is particularly evident in the northern part, near Kisangani, and also along the
edge of the island.
The transition matrix indicated that between 1990 and 2005, the primary forest receded by
20% but also gained 5% from secondary forest. Human-occupied land which covered only
5.3% of the landscape in 1990 increased fourfold to 20.2% in 2005. The landscape evolved
towards a nuclear mosaic with the villages and zones of human activity occupying the central
position in the process of degradation. The two forest classes (primary and secondary) of the
dominant stains are characterized by large coverage (areas). Small sizes (areas) of <0.5 km²
represent close to 80% of the stains, and the equitability between the stains of these classes
increased. The process of spatial transformation operating in this insular landscape over 15
years caused a severe perforation and fragmentation of the primary forests. At the same time
secondary forests developed both in the degradation process and through recovery. Humanoccupied land expanded.
The reasons for this change are multiple, including the demographic pressure with associated
livelihood needs and the different armed conflicts that raged in the region over recent years.
This situation threatens the biodiversity of the island and if conservation measures are not
implemented, then major losses of biodiversity could be expected. The effort of Rotary
Belgium since 2000 in collaboration with the Faculty of Sciences of the University of
Kisangani to create a reserve is very beneficial and merit to be sustained. But if this cannot be
achieved, then the current rate of conversion of the forests on the island will in a few years
cause this forest and its animal and plant biodiversity will only be a memory with severe
consequences to the surrounding populations.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the government of Ivory Coast for the doctoral Scholarship bestowed to I.
Bamba, the C.T.B. for the doctoral Scholarship of H. Nshimba and L. Iyongo, and the FRM
Kisangani for his support.
References
Anonymous 2005. Les forêts du bassin du Congo : évaluations préliminaires.
http://www.cbfp.org/documents/brazza/evalprelim_forets.pdf
Anonymous 2007. Rencontres de Paris sur les primates et leurs habitats. Plénière du
Partenariat pour les forêts du bassin du Congo, 22-27 octobre 2007, Paris France.
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Bamba I. 2006. Etude de la Structure Spatiale et de la Dynamique Spatio-temporelle d’un
Paysage dans l’Ex-Bas-Congo (RD Congo), Université libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles,
Belgique. Mém. DEA 82 p.
Bamba I, Mama A, Neuba DFR, Koffi JK, Traoré D, Visser M, Sinsin B, Lejoly J, Bogaert J.
2008. Influence des actions anthropiques sur la dynamique spatio-temporelle de
l’occupation du sol dans la province du Congo central (RD Congo). Revue Science et
Nature. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Bogaert J, Mahamane A. 2005. Ecologie du paysage : cibler la configuration et l’échelle
spatiale. Annales des Sciences Agronomiques du Bénin (7) 1: 39-68.
Davidson C. 1998. Issues in measuring landscape fragmentation. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 26:
32-37.
FAO 2007. Situation des Forêts du monde 2007. Rome 2007, 143 p. (site internet :
http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0773f/a0773f00.HTM).
Forman RTT. 1995. Land mosaic: The ecology of landscape and regions. Cambridge
University Press. Cambridge, UK.
Gasana JK. 2002. Bref aperçu sur les impacts des politiques macro-économiques sur la
gestion des forêts tropicales. Intercoopération, Berne. 9p.
Henry M, Cosson JF, Pons J-M. 2007. Abundance may be a misleading indicator of
fragmentation-sensitivity: the case of fig-eating bats. Biological Conservation 139: 462467.
Locatelli B. 2000. Pression démographique et construction du paysage rural des tropiques
humides : l’exemple de Mananara (Madagascar), ENGREF Montpellier, France. Thèse
441 p.
McGarigal K, Marks BJ. 1995. Fragstats: Spatial pattern analysis program for quantifying
structure. Department of Agriculture, Pacific Northwest Research Station General
Technical Report PNW-GTR-351. Oregon, USA. (disponible sur Internet http: //
www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr_351.pdf)
MMFT 2002. Afrique : Ses forêts menacées, éd. Hersilia Fonseca, Royaume Uni, 258 p.
Nshimba S-M. 2005. Etude floristique, écologique et phytosociologique des forêts inondées
de l’île Mbiye à Kisangani, (RD Congo), DEA, ULB, 101 p.
Nshimba S-M. 2008. Etude floristique, écologique et phytosociologique des forêts de l’île
Mbiye à Kisangani, RD Congo, Université libre de Bruxelles. Faculté Sciences
Bruxelles, Belgique. Thèse 271 p.
Nyakabwa 1982. Phytocénose de l’écosystème urbain de Kisangani. Thèse de Doct. Unikis,
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
WILD FAUNA MANAGEMENT IN D.R. CONGO: BATS,
BIRDS AND ELEPHANT SHREWS IN YOKO FOREST
RESERVE
T. Gembu*, A. Bapeamoni, K. Kaswera, A. Upoki & A. Dudu
LEGERA, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kisangani, B.P. 2012 Kisangani, DR Congo
*Correspondence author: gembuguy@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Bats, elephant shrew and birds are considered important in the maintenance of the forest and
therefore should form part of the management planning actions in lowland forests. This study
used mist-nets to capture bats and birds and traditional traps to capture elephant shrew in
primary forest, secondary forest, fallow land and cultivated land in the Yoko Forest Reserve
(00°16’40.2’’ N; 25°18’90.6’’E; 435 m) near Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of
Congo. A total of 213 bats, 59 elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) and 76 birds were
captured. The bats belong to 2 orders (Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera), 5 families and
16 species with Epomops franqueti the most abundant species (49.3%), followed by
Megaloglossus woermanni (17.4%), Rousettus aegyptiacus (10.8%) and Myonycteris torquata
(8.0%). Yoko forest presents an important diversity (H=2.47) and a high probability to
capture different species (D=0.71). Fallow land has a high species diversity (12 of the 16
species, with 112 of the 213 individuals captured in the study). Elephant shrew prefers old
fallow land as habitat. The preliminary results show that the birds observed or captured
include the Blue blackbird (Lamprotornis splendidus), Hornbills (Bycanistes sp), Pigeons
(Treron australis, Streptopelia smitorquata, Turtur afer) and bulbuls (Andropardus sp). The
majority of forest birds observed eat the fruit and/or seed of vegetable food, but also of
several tree species. The bats, birds and elephant shrew form an integral part of the main
functional components of these forests and contribute to the forest ecological processes and
balances.
Introduction
The reduction of lowland rainforest area through human activities is often perceived to
threaten the forest animals and their habitats. The numbers of forest animals are decreasing
due to habitat loss through forest degradation and deforestation, and the increase in hunting in
the region. Deforestation, hunting and lack of information pose a serious problem of
unsustainable forest management. Yet forest management is considered a tool of rational and
sustainable use of this natural heritage and to overcome the difficulties linked to the
management and maintenance of its components (flora and fauna) and the biochemical
processes. Most reserves in lowland rainforest are surrounded by logging concessions. It is
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
important that the fauna be considered in all management plans for long-term sustainable
management and harvesting of the natural forest resources.
Wild animals in the Kisangani area contribute greatly to the food security of the people living
around the forests. For example, studies in the central market of Kisangani showed the market
importance of game animals (Belembo et al. 2003) and diversity of edible caterpillars
(Okangola 2007); both groups are obtained from the forests.
Several processes (biological, physical, etc) maintain the rich fauna and flora diversity of the
Congo Basin humid forests. Unfortunately, these natural processes are not well studied. Bats,
birds, elephant shrews and caterpillars (lepidoptera) are important in forest dynamics and
biodiversity maintenance, and could be useful bio-indicators. Okangola (2007) counted 12
edible caterpillar species that eat 23 plant species of which 91% are used in traditional
medicine, 61% in commercial timber species, 35% in local construction and 13% as wild
edible plants. The fruit-eating animals such as bats, birds and elephant shrews play a major
role in pollination and seed dispersal in forests (Bonaccorso and Humphrey 1984, Ifuta 1993,
Upoki 2001). They are responsible for the propagation of plants and forest regeneration.
Zoochorie helps to maintain the ecological balance in forests. Charles-Dominique et al.
(1981) claims that 75% of the plant species of tropical forests depend on fruit-eating animals
(Old world fruit bats and birds) to maintain them in the forests.
Yoko Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is a good example of humid
rainforest which is protected as reserve since 1959. The lack of enforcement and protection
are visible in the field. Political instability in DR Congo is a major reason for neglecting
protected area management by the government. There is a lack of recent scientific studies in
the Yoko area. In Yoko Forest Reserve the key animals in forest dynamics and maintenance
are bats, birds and elephant shrews. Their conservation is important to maintain the forests
and forest biodiversity in the sensitive ecological area around Kisangani.
The present study focuses on the bats, birds, and Elephant shrews of the Yoko Forest Reserve
and aims to demonstrate the importance of the wild fauna in maintaining ecological balance
of lowland rainforest .The results could be used to raise awareness of the need for sustainable
management of the humid lowland forests, and could indicate the impact of forest
interventions on the fauna. The local extinction or the moving of fauna could compromise the
life of our forests and the local populations.
Methodology
Study area
Yoko Forest Reserve (00°16’40.2’’ N and 25° 18’90.6’’ E; 435 m) (Lomba, 2007) is located
in the Kisangani ecological region between kilometer points 21 and 38 on the road between
Kisangani and Ubundu (DR Congo). The reserve covers 6,979 ha. Kisangani region is
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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characterized by an equatorial climate, high rainfall, and a constant temperature fluctuating
around 25°C. The vegetation is Guineo-Congolian lowland rain forest,
Methods
Observations focused on areas of high activity levels of elephant shrew, and feeding places of
bats and birds. Biological material were collected of bats (213 species in area), birds (76
species in area), and elephant shrews (59 species in area).
Vegetation transects were sampled in all habitats (primary and secondary forest, old and
young fallow land, cultivated area). Traps were placed along these transects to determine the
relative abundance of faunal groups in each habitat. Mist-netting was used for trapping bats
and birds. For bats 20 nets were opened at sunset (18:00) and closed at sunrise (05:00)
(Richter and Cumming 2006). The opposite approach was used for birds where the same nets
were opened in the morning (8:00 h) and closed in the evening (17:00 h). Elephant shrews
were collected with 40 traditional traps placed along particular transect lines and their holes
were counted (Cobert and Neal 1965, Rathbun 1979).
Collected animals received a preliminary identification in accordance with available keys
(Bergmans 1989, 1990). The morphological characters of individuals (coat or plumage color,
size, morphometric data) were useful for the first stage of species determination.
Statistical data analysis included the following:
1. The relative abundance expressed in percentage: % = 100*n/N; with n is the observed
number of individuals of a species in a sample and N the total number of individuals
of all species.
2. Shannon – Wiener diversity index (H'): H' = -∑ (pi) log2 (pi); where pi is equivalent
to the probability or the relative frequency of i species in relation to the total number
of the species captured.
3. Simpson diversity index (D): D = 1 - ∑ (pi) ²
Results and discussion
Bats
The bats are distributed over 2 Orders, 5 Families and 16 species. Epomops franqueti with
105 specimens (49.3%) is the most abundant species, followed by Megaloglossus woermanni
(17.4%), Rousettus aegyptiacus (10.8%) and Myonycteris torquata (8.0%) (Table 1). The
Yoko Forest Reserve presents an important biodiversity of bats (H= 2.47), and the probability
to capture different species is great (D = 0.71).
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Table 1: Systematic inventory and frequency of bats
Sex
Total
Female
Male
Suborder: Megachiroptera
Family: Pteropodidae; Subfamily: Pteropodinae
1. Casinycteris argynnis Thomas, 1910
5
3
8
2. Eidolon helvum (Kerr, 1792)
0
4
4
3. Epomophorus anurus (Heuglin, 1864)
1
1
2
4. Epomops franqueti (Tomes, 1860)
56
49
105
5. Hypsignathus monstrosus Allen, 1861
2
2
4
6. Myonycteris torquata (Dobson, 1878)
6
11
17
7. Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810)
6
17
23
8. Scotonycteris zenkeri Matschie, 1894
1
0
1
Family: Pteropodidae; Subfamily: Macroglossinae
9. Megaloglossus woermanni Pagenstecher, 1885
12
25
37
Suborder: Microchiroptera
Family: Nycteridae
10. Nycteris arge Thomas, 1903
1
1
2
11. Nycteris nana Andersen, 1912
0
1
1
Family; Molossidae
12. Myopterus whitleyi (Scharff, 1900)
2
0
2
Family: Rhinolophidae
13. Hipposideros commersoni (Geoffroy, 1813)
1
1
2
Family: Vespertilionidae
14. Mimetillus moloneyi (Thomas, 1891)
0
1
1
15. Neoromicia tenuipinnis Raffinesque, 1820
3
0
3
16. Glauconycteris beatrix Thomas, 1901
0
1
1
96
117
213
TOTAL
S (Number of species)
16
H (Shannon-Wiener index)
2.47
D (Simpson index)
0.7061
Species
%
3.76
1.88
0.94
49.28
1.88
7.98
10.80
0.47
17.37
0.94
0.47
0.94
0.94
0.47
1.41
0.47
100.00
Bats were most diverse and abundant in fallow land (12 of the 16 species; 112 of the 213
individuals), followed by dwellings and cultivations (10, 90) and least in primary forest
(Table 2). Epomops franqueti is captured in all habitats and Casinycteris argynnis,
Megaloglossus woermanni and Myonycteris torquata in 3 habitats (except primary forest).
Bats exploit different strata of the net according to species and types of habitats. For
examples, Eidolon helvum, Epomophorus anurus and Hypsignathus monstrosus are among
the species that fly higher and they are captured in the interval of 3 to 6 m.
The numeric dominance of bats in fallow land, cultivated land and dwellings can be explained
by the variety of fruit trees that attract the bats and the ease of flight. The entanglement of the
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
lianas in the lower forest strata restrict their flight paths and increase the probability of being
captured. The open areas within the forest environment, with fruit trees, form zones of
attraction and intense movement for the bats. Dudu (1991) also observed a numeric
importance in small mammals at Masako. Our studies confirm the high biodiversity in the
Kisangani region. The small Vertebrates and Invertebrates are not directly affected by the
initial modifications of the forest habitats.
Table 2: Ecological distribution of bats captured in area of Yoko Forest
Species
Primary
forest
Casinycteris argynnis
Eidolon helvum
Epomophorus anurus
Epomops franqueti
Megaloglossus woermanni
Hypsignathus monstrosus
Myonycteris torquata
Rousettus aegyptiacus
Scotonycteris zenkeri
Glauconycteris beatrix
Hipposideros commersoni
Mimetillus moloneyi
Myopterus whitleyi
Neoromicia tenuipinnis
Nycteris arge
Nycteris nana
Number of species
Total number of individuals
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
Habitats of capture
Capture
Secondary Fallow
Dwellings
height
forest
land
and
(m)
cultivated
land
1
5
2
2-5
0
4
0
3-5
0
1
0
5-6
2
59
43
1-6
2
5
30
1-6
0
2
2
3-7
1
12
4
1-6
0
18
5
1-5
1
0
0
2
0
0
1
7
2
0
0
4-5
0
1
0
1
0
2
0
3-4
0
1
3
2-4
0
2
2
2
0
0
1
5
6
12
10
9
112
90
Elephant shrew
Elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) prefers old fallow land, where they appear to be attracted
by understory plant cover of Marantaceae, Zingiberaceae and Arecaceae (Table 3). The sprouting
leaves and fruits of these plants constitute essential food, and the leaves are used to decorate their
holes.
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Birds
Preliminary observations of the birds showed that the majority of forest species feed on the
fruits and/or seeds. The blue Blackbird (Lamprotornis splendidus), the Hornbills (Bycanistes
sp), Pigeons (Treron australis, Streptopelia smitorquata, Turtur afer) and bulbuls
(Andropardus sp) eat the fruit/seed of vegetable foods, but fruit-eating birds were observed to
use Alchornea cordifolia, Xanthophyllum gillettii (Rutaceae), Laccosperma sp and
Eremospatha sp (Arecaceae), Musanga cercopioides (Moraceae) and Rauwolfia vomitoria
(Apocynaceae). The group of nectar-eating birds feeds on nectar of the flowers of several tree
species.
Table 3: Number of elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) captured in different forest
habitats in the Yoko Forest area
Habitats
Primary forest
Secondary forest
Old fallow land
Total
Number
1
3
25
29
%
3,5
10,3
86,2
100
Conclusion
Lowland rainforests provide a habitat for a variety of animal species in Yoko forest. Animals
feed, reproduce and find shelter in the forest. The animals studied are an integral part of the
main functional components of the rainforests. They contribute to their ecological balances by
dissemination of plant species, reduction of some destructives insects and fertilization of the
forest soils. The higher frequency of occurrence of all bat species in areas of fallow land,
cultivated land and human dwellings indicate that such areas contribute an import part of the
faunal diversity. The elephant shrew is also more abundant in old fallow land. It is possible
that some of these animals could be used as bio–indicators of forest condition and their
assessment will be important in forest management activities to ensure the sustainable
management of the functional renewable natural forest resources, involving all its
components.
Acknowledgments
We thank the European Union for making funds available for forest research in DR Congo,
and CIFOR and REAFOR for their financial and logistic support, the Faculty of Sciences,
University of Kisangani, for their support to these studies, and Verina Ingram and Sylvestre
Gambalemoke for their scientific collaboration.
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References
Belembo M, Danadu M, Gambalemoke M, Gembu T, Kaswera K, Wetshi L, Katuala GB, Dudu A.
2003. Evolution de l’exploitation du gibier mammalien à Kisangani (R.D.Congo) de 1976 à
1997. Ann., Fac. Sciences, UNIKIS, Kisangani 12(2): 303-314
Bergmans W. 1989. Taxonomy and biogeography of African fruit bats (Mammalia, Megachiroptera).
2. The genera Micropteropus Matschie,1899, Epomops Gray, 1890, Hypsignathus H. Allen,
1861, Nanonycteris Matschie, 1899, and Plerotes Andersen, 1910. Beautifortia 39(4): 89-153
Bergmans W. 1990. Taxonomy and biogeography of African fruit bats (Mammalia, Megachiroptera).
3. The genera Scotonycteris Matschie,1894, Casinycteris Thomas, 1910, Pteropus Brisson,
1782, and Eidolon Rafinesque. Beautifortia 40(7): 111-177
Bonaccorso FJ, Humphrey SR. 1984. Fruit bat niche dynamics: their role in maintaining tropical
forest diversity. In: Tropical rainforest (Eds: Chadwich, A.C. & Sutton, S.L.), pp 169-183,
Leeds philosophical and literary society, Leeds, U.K.
Cobert GB, Neal BR. 1965. The taxonomy of the Elephant shrews of the genus Petrodromus, with
particular reference to the East African coast. Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique africaine, vol
(LXXI), Fasc. (1-2), 49-78.
Dudu A. 1991. Etude du peuplement d’Insectivores et de Rongeurs de la forêt ombrophile de basse
altitude du Zaïre (Kisangani, Masako). Thèse Doc. UIA, Anvers, 171 p.
Dudu A. 2002. La précarité de l’exploitation des ressources naturelles renouvelables, cas de la faune
de la Province Orientale (R.D.Congo). Konrad Adenauer, Kinshasa, pp65-85.
Ifuta N. 1993. Paramètres écologiques et hormonaux durant la croissance et la reproduction
d’Epomops franqueti (Mammalia : Chiroptera) de la forêt ombrophile équatoriale de Masako
(Kisangani, Zaïre). Thèse Doc. KUL, Louvain, 142 p.
Okangola E. 2007. Contribution à l’étude biologique et écologique des chenilles comestibles de la
région de Kisangani. Cas de Réserve de la Yoko (Ubundu, République Démocratique du
Congo). DEA, UNIKIS, Kisangani, 79 p.
Rathbun G. 1979. The social structure and ecology of Elephant shrews. Verlag Paul Parery, Berlin and
Hamburg, 77 p.
Richter HV, Cumming GS 2009. Food availability and annual migration of the straw-colored fruit bat
(Eidolon helvum). Journal of Zoology, London, pp 35-44.
Upoki A. 2001. Etude du peuplement de Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae, Passeriformes) dans la Réserve
Forestière de Masako à Kisangani (R.D.Congo). Thèse Doc. UNIKIS, Kisangani, 160 p.
117
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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RESILIENCE OF SUDANIAN
SAVANNA-WOODLANDS IN BURKINA FASO
P. Savadogo1,2, D. Tiveau3,4*, L. Sawadogo5, D. Zida5 and S. D. Dayamba1
1
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Tropical Silviculture and Seed
Laboratory, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, Umeå, Sweden
2
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Institut de l’Environnement
et de Recherches Agricoles, Département Productions Forestières, Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso
3
CIFOR. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
4
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences SLU, Umeå, Sweden
5
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Institut de l’Environnement
et de Recherches Agricoles, Département Productions Forestières, Koudougou, Burkina Faso
*Corresponding author: danieltiveau@hotmail.com
Abstract
The savanna-woodlands of West Africa have been subject to disturbance by fire, grazing and
tree cutting for centuries. Often the disturbance is severe, for instance when a thick patch of 4
m tall perennial grass catches fire late in the dry season or man decides to clear-cut an area.
Fortunately Mother Nature is very forgiving and the woodlands show remarkable resilience.
Research plots were established in the Laba and Tiogo State forests in Burkina Faso in 1992.
The plots have been monitored by research institutions from Burkina Faso and Sweden ever
since. The results show great inter-annual variation in grass species richness, abundance and
diversity at both sites. The combined effects of fire, grazing and tree cutting were limited and
varied between life forms. Grazing tended to favor diversity of perennial grasses and fire
affected the richness of annual grasses. The herbaceous biomass was reduced by the presence
of livestock but the effect was not statistically significant for early fire or selective tree
cutting. Fire had a homogenizing effect at the species level with increased biomass of the
most abundant annual grass Loudetia togoensis and decreased biomass of the most abundant
perennial grass Andropogon gayanus. Fire, grazing and selective tree cutting acted
independently on the population dynamics of tree saplings. Many responses are site or species
specific which accentuates the importance of landscape-level approaches to understand the
impacts of disturbance on structure and function of the savanna ecosystems. The lack of
treatment results at some levels clearly show how resilient the woodlands are to disturbance.
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Introduction
Savanna vegetation varies considerably in structure and is characterized by mixtures of
scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees and an herbaceous layer (Bourliere and Hadley
1983, Cole 1986, Frost et al. 1986, Scholes and Walker 1993). Savanna ecosystems are often
subjected to multiple disturbances, such as grazing, fire and tree cutting (Breman and Kessler
1995). These are major factors that shape productivity, diversity and community organization
(McNaughton 1983, van Langevelde et al. 2003).
Disturbance is known as any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem,
community, or population structure and changes resource pools, substrate availability, or the
biophysical environment (White and Pickett 1985). It may be natural or anthropogenic in
origin (Turner et al. 2003) and may lead to sudden or gradual, dramatic or subtle changes in
ecosystems (White and Jentsch 2001). Disturbances are ubiquitous, inherent and unavoidable
and affect all levels of biological organization from individual to ecosystem and landscape
with consequences and mechanisms differing at each hierarchical level (Rykiel 1985). They
are the primary causes of patchiness and heterogeneity in ecosystems (Turner et al. 2003) and
are evolutionary forces causing adaptation in the biota exposed to them (Darwin 1859,
McNaughton 1983, van Langevelde et al. 2003). The effects of disturbances are often
contingent on the frequency, intensity and timing of their interactions, on the past and present
states of the system and their interaction with future events (Frost et al. 1986).
Generally, after disturbance some species may increase or invade while other decrease or
retreat (Gibson and Brown 1991). Such functional adaptations underlie two mechanisms of
ecosystem response to disturbance; i.e. complementarity and redundancy (Walker 1992) that
contribute to ecosystem stability and resilience (Holling 1973). Ecosystem stability is known
as the probability of all species persisting and is enhanced if each important functional group
of organisms (important for maintaining function and structure) comprises several
ecologically equivalent species, each with different responses to environmental factors
(Walker 1995). Resilience is defined as “the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and
re-organize while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function,
structure, identity and feedbacks” (Walker et al. 2004). It represents the property of an
ecosystem that enables it to resist displacements in structure or function when subjected to a
disturbing force and is often referred to as inertia (Gunderson 2000, Westman 1978). A
regime shift, then, initially represents a loss of resilience, in that former function, structures,
feedbacks, and therefore identities (Folke et al. 2004) give way to new versions. Feedbacks
between processes stabilize phases and make reversals in the vegetation phase unlikely
(hysteresis) (Westman 1978). Walker et al. (2004) explores four aspects of resilience where
the first three can apply both to a whole system or the sub-systems that make it up: latitude,
resistance, precariousness and panarchy. Latitude is the maximum a system can be changed
before loosing its ability to recover. Resistance is how difficult it is to change the system;
precariousness is how close the current state of the system is to a threshold; and panarchy
cross-scale interactions and influences from states and dynamics at scales above and below,
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for instance policies, market shifts or climate change. An ecosystem can adapt or transform
post-disturbance.
There are two opposing views on disturbance dynamics in savanna ecosystems: the
equilibrium and non-equilibrium paradigms (Tainton et al. 1996). Certain savannas have been
considered to be stable ecosystems, whose dynamics consist of fluctuations around one or
more steady states or points of equilibrium (Walker and Noy-Meir 1982, Lamprey 1983), to
which they return after disturbance. Other savanna ecosystems, however, particularly in arid
and semi-arid environments, follow non-equilibrium dynamics in that a steady state is never
achieved (Skarpe 1992). In these systems, abiotic factors (notably rainfall distribution,
amount and intensity) seem to have an overriding influence on vegetation dynamics than do
disturbance agents per se. Dynamics in disequilibrium systems are characterized by periods of
rapid change resulting from the coincidence of various factors (e.g. intense grazing following
a drought) followed by periods when the system is relatively insensitive to manipulation. The
mainstream or orthodox view adheres to the equilibrium theory, which postulates that once
disturbance in a system (e.g. vegetation community) occurs, the system’s state either returns
to its former equilibrium or equilibrates within a new “domain of attraction” (Tainton et al.
1996).
Ecosystem resilience is an integral part of sustainable development for numerous economic,
social and cultural reasons (Adger 2000). For instance in Burkina Faso in West Africa, the
natural forest currently cover approximately 26% of the country’s land area (274 200 km2).
The remaining woodlands and dry forests are preserved in 86 State Forest Reserves, which
were established for wood production and biodiversity conservation (Bellefontaine et al.
2000). Therefore, it is crucial to understand the resilience of the ecosystem to unavoidable
disturbance (fire, grazing and wood cutting) in order to forecast future changes, facilitate
ecologically informed management decisions and to balance ecosystem conservation and
societal consumption needs (Turner et al. 2003). Although assessing resilience and stability is
clearly important, it is also difficult. Some authors suggest using a wide variety of stressors
and disturbances (Mooney et al. 1991). However such in-depth analyses are expensive and
often not feasible, especially from a management standpoint. A solution is to assess resilience
using experimental disturbances, an approach that has been used by a number of authors in
various ecosystems (Cole 1995, Walker et al. 1997, Lavorel 1999, Savadogo et al. 2007a,
Slocum and Mendelsshohn 2008).
In this study, we present the results from 16 years of data (1992-2007) on the resilience of a
Sudanian savanna-woodland ecosystem to experimental disturbances (e.g. grazing, prescribed
early fire, selective tree cutting and their interactions). We argue that the resilience of dry
savanna woodlands to disturbances covering a range of frequency and intensities is a reason
why we have not been able to show statistical significance for some treatments or treatment
combinations on the structural and functional components of the savanna-woodland
ecosystem. Also the resilience is a result of the diversity of recovery strategies coexisting in
the communities and stochastic environmental variability, such as rainfall.
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Material and methods
Study area
The experimental sites are located on flat areas in Laba (11o40' N, 2o50' W) and Tiogo (12o13'
N, 2o42' W) State forests (forêts classées), both at an altitude of 300 m a.s.l in Burkina Faso,
West Africa (Figure 1). The Laba and Tiogo State forests were delimited by the colonial
French administration in 1936 and 1940 and cover 17 000 ha and 30 000 ha, respectively.
Both forests are located along the only permanent river (Mouhoun, formerly known as Black
Volta) in the country. The unimodal rainy season lasts for about six months, from May to
October. Based on data collected from an in situ mini-weather station at each site, the mean
annual rainfall during the period 1994-2003 was 883 ± 147 mm for Laba and 856 ± 209 mm
for Tiogo, and the number of rainy days per annum was 75 ± 16 for Laba and 70 ± 9 for
Tiogo (Figure 2). Mean daily minimum and maximum temperatures ranged from 16°C to
32°C in January (the coldest month) and from 26°C to 40°C in April (the hottest month).
Most frequently encountered soils are Lixisols (Driessen et al. 2001), and the soil at Laba is
shallow (<45 cm depth) silty-sand while it is mainly deep (>75 cm) silty-clay at Tiogo. These
soils are representative of large tracts of the Sudanian Zone in Burkina Faso (Pallo 1998).
Phyto-geographically, the study sites are situated in the Sudanian Regional Centre of
Endemism in the transition from the north to south Sudanian Zone (Fontes and Guinko 1995).
The vegetation type at both sites is a tree/bush savanna with a grass layer dominated by the
annual grasses Andropogon pseudapricus Stapf. and Loudetia togoensis (Pilger) C.E.
Hubbard as well as the perennial grasses Andropogon gayanus Kunth. (dominant in Tiogo)
and Andropogon ascinodis C.B.Cl. (dominant in Laba). The main forb species are
Cochlospermum planchonii Hook. F., Borreria stachydea (DC.) Hutch. and Dalz., Borreria
radiata DC. and Wissadula amplissima Linn. Species of the families Mimosaceae and
Combretaceae dominate the woody vegetation component at both sites. In terms of basal area,
the main woody species are Detarium microcarpum Guill. & Perr., Combretum nigricans
Lepr. ex Guill. & Perr., Acacia macrostachya Reichenb. ex Benth., Entada africana Guill. &
Perr., Lannea acida A. Rich., Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. & Perr. and Vitellaria
paradoxa C.F. Gaertn. Prior to the start of the experiments, the mean basal area of woody
species at Laba was 10.7 m2 ha-1 and 6.3 m2 ha-1 at stump level (20 cm) and at breast height
(130 cm), respectively, with the stand density of 582 individuals ha-1 having at least one stem
>10 cm GBH (girth at breast height). At Tiogo, the equivalent figures were 10.9 m2 ha-1 at
stump level, 6.1 m2 ha-1 at breast height and 542 individuals ha-1. Both sites were frequently
grazed by livestock and wild animals and burnt almost every year during the dry season
(November to May) since long before the start of the experiment. The presence of livestock in
the two State forests varies spatially and temporally, occurring mainly during the rainy season
(June to October) when the grass is green and the surrounding areas are cultivated. During the
dry season, they graze on straws in the bush clumps that have escaped the fire as well as the
young shoots of perennial grass species and young woody foliage induced by the fire.
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Figure 1: Vegetation map of Burkina Faso with isohyets and location of the two study sites
(Readapted April 2007 by CTIG/INERA/Burkina Faso after Fontes and Guinko (1995)
and Direction of the National Meteorology)
1200
90
1000
800
70
600
60
400
Number of rainy days
Annual rainfall (mm)
80
50
200
0
40
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
Laba rainfall per annum
Tiogo rainfall per annum
Laba rainy days per annum
Tiogo rainy days per annum
Figure 2: Annual rainfall and number of rainy days for Tiogo and Laba across the study
period.
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Experimental design
A factorial experiment was established in one experimental site in each of the two State
forests to examine stability and resilience of the savanna-woodland ecosystem to
experimental disturbances (e.g. grazing, prescribed early fire, selective tree cutting and their
interaction). Each experimental site (18 ha) was divided into eight blocks (2.25 ha each); four
of which were fenced to exclude livestock (hereafter referred to as non-grazed plots) and the
other four were open for grazing (hereafter referred to as grazed plots). Each block was
further divided into four plots of 0.25 ha (50 × 50 m), separated from each other by 20 – 30 m
fire-breaks (Figure 3). The following treatments were randomly assigned to the four plots
within each block: no cutting – no fire, no cutting – early fire, cutting – no fire, and cutting –
early fire. The selective cutting was done in December 1993 at Tiogo and a month later in
January 1994 at Laba by removing 50% of the merchantable standing volume. Prior to
cutting, all species were categorized according to their local uses as protected species, timber,
poles and fuel wood, and others (Hagberg et al. 1996, Sawadogo 1996). Except protected
species, individuals of other categories were cut according to the following size criteria: >30
cm butt diameter for timber species, >14 cm diameter at stump level for poles and fuel wood
species and >8 cm diameter at stump level for others (Sawadogo et al. 2002). The prescribed
early fire was applied at the end of the rainy season (October – November) each year
beginning 1993 when the grass layer humidity was approximately 40%. The grazing plots at
both study sites were open for grazing by livestock (a mixed herd of cattle, sheep and goats).
The livestock carrying capacity in Laba forest was 1.0 tropical livestock unit ha−1 (TLU ha−1)
and that of Tiogo was 1.4 TLU ha−1 (Sawadogo 1996) and the grazing pressure at both sites
was about half of this capacity (Sawadogo et al. 2005).
Data collection
Herbaceous layer
Structural characteristics of the herbaceous layer at the two sites were assessed every year
from 1992 onwards. The point-intercept sampling procedure (Levy and Madden 1933) was
used to gather species-cover data annually at the end of the rainy season (September to
October) when most of the species are flowering and fruiting, thus facilitating species
identification. The presence of species was recorded along a 20 m permanent line laid in each
plot. At every 0.20 m a pin of 6 mm diameter, taller than the maximum height of the
vegetation was lowered from above; and a species was considered as present if the pin hit any
of its live parts. Identification of species and families of plants followed Hutchinson et al.
(1954). Abundance, species richness and diversity were computed for each replicate in each
treatment, for each life form (annual grasses, perennial grasses and forbs) and for some
selected species (Andropogon ascinodis and Diheteropogon hagerupii at Laba and
Andropogon gayanus and Loudetia togoensis at Tiogo).
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The functional characteristics examined included phytomass and nutrient concentration of
four grass species (Savadogo et al. 2005, 2008a). The herbaceous phytomass was annually
collected from six quadrats (1 x 1 m) in each burned and protected plot from 1992 onwards.
The location of these quadrats was chosen systematically to avoid selecting the same location
in consecutive years. Plants were harvested manually by cutting at the base (Fournier 1987),
approximately 10 cm above-ground each year at the beginning of the dry season. The samples
were sorted by species, bagged, air-dried until constant mass and weighed to determine dry
matter content. In each plot, plant litter was also collected, and its weight determined. Fire
treatment effect on nutrient concentration was restricted to two annual (Chasmopodium
caudatum Stapf. and Rottboellia exaltata Linn.) and two tufted perennial grasses
(Andropogon gayanus Kunth and Diheteropogon amplectens W.D. Clayton) due to budget
constraints. The chosen species are sources of quality forage and conserved fodder for
livestock production in the study area. Further functional studies included the effects of
grazing intensity at four levels (light grazing, moderate grazing, heavy grazing and very
heavy grazing) and fire at two levels (early burning or long-term fire protection) on aboveground phytomass and soil physical and hydrological properties (Savadogo et al. 2007a).
101
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Figure 3: Lay-out of the factorial experimental design employed.
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Tree layer
The study plots were assessed during the dry season January to May in 1992 (Laba and
Tiogo), 1996 (Tiogo), 1997 (Laba), 2002 (Laba and Tiogo) and 2007 (Laba and Tiogo). The
following parameters were recorded in each 50 × 50 m plot: species name, number of stems
per individual, stem height, girth at 20 cm and at 130 cm (girth at breast height or GBH) along
the stem (for stems ≥10 cm girth). Total stem length was measured for all stems including
those that did not reach the 10 cm girth limit using a height-measuring pole (for stem ≤6 m) or
a clinometer (for stem ≥6 m). Species were identified according to Hutchinson et al. (1954).
The following structural and functional characteristics were calculated: tree basal area for
each tree, stocking rate (stems/ha), standing total tree basal area and mean annual increment.
At both experimental sites, the sapling populations were inventoried in 1992 (before applying
the treatments) then ten years later in 2002. The seedlings were assessed in 1992, 1997 and
2002 at Laba. The following parameters were recorded in each 50 × 50 m subplot: species
name, number of stems per individual, stem height, girth for stems ≥10 cm girth at stump
level; GBH for stems ≥10 cm GBH. Changes in species richness and population density were
calculated for both sapling and seedling populations. Height class distribution and growth
attributes were also investigated.
Stumps from cut trees were surveyed annually at the end of the dry season (May). The
following parameters were recorded: stump mortality (stumps have not sprouted or the shoots
have died), height (or length along the stem if the shoot is leaning) of stems, girth at stump
height and at breast height (stems >10 cm GBH). We assumed a stem >10 cm GBH, which
corresponds to a height of about 2 meters, could withstand browsing and fire. This threshold
value is based on the assumption that self-thinning takes place among stems <10 cm GBH and
therefore girth and basal area has not been measured for these stems. In analogy with
seedlings and saplings in sexual reproduction the number of stems below this threshold value
(<10 cm GBH), represents the recruitment of “future stems” per stool. Stump mortality for
each year was calculated as number of stools recorded dead divided by number of stumps at
the start in 1993. Girth for stems >10 cm GBH was measured in centimeters with a tailor-tape
and the basal area was calculated per stool. Stem height was measured with a graded pole.
Data analyses
Data in these studies on herbaceous and woody vegetation were subjected to analysis of
variance (ANOVA) using the SPSS software package (Copyright SPSS for Windows,
Chicago: SPSS Inc.). The general linear model (GLM) univariate or repeated measures was
chosen as deemed applicable. The dataset was checked for normality before analysis. Means
that showed significant differences at p <0.05 were compared using Tukey’s pair-wise
comparison procedures. Linear regression analyses, where total annual rainfall (mm/yr) and
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number of rainy days were used as predictor variables, and vegetation attributes as responses,
were performed to examine the inter-annual variability. A series of multivariate ordinations
techniques, namely Principal Component Analyses (PCA) using Simca-P software
(Copyright: Umetrics AB, Sweden, 2000) and Principal Response Curves (PRC) analysis
using the software package CANOCO 4.5 (ter Braak and Smilauer 2003), were performed to
explore the response of herbaceous and seedling populations to experimental disturbances
over time at the individual species level. In all analyses, if disturbance had no significant
effect on the measured structural or functional parameter in any period of assessment, we
assumed that the ecosystem is resistant to the disturbance.
Results
Effect of livestock grazing
The main effects of moderate livestock grazing on total species richness, abundance and
diversity of herbaceous flora were not significant at either of the experimental sites, except
total abundance of the herbaceous flora, which tended to be higher on ungrazed than grazed
plots at Tiogo (Savadogo et al. 2008b). Among life forms, perennial grasses tended to be
more abundant on ungrazed than grazed plots at Laba while they tended to be more diverse on
grazed than ungrazed plots at Tiogo (Savadogo et al. 2008c). The main effect of grazing on
abundance was generally positive for the herbaceous vegetation community throughout the
study period; particularly these treatments favored species such as Loudetia togoensis,
Andropogon fastigiatus, and Andropogon pseudapricus (Savadogo et al. 2008c).
There was large inter-annual variation of above ground biomass during the study period
(Savadogo et al. 2005, 2007a, 2008a). Also an inverse relation was seen between species
richness and above ground phytomass; highest pasture yield was measured during a season
with average rainfall. The quantity of plant litter on the ground varied depending on the
intensity of grazing (Savadogo et al. 2007a). There was a significant reduction of mean total
herbaceous biomass which reduces the risk of fire and fire severity (Sawadogo et al. 2005).
But there was a statistically significant effect on some herbaceous species and growth forms.
Grazing reduced the biomass of forbs at the two sites, annual grasses at Tiogo and perennial
grasses at Laba. The species specific response was site specific and grazing increased the
biomass of the perennial grass Andropogon ascinodis at Tiogo and decreased the biomass of
the perennial grass Andropogon gayanus at Laba (Sawadogo et al. 2005).
Moderate livestock grazing did not have a significant effect on all species and size classes
confounded basal area at neither Laba nor Tiogo. The treatment had significant increasing
effect, however, on fuel wood species in Tiogo (p=0.004). Livestock had significant
increasing effect (p=0.021) on the total basal area growth at Tiogo, but not at Laba. Livestock
did not have any significant impact on the basal area growth of small trees (≤10 cm girth at
stump level ≤40cm) at neither Laba nor Tiogo (unpublished data). Total seedling population
density tended to be lower on grazed than on ungrazed plots (Zida et al. 2008). Sapling
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species richness increased on both grazed and ungrazed plots from 1992 to 2002 at the two
sites. However, the total sapling density at Tiogo was not affected by grazing, but the density
of single-stemmed individuals increased significantly over the study period on ungrazed
compared to grazed subplots while the density of multi-stemmed individuals tended to
increase on grazed compared to ungrazed subplots. At Laba, grazing did not affect the rates of
change in total density and the density of multi-stemmed or single-stemmed individuals (Zida
et al. 2007). The presence of livestock had several effects on coppices (Sawadogo et al.
2002): stool mortality was 7–8 points lower every year; basal area per stool was larger after
the fourth year; height of stems >10 cm GBH were slightly shorter; number of stems >10 cm
GBH per stool was higher starting from the fourth year.
Prescribed early fire
The main effects of fire on total species richness, abundance and diversity of herbaceous
vegetation were not significant at neither Laba nor Tiogo; however fire tended to influence
the richness of annual grasses at Tiogo, and abundance and diversity of perennial grasses at
Laba (Savadogo et al. 2008b). The effect of prescribed fire was not significant for the mean
total biomass at either site. At the growth form level, however, the treatment had a tendency
to increase the biomass of annual grasses and to decrease the biomass of perennial grasses at
both sites. The forb biomass increased only in Tiogo (Sawadogo et al. 2005). At the species
level, early fire significantly reduced above-ground phytomass of Andropogon gayanus
(Savadogo et al. 2005, 2008a). The opposite effect was found for Loudetia togoensis at both
sites. Early fire significantly reduced mean palatable species crude protein, neutral detergent
insoluble crude protein and concentrations of Ca, Fe, and Mn (Savadogo et al. 2008a).
There was no effect of fire on the total basal area growth. Prescribed fire had, however,
significant impact on the total basal area growth of small trees at both Laba and Tiogo
(p=0.001 and p=0.020 respectively). Significant impact on the growth of fuel wood species
was only found at the Laba site (p=0.02) where fire protection led to an almost four-fold
increase in the basal area growth of both the fuel wood species and the total basal area
(unpublished data).
For seedlings, fire significantly influenced the relative change in species richness of singlestemmed individuals, which also showed an inter-annual variation (Zida et al. 2008). Also,
single-stemmed species richness was higher on unburnt than on burnt plots, and they were
more numerous during the first half of the study period (1997) than the remainder of the study
period (Zida et al. 2008). Fire did not have a significant effect on temporal variation in total
density of seedlings. The main effect of fire on sapling species richness was significant at
both study sites. After 10 years of annual early fire, the proportional increase in sapling
species richness was at least three times higher in the unburnt than burnt subplots at both Laba
and Tiogo (Zida et al. 2007).
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With regard to coppice growth: there was no statistically significant difference in the stool
mortality and basal area per stool between the fire regimes. However, there was a trend to
decreasing mortality for early fire compared to 2-year initial fire protection. Overall coppice
stems were significantly more numerous for no fire than for fire regimes in 1996 and 1998–
99. There was no difference between fire regime treatments but a tendency towards more
stems >10 cm and fewer stems <10 cm GBH per stool with no fire than for the prescribed fire
treatments (Sawadogo et al. 2002).
Selective tree cutting
Selective tree cutting affected neither the total species richness nor abundance or diversity of
herbaceous flora at both experimental sites. Further, selective cutting had no effect neither on
species richness, abundance nor diversity of different life forms (Savadogo et al. 2008b).
Mean total biomass during the study period was not significantly influenced by selective
cutting (Sawadogo et al. 2005). However, the different herbaceous growth forms (annual
grasses, perennial grasses and forbs) reacted differently to the treatment. Annual grass
biomass increased at Tiogo, while there was a tendency towards reduction for the perennial
grasses. Selective tree cutting did not affect woody recruitment (Zida et al. 2007). Also
sapling species richness did not vary significantly between cut and uncut subplots at both
study sites (Zida et al. 2007).
Combined effects of treatments
For herbaceous structural characteristics, none of the treatment combinations had significant
effects at both experimental sites, except fire and cutting treatment that tended to influence
the total species richness and abundance of herbaceous flora at Laba (Savadogo et al. 2008b).
At life form level, the combined treatment of fire and grazing tended to reduce the richness of
forbs at Tiogo while it tended to increase their diversity more than either grazing or fire. With
regards to phytomass production, treatment combination effect was site, species and life form
specific (Sawadogo et al. 2005).
At both sites the combination of fire and livestock grazing had a significant effect on all
species and size classes confounded (p=0.039). This effect was not found on fuel wood
species. In Tiogo the combined effect of these two treatments was significant for the smallest
size class both in 1996 and 2002 (p=0.000). In 2002 there was also an effect on the next size
class (p=0.013) (unpublished data).
None of the treatment combinations had a significant effect on seedling density. The relative
change in density of multi-stemmed individuals also remained the same during the study
period on all plots but it tended to be higher on plots subjected to fire-grazing treatment than
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
on grazed plots (Zida et al. 2008). The interactive effects of grazing, fire and selective cutting
had no significant effect on the sapling attributes (Zida et al. 2007).
Discussion
Results from the present experiment show that savanna-woodland ecosystems resist
experimental disturbances or recover from it; in other cases the ecosystem appears to shift to
an alternative state. For instance grazing had no effect on total species richness and diversity
of herbaceous vegetation at either of the experimental sites. This could be explained by the
grazing intensity on the site which was half the carrying capacity. This intermediate level of
grazing disturbance could have enhanced species survival allowing succession to proceed
(Olff and Ritchie 1998). Also the experimental sites have been subjected to various
disturbances, such as bush fire and grazing by domestic and wild animals for many years prior
to the establishment of the experiment, thus the species might be adapted to herbivory.
Further, high resilience to grazing observed in species-rich herbaceous and woody layers
presumably resulted from the efficient regeneration strategies (with abundant seed production
and a soil seed bank) as well as from intra-population diversity in these strategies. Similar
findings have been reported for other types of ecosystems (Lavorel 1999, Pagnotta et al.
1997).
The effects of grazing on vegetation structure and function were often site, life form or
species specific and characterized by a great inter-annual variation at both sites. This is in
agreement with the fact that resilience indicators or measures are often site and species
specific (Lugo et al. 2006). It also indicated that in the studied ecosystem some components
may be more resilient than others as generally established for various ecosystems (Westman
1978). For example, grazing tended to reduce the abundance of herbaceous flora, particularly
the abundance of perennial grasses at Laba while favoring the performance or establishment
of individual species (abundance of Loudetia togoensis, Andropogon fastigiatus and
Andropogon pseudapricus, and increased biomass of the perennial grass Andropogon
ascinodis). This could be related to trampling effect (Hiernaux 1998), which in turn is related
to the species ability to resist trampling-induced changes, their tolerance to a cycle of
disturbances and their resilience following cessation of trampling (Cole 1995). This is
particularly true for those resilience attributes that are species specific such as the ability to
resprout or the nutrient-use efficiency. The inter-annual variation found at the experimental
sites could be related to species-specific responses to climatic change (mainly amount and
distribution of the rainfall) or species’ flexibility and resilience to drought.
The lack of marked change in overall abundance, richness and composition emphasizes the
resilience to fire of the savanna-woodland system to long-term fire exclusion and prescribed
burning. The time and frequency of burning strongly influence the effects of fire on savanna
productivity (Jensen and Friis 2001). Generally, burning occurring at the end of the dry
season is more destructive (Trollope and Tainton 1986); thus it may disrupt the “savanna
equilibrium”. Fire burning early in the dry season tends to be of low intensity as the
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predominantly herbaceous fuel still holds moisture from the wet season (Liedloff et al. 2001).
Given that fire is a prominent feature of most savanna ecosystems in the Sudanian zone
(Menaut et al. 1991), it is not surprising that there was no effect of the fires on the herbaceous
layer richness since species might be adapted. For instance some species may have adopted
resistance or adaptation strategies to fire related cues for germination (Dayamba et al. 2008).
Further, the high resilience to different fire regimes was most likely related to the wide
diversity of regeneration strategies which ranged from vegetative resprouting to germination
from soil-stored seed banks (Whelan 1995).
The results indicated that the overall main effect of selective cutting of trees was not
significant for herbaceous structural and functional characteristics as well as woody
recruitment. The lack of significant effect could be related to the extent of cutting disturbance.
It should be noted that the selective cutting treatment was applied once by extracting 50% of
the basal area of all trees; therefore, the competition for light, water and nutrients might be
determined by initial density of trees. For instance, if tree density was high before cutting,
selective cutting of trees might reduce the competition for resources among herbaceous
species and thus have a clear effect (Savadogo et al. 2008b). Vegetation resilience in such a
case depend on how the species interacts with other species, for competition for nutrients,
light and water (Peterson et al. 1998) when the woody canopy is open after selective tree
cutting.
Some of the combined effects of annual early fire, grazing and selective tree cutting found
were life form and site specific, which indicated that some components of the ecosystem may
be more resilient than others as generally established for various ecosystems (Westman 1978).
Furthermore, additive effects involving grazing, fire and selective cutting combinations were
often detected for species individually. Such limited additive effects of grazing and fire have
been observed in other semi-arid plant communities (Belsky 1992, Valone 2003, Valone and
Kelt 1999). For example, the combined effects of fire and grazing on vegetation attributes
(Savadogo et al. 2005, 2008b, 2008c, Zida et al. 2007, 2008) could have resulted from
different sets of species responding positively or negatively to each disturbance or from the
fact that fire simply duplicated the effect of grazing by reducing above ground biomass.
Herbivory at the site reduce fuel load by herbage removal and trampling and therefore lower
intensity of fires (Savadogo et al. 2007b). It should be noted that treatment combinations also
tended to show significant inter-annual variation, suggesting temporal variability in grazing
and fire intensities, as well as stochastic factors in nature such as the correlation of rainfall
with vegetation attributes.
Conclusions
It seems that the Sudanian savanna-woodlands, in the experimental areas, follows the nonequilibrium dynamics as evidenced from the highly significant inter-annual variation in
herbaceous flora while the effects of fire, grazing and selective cutting were limited and
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
minimal. Based on the data from these experiments, the following conclusions could be
drawn:
Prescribed early fire is a good compromise between the utopian total fire exclusion
idea and devastating late fire, but the treatment should be applied with due caution
regarding timing of burning, weather conditions and other factors that may increase
fire severity.
Moderate levels of livestock grazing could be considered as a tool for forest
management as limited livestock grazing has positive effects on tree regeneration and
growth and also provides another source of income (second most important export
earnings for the country)
More research is needed on controlling the timing and type of livestock to be
considered as well as testing different cutting criteria (intensity, species, size) in order
to achieve optimum results.
Although experimental disturbances as resilience “probes” provide important information on
the savanna-woodland dynamics, they should not be used as the sole evaluation of stress or
ecosystem health because ecosystem health is also dependent on other processes.
Furthermore, use of experimental disturbances as resilience probes of savanna should address
the effect of disturbance intensity, severity, and scale on a variety of structural attributes and
functional processes. This may require examination over a longer period of study.
Acknowledgements
Funding for this study was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency (SIDA). We thank the fieldworkers for their invaluable assistance over the entire
study period. We are grateful for Luluk Suhada’s help with literature searches.
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135
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HISTORICAL CHANGES IN THE EXTENT, STRUCTURE
AND COMPOSITION OF THE FOREST PATCHES ON THE
KWA-NIBELA PENINSULA, ST LUCIA IN SOUTH AFRICA
B.M. Corrigan1*, B-E Van Wyk1 and C.J. Geldenhuys2
1
Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park,
Johannesburg, South Africa
2
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
*Corresponding author: bcorrigan@mweb.co.za
Abstract
The KwaNibela Peninsula is situated at the northern-most part of Lake St Lucia in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa and is covered by patches of forest, which are utilised rather heavily by
the inhabitants of this area. The aims of this study were to map the current and historical
extent of the forest patches and quantify the changes, using structural and compositional data
gathered in the field. The reasons for doing so were to determine whether the forest patches
have increased or decreased in extent, whether the changes can be attributed to both natural
and anthropogenic factors, whether intervention is necessary to promote sustainable
harvesting practices, and to develop a basis for developing a conservation management plan
for KwaNibela. The forested area in KwaNibela is classified as either Sand Forest or
Maputaland Coastal Forest. The compositional data was used to verify or refute these
classifications and determine whether Sand Forest exists in KwaNibela. Seven series of aerial
photos from 1937, 1960, 1969, 1979, 1990, 2002 and 2008 were used to track the changes in
cover type. The photos were digitized, georeferenced, image-processed and mosaiced in
TNTMips 7.0. Filters were run in ArcView 9.2 to classify the cover types into core forest,
transitional thicket, woodland/grassland and disturbed areas. The percentages of each cover
type were compared, for each year, to determine the overall changes in vegetation. Structural
and compositional data were collected from sample plots along nine transects, to represent
different stages of forest succession. The data were analysed, using TWINSPAN and
CANOCO, to quantify the floristic and structural changes in the vegetation.
Introduction
Deforestation is a trend of global significance as the reduction in forest-based carbon-sink is
considered to have a detrimental impact on climate change. Burgeoning human populations in
forested areas have led to increased pressure on timber and non-timber forest products and in
many cases, wide-scale degradation and depletion of previously forested areas.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest ddisturbance and
a recovery processes
At a loccal level, thhe destructio
on of forestts and wood
dlands has often
o
resultted in the fo
ormation
of reserrves to proteect habitats for rare andd endangereed species and
a to excluude resourcce use by
neighboouring com
mmunities (Gaugris annd Van Ro
ooyen 2007
7). The ecoological efffects of
exclusioon vs. full protection
p
arre, to a largge extent, stiill unknown
n and are offten a balancing act,
in whichh a balancee should be sought (Sinnclair 1998)). Each eco
osystem respponds differently to
disturbaance (West 1999) and a thorough uunderstandiing of this is imperativve when form
mulating
a site-sppecific mannagement plan for an arrea (Goodm
man 2003). According
A
tto Egan and
d Howell
(2001), knowledgee of historiical conditioons is of immense im
mportance iin setting goals
g
for
conservvation as it allows sciientists to evaluate th
he changes that have taken place in the
landscappe (Swetnaam et al. 1999). Effecctive restoraation of deegraded ecoosystems reequires a
referencce conditionn in order to
t avoid suubjectivity when
w
plann
ning conservvation strattegies. If
grasslannd was origginally the dominant land coverr type, sureely we shoould not en
ncourage
woodlannd regeneraation by acctively exclluding fire regimes? Disturbance
D
e and diverrsity are
often linnked and thhe question to ask is: w
where is thee threshold between tooo little distturbance
and tooo much? Thhis can be likened
l
to a scale (Figure 1) ontto which alll ecosystem
ms fit at
differennt levels. A paradigm shift
s
in tradiitional ecological think
king is neceessary to eff
ffectively
managee the humann-environmeent interfacee (Hobbs an
nd Huenneke 1992, Eveerard et al. 1994).
The Maaputaland Centre
C
of En
ndemism is renowned for
f high levels of endem
mic fauna and
a flora
as well as a wide variety off diverse veegetation ty
ypes. KwaN
Nibela is ssituated in southern
Maputaaland, at thee northern reaches
r
of tthe Greater St Lucia World
W
Herittage Site att 27° 56'
10.9" S and 32° 26' 35.9" E. The peninnsula extend
ds into Lakee St Lucia and is bord
dered by
False B
Bay Nationaal Park to the
t west annd Eastern Shores Naature Reservve to the east.
e
The
southernn portion of
o KwaNibeela is thougght to inclu
ude patches of Licuatii Sand Foreest (Von
Maltitz et al. 2003) and wass classified by Mucin
na and Ruth
herford (20006) as Map
putaland
Coastal Forest andd by Acock
ks (1953) a s KwaZulu
u-Natal Coaastal Forest.. KwaNibella is not
on-Governm
mental Organnisation (NG
GO) and
under foormal protection by thee state or anny other No
the inhaabitants of the
t area utillise the foreest, in partiicular, for raaw materialls, food, meedicines,
137
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Forest disturbance and recovery processes
and building and handcraft materials. This resource use is currently unmonitored and
unmanaged and the sustainability thereof is questionable.
This study determined the spatial changes of the land cover types on the peninsula over the
last 71 years to give an indication of the reference conditions of the area as other historical
data, such as fixed point photography, previous fauna and flora surveys or historical records,
was not available for KwaNibela. The spatial data also specify the nature of the change, which
can be attributed to natural oscillations and/or anthropogenic influences. The vegetation
structure of the different cover types was determined to assess regeneration potential of the
forest patches as old-growth forest patches (core forest) are more likely to remain stable,
whereas the re-growth forest (transitional thicket) is the more dynamic buffer zone in which
regeneration and bush encroachment occur. The open areas (grassland/woodland and
disturbed patches) are only briefly discussed. Species composition for each land cover type
was determined to assess species diversity and abundances as well as to assess the current
classification of the forest patches on KwaNibela as Licuati Sand Forest (Von Maltitz et al.
2003). Ultimately, this study will contribute towards informing a participatory management
plan for the KwaNibela Peninsula, in which the interests of the KwaNibela inhabitants are
melded with the conservation of this valuable resource.
Methodology
Past and present distribution of forest patches
8-bit Greyscale aerial photographs of varying scales and resolutions were obtained from the
Chief Surveyor General (Mowbray, RSA) and were used to map the spatial-temporal changes
in forest cover of the KwaNibela Peninsula. A series of six years, spaced approximately 10
years apart, was available: 1937, 1960, 1969, 1979, 1990 and 2002 and a 2008 Google Earth
image was studied to represent the most current state of forest cover on the peninsula (Google
Corporation 2008).
The aerial photographs were digitized, geo-referenced to a topographical map and mosaiced
in TNTMips 7.0 to create spatially-accurate single images for each year. The images were
then processed in Corel PHOTO-PAINT to reduce the disparities at join lines and imported
into ArcView 9.2. Each image was adjusted with a majority filter to reduce the effect of light
reflectivity variation. A low pass filter was then run on each image to further reduce
resolution and classify the image into three classes, based on the greyscale variation. The
number of pixels per class was used to calculate the percentage each class occupies on the
peninsula and the size of each pixel was used to calculate area, in hectares. The Landscape
Shape Index (LSI), as described by Limpitlaw and Woldai (2004), was used to measure the
fragmentation of the core forest patches and the open areas. Fragmentation of the landscape
can be related to human presence, such as homesteads, croplands, roads, etc. and the LSI
provides a measure of disturbance in KwaNibela.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Vegetation structure and species composition of the forest patches
The areas of core forest were identified by comparing the earliest aerial photograph of the
peninsula (1937) with the most recent Google Earth (2008) image. Vegetation was sampled
according to Mucina and Geldenhuys (2006). Transects were then extended from core forest
to the forest margin and 33 circular 400 m2 plots were sampled at different stages of
succession along each transect. The following information was recorded on each plot:
diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements of all trees 5-9 cm DBH within a 200 m2
subplot and all trees ≥10 cm DBH within the 400 m2 plot, by species; height of the canopy;
Braun Blanquet cover-abundance values for each species in each layer to determine
dominance. This information was collected to quantify changes in the structure of the forest
patches, in diversity and dominance between core forest, transitional thicket and open areas,
and to assess the current classification of KwaNibela as Licuati Sand Forest (Von Maltitz et
al. 2003, Matthews 2005).
A two-way hierarchical analysis was performed in TWINSPAN (Hill 1979), using stem-count
per species per plot to distinguish community types and provide descriptions and indicator
species for each type. CANOCO (Ter Braak and Similauer 2003) was used to relate the
differences in species composition to environmental variables, such as multi-stemness, total
basal area, number of species per plot and canopy height.
Results and discussion
Past and present distribution of forest patches
The earliest aerial photograph image of the KwaNibela Peninsula shows a wide expanse of
open area in the centre of the peninsula and relatively intact areas of core forest. The absence
of small geometrical gaps in the forest and thicket is apparent, when comparing the 1937
image to the 2002 image (Figures 2 and 3). These small geometrical gaps are likely to be
human-induced as the inhabitants cleared small areas for homesteads, croplands, etc. The
2002 image also shows quite extensive bush encroachment as former open areas are now
covered by core forest or transitional thicket (Figures 2a and 2b).
139
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest ddisturbance and
a recovery processes
Figure 3) sh
how that thee degree off fragmentattion of the core forestt patches
The LSI results (F
7 to 1960. In
I 1969 the
he peninsulaa woody
and opeen areas booth increaseed slightly from 1937
140
Sustainaable Forest Management
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Forest ddisturbance and
a recovery processes
vegetatiion showedd the least degree
d
of frragmentation. From 19
969 to 20022, the LSI in
ncreased
consisteently and reached its hiighest in 20002.
Vegetaation struccture and species
s
coomposition
n of the forrest patchhes
The TW
WINSPAN hierarchical
h
l classificattion analysiis (Figure 4)
4 grouped the plots in
nto three
communnities, withh 2 outliers.. The ordinnation resultts (Figure 5)
5 show thaat canopy height
h
is
negativeely correlatted with thee marginal vvegetation; there are a greater num
mber of speecies per
plot in tthe old-grow
wth forest and
a there aree more areaas of old-gro
owth forest in the south
hern part
of the peninsula.
141
Sustainaable Forest Management
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Forest ddisturbance and
a recovery processes
A greaater incideence of in
nvader speecies, such
h as Chro
omolaena odorata, Solanum
S
elaeganntifolium, Riicinus comm
munis, Ipom
moea purpurrea, Asimina
a triloba annd Lantana camara,
were obbserved in the northerrn part of thhe peninsula (pers. ob
bs.), which coincides with the
increaseed human seettlement in
n the north.
The norrthern forestt patches haave also beccame more fragmented
d between 19937 and 2008 and a
full trannsect was, therefore,
t
not
n possiblee. In some cases,
c
it waas only posssible to sam
mple the
“core foorest” plot as
a there wass no gradiennt from coree forest to transitional thhicket to op
pen area.
It is eviident, from the maps and
a Landscaape Shape Index
I
resultts that the hhistorical co
onditions
on the ppeninsula coonsisted of a few relativvely intact patches of core
c
forest w
with large expanses
e
of openn areas, which were pro
obably coveered by grassland/woodland. In thhe last 71 years,
y
the
forest ppatches have expanded
d to cover 555% of thee peninsula,, as opposeed to 48% in
i 1937;
howeveer the fragm
mentation of the patchess increased considerablly. The incrrease in foreest cover
as well as the inccrease in fragmentationn may welll be due to
o veld mannagement practices,
p
employeed by the innhabitants of
o the penin sula, wheree the exclusiion of fire aand the intro
oduction
of dom
mestic grazeers may have contribuuted to thee propagatio
on of foresst species over
o
the
grasslannd species and
a the cleaaring of num
merous areaas of forest for
f homesteeads, croplaands, etc.
(Bürgi eet al. 2000, West et al. 2000)
w as the rresilience of
o the forest on the Kw
waNibela Peninsula
P
The speecies compoosition as well
suggestss that the forest
f
type, in general,, is not typiical Licuatii Sand Foreest, as descrribed by
Von M
Maltitz et all. (2003) and
a
Matthew
ws (2005). The foresst type mayy be a tran
nsitional
precursoor to Sand Forest or itt may be moore closely related to KwaZulu-N
K
Natal Coastaal Forest
(Mucinaa and Rutheerford 2006)).
142
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their gratitude to Melanie Kneen and Professor Harold Annegarn
of the Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies (GEMES) Unit at the
University of Johannesburg for the use of the GIS facilities as well as technical assistance
with the GIS programmes and encouragement throughout the study. We are also very thankful
to Sarel and Melani van der Westhuizen and all the staff at Nibela Lake Lodge for providing
accommodation during the main field trip. Finally, thank you to Goodenough Mdluli, Lucky
Ngubane, Induna Mdluli and the community of KwaNibela for their technical assistance and
enthusiasm for the study.
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emphasis on Sand Forest. PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria.
Mucina L, Geldenhuys CJ. 2006. How to classify South African indigenous forests:
Approach, methods, problems, perspectives. In: Seydack AHW, Vorster T, Vermeulen
WJ, Van der Merwe IJ. (eds). Multiple use management of natural forests and savanna
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woodlands: Policy refinements and scientific progress. Proceedings of Natural Forests
& Savanna Woodlands Symposium III, 6-9 May 2002, Berg-en-Dal, Kruger National
Park. pp1-9
Mucina L. Rutherford MC. 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Strelitzia, Pretoria
Sinclair ARE. 1998. Natural regulation of ecosystems in protected areas as ecological
baselines. Wildlife Society Bulletin 26: 399-409
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manage for the future. Ecological Applications 9: 1189-1206
Ter Braak CJF, Smilauer P. 2003. Canoco for Windows. Plant Research
Von Maltitz G, Mucina L, Geldenhuys CJ, Lawes MJ, Eeley H, Aidie H, Vink D, Fleming G,
Bailey C. 2003. Classification system for South African indigenous forests. An
objective classification for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Pretoria,
South Africa: CSIR, Environmentek report. ENV-P-C2003-017. 275 p.
West AG. 1999. Hunting for humans in forest ecosystems: are the traces of Iron-Age people
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144
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LITTERFALL AND NUTRIENT INPUT IN AFRICAN
TROPICAL SECONDARY FORESTS, WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCES TO OKOUME (Aucoumea klaineana) FORESTS
OF CONGO
J.J. Loumeto
Département de Biologie et Physiologie végétales, Université Marien Ngouabi, BP 69,
Brazzaville, Congo.
Corresponding author: loumeto@hotmail.com / grefeconcongo@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Litter, the intermediate between vegetation and soil, ensures the transfer of nutrients and
organic matter between these two ecosystem components, and many other forest functions. It
must be taken into account in practical forest management. Litter production and nutrient
return were assessed in natural moist tropical secondary forests in Southwest Congo where
Okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) has an important presence. Okoume is the main commercial
timber species of southern Congo with a high economic value, and it is important to manage a
sustainable productivity of forests where this species is present. The functioning of Okoume
stands in Congo was assessed through litter studies carried out on four plots at two sites:
Chaillu forest growing on clay soil: Malanga stand (an old secondary forest) and
CCAF stand (a young secondary forest);
Coastal forest growing on sandy soil: Bitsifa forest stand (monodominant Okoume
forest) and Yangala stand (Okoume-Dichostemma forest).
Annual litter production was 5.8 and 10.7 t/ha respectively for the Malanga and CCAF stands
in Chaillu forest; and >11 t/ha for both stands in the coastal forest. The lower productivity in
Chaillu forests may be due to intensive forest exploitation over a longer time, and low
Okoume tree density. Bio-element return of N, P, K, Ca and Mg through the leaves (the main
litter component in Congolese forests) was assessed. Total N is higher compared to other bioelements and varies from 6 (Bitsifa stand) to 16 g/m²/yr (CCAF stand). Inputs of all bioelements were highest in the CCAF stand. Litter production and nutrient inputs showed wide
variations between forest types, the interior of stands and with species. The litterfall data from
the Congolese forests are within the range for the African tropical forests but slightly lower
for most of the nutrients. The variability in litterfall and nutrient inputs observed in secondary
forests need to be taken up in forest management guidelines.
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Introduction
The extent of secondary forests is increasing globally. A participatory and adaptive
management and research approach is needed to increase the ecological and technological
knowledge base for secondary forest management. Improved management of secondary
forests requires better inventories and better access to and dissemination of information (FAO
2003, 2004). However, in Africa the scientific knowledge concerning the flora and fauna in
these ecosystems seems to be limited.
All forests are dependent on recycling of plant nutrients to meet nutrient requirements for
growth. For most elements, biogeochemical nutrient cycling is dominated by litter production
and decomposition. Litter dynamics is a process that replenishes the nutrient pool in forest
ecosystems. Litter on the forest floor acts as an input-output system for nutrients. Leaf litter
serves as both a source and a sink for nutrients in forest ecosystems (Herbohn and Congdon
1993, Lisenawork and Michelsen 1994, Jamaludheen and Mohan Kumar 1999).
Factors influencing litter decomposition have important implications for long-term
productivity of forest ecosystems. Environmental factors, floristic composition, stand age, tree
management and stocking levels cause variations in quality and quantity of the litter. The
return of plant nutrients to the soil and subsequently recycling through plant uptake can be
influenced by choice of species or dominant species during plant succession or settlement
(Herbohn and Congdon 1993, Jamaludheen and Mohan Kumar 1999, Bernhard-Reversat and
Loumeto 2001).
Many authors studied and reviewed litterfall and nutrient return, also in tropical forest
(Herbohn and Congdon 1993, Lisenawork and Michelsen 1994, Jamaludheen and Mohan
Kumar 1999). However, the generalizations on the functioning of secondary forest are based
on few studies (Lugo et al. 1999). It is known that the tropical forest can return higher levels
of nutrients to the forest floor, behave as nutrient sinks and function at lower nutrient use
efficiency, and increase the nutrient pool in the litter and topsoil of damaged sites recovering
from forest use (Lugo et al. 1999). Little information is available on tropical secondary forest
of Africa. Therefore, the review made by Fournier and Sasson (1983) on African tropical
forest ecosystems need to be actualized.
Secondary forests dominated by Okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) occur in southwestern
Congo (Hecketsweiler and Mokoko Ikonga 1991, Doumenge 1992, Loumeto 2002, Pangou et
al. 2003, Kimpouni et al. 2008). Okoume, a pioneer species, is the main commercial timber
species of southern Congo forests, has a high economic value (Loumeto 1997, 2003) and an
important resource for plywood. Okoume forests are often disturbed by logging or
agricultural activities which create secondary forest (Nasi 1997, Fuhr et al. 1998, 2001).
Limited data are available on the functioning of Okoume forests (Loumeto 2002, 2003,
Loumeto and Kaya 2005). Therefore, information is needed to understand how forest stands
with Okoume should be managed to sustain productivity (Loumeto 1997).
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The working hypotheses are:
The fast growth and the gregarious behavior of many typical species of secondary
forest (eg. Okoume), influence the litter production and the nutrient recycling.
The functioning of secondary forest depends on its age, floristic composition, and
disturbances.
Environment factors (soil, climate, etc) and tree management influence variations of
the litter quality and quantity, and nutrient inputs.
This study aimed:
To improve data on litter production and nutrient inputs of Okoume forests in
southwestern Congo.
To assess the influence of the development stage of secondary forest on litter
production and nutrient return.
To quantify the variability of litterfall and nutrient inputs in African secondary forests.
Material and methods
Study area
Field work was done in two sites in southwest Congo: Chaillu forest in the Ngouha 2 area;
Coastal forest in the Youbi area (Table 1). The climate in both sites is characterized by an
alternation between a rainy season (September – May) and a dry season (June – August). The
vegetation at Chaillu forest (Ngouha 2) is a transition between Okoume and Limba
(Terminalia superba). It is moist evergreen forest and the flora is dominated by species of
Caesalpiniaceae, Irvingiaceae, Meliaceae and Burseraceae. Pangou et al. (2003) recorded 91
plant families and indicated that in the undergrowth, the dominant species belong to
Agavaceae, Commelinaceae, Costaceae and Zingiberaceae. This zone is disturbed by
traditional agricultural activities and timber logging (Loumeto 2003, Pangou et al. 2003). The
vegetation of the Coastal forest (Youbi area) is a relictual forest characterized by the
abundance of a few species, including Okoume as the main species (Loumeto 2002), followed
by Trichilia heudelotii, Carapa procera and Sacoglottis gabonensis (Kimpouni et al. 2008).
Table 1: Geographic parameters of the study sites in southwest Congo.
Forest
Area
Geographic position
Annual
rainfall
(mm/yr)
Temperature
Chaillu
Ngouha 2
2°58”S, 12°25’’E
1,644 (1981-1996)
Coastal
Youbi
4°00’’-4°30’’S, 11°30’’-12°00’’E
1,236 (1982-2001)
25°C
25°C
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Sampling design
Two stands were selected for study in each site. In Chaillu forest, two stands were selected:
Malanga, an old secondary forest; CCAF, a young secondary forest. On the basis of woody
species with trees >30 cm stem diameter at breast height (DBH), Okoume density is higher in
Malanga stand (29 stems/ha) than in CCAF. In Coastal forest, two stands were selected:
Bitsifa, a monodominant Okoume forest with 384 stems/ha >10 cm DBH of Okoume;
(Kimpouni et al. 2008); Yangala, dominated by Okoume and Dichostemma glaucescens, with
95 stems/ha of Okoume stems >5 cm DBH (Loumeto 2002).
The soils of the study sites highly desaturated ferrallitic soils (French classification). In the
FAO/UNESCO classification, the soils are Ferralic Arenosols and are sandy in texture, and
particularly poor in nutrients (Table 2).
Table 2: Soil parameters of the four stands selected at the two study sites
Forest
Stand
Clay (%)
Sand (%)
pH
C (%)
N (%)
P (%)
Exchangeable Cations (meq)
Chaillu
Malanga
CCAF
28.0
15.4
66.5
77.1
3.39
3.27
4.3
4.8
0.31
0.29
0.17
0.11
0.89
0.44
Coastal
Bitsifa
Yangala
6.3
8.6
91.4
90.2
4.3
4.4
1.6
1.7
0.10
0.10
0.23
0.28
0.10
0.10
Litterfall
Litter was collected every two weeks over a one-year period from 10 traps in each stand. A
trap was a constructed square wooden frame of 1 m x 1 m (= 1 m²) with a 2 mm mesh. The
collected litter were separated into leaves, woody parts and plant reproductive parts, and were
oven-dried at 65°C to constant weight.
Nutrients in litter
Leaf litter was gathered into one composite sample per month for chemical analysis. Woody
parts were lumped together into a single sample for each stand. Plant reproductive parts
(fruits, flowers, seeds, etc) were gathered by season. Chemical analysis was done at PointeNoire (Laboratory of IRD “Institut de Recherche pour le Développement”, Center of Congo)
for N, P, K, Ca and Mg.
148
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Results
Litter production
The annual litterfall was higher in Coastal forest (>11 t/ha/yr) than at Chaillu forest but the
CCAF stand at Chaillu forest (9.9 t/ha/yr) was only slightly lower than at the Coastal forest
(Table 3). Leaf litter is the dominant component of total litter: 72.1% at Malanga, 63.5% at
CCAF, 71.0% at Bitsifa and 68.3% at Yangala. Okoume leaves contributed a higher
percentage of total leaf litter in Coastal forest (68.6% in Bitsifa, 67.1% in Yangala) compared
to Chaillu forest where other leaves formed most of the total leaf litter (95.0% in Malanga,
93.5% in CCAF).
Table 3: Annual litter production (g/m²) in the four study sites by litter components and as
total
Forest
Stand
Okoume leaves
Other leaves
Woody parts
Flowers & fruits
Total
Chaillu
Malanga
CCAF
21.4
40.8
± 6.3
±12.4
410.9
587.6
± 50.4
± 57.4
146.6
296.7
± 34.9
± 25.1
21.0
64.1
± 13.0
± 28.0
599.9
989.2
± 81.9
± 96.2
Coastal
Bitsifa
Yangala
538.7
547.3
± 40.7
± 44.6
246.1
267.9
± 29.5
± 50.0
277.7
305.6
± 30.6
± 42.1
42.7
72.3
± 6.2
± 22.0
1105.3
1193.0
± 48.5
± 83.8
Annual nutrient input
In all stands, N is the most important bio-element contributed annually in the falling litter
(Table 4). N input is higher in Chaillu forest, and specifically in the CCAF stand, but the main
contribution is from leaves other than Okoume leaves. For most of the nutrient elements, the
differences are slight between the three other study sites.
According to total amounts of N, stands can be ordered as follows:
CCAF > Malanga > Yangala > Bitsifa
This arrangement is different for the other nutrients:
Ca and Mg: CCAF > Yangala > Malanga > Bitsifa
K:
CCAF > Malanga, Yangala, Bitsifa
P:
CCAF > Bitsifa, Yangala > Malanga.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Proportions of nutrient amounts related to Okoume leaves are higher for coastal forest for all
bio-elements, corresponding to at least at 30% (Table 5).
Discussion
Litter production in Congo forests
Litter production is higher in the Coastal forest than in Chaillu forest, probably mainly due to
the higher Okoume density in the Coastal forest (Loumeto 2002, Kimpouni et al. 2008). In
secondary forests, pioneer species (such as Okoume) often form an important component part
of the stand. They can boost litterfall but their litter tend to decompose more rapidly than the
litter from other species (Fournier and Camacho-de-Castro 1973).
Table 4: Annual nutrient contribution (g/m²) through litterfall in different litter components at
the different sites
Stands
Malanga
CCAF
Bitsifa
Yangala
Fractions
Okoume leaves
Other leaves
Woody parts
Flowers & Fruits
Total
Okoume leaves
Other leaves
Woody parts
Flowers & Fruits
Total
Okoume leaves
Other leaves
Woody parts
Flowers & Fruits
Total
Okoume leaves
Other leaves
Woody parts
Flowers & Fruits
Total
Biomass
21.4
410.9
146.6
21.0
599.9
40.8
587.6
296.7
64.1
989.2
538.7
246.1
277.7
42.7
1105.3
547.3
267.9
305.6
72.3
1193.0
N
0.44
8.37
1.92
0.53
11.26
0.59
11.10
4.09
1.15
16.93
2.86
1.56
1.91
0.49
6.83
2.82
1.82
2.14
0.86
7.64
P
0.01
0.22
0.04
0.002
0.27
0.02
0.29
0.12
0.01
0.44
0.12
0.07
0.08
0.04
0.31
0.12
0.08
0.11
0.03
0.34
K
0.09
1.37
0.25
0.10
1.81
0.19
2.52
1.16
0.44
4.31
0.43
0.22
0.42
0.20
1.26
0.43
0.26
0.54
0.22
1.45
Ca
0.15
2.29
0.44
0.13
3.01
0.30
4.63
2.08
0.47
7.48
1.27
0.43
0.87
0.11
2.67
1.32
0.59
1.34
0.15
3.40
Mg
0.08
1.76
0.28
0.09
2.21
0.18
3.02
1.30
0.31
4.81
1.32
0.51
0.37
0.14
2.34
1.28
0.65
1.18
0.29
3.40
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Table 5: Annual contribution of nutrients through Okoume leaves as percentage of total
nutrient contribution (% of total weight)
Forest
Stand
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
Chaillu
Malanga
CCAF
4
4
4
5
5
4
5
4
4
4
Coastal
Bitsifa
Yangala
42
37
31
35
34
30
48
39
56
38
Higher concentrations of P (phosphorus) in coastal forest soils could also be responsible for
this high litter production. The level of exchangeable P in the soil can influence litterfall
(Silver 1994) and its availability of P can be a major constraint for productivity, particularly
in acid soils (Northop et al. 1998), as is the case in the Congo forests.
Leaf litter is the main component of total annual litterfall (many authors quoted by Guo and
Sims 1999) and it is known that litter production is higher in younger secondary forest than in
older secondary forest. In Chaillu forest, litter production is higher in the younger CCAF
stand of secondary forest with a higher tree density (671-686 stems/ha) than the Malanga
stand (446-456 stems/ha), but the Okoume density is lower in CCAF.
In the Coastal forest, in spite of stand differences in terms of Okoume stem density and
floristic composition, the amounts of litterfall was similar in both stands. Soil nutrient status
seems to be more important here as stated by some authors (Spain 1984, Herbohn and
Congdon 1993).
Apart from litter production, nutrient contribution is higher in Chaillu forest than in the
Coastal forest, with the CCAF stand having the highest contribution for all nutrients. The two
areas represent two systems of nutrient cycling based upon the nutrient status of the soils
(Herbohn and Congdon 1993). The Coastal forest, growing on poorer soil, would correspond
to an Oligotrophic system with the litterfall low in nutrients. By contrast, Chaillu forest on a
richer soil would be a Eutrophic system with no problem for nutrient use efficiency.
African secondary forests
Litter production
Annual litter production, both leaf litter and total litter, in African tropical secondary forests
shows much variability within the same country, or same ecological area, and between forest
types (Table 6 for Democratic Republic of Congo; Table 7 for other countries). Young
151
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
secondary forest (e.g. Ile Kongolo or Southern Bakundu) or a monodominant species forest
(e.g. Okoume forest or P. macrocarpus forest) can have a higher litter production than the
others. Litter production of this study in southwest Congo falls within the range for the
African secondary forests.
Table 6: Annual litterfall (t/ha) in tropical secondary forests in Democratic Republic of
Congo
Area
Yanghambi
Vegetation type
Fallow forest
Ile Kongolo
Kinsangani
Young secondary forest
Old secondary forest
Primary forest
Forest of Piptadeniastrum
africanum & Celtis
mildbraedii
Forest of Caloncoba
subtomentosa
Forest of Petersianthus
macrocarpus
Leaf
Total
Authors
litter litterfall
12.3 Bartholomey et al. (1953)
- 15.3
6.1
8.1 Mosango (1991)
13.1
7.3
6.4
6.2
14.1
10.0
10.2
10.2 Mosango and Lejoly
(1990)
3.6
- Mosango and Lejoly
(1987)
-
13.0
Table 7: Annual litterfall (t/ha) of secondary forests in other African countries
Country
Area
Cote
d’Ivoire
Cameroon
Ghana
Banco
Yapo
Southern Bakundu
Kade
Dimonika
Bilala
Congo
Ngouha 2 (Monodominant
Okoume forest)
Ngouha 2
Youbi
Africa
Literature
Leaf
litter
7.1-8.2
6.3
7.8
5.4
Total
litterfall
9.2-11.2
9.0
13.6
10.5
5.0-5.7
-
7.8
10.2
4.3-6.3
7.8-8.2
3.7-8.5
5.8-10.7
11.1-11.9
8.0-15.0
Authors
Bernhard-Reversat et
al. (1979)
Songwe et al. (1988)
Nye (1961)
Schwartz (1993)
Goma-Tchimbakala et
al. (2005)
Loumeto and Kaya
(2005)
This study
This study
Mosango (1991)
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Annual nutrient contribution through the litter
Nutrient contribution through the litter varies widely in African secondary forests (Table 8 for
DRC, Table 9 for other African countries). Nitrogen has the highest annual input in all forests,
and Phosphorus the lowest.
Table 8: Annual nutrient contribution through the litter (kg/ha) in Democratic Republic of
Congo
Area
Vegetation types
Yanghambi Musanga forest
Mixed forest
Ile
Kongolo
Kinsangani
N
140.0
224.0
Fallow forest
Young secondary
Forest
Old secondary Forest
Primary forest
Caloncoba
subtomentosa forest
P
K
4.0 104.0
7.0 48.0
14.0
22.5
0.9
2.0
3.8
10.8
32.0
23.6
99.9
2.3
1.0
9.4
7.1
14.0
66.2
Ca
Mg Authors
127.0 43.0 Mosango (1991)
105.0 53.0 Laudelout and
Meyer (1954)
8.1 2.4 Mosango (1991)
27.7 4.3
20.7 6.4
18.0 3.0
66.9 22.4 Mosango and
Lejoly (1987)
Table 9: Annual nutrient contribution through the litter (kg/ha) in secondary forests of other
African countries
Country
Cote
d’Ivoire
Cameroon
Ghana
Congo
Literature
Area
Banco
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
158.0- 8.0- 28.061.035.0170.0 14.0
81.0
81.0
51.0
Southern Bakundu
123.5 11.6
90.9
181.8
39.2
(leaf litter)
Kade
202.0
7.4
68.0
209.0
45.0
Ngouha 2
700.0
2.6
19.6
23.3
14.8
(Monodominant
Okoume forest)
Ngouha 2
112.0- 3.7- 18.030.122.1169.0
6.2
48.0
74.8
48.1
Youbi
68.0- 3.1- 12.626.723.476.0
3.4
14.5
34.0
34.0
Africa
91.0- 4.0- 26.061.022.0224.0 14.0 104.0
206.0
53.0
Authors
Bernhard
(1970)
Songwe et al.
(1998)
Nye (1961)
Loumeto and
Kaya (2005)
This study
Mosango
(1991)
Amounts of most nutrients returned through the litter in the Congolese forests are in the lower
range or below the values of African secondary forests reported by Mosango (1991).
153
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest disturbance and recovery processes
Environment factors, climate and mostly soil nutrient status could contribute to these
differences.
Conclusion
Results obtained in this study complement the available data on litter systems of Congolese
forests, and specifically for Okoume forest. Okoume density influences the litter production
which is higher in Coastal forest than in Chaillu forest, illustrating the important contribution
of pioneer species to litterfall. But nutrient contribution through the litter seems to be more
related to soil nutrient status. Amounts are higher in the CCAF stand at Chaillu forest than in
Coastal forest for all studied elements (N, P, K, Ca & Mg). However, for most nutrients,
differences are low between the other studied stands. Therefore, forest management can
strongly affect the nutrient cycling which influences the productivity and tropical forest
sustainability. The studied stands in Chaillu forests have shown the influence of the forest
development stage. The CCAF stand, a young secondary forest plot, has a higher litter
production than the older Malanga stand. Litterfall production and nutrient contribution show
much variation in the African secondary forests. The results from this study for litter
production are within the range for other studies in the African tropical secondary forests.
However, the values are in the lower ranges for nutrient contribution through litterfall. Such
variability in litterfall and nutrient contribution needs to be incorporated into guidelines for
sustainable management of the African secondary forests.
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156
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
Productivity and yield regulation
systems for natural forests:
157
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
SYNTHESIS OF GROWTH AT STAND LEVEL IN 16 SOUTH
AFRICAN EVERGREEN FOREST PLOTS AFTER 10 YEARS
C.J. Geldenhuys
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Corresponding author: cgelden@mweb.co.za
Abstract
Stand and tree growth rates are important components of timber yield regulation and
calculation of the annual allowable cut in a timber concession. However, very few studies
exist to provide growth data for the forests in Africa. A series of 16 long-term study sites in
seven representative areas was established since 1987 to provide data on recruitment, growth
and mortality for the South African natural evergreen forests. The selected areas cover a
latitudinal gradient from the Cape Peninsula (34ºS) to the Soutpansberg (Limpopo Province)
(23ºS). In each area one to four sites were selected to cover a local altitudinal gradient. All
these sites were located in forest which had not been disturbed through timber harvesting for
long periods. The general plot size was 80 m x 80 m, and each plot was sub-divided into 10 m
x 10 m subplots. Stem diameter was measured at breast height (DBH) at 5-year intervals. A
total of about 15,000 stems were measured covering 132 canopy (58) and sub-canopy (74)
tree species. In general the trees grew very slowly, and growth rate was expressed in cm/10
years. The results show much variation in stand and tree growth, including negative growth.
About 5 to 10% of the trees showed negative growth; 50 to 70% grew between 0 and 1.0 cm,
and 10 to 15% grew more than 3 cm over the 10-year measurement period. Growth rate varied
according to species, tree size and position of the crown of a tree within the general canopy of
the stand. Crown position, i.e. how much direct light it receives, and whether it is a canopy
tree or a sub-canopy tree, has a major impact on tree growth. In general, there is an increasing
growth rate from trees in the understorey to trees in the canopy. Within a specific grouping
the growth is almost constant with increasing stem size. The implications for yield regulation
are discussed.
Background
Forest biodiversity and processes, and forest use, can be sustained if products and values are
utilized in relation to the growth potential of the site and the essential ecological processes to
which component species are adapted. Tree growth is part of the demographic processes that
contribute to forest stand dynamics (recruitment, growth and mortality), biodiversity and
recovery, and population status (size class structure) of tree species.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
The production rate of a resource determines how much of the resource can be used, like the
interest rate on invested capital. If the amount we use is more than the interest rate, the
invested capital erodes and our future benefits decline. If we use less than the production rate,
we may lose resources through excessive mortality during the felling cycle. Regular tree
measurements (stem diameter, tree height or shoot elongation) provide information on
production rates. We need the mean growth or production rates, the ranges in those rates, and
an understanding of the causes of fluctuations in those rates. For most products from natural
areas we have very little information on production rates.
Stand and tree growth rates are important components of sustainable resource use in forest
management. Stem diameter growth, ingrowth from regeneration and mortality of trees are
the basic components of species population dynamics and stand changes over time. They form
the basic elements of timber yield regulation and calculation of the annual allowable cut for
sustainable timber harvesting from timber concessions (Vanclay 1989a, 1989b, 1994, 1995,
Alder 1995). There are a few studies on tree and stand growth in Africa but the information
on and from such studies need to be made available for better management of the African
forests and woodlands.
The natural evergreen forests in South Africa cover a small area (less than 500,000 ha) over a
wide latitudinal gradient (Mucina and Geldenhuys 2006). They provide many products to
satisfy a wide range of needs of people directly and indirectly dependent on the forests
(McKenzie 1988). Timber for quality furniture, building and energy are only some of the
needs. Tree harvesting affects forest dynamics and biodiversity. Many targeted forest tree
species have the potential to be grown adjacent to the forest as alternative product sources,
and as nurse stands in forest rehabilitation practices.
Sixteen growth study sites in eight representative areas of the South African natural evergreen
forests were established since 1987. They were maintained to provide data on recruitment,
growth and mortality as basis for sustainable resource use, to monitor timber harvesting
impacts on forest biodiversity and productivity, and for selecting species for planting outside
the forest. Van Daalen (1991, 1993a, 1993b, 1993c) made important contributions to the
study of forest growth in Diepwalle forest in the Southern Cape. Interim reports on the
individual plots five or 10 years after establishment are available. No synthesis was made of
the growth, ingrowth and mortality of the plots for practical use.
This paper presents some initial synthesis of the stand composition of the 16 plots and their
relationship with the national forest types, the changes in structural stand variables over 10
years, and variation in tree growth at stand level (not by individual species).
Study area
The 16 plots were selected to cover a latitudinal gradient from the Cape Peninsula (34ºS) to
the Soutpansberg (23ºS) (Figure 1). In each area one to four sites were selected to cover a
159
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
local altitudinal gradient. The plots occur from near sea level at 150 m to 300 m above mean
sea level (amsl) (Orangekloof, Diepwalle, Witelsbos, Koomansbos and Manubi), at 580 m to
1,160 m asml in the Amathole mountains, 1,220 m to 1,280 m amsl in the Weza area, 1,100 m
asml at Ngome, 1,350 m to 1,580 m amsl in the Magoebaskloof area, to 1,380 m asml in the
Soutpansberg. The geology varies from quartzites (Diepwalle, Witelsbos and Matiwabos),
shales (Koomansbos, Ngeli and Ngome), mudstone, shale and sandstone with dolorite
intrusions (Amatole mountains), dolorite (Manubi and Ngeli), granite (Orangekloof) and
grantite-gneiss (Magoebaskloof area).
All the plots were located in forest which had not been disturbed for long periods, but the sites
represent different stand development histories. Orangekloof on the Cape Peninsula is in a
regrowth phase after heavy timber utilization during the early days of European settlement
(17th and 18th centuries). The Diepwalle plot is part of a large research site since about 1930.
Timber was harvested from all the other sites (based on stumps of sawn trees and saw pits in
the area) but the sites are under conservation management for at least 30 years before the plots
were established.
The plots were established in Afrotemperate forest (Cape Peninsula and Southern Cape),
Mistbelt forest (Amatole, Weza, Magoebaskloof, Soutpansberg) and Scarp forest (Manubi and
Ngome) of the national forest types (Von Maltitz et al. 2003, Mucina and Geldenhuys 2006).
Figure 1: Location of 16 long-term plots throughout the natural mixed evergreen forests in
South Africa. The insert shows the basic lay-out of an average plot.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Materials and Methods
Plots were established in February 1987 (Amathole mountains), May 1987 (Diepwalle),
during 1988 (Witelsbos, Koomansbos, Manubi and Orangekloof) and 1989 (Magoebaskloof
and Soutpansberg) (Geldenhuys 1997, 1998, 2000), and finally in October 1998 (Weza and
Ngome) (Geldenhuys 1999). The principle was that a plot should be relatively uniform
throughout, and be established on a relatively level terrain or at most a gentle slope on a
generally southern aspect to control for local site variation. The basic plot size was 80 m x 80
m (0.64 ha) (Figure 1 insert), but this was not always possible because of specific site
conditions. The Orangekloof (0.52 ha, in a triangle) and Sandile Kop (0.46 ha) plots were
smaller, and the Koomansbos (0.65 ha) and Kologha (0.80 ha) plots were longer but narrower.
The Diepwalle plot (2.86 ha) was initially used for competition studies (Van Daalen 1993a,
1993b) with growth data collected since 1974, but for this specific analysis a plot of 0.64 ha
was used.
Each plot was divided into 10 m x 10 m subplots (Figure 1) to ease relocation of marked
trees, and to enable the calculation of the standard errors for the mean stem density, basal area
and diameter growth per plot.
Diameter at breast height (DBH, 1.3 m above ground level) was measured for all stems with a
DBH ≥5 cm. A unique number was painted on each tree and the exact point of measurement
was marked with a horizontal painted band. Sometimes a tree was marked and measured
either above or below a swelling or a branch, or of a wound on the stem, or 50 cm above a
buttress.
All the plots were remeasured twice, i.e. approximately 5 years and 10 years after
establishment and initial measurement, except for the Weza/Ngome plots which were
remeasured only once, after about 5 years. Measurements were done towards end of the dry
season, but before the rain starts, to prevent measurement errors due to swelling of the bark
during the rainy season.
During each subsequent remeasurement, all stems of ≥5 cm DBH which were not measured
during the earlier measurements were numbered, measured and recorded (ingrowth). Also,
trees not found (missing), or died or blew over or illegally harvested since the earlier
measurements, were recorded as dead trees (mortality). During remeasurement, the crown
position (CP) of each measured stem was assessed and recorded as follows (adapted from Van
Daalen 1993c): CP1 = understorey, no direct light; CP2 = lower canopy, some overhead light;
CP3 = canopy, full overhead light; and CP4 = emergent (including a small tree in a large gap),
light from all sides. Observations that could affect reliability of the growth data, such as tree
showing signs of dying, stem rot, lianas around the stem, etc. were noted.
The data (initial measurement and all subsequent remeasurements) were recorded for each
individual stem per individual 10 m x 10 m subplots, i.e. subplot number, stem number,
161
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Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
species code, DBH to nearest millimetre, crown position, and general comments. The data
were entered into a separate LOTUS 123 file for each plot.
The following analyses were done:
The data from four adjacent subplots (a square of 20 m x 20 m) were combined to
obtain stem numbers by species for 0.04 ha plots, for a classification of the tree stands
using TWINSPAN (Hill 1979) and an ordination using detrended correspondence
analysis (DCA) of CANOCO (Ter Braak 1988).
Importance value (IV) of a species in each of the plots was based on the data recorded
with establishment of the plots. IV was calculated as follows:
IV = (RF + RD + RBA)/3, where
RF = relative frequency, calculated as the number (frequency) of subplots in a plot in
which the species was present, expressed as the percentage of all frequencies of all
species in the plot; RD = relative density, calculated as the number of stems (stem
density) of a species in a plot, expressed as the percentage of all stems of all species in
the plot; and RBA = relative basal area (relative dominance), calculated as the total
basal area (i.e. the horizontal surface area of a stem at 1.3 m above ground level) of a
species in a plot, expressed as a percentage of the total basal area of all species in the
plot.
Changes in growing stock were assessed for mean stand DBH, stand density and basal area,
and stand level stem diameter distributions, with all change values calculated per 10 years.
Only trees that were alive and measured during both the first and last measurements were
used in the analyses of growth.
Results and discussion
Species composition and importance values
A total of 134 tree species (59 canopy and 75 sub-canopy species; including Acacia
melanoxylon, an alien canopy tree species) were recorded in the 16 long-term plots. Table 1
summarizes the species composition information for the 16 plots based on canopy tree species
with IV ≥8 in at least one plot. The species information shows the links between the plots.
The DCA ordination based on all stems ≥5 cm DBH shows a clear separation of the plots in
groups of plots (Figure 2). Axis 1 represents the latitudinal gradient between the Cape
Peninsula, the Southern Cape, the Amatole, Manubi and Weza plots, and the Ngome and
Limpopo plots. Axis 2 represents an altitudinal gradient within the Amathole plots and the
Ngeli plot as one group, with the Manubi plot at the other extreme, and the Mpesheni plot in
between. However, it is also possible that geology may play a role in their separation. Axis 3
(not shown, with eigenvalue = 0.474) further separated the groups but the reason is not clear.
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Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
In general the sub-plot groups within a plot clustered together. The TWINSPAN classification
(not presented and discussed here) shows similar separated groupings of plots.
Table 1: Importance values for selected species (with IV ≥8 in at least one plot)
Growth plot*
Number of subplots
Number species per plot
Stems per plot
OK DW WB KB PR ID SK KL MN MP
52
64
64
65
64
64
46
80
64
64
16
27
25
32
43
37
38
36
46
24
1372 1093 494 1040 1354 1081 638 1528 877 554
31.0 23.8 29.3 28.3 27.9 30.9 26.3 25.8 21.3 33.0
Basal area (m²) per plot
9
6
8
3
4
5
3
1
3
2
Generally canopy tree species
Cassine peragua
41.7
Olinia ventosa
20.1 0.8 0.2 1.5
Olea capensis capensis
8.1 1.7 2.5 5.5
Olea capensis macrocarpa
- 21.9 6.0 12.7 8.8 8.8 6.0 4.5 4.8
Podocarpus latifolius
1.7 15.8 8.9 10.8 0.7 2.8 12.5 5.1 1.7
Pterocelastrus
- 5.3 4.8 8.9
tricuspidatus
Platylophus trifoliatus
- 18.9 0.2
Ocotea bullata
- 1.0 11.5 1.8
- 22.1
Nuxia floribunda
- 2.2 4.1 0.2 9.4 0.1
Mimusops obovata
- 8.0 1.7
- 0.4 2.8
Xymalos monospora
- 17.1 23.0 6.3 3.3 1.9
Vepris lanceolata
- 3.0 6.8 3.5 11.6 4.7
Chionanthus peglerae
- 10.1 1.5
Podocarpus henkelii
- 35.2
Cryptocarya myrtifolia
Syzygium gerrardii
- 3.2 3.7
Cryptocarya transvaalensis
Nuxia congesta
Generally sub-canopy tree species
Gonioma kamassi
- 11.7 15.5 5.4
Trichocladus ellipticus
- 23.5 23.3 5.6 19.1
Diospyros whyteana
3.7 3.0 0.5 0.5 2.2 3.6 6.5 13.9
Englerophytum natalense
- 20.4
Eugenia zuluensis
- 13.2
Psychotria capensis
- 0.1 0.2
- 0.2
Cassipourea malosana
Rinorea angustifolia
Oxyanthus speciosus
- 0.4 0.3
Rothmannia capensis
- 0.5 2.0
- 0.4
- 2.2
NL NM PB HB GB MB
64
64
64
64
64
64
39
38
28
28
27
32
713 953 662 833 646 503
20.8 33.7 34.7 35.7 39.2 31.8
0
8
8
3
2
5
-
0.1
0.8
0.4
-
1.8
0.9
-
0.8
0.9
-
1.3
2.4
-
6.5
-
- 1.7 2.6 0.3 1.5
0.2
15.2 10.8 13.7 11.8 23.2 24.7
7.6
3.2 0.4
2.4
8.1 1.2
2.3 21.7 35.2 0.5 10.2 4.0
- 11.6 5.7
- 3.7
- 1.2 5.0 8.5
24.2
1.4
- 0.1
4.3 5.6
- 13.1
0.3 1.0
- 7.5
- 7.2
1.4
-
9.1 7.6 10.4
- 21.9
1.7 0.1 9.0
2.5 7.9 3.0
8.6
1.8
9.4
* OK = Orangekloof; DW = Diepwalle; WB = Witelsbos; KB = Koomansbos; PR = Pirie; ID = Isidenge; SK =
Sandile Kop; KL = Kologha; MN = Manubi; MP = Mpesheni; NL = Ngeli; NM - Ngome; PB = Patatasbos; HB
= Helschebos; GB = Grootbos; MB = Matiwabos.
The grouping of the plots as indicated in the TWINSPAN output and the DCA ordination
shows relative uniformity within a plot (except perhaps within the Orangekloof plot), and
clear separation of the plots in groups that agree with the national forest types (Von Maltitz et
al. 2003, Mucina and Geldenhuys 2006): Western and Southern Cape Afrotemperate forests;
163
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
Amathole and Eastern Mistbelt forests; Transkei Coastal and Eastern Scarp forests, and
Limpopo Mistbelt forests.
Figure 2: DCA ordination diagram for Axes 1 and 2 from the CANOCO output for the 16
long-term forest growth plots in South Africa.
Changes in growing stock (stand level)
Overall growing stock
The initial growing stock (mean stem diameter, stem density and basal area) at plot
establishment, and changes in the growing stock calculated for a 10-year period show much
variation between the different sites (Table 2). Stand density varied between 772 (Witelsbos)
and 2,839 (Orangekloof) stems/ha, and this large variation is due to the large variation in
stems below 10 cm DBH. Stem density of trees ≥30 cm DBH ranges between 96 (Kologha)
and 236 (Patatasbos) stems/ha. Total basal area varied between 32.3 (Kologha) and 60.7
(Grootbos) m2/ha. Basal area varied most in trees ≥30 cm DBH between 14.3 (Manubi) and
49.6 (Grootbos) m2/ha, but even the basal area in trees of 10-29 cm DBH varied between 6.9
(Witelsbos) and 39.6 (Orangekloof) m2/ha. Change over the 10 years in total stem density
varied between -9.7 (Mpesheni) and 10.6 (Witelsbos) stems/ha, with the biggest change in
stems below 10 cm DBH (-16.5 in Orangekloof and 19.9 in Witelsbos). The Diepwalle,
Sandile Kop and Ngome plots showed a positive change and the Manubi and Helschebos
plots showed a negative change in stem density in all three diameter categories over the
period. Total basal area change varied between -7.2 (Kologha) and 7.4 (Ngome) m2/ha, with
the biggest change in trees ≥30 cm DBH (-15.2 in Kologha and 21.8 in Orangekloof). The
Witelsbos and Ngome plots showed a positive change and the Kologha, Manubi and
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
Mpesheni plots showed a negative change in basal area in all three diameter categories over
this period.
Changes through in-growth and mortality
Growing stock changes from ingrowth and mortality varied much between plots (Table 3).
Ingrowth as percentage of initial stand density per ha varied between 1.8% in Orangekloof
and 26.4% in Diepwalle, with an overall mean of 9.6%. Mortality in terms of initial stand
density per ha varied between 5.1% in Ngeli and 25.3% in Manubi, with an overall mean of
10.1%. Over the stem diameter categories the mortality ranged between 54.9% of the dead
stems in trees <10 cm DBH, 36.5% in stems 10-29 cm DBH, and 8.6% in trees ≥30 cm DBH.
Mortality as percentage of initial total basal area varied between 0.4% in Koomansbos and
31.8% in Manubi, with an overall mean of 8.8%.
Table 2: Changes over 10 years in the growing stock of the 16 forest growth study sites in
South Africa
Forest plot
Date
established
Orangekloof
12/88
Diepwalle
05/87
Witelsbos
08/88
Koomansbos
08/88
Pirie
02/87
Isidenge
02/87
Sandile Kop
02/87
Kologha
02/87
Manubi
10/88
Mpesheni
10/98
Ngeli
10/98
Ngome
11/98
Patatasbos
07/89
Helschebos
07/89
Grootbos
07/89
Matiwabos
07/89
Initial growing Mean
stock
SEmean
Minimum
Maximum
% change over Mean
10 years
SEmean
Minimum
Maximum
Mean DBH (cm)
5.0- 10.0- 30.0+ Total
9.9 29.9
7.1 16.9 36.3 14.9
7.0 16.0 43.5 13.8
7.0 16.5 50.5 20.0
7.0 17.4 40.3 14.7
6.9 16.5 40.8 12.5
7.0 16.7 46.6 14.3
7.1 17.6 45.3 17.5
6.9 15.6 43.1 11.4
7.1 17.4 41.6 14.3
7.2 16.1 56.7 18.8
7.3 16.2 42.0 15.3
7.2 15.1 48.7 14.9
6.9 17.0 46.2 19.6
7.1 17.1 52.1 17.0
7.0 17.7 48.6 19.7
6.9 17.7 45.8 21.7
7.0 16.7 45.5 16.3
0.03 0.20 1.27 0.75
6.9 15.1 36.3 11.4
7.3 17.7 56.7 21.7
0.7 -0.7
0.9
0.6
0.39 0.47 0.57 0.71
-2.7 -5.5 -3.2 -6.0
3.1
2.9
4.4
6.7
5.0-9.9
869.2
767.2
310.9
783.1
1304.7
862.5
604.3
1205.0
640.6
412.5
489.1
840.6
414.1
575.0
451.6
254.7
674.1
74.85
254.7
1304.7
-0.7
2.41
-16.5
19.9
Stems per ha
10.0- 30.0+
29.9
1613.5 155.8
587.5 134.4
293.8 167.2
649.2 167.7
642.2 164.1
668.8 150.0
556.5 226.1
598.8
96.3
631.3
98.4
304.7 148.4
490.6 132.8
457.8 189.1
384.4 235.9
571.9 159.4
335.9 221.9
321.9 209.4
569.3 166.0
77.23 10.47
293.8
96.3
1613.5 235.9
-1.0
0.7
1.56
1.55
-14.4 -10.7
8.4
17.1
Total
2638.5
1489.1
771.9
1600.0
2114.1
1689.1
1387.0
1910.0
1370.3
865.6
1114.1
1489.1
1034.4
1306.3
1009.4
785.9
1410.9
127.09
771.9
2638.5
-0.9
1.45
-9.7
10.6
Basal area (m2) per ha
5.0- 10.0- 30.0+ Total
9.9
29.9
3.61 39.58 16.61 59.80
3.04 13.05 21.19 37.28
1.26 6.91 37.74 45.91
3.12 17.04 22.43 42.59
5.14 15.35 23.17 43.66
3.48 16.04 28.82 48.35
2.48 14.96 39.79 57.24
4.64 12.56 15.04 32.26
2.64 16.41 14.29 33.34
1.72 6.97 42.90 51.59
2.12 11.11 19.27 32.50
3.53 8.86 40.39 52.79
1.61 9.65 43.08 54.34
2.39 14.55 39.00 55.94
1.82 9.26 49.59 60.67
0.99 8.75 38.25 47.98
2.72 13.82 30.72 47.26
0.29 1.92 2.94 2.40
0.99 6.91 14.29 32.26
5.14 39.58 49.59 60.67
0.41 -2.23 2.95 1.08
2.19 1.55 1.85 0.96
-14.86 -14.85 -15.21 -7.23
18.46 8.89 21.75 7.45
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Table 3: Ingrowth and mortality in South African forest growth study sites, expressed per ha
over 10-year period
Forest
Ingrowth
Stems % start
Orangekloof
Diepwalle
Witelsbos
Koomansbos
Pirie
Isidenge
Sandile Kop
Kologha
Manubi
Mpesheni
Ngeli
Ngome
Patatasbos
Helschebos
Grootbos
Matiwabos
Mean
SE mean
47.7
190.5
147.2
196.8
71.1
97.0
96.7
89.2
125.6
59.4
121.9
298.4
86.8
58.9
108.5
86.8
117.7
16.2
1.8
26.4
19.1
12.4
3.3
5.6
6.7
4.5
16.4
3.4
5.5
11.9
8.5
4.5
10.8
11.1
9.5
1.7
Mortality in stems over DBH classes, cm
5.0-9.9
165.9
47.6
29.4
116.0
134.2
80.8
40.5
73.7
89.8
96.9
56.3
116.2
48.0
54.2
43.4
38.7
77.0
9.9
10.029.9
78.2
20.4
23.2
68.7
59.8
46.9
36.0
58.2
82.8
43.8
53.1
58.1
48.0
77.5
37.2
27.9
51.2
4.9
30+
0.0
9.8
17.0
10.7
14.5
9.7
9.0
19.4
20.9
3.1
3.1
7.9
13.9
17.0
24.8
12.4
12.1
1.7
Total
244.1
77.9
69.7
195.3
208.5
137.4
85.5
151.3
193.6
143.8
112.5
182.2
110.0
148.8
105.4
79.0
140.3
13.2
Mortality Basal area,
m2
% start All stems % start
9.3
10.8
9.1
12.3
9.5
7.9
6.0
7.7
25.3
8.3
5.1
7.2
10.7
11.5
10.5
10.2
10.1
1.1
1.86
2.88
4.23
0.16
4.00
4.17
3.62
5.42
5.91
3.93
1.95
3.15
3.73
5.33
4.69
2.94
3.6
0.4
3.1
15.9
9.1
0.4
8.8
8.3
6.1
16.3
31.8
3.8
3.0
3.5
6.9
9.6
7.8
6.2
8.8
1.9
The linear relationship between ingrowth or mortality and different stand variables is shown
in Table 4. For ingrowth all the tested stand variables were insignificant but when the outliers
represented by Diepwalle, Koomansbos and Ngome were removed, the relationship was
significantly negative with total stem density (R2=0.235), density of stems <30 cm DBH
(R2=0.217) and total stand basal area (R2=0.213), i.e. the higher the values of the variables,
the lower the ingrowth. For mortality of stems <10 cm DBH, the relationship was
significantly positive with density of stems <30 cm DBH (R2=0.597), density of all stems
(R2=0.596) and density of stems <10 cm DBH (R2=0.393). For mortality of trees ≥10 cm
DBH, the relationship was significantly positive with total stem density (R2=0.331) when the
outlier of the Manubi plot was removed.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Table 4. Linear relationship (Y = a + bX) between ingrowth or mortality and different stand
variables
# points
R2
a
Ingrowth stem density in relation to
Density all stems
16
0.01080
*13
0.23500
Density stems <10 cm DBH
16
0.00355
*13
0.11000
Density stems <30 cm DBH
16
0.01030
*13
0.21700
Total stand Basal area
16
0.04380
*13
0.21300
Mortality of stems <10 cm DBH in relation to
Density all stems (stems/ha)
16
0.596
Density stems <10 cm DBH
16
0.393
Density stems <30 cm DBH
16
0.597
Mortality of stems >10 cm DBH in relation to
Density all stems
16
0.0828
*15
0.3310
Density stems >10 cm DBH
16
0.0855
*15
0.00173
Total stand Basal area
16
0.0758
*15
0.1120
Variable
b
136.00
126.00
109.00
111.00
133.00
120.00
184.00
155.00
-0.0132
-0.0248
0.0129
-0.0293
-0.0126
-0.0232
-1.4100
-1.3200
8.07
21.00
14.02
0.0603
0.0831
0.0587
34.90
24.90
115.00
53.10
117.00
45.60
0.0216
0.0229
-1.1100
0.0905
-1.0900
0.2410
Changes in stem diameter distribution
The stem diameter distribution of the stand gives the sum total of the interactions between
ingrowth (recruitment), growth and mortality of all trees ≥10 cm DBH in the stand. The
graphs for stem density or basal area over the stem diameter classes give a quick overview of
the kind of changes that occurred in each plot (Figure 3). The diagrams are arranged to show
four groups of stands. Orangekloof presents a stand in a recovery stage of a regrowth stand
with a high number of stems <25 cm DBH and a high basal area in stems <35 cm DBH, with
a high mortality in the smaller stems and an increase in size (and hence basal area) in the trees
≥10 cm DBH. Koomansbos and Pirie are relatively drier forests with a large number of
smaller stems but a good basal are in the middle diameter classes, with relatively little change
in the stem density and basal area throughout the diameter classes. Kologha seems to have a
similar pattern but is a moister forest probably recovering from over-utilization in the past; it
has a good spread of trees but with a generally low level of basal area over all the diameter
classes. Diepwalle, Manubi and Ngeli have a similar stand structure to Kologha, but have
higher number of stems over a wider range of the smaller diameter classes >5 cm DBH, and a
higher basal area over a wider range of the middle to larger diameter classes, but only show
much fluctuation in the larger diameter classes in Ngeli. The other plots show a relatively low
stem density in trees <10 cm DBH, except Isidenge and Ngome, but a larger basal area in the
middle diameter classes and a high basal area in the largest diameter classes. The death of a
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single large tree can cause a large fluctuation in basal area. It may be necessary to manage
forests with this type of structure to facilitate regeneration, and growth of trees through the
smaller diameter classes to replace death/use of the large trees.
Figure 3: Changes in growing stock in each plot by stem density/ha (bars) and basal area/ha
(lines) over stem diameter classes.
Stem diameter growth (stand level)
Only trees which were alive and measured during the first and last period were included in the
analyses of growth. In general the trees grew very slowly, and growth rate was expressed in
cm/10 years. Many factors affect the stem diameter growth of a tree. The question is to
determine under what conditions a tree do not grow, and when will a tree grow really fast
because this understanding has important implications for the silvicultural management of the
forest for sustainable resource harvesting. In this study, the effect of crown position of a tree
within the canopy of the stand, species differences, and site differences on stem diameter
growth were assessed but this paper only report on the effect of crown position.
Variation in stem diameter growth of individual stems
The results show much variation in stand and tree growth, including negative growth (Figure
4). Between 0.1% and 18% of the trees in the different plots showed negative growth; 51% to
85% grew between 0 and 1.0 cm diameter; 9% to 36% grew between 1 and 3 cm; and 1% to
13% grew more than 3 cm over the 10-year. A negative growth is possible with dying trees,
or with stem rot developing, or other unknown reasons.
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Effects of crown position on growth
Crown position, i.e. how much direct light it receives, and whether it is a canopy tree or a subcanopy tree, has a major impact on tree growth. The table inside Figure 4 shows the
relationship between the crown position categories and the tree growth rate over 10 years –
the higher the crown position category the higher the percentage of trees growing more than 1
cm diameter/10 years. All trees from all growth plots were grouped into stem diameter classes
for the four crown positions to calculate the average stem diameter and growth rate within
each tree size category (Figure 5). Mean diameter growth increased from 0.48 cm/10 years for
crown position 1, to 2.32 cm/10 years for crown position 4, i.e. the growth rate level increased
from crown position 1 trees to crown position 4 trees. However, growth rates varied much
within stem diameter classes within the crown position categories. The canopy condition 4
trees showed much faster growth in the smaller diameter classes, and this could perhaps be
explained by smaller trees in large gaps grow much faster than older emergent trees above the
canopy which may have become more stunted with age.
Figure 4: Variation in stem diameter growth of individual stems crown position categories for
all plots.
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Figure 5: Stem diameter growth over stem diameter classes for different crown positions of
trees.
Discussion
The selected forest growth plots are representative of most of the main forest types in South
Africa, and also of local altitudinal gradients in major forest complexes within these forest
types. They cover most of the main species used for resource use, except a few important
targeted species in rural resources use for poles, fuel wood and fibre, such as Ptaeroxylon
obliquum and Millettia grandis (Geldenhuys and Cawe this proceedings). These species, and
other similar species, are more prominent near the forest margin and regrowth forest, and
different strategies are needed to record their ingrowth, growth and mortality for sustainable
resource use.
The changes in growing stock (mean stem diameter, stem density and basal area) calculated
for a 10-year period show that the forests are not static. The different stands varied much in
initial growing stock, and also in changes in stem density and basal area in the different size
categories (Table 2). Only the Diepwalle, Sandile Kop and Ngome plots showed a positive
change and the Manubi and Helschebos plots a negative change in stem density in all three
main diameter categories over the period. Only the Witelsbos and Ngome plots showed a
positive change and the Kologha, Manubi and Mpesheni plots a negative change in basal area
in all three diameter categories. These changes relate to different rates of ingrowth
(recruitment) and mortality (both in stem density and basal area), with a significant
relationship with total stem density: negative for ingrowth (with three outliers removed), and
positive with mortality (with one outlier removed. This has important implications for
silvicultural management. This is further demonstrated with the changes in the total stand
stem density and basal area over different diameter classes. Some stands have a high stem
density in the smallest diameter classes, with relatively high mortality in the small stems, and
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relatively few larger stems. Other plots showed the opposite trend with much lower density of
small stems but a relatively high basal area in larger stems.
Stem diameter growth showed much variation, from negative growth, to relatively fast
growth, with a large number of stems showing zero up to 1 cm diameter growth over 10
years. Much of the very slow growth is related to the position of the crown of the tree below
the canopy of the stand. Crown position within and above the upper canopy, with much better
light conditions, showed much better growth. However, in the below canopy crown positions
some relatively fast growths were recorded, and with exposed crown positions relatively slow
to negative growth rates were recorded. The initial analyses on stem diameter growth show
the importance of regulating stand density to provide suitable light conditions and growing
space for optimum growth of trees in a stand.
The next step is to assess the growth rates of individual species, across the plots (different
sites), in relation to initial stem diameter and crown position (species specific characteristics)
and other stand characteristics. This will be important to understand the ecological
requirements of different species in different forests for optimum silvicultural management
for sustainable resource use (establishment and optimum growth of harvested species).
Acknowledgements
The financial support over many years provided by the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry to maintain the plots, and the assistance of many different persons in the remeasurement of the plots are acknowledged with much appreciation.
References
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objective classification for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Unpublished
report No. ENV-P-C 2003-017, Environmentek, CSIR, Pretoria. 275 pp
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PUTTING THE FORESTRY INTO PARTICIPATORY
FOREST MANAGMENET - SIMPLE INVENTORY
PROTOCOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE LOGGING
S.M.J. Ball
Mpingo Conservation Project, Kilwa Masoko, Tanzania
Corresponding autrho:mmsteve.ball@mpingoconservation.org
Abstract
Participatory Forest Management has come a long way in Tanzania over the past twenty
years, with over 380 Village Land Forest Reserves now established in the country. However,
participating communities have yet to earn any revenue from significant timber resources due
to the complexities of sustainable management of natural forest and typically low educational
levels in rural communities. This paper describes how the Mpingo Conservation Project
developed very simple protocols to allow community forest managers to assess timber
resources efficiently and determine an annual quota for sustainable felling of selected species.
Trees are allocated to one of just three size classes in order to minimize the number of
variables which the community must manage. A simple model is used to derive quotas
through a method which communities themselves can follow. This method is compared with
national guidelines for Participatory Forest Resources Assessment and it is concluded that it
benefits from tighter and better understood goals leading to a more efficient approach.
Communities could earn US$2,000+ per year from just one or two species, thus justifying
their investment in forest management, with larger sums potentially attainable later.
Introduction
Community-based conservation is an alluring paradigm that appears to hold the answers to
many of the problems of conservation in the tropics. Often it can be demonstrated that local
communities reap significant benefits from the ecosystem, and should therefore be ready
collaborators in protecting it. However, frequently many of these benefits are intangible
outcomes of a functioning ecosystem (ecosystem services) which are subject to the tragedy of
the commons, and rarely appreciated until they are lost; global climate change is not regarded
as a pressing issue by poor African farmers.
One solution to this challenge is to identify local natural resources which can be sustainably
exploited to generate an additional financial income for the community. However, sustainable
exploitation is not always easy to determine or to manage, requiring substantial investment of
technical expertise.
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This paper documents an innovative approach undertaken by the Mpingo Conservation
Project in the forests of south-eastern Tanzania. Instead of seeking the optimal (maximum)
sustainable yield, and thus community income, the problem was reduced to a simple quota
determination system, which can be used by communities without outside assistance. In doing
so, Participatory Forest Management was transformed from an exercise restricted to
community engagement to one of technical management.
Participatory forest management in Tanzania
Participatory Forest Management (PFM) has been in development in Tanzania for around
twenty years (Wily 1998). In 1998 it was put at the heart of the new forest policy of the
government of Tanzania (MNRT 1998), and full legal provisions were made in the Forest Act
which came into effect in 2004 (URT 2002). By 2006 over 380 Village Land Forest Reserves
(VLFRs) had been established under this legislation, with many more in development
(Blomley et al. 2008).
However, none of these communities had yet to receive any income from the most obvious
source of revenue in the forests – timber. This did not happen despite PFM being seen as one
of the principle strategies in the fight against illegal logging (Milledge et al. 2007). Villages
around one of the earliest PFM sites at Duru-Haitemba reportedly earned some money from
visitation fees paid by the frequent study tours by interested forestry officials from elsewhere
in Tanzania and abroad (Tom Blomley pers. comm. 2007), while a sustainable charcoal
project has been initiated in Iringa District (Lund 2007). In short, the social enterprise of
engaging community interest and establishing Village Natural Resources Committees
(VNRCs) to manage the forests had been successful, but little extractive forestry was taking
place despite it being at the heart of the intellectual case for PFM.
One of the reasons for this lack of exploitation has been the lack of technical understanding of
natural forest processes and management within Tanzania; university courses and technical
training focus mostly on plantation management with only general guidance given with
regards to management of natural forest. Guidelines developed by the Forestry and
Beekeeping Division for Participatory Forest Resources Assessment (PFRA) (MNRT 2005)
are more appropriate for assessing NTFPs such as firewood than timber resources, and when
field tested (Ball unpubl. data.) did not yield sufficient data for the accurate determination of
appropriate harvesting quotas.
African blackwood and the Mpingo conservation project
East African Blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon, locally known as mpingo), is one of the
most valuable timber trees in the world fetching up to US$18,000 per cubic metre (Jenkins et
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al. 2002) on the export market where the principle demand is to make musical instruments
such as clarinets, oboes and bagpipes. Most exports come from southern Tanzania and
northern Mozambique where it is reasonably common. The tree has been proposed as a good
conservation flagship species because of the high regard it is held in by local people and its
ease of identification (Ball 2004). This strategy is being followed by a Tanzanian NGO called
the Mpingo Conservation Project (MCP), which since 2004 has been working in Kilwa
District in south-eastern Tanzania to develop PFM with a particular focus on sustainable
exploitation of the valuable hardwoods to be found in the forests there. Illegal logging is
widespread in that part of Tanzania, accounting for up to 96% of the timber extracted
(Milledge and Elibariki 2005), and so MCP is pursuing forest certification to Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) standards in order to secure a market for timber from community
managed forests.
The forest landscape of south-eastern Tanzania is a mixture of Miombo woodlands with a
variety of patches of East African Coastal Forest (a biodiversity hotspot of global importance)
which are found predominantly on the higher ground. Blackwood and most of the other
valuable timber species are found in Miombo woodlands, although some species, such as
Milicia excelsa and Pterocarpus holtzii, are mostly found in evergreen riparian vegetation.
The woodlands are fairly open allowing easy access for selective logging which is the norm in
the area.
Sustainable resource extraction
As well as providing a framework for PFM, the 2002 Forest Act stipulates that all natural
forests must be managed sustainably (URT 2002), but does not explicitly define sustainable.
Sustainability can and has been defined in many different ways. The definition provided here
is limited to an ecologically sustainable harvest in natural forest that is subject to minimal
management or silvicultural intervention.
The VLFRs which are set aside by communities in following the PFM process may be quite
small (as low as ~500ha in size), and so geographically dividing the VLFRs into coupes
according to the estimated rotation time of the tree (a simple and common way of managing a
sustainable harvest) may leave some coupes entirely free of target species. This is not
appropriate for rural communities who expect to receive a sustainable income from the forest,
and so instead an Allowable Cut across the entire forest is considered.
Typical management plans for VLFRs developed by communities supported by the MCP
have a duration of five years. The interest is therefore to define a total allowable cut which
should not be exceeded over the five year duration of the management plan. How that cut
should be distributed spatially within the forest and temporally over the five years is outside
the scope of this paper. This concept is referred to as the Total Allowable Cut over 5 years or
TAC5. It has to be separately defined for each species that are of commercial interest in a
community forest.
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Materials and Methods
The Mpingo Conservation Project has developed a method for a Participatory Forest
Inventory which focuses entirely on timber resources. The participatory element is important
since it reduces the chance of ‘leaving communities in the role of policeman for someone
else’s policies’ (Ball 2007), and in this case extends to the data analysis too. The materials
required are cheap and easily within the scope of any project working in support of
community forestry:
Printed map (with scale) of the forest
Compass
10 m long rope, with a mark at 5 m
1.5 m standard tailors’ tape measures (longer is better if you can find them)
Pen and notebook
A GPS unit can be used to mark transect start and end points but it is not necessary.
Laying out the transects
The Participatory Inventory method does not involve a fixed sampling intensity. Instead
surveyors should aim to record 50+ trees of each species of most interest, and 20+ trees for
species of lesser interest. Thus the number of transects required cannot be known precisely in
advance, although an experienced facilitator who is familiar with the area may be able to
guestimate, and advise the community accordingly. Instead an initial number of transects (4-5
is usually appropriate) should be walked, with more added later if necessary. If the axis of the
forest the transects are traversing is much shorter than the other then more transects will
clearly be needed (6-8 may be appropriate in this case as a starting number).
Transects are initially plotted as lines on a map of the forest roughly where they are intended
to pass. They should be reasonably spaced out and follow a standard compass bearing, which
is decided at the beginning. From the map scale the distance along the forest boundary (which
should be either cleared or at least marked) to the start of the transect can be estimated, and
then reached through a timed march. MCP assumes that 4 km/hr is possible in rough terrain,
and 6 km/hr along a path or cleared boundary.
The transects walked should be 10 m wide (5 m on either side of the line), using the premeasured rope. Alternatively, a human chain can be formed; five people walking broadside,
hands outstretched, roughly covering 10 m. The group can detach and come back together to
go around obstacles.
The inventory should only assess a limited number of tree species (max 6-8), which should be
decided in advance, so most trees encountered on the transects can just be ignored. When an
individual of a species of interest is found then its species is noted and its circumference at
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breast height recorded. The data is sufficiently simple that it can just be recorded in an
ordinary exercise book without printing out dedicated data collection sheets.
Size classes
In order to keep the analysis as simple as possible, trees are assigned to one of three size
classes defined according to the Legal Minimum Diameter for Harvesting (LMDH). The size
classes are colour coded for easy reference and drawing of simple bar charts. They are defined
as follows (DT = diameter of tree):
Red (not yet harvestable) : 0.5 × LMDH ≤ DT < LMDH
Green (harvestable) : LMDH ≤ DT < 2 × LMDH
Blue (extra large trees / seed trees) : 2 × LMDH ≤ DT
For practical use the size classes, which vary according to species, need to be converted into
circumference terms in advance. In Swahili the three size classes are termed Miti Midogo,
Miti ya Kati and Miti Mikubwa respectively; these are abbreviated to MD (red), KT (green)
and MK (blue) during the Participatory Analysis and in the Harvesting Plan.
Participatory analysis
The calculation of the TAC5 can be run entirely in the community, and runs as follows
(abbreviations are based on the Swahili):
1. Estimate the total length of transects from the scale map. A 10 m transect width
conveniently means the length of transects in kilometres is the same as the area in
hectares. Later on 10% will be added to account for deviations from the actual path
plotted but this is encapsulated in the reference table so does not need to be explicitly
computed at this point. From this the area-based extrapolation factor (NZE) is
calculated.
2. The number of trees in each size class counted during the Participatory Inventory is
then listed for each species, and a sustainable quota for those trees is determined (these
are termed MKT for green trees and MMK for blue). This calculation is done by
simple lookup on a reference table of sustainable quotas, see below.
3. Red trees will grow into green and blue trees to replace the ones that have been felled.
But if there are not enough it is necessary to revise the quota downwards in order to be
sustainable. Also roughly one third of red trees will die before they ever reach green
tree size. This next stage calculates the necessary adjustment factor.
Adjusted total of Red Trees MD' = MD x 2 / 3
Total J1 = KT + MK
Total J2 = (MD' + KT + MK) / 2
Total J3 = Minimum (J1, J2)
Red Ratio Adjustment Factor NZM = J3 / J1
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4)
Finally all of the above calculations are combined to give the quota of trees that
can be harvested sustainably from the entire productive area of the forest. The
formulae to use are: Harvesting Quota of Green Trees: KKT = MKT x NZE x NZM
Harvesting Quota of Blue Trees:
KMK = MMK = KBT x NZE x NZM
Reference table
All the sophisticated statistics are combined in the table of sustainable quotas referenced in
step 2 above (Table 1). This may vary from one species to another according to the model
used (see the relevant section below; an example showing the current look-up table for
Dalbergia melanoxylon is shown below). The table computes the 75% lower confidence limit,
adds on the 10% for transect deviations, and then applies a quota from a model of sustainable
off take, which is based on a combination of cutting cycle and volume increment models
(MCP 2008):
Green trees = 9.4% over five years
Blue trees = 5.8% over five years
Community representatives simply use the table to look for the row with the same or lower
number of trees as seen on the transects and then scan across to determine the quota for the
green or blue tree size class as appropriate.
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Table 1: Reference table for Dalbergia melanoxylon for looking up the sustainable harvesting
quota based on 75% lower confidence limit, 10% transect deviation and MCP’s model
for a sustainable off-take. Results need to be scaled by sampling intensity and ratio of
red-sized trees to green and blue ones
No. Trees seen on
Transects
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
14
16
18
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
60
70
80
90
100
Green Trees TAC5
Blue Trees TAC5
0.19
0.24
0.29
0.34
0.39
0.44
0.54
0.65
0.75
0.85
0.96
1.22
1.49
1.76
2.03
2.30
2.57
3.11
3.66
4.20
4.75
5.30
0.12
0.15
0.18
0.21
0.24
0.27
0.33
0.40
0.46
0.53
0.59
0.75
0.92
1.08
1.25
1.42
1.58
1.92
2.26
2.59
2.93
3.27
Results
MCP has tested the above methodology in four villages in central Kilwa District, of which
two have completed, while the other two still have to conduct the participatory analysis.
Dalbergia melanoxylon (LMDH 24 cm) has been the principle species of interest in the
forests of all four villages, and the commonest high value timber species, with much smaller
quantities of Pterocarpus holtzii and Millettia stuhlmannii (both LMDH 45 cm). The results
for the two villages completed are given in Table 2.
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Table 2: Results of a Participatory Forest Inventory in two community-managed forests in
Kilwa District, south-eastern Tanzania
Village
Area of Productive Forest (ha)
Length of Transects (km)
Species *
Size Class
red
Dalbergia
melanoxylon
green
blue
red
Pterocarpus
holtzii
green
blue
red
Millettia
stuhlmannii
green
blue
Kikole
Kisangi
407
1,756
20.5
26.7 **
# trees seen TAC5
# trees seen
TAC5
51
0
0
0
136
75
60
102
26
8
5
3
1
0
7
0
0
0
18
51
0
0
2
0
10
0
12
0
0
0
10
36
0
0
2
0
* Other species were surveyed but were too few to be commercially harvestable.
** Actually walked 13.3 km of 20 m wide transects.
Discussion
In all four villages where the transects have been walked, the method was picked up readily
enough by the local communities who were enthusiastic participants. All inventories were
closely supervised so opportunities for error were limited. Both Kikole and Kisangi were
experimental villages where one or more aspects were trialled; in Kikole an excessive number
of transects were walked looking for trees of other valuable species, whilst in Kisangi the
transects were 20 m wide making it more likely that small trees are missed. This was probably
a major factor in the absence of any red blackwood trees recorded on the transects, together
with the fact that blackwood is a pioneer species (Ball 2004) while the forest at Kisangi is
semi-closed canopy climax miombo. Based on these experiences the simpler but less efficient
10 m wide transect was adopted by MCP.
With each green-sized blackwood tree worth at least US$20 and most blue-sized blackwood
trees worth in excess of US$100 (MCP 2008), the inventories found over US$2,300 worth of
blackwood that can be sustainably harvested from Kikole’s forest in five years, and some
US$11,000 worth of timber (conservatively valuing green-sized P. holtzii and M. stuhlmannii
at US$100 each) can be sustainably felled in the same period from Kisangi’s forest. Kikole
are prepared to expand massively their VLFR to close to 3,000 ha suggesting that both
communities could earn at least US$2,000 per year from timber sales. MCP expects this
figure to increase substantially with FSC certification and when less highly sought-after but
commoner species such as Brachystegia spp. are included. At the very least this should more
than pay for the labour and opportunity costs of setting aside the forest as a VLFR, and
potentially in future earn the villages a useful dividend from the forest.
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The Participatory Forest Inventory method outlined in this paper addresses a number of
weaknesses manifested in the guidelines for PFRA issued by the Forestry and Beekeeping
Division (FBD):1. Lack of Focus
A PFRA that follows the FBD guidelines seeks to assess all forest resources which
risks wasting effort on resources that are either very common or very rare, or are not
actively utilised.
2. Greater Proportion of Time Spent Surveying
The FBD guidelines use sample plots which take a long time to locate and set out.
With transects the inventory team can be surveying for up to 80% of their time in the
forest.
3. Insufficient Data
Instead of adopting a fixed sampling intensity the method encourages communities to
decide the level of effort they wish to put in.
4. Over-reliance on the Mean
Use of the 75% lower confidence limit explicitly penalises communities who do not
invest sufficient effort into forest assessment, and avoids the problem of substantial
quotas being granted on the basis of a handful of tree sightings.
The mathematics is sufficiently simple that poorly educated communities can follow the
entire analysis procedure. Once communities have gained more experience in the procedure
MCP expects them to be able to conduct their own inventories using just a printed method for
guidance and copies of the reference table provided.
At present MCP is covering the entire cost of inventorying the forest so communities do not
yet have to decide the level of effort which is instead guided by the facilitator based on the 50
tree rule of thumb that is based on the Poisson distribution equation for confidence limits
(Ball unpubl. data). However, in future when communities begin earning substantial sums
from their forests, MCP will withdraw this subsidy at which point it will be interesting to see
how the communities decide the appropriate level of effort.
The method for laying out transects and locating starting points is a compromise between
scientific robustness and practicality; communities are warned in advance about the problems
of bias and that they may be penalised if manipulation of the data is detected. However, in
practice most communities are not sufficiently map-literate to pinpoint certain stands on an
outline map of their forest, meaning such opportunities are limited.
In order to assess transect deviation, MCP compared point-to-point distances between
waypoints recorded by a GPS roughly every 100 m when walking the transects in Kikole’s
forest with the Pythagorean straight line distance from start to end of the transect. Deviation
varied from 0.6% to 6.2% with an average of 4%. Ball (2003) found that practical deviation
by student surveyors from pre-determined short courses in rough terrain averaged under 4.8°
and did not exceed 8°, a 1% variation in length. Putting all this together and invoking the
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precautionary principle this MCP assumes 10% deviation for the purpose of estimating actual
stocks.
Conclusion
The sample plot versus transects approach is indicative of the history of PFM being primarily
about management of NTFPs in small Forest Management Units in largely deforested areas,
whereas the communities supported by MCP are establishing VLFRs up to 4,000 ha in size in
a landscape which itself is generally forested. Here, where deforestation is yet to become a
major issue, the principle perceived benefit of PFM is to capture timber rents for the
community, and the tight focus of the inventory method is better served to this purpose than
the wider PFRA method advocated by FBD. However, the difference is also symptomatic of
another major weakness of PFM, that it is often pushed by local development or conservation
agencies with little thought to local goals. If you do not know why you are conserving some
forest, then you will not know what to assess. PFM facilitators should instead agree clear
goals of PFM with participating communities, and only assess forest resources relevant to
those goals.
When those goals are clear, and a simple method constructed around them, this paper
demonstrates that it is possible to do good science whilst fully involving participating
communities – the forest managers. Harvesting plans for the villages of Kikole and Kisangi
based on the above research have been approved by the Forestry and Beekeeping Division,
and MCP hopes they will be able to begin harvesting early in 2009. This will be a first for
PFM in Tanzania, and means that communities can at last start benefitting from the most
tangible asset in the forests they are managing. We will thus have succeeded in putting the
forestry back into Participatory Forest Management.
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to the team of the Mpingo Conservation Project; to Anne-Marie Gregory who
helped devise an early version of the inventory method, and to Jonas Timothy and Andrew
Maclean who lead community fieldwork. The work featured in this paper was funded by the
Darwin Initiative, and my participation at the symposium on Sustainable Forest Management
in Africa supported by the BP Conservation Leadership Programme.
References
Ball SMJ. 2003. Does navigation by compass introduce bias in locating random sample
points? Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, University of East Anglia, UK
Ball SMJ. 2004 Stocks and exploitation of East African blackwood: a flagship species for
Tanzania’s Miombo woodlands? Oryx 38(3): 266-272
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
Ball SMJ. 2007. Participatory Forest Resource Assessment: Experiences from Kilwa. Arc
Journal 21: 21-23
Blomley T, Pfliegner K, Isango J, Zahabu E, Ahrends A, Burgess ND. 2008. Seeing the wood
for the trees: an assessment of the impact of participatory forest management on forest
condition in Tanzania. Oryx 42(3): 380-391
Jenkins M, Oldfield S, Aylett T. 2002. International Trade in African Blackwood. Fauna &
Flora International, Cambridge, UK
Lund JF. 2007. Money talks: CBFM and village revenue collection in Iringa District. Arc
Journal 21: 14-16
MCP 2008. ED02 group guidelines on forest assessment and sustainable harvesting v1.0.
Mpingo Conservation Project, Tanzania
Milledge SA, Elibariki R. 2005. The status of logging in southern Tanzania. TRAFFIC
East/Southern Africa, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Milledge SA, Gelvas I, Ahrends A. 2007. Forestry, governance and national development:
lessons learned from a logging boom in southern Tanzania. TRAFFIC East/Southern
Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
MNRT 2005. Guidelines for Participatory Forest Resource Assessment and Management
Planning. Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Forestry & Beekeeping
Division, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
MNRT 1998. National forest policy. Ministry of Natural Resources & Tourism, Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania
URT 2002. The Forest Act, No. 7 of 7th June 2002. United Republic of Tanzania
Wily LA. 1998. Villagers as forest managers and governments "Learning to let go". The case
of Dudu Haitemba and Mgori Forests in Tanzania. International Institute for
Environment and Development, London, UK
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ASSESING THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF
Entandrophragma cylindricum USING THE STOCK
RECOVERY RATE
N. Picard1*, S. Namkosserena2, Y. Yalibanda3, F. Baya3, S. Gourlet-Fleury1 &
R. Nasi4
1
CIRAD, Montpellier, France
ICRA, Bangui, Central African Republic
3
MEFCPE, Bangui, Central African Republic
4
CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
*Corresponding author: nicolas.picard@cirad.fr
2
Abstract
The renewal of the forestry codes of the countries of the Congo Basin in the 90's has legalized
management plans for forest concessions. These plans intend, among other objectives, to
ensure the sustainable exploitation of commercial species. Sustainability is assessed using the
stock recovery rate, which is defined in national directives as the ratio of the exploitable
timber stock at the end of a felling cycle over the exploitable timber stock at the beginning of
this cycle. Computing this rate requires forecasting the temporal development of each species
during a felling cycle, which is usually achieved using the so-called “stock recovery formula”.
This paper shows that this formula corresponds to a Leslie model, and then proposes a
generalization as a Usher matrix model. Using the data from the M'Baïki experimental plots
in the Central African Republic, the stock recovery rate for sapelli (Entandrophragma
cylindricum, Meliaceæ), a major timber species in Central Africa, was estimated. The
estimate was completed by its confidence interval using bootstrap methods. Although 225
observations were available for sapelli, the stock recovery rate was estimated with no more
than an accuracy of about 45% at confidence level 95%. This did not permit to conclude
whether the asymptotic stock recovery rate was greater or less than one. This suggested that
much more observations than usually acknowledged are required to estimate the stock
recovery rate with an acceptable accuracy. Different logging scenarios were finally tested to
assess the impact of management parameters on the stock recovery rate of sapelli.
Introduction
Between 1990 and 2002, all six countries of the Congo Basin in Central Africa (namely
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, and Gabon) have voted new forestry codes (Nasi et al. 2006). The new forestry codes
have set as a legal obligation the use of management plans for forest concessions.
Management plans schedule the set of all activities to be achieved in the forest concession
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during one rotation, and ensure that these activities are consistent with a sustainable
exploitation in the long-term. In practice, sustainability is assessed for each commercial
species using the stock recovery rate, which is defined in national forestry directives as the
ratio of the exploitable timber stock at the end of a felling cycle over the exploitable timber
stock at the beginning of this cycle, just before logging (Durrieu de Madron et al. 1998).
The timber stock that is potentially exploitable is defined as the number of stems with a
diameter greater than a threshold called the “diameter cutting limit” (DCL). The DCL is
legally fixed for each commercial species by national forest services. To ensure sustainability,
only one part of this potential is actually harvested. This part is delimited by another threshold
diameter, called the “minimum harvest diameter” (MHD) that is necessarily greater than the
DCL (Catinot 1997, Nasi et al. 2006). Every tree to be harvested must have a diameter greater
than MHD. Harvest is periodic, and the time interval between two successive logging
operations is the length of the felling cycle. During this time, the forest is left so that the
timber stock naturally regenerates. Contrary to the DCL that is legally fixed, the MHD and the
length of the felling cycle are flexible parameters that are adjusted for each forest
management unit. The length of the felling cycle is the same for all species, whereas the
MHD is adjusted separately for each commercial species.
MHD and the length of the felling cycle are adjusted to ensure an acceptable level for the
reconstitution of the timber stock, i.e. an acceptable value of the stock recovery rate. This
computation is done separately for each commercial species. If the stock recovery rate for a
given species is too low, then the length of the felling cycle or the MHD for this species has to
be increased. Increasing the length of the felling cycle in turn changes the value of the stock
recovery rate for all other commercial species. A key point for the management of natural
tropical forest in Central Africa is thus to predict the stock recovery rate.
Computing the stock recovery rate requires forecasting the temporal development of each
species during a felling cycle, using estimates of the species growth, recruitment, and
mortality. In most national forestry directives, this is achieved using the so-called “stock
recovery formula”, that was established during the pilot management plan of Dimako in
Cameroon (Durrieu de Madron et al. 1998). This formula gives an estimate of the stock
recovery rate, but does not specify the confidence interval around this estimate. Yet the
demographic parameters (growth, recruitment, mortality) used to forecast the temporal
development of the population can yield significant uncertainties around the predicted value.
In this study, the stock recovery rate of sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum Sprague,
Meliaceae), a major timber species in Central Africa, is estimated using data from the
experimental site of M'Baïki in the Central African Republic. The study shows that the stock
recovery formula corresponds to a Leslie model, i.e. a model of population dynamics for
structured populations, and then proposes an extension of it as a Usher matrix model. More
importantly, the study shows how to compute a confidence interval around the estimate of the
stock recovery rate, and how this estimate of the prediction uncertainty permits a better
interpretation of the value of the stock recovery rate.
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Materials and Methods
Study site and focus species
Data for this study comes from the M'Baïki experimental site (3o54'N, 17o56'E) in the Central
African Republic. This experimental site is dedicated to studying the effects of logging
damage on stock recovery (Bedel et al. 1998). The site lies in a terra firme moist forest, at the
northern limit of the moist forests of the Congo basin. The experimental design of the site
consists of two blocks of three and one block of four 300 m × 300 m permanent sample plots
with a 50 m inner buffer zone (Figure 1). In each central 200 m × 200 m square, all trees over
10 cm dbh (diameter at breast height) were identified and georeferenced. Since 1982, girths at
breast height, tree deaths and newly recruited trees over 10 cm dbh have been monitored
annually. Between 1984 and 1985, two silvicultural treatments have been applied: three plots
(including the buffer zone) were logged, and four plots were logged and thinned (Bedel et al.
1998). Logging here designates the removal of exploitable trees from commercial species
with a diameter above the DCL, whereas thinning designates the removal of trees of any size
of non-commercial species. The three remaining plots were left as control.
The study for this paper focused on sapelli and used the sapelli data from the M'Baïki plots
from 1992 to 1994. Sapelli is a large canopy tree that is found from Sierra Leone and as far as
Ouganda to the East and the Mayombe forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the
South. It is the most abundant of the great Meliaceae commercial species. Its physical and
ecological characteristics are described in Palla et al. (2002). The DCL for sapelli is 80 cm
dbh in the Central African Republic (République Centrafricaine 1990). The length of the
felling cycle is typically 30 years, i.e. the reference felling cycle in Cameroon (République du
Cameroun 2002) and in the Central African Republic based on the pilot management plan for
PEA no 169 at Ngotto (Bonannée 2001).
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n systems forr natural foreests
Figure 1: Locatioon of the M'Baïki
M
expperimental site
s in the Central Afr
frican Repu
ublic and
sschematic view
v
of the 10 permaneent sample plots.
p
The stoock recoveery formulla and its extension
he same
The stoock recoverry formula supposes thhat all the trees of a given speccies have th
growth rate irrespeective of theeir size, andd that their mortality
m
raate is constaant too. Let a be the
nt mortality
y rate in yr 1 . Time is discrete
constannt growth raate in cm yr 1 , and m the constan
with a ttime step (in yr). Th
he populatioon is describ
bed by a vector N(t) giiving the nu
umber of
trees in K diameteer classes. Diameter
D
claasses have a constant width a , exceptt the last
D
DCL
1 be the
a trees with
h a diameterr greater than K 1 . Let c
t class
class thaat gathers all
index thhat correspoonds to the DCL:
D
classees 1 to c 1 are below the DCL, w
whereas claasses c to
K are abbove the DC
CL. Let N i t be the itth componen
nt of N(t) (i = 1, …, K)). By definiition, the
exploitaable timber stock at tim
me t is:
S t N i t
K
i c
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in Africa
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Suppose that logging takes place at time t = 0. It is assumed that logging is instantaneous with
respect to forest dynamics. Let T N be the number of time steps corresponding to the length
of the felling cycle. Then, by definition, the stock recovery rate at the end of the first felling
cycle is:
R
N i T
S T
i c
S 0
K
N i 0
K
i c
Moreover, the number of trees in the ith diameter class at time t is related to the number of
trees in the i t th diameter class at time 0 by the following relationship:
N i t 1 m 1 pi t N i t 0
t
i K
N K t 1 m 1 pi N i 0
K
t
i K t
where pi is the logging intensity in class i, that is: 1 pi is the ratio of the number of trees in
the ith class before and after logging. Carrying forward this expression in the expression of R
gives the stock recovery formula (Durrieu de Madron et al. 1998):
R
T
1 m 1 pi N i 0
K
i c T
N i 0
K
i c
In matrix notations, this is equivalent to:
I' c LT H N(0)
R
I ' c N ( 0)
where prime denotes the transpose, I c is the vector of length K whose ith element equals zero
if i c and one if i c , H is a diagonal K×K matrix whose ith element on the diagonal equals
1 pi , and L is a Leslie K×K transition matrix:
0
0
1 m
L
0
0
1
m
1
m
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This proves that the model of forest dynamics that underlies the stock recovery formula is a
Leslie (1945) matrix model.
A generalization of the Leslie matrix model is the Usher (1966) matrix model. A
generalization of the stock recovery formula gives:
R
I ' c U T H N ( 0)
I ' c N ( 0)
Where U is a Usher K×K transition matrix:
q1
p q2
U 1
0
p K 1
0
qK
where qi is the probability for a tree to stay alive in class i between two consecutive time
steps, and pi is the probability for a tree to stay alive and grow up from class i to i 1
between two consecutive time steps. The Usher extension of the stock recovery formula
permits to relax the hypothesis of constant growth, taking into account the relationship
between size and growth. As a consequence, the estimate of the stock recovery rate that it
provides is less biased than with the standard stock recovery formula. More details about the
Usher matrix model and its use to estimate the stock recovery rate can be found in Picard et
al. (2008).
By definition, the stock recovery rate at the end of the kth felling cycle is the ratio of the
exploitable stock at time kT over the exploitable stock at time k 1T . As felling cycles
follow each other, the stock recovery rate converges towards a limit that is the asymptotic
stock recovery rate. It corresponds to the dominant eigenvalue of LTH or UTH (Picard et al.
2008). The asymptotic stock recovery rate has to be interpreted as an index of long-term
sustainability: if greater than one, harvest is less than regrowth and the exploitable stock
indefinitely grows; if equal to one, harvest balances regrowth and the exploitable stock
converges to an equilibrium; if less than one, harvest is greater than regrowth and the
exploitable stock vanishes to zero. More precisely, this index indicates what would happen if
the current conditions remain the same for infinite time (same growth rate, same recruitment,
etc.) As this cannot occur in reality, the asymptotic stock recovery rate must not be interpreted
as a prediction of what will occur in the long-term.
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Statistical analyses
The data on sapelli at M'Baïki and both versions (the standard version, and its Usher
extension) of the stock recovery formula were used to compute the stock recovery rate of
sapelli. Both the stock recovery rate at the end of the first felling cycle and the asymptotic
stock recovery rate were computed. A confidence interval around each predicted value was
computed using bootstrap (Efron and Tibshirani 1993). This consists in drawing with
replacement in the original dataset as many observations as there are in the original dataset.
This bootstrap dataset is then used to compute a new estimate of the stock recovery rate.
These operations are repeated B times, which provides B bootstrap replicates of the stock
recovery rate. The confidence interval is finally computed as the empirical confidence interval
of the B bootstrap replicates. Here we used B = 10,000 replicates. This confidence interval
was used to test whether the estimate of the stock recovery rate obtained here was
significantly different from one, and from the estimate obtained in a previous study on sapelli
(Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury 2006). The accuracy was also computed as the width of the
confidence interval divided by the estimate of the stock recovery rate. Thus a good accuracy
corresponds to a low accuracy value.
Computations were achieved for a typical logging scenario consisting of a logging intensity of
90%, MHD = DCL = 80 cm, and Tx 30 years. Longer felling cycles were subsequently
tested (40, 50 and 60 years). All computations were performed using R software (R
Development Core Team 2005). Bootstrap algorithms were implemented in C language
interfaced with R. The code is available at http://agents.cirad.fr/index.php/Nicolas+Picard.
Results
Figure 2 shows the temporal development of the exploitable stock of sapelli submitted to
periodic harvest every 30 years, according to the Usher model and as predicted by another
study by Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury (2006). The development observed at M'Baïki on
logged plots is shown till 2005. The confidence intervals of the predicted stock for the shortrun development during the first felling cycle (years 1984–2014) approximately match the
observed stock. The exploitable stock at the end of the first felling cycle is 0.45 stems ha-1 on
average according to the Usher model, which is 28% of the initial stock (1.58 stems ha-1).
This value of the stock recovery rate at the end of the first felling cycle is quite low as
compared to standard values found in management plans, where 50% is usually taken as a
minimum to reach. This low value can be explained in the present case by the shape of the
initial diameter distribution. It is not a consequence of unviable vital rates, as it will appear in
the long run. The diameter distribution in 1984 (before logging) is indeed U-shaped, with an
overstocking of big trees (dbh 80 cm) and an under-stocking in intermediate diameter classes
(25 dbh<55 cm). Logging depletes the largest diameter class that is not subsequently fed by
the intermediate classes due to their low level.
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2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
1
Number of trees 80 cm dbh (ha )
Productivity and yield regulation systems for natural forests
1980
2000
2020
2040
2060
2080
2100
Year
Figure 2: Temporal development of the exploitable stock of sapelli at M'Baïki, when
submitted to periodic harvest with a felling cycle of 30 years. Dots represent the
observed development. The solid line is the development predicted by a Usher matrix
model, with its 95% confidence limits in grey. The broken line is the development
predicted by Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury (2006).
Other statistical properties of the estimator of the stock recovery rate at the end of the first
felling cycle are given in Table 1. The accuracy of the estimation corresponding to Figure 2 is
43.4% at level 95%: this is much more than the level of accuracy usually considered as
acceptable (about 10%). This low accuracy is to be related to the high standard errors when
estimating the parameters of the Usher transition matrix. Table 1 also shows the influence of
the formula used and of the length of the felling cycle on the estimate of the stock recovery
rate at the end of the first felling cycle. The standard stock recovery formula brings a better
accuracy than its Usher extension, but it underestimates the stock recovery rate. This is a
classical case of trade off between bias and variance. The hypothesis of constant growth that
underlies the standard stock recovery formula reduces the variance of predictions (since there
are fewer parameters to estimate in the model), but it induces a bias (here an underestimation
of growth, that results in an underestimation of the stock recovery rate). As expected, the
stock recovery rate increases as the length of the felling cycle increases. Not surprisingly, the
accuracy of the stock recovery rate estimate gets worse as the length of the felling cycle
increases: the longer the predictions of the model are, the less precise they are.
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Table 1: Estimates and distribution statistics of the stock recovery rate at the end of the first felling
cycle for sapelli at M'Baïki, according to the stock recovery formula and its Usher extension.
T
Estimate
Std. error
95% Conf.
(yr)
(%)
(%)
Limits (%)
A. Standard stock recovery formula
30
19.6
2.0
15.5-23.0
40
22.2
3.0
16.1-27.6
50
25.4
4.2
17.0-33.2
60
29.6
5.8
18.2-40.8
B. Usher extension of the stock recovery formula
30
28.5
6.8
14.6-39.3
40
31.9
8.9
13.9-46.0
50
36.3
11.4
13.3-55.4
60
42.1
15.2
12.1-68.9
Accuracy
(%)
p-value*
19.1
25.9
31.9
38.3
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
43.4
50.2
58.0
67.5
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
* This the p-value of the test of the null bypothesis H0:R = 1.
Over a longer period, as felling cycles follow one another, the exploitable stock shows on
average a sawtooth development, with increasing periodic peaks (just before logging; see
Figure 2). The asymptotic stock recovery rate is accordingly greater than one on average
(Table 2). However, this average evolution hides a great variety of trajectories, as shown by
the 95% confidence limits around the average trajectory (Figure 2). The lower bound of the
95% confidence limits decreases to zero: some of the bootstrap replicates thus have an
asymptotic stock recovery rate that is less than one. Accordingly, the 95% confidence limit
for the asymptotic stock recovery rate includes one (Table 2). Thus, although the estimate of
the asymptotic stock recovery rate in Figure 2 is 1.24, it cannot be excluded that the true value
of this rate is actually less than one.
Comparing the results of our study with that of Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury (2006) brings an
interesting result. The development predicted by Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury (2006) (shown
as a dashed line in Figure 2) is close to ours at the beginning (the best agreement is during the
third felling cycle). However the two predicted trajectories diverge in the long run. Whereas
the periodic peaks increase according to the Usher model, with a corresponding asymptotic
stock recovery rate of 1.24, they decrease according to Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury's model,
with a corresponding asymptotic stock recovery rate of 0.95. If one only looks at these
average values, there is an apparent contradiction regarding the long-term sustainability.
However, taking account of the uncertainties around these predictions erases this
contradiction. Given the bad accuracy of estimates, there is actually no significant difference
between our estimate of the asymptotic stock recovery rate and that of Karsenty and GourletFleury (p-value = 0.24).
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Table 2: Estimates and distribution statistics of the asymptotic stock recovery rate for sapelli
at M'Baïki, according to the stock recovery formula and its Usher extension
T
Estimate
Std. err.
95% Conf.
(yr)
(%)
(%)
Limits (%)
A. Standard stock recovery formula
30
125.2
28.0
77.9-190.0
40
137.1
41.4
71.0-236.9
50
151.0
57.4
66.5-296.0
60
168.4
77.5
62.6-370.6
B. Usher extension of the stock recovery formula
30
124.5
28.0
76.9-189.3
40
136.6
39.9
72.3-232.0
50
152.0
55.8
68.2-291.3
60
168.5
75.1
64.4-362.9
Accuracy
(%)
p-value*
45.0
60.5
76.0
91.5
0.36
0.35
0.35
0.33
45.1
58.5
73.4
88.6
0.38
0.36
0.32
0.32
* This the p-value of the test of the null hypothesis H0: R = 1.
Table 2 shows the influence of the formula used and of the length of the felling cycle on the
estimate of the asymptotic stock recovery rate. Contrary to the stock recovery rate at the end
of the first felling cycle (Table 1), the standard stock recovery formula and its Usher
extension bring very similar estimates for the asymptotic rate. The Usher model is slightly
more precise. As expected, the asymptotic stock recovery rate increases when the length of
the felling cycle increases, whereas its accuracy gets worse.
Discussion and Conclusion
The stock recovery rate of sapelli at the end of the first felling cycle is quite low as compared
to values commonly found in management plans, even when taking into account the bad
accuracy of the prediction. The reason is not related to the value of the parameters (growth,
mortality, and recruitment) of its dynamics, since the asymptotic stock recovery rate is greater
than one on average, but rather to the unbalanced initial diameter distribution that is Ushaped. A balanced distribution would have an exponential shape. A solution to increase the
stock recovery rate at the end of the first felling cycle consists in increasing the length of the
felling cycle. Other solutions (not shown here) would consist in decreasing the logging
intensity or increasing the MHD.
As acknowledged before, the asymptotic stock recovery rate for sapelli must not be
interpreted as a prediction of what will occur in the long-term, since the computation of this
rate assumes that all vital rates remain constant. As large trees, that are also the seed trees, are
harvested, it is likely that recruitment will decrease rather than remaining constant. Then the
long-term vision that is offered by Figure 2 is presumably optimistic.
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The most striking feature of the estimation of the stock recovery rate is its poor accuracy,
much above the level of accuracy generally considered as acceptable (about 10%). The
standard stock recovery formula permits to improve the level of accuracy, but at the price of a
bias that is far from negligible. The only reliable solution to improve the accuracy would
consist in increasing the number of observations from which the parameters of stand
dynamics (growth, mortality, and recruitment) are estimated. The present study was based on
all available observations for sapelli at M'Baïki, i.e. 225 observations on 40 ha. Getting an
accuracy of 10% at confidence level 95% for the stock recovery rate at the end of the first
felling cycle would require 2,400 observations (Picard et al. 2008). Given the average density
of sapelli at M'Baïki (5.625 ha-1), this would correspond to an area of 427 ha.
The results that we obtained for sapelli remain valid for other commercial species (Picard and
Gourlet-Fleury 2008). The levels of accuracy that are obtained from a few hundred
observations are well above the targeted level of 10%, and a few thousand observations are
generally required to improve the level of precision. Given the low densities of some
commercial species (e.g. 0.2 ha-1 for sipo, Entandrophragma utile, at M'Baïki; Bedel et al.
1998), this may lead to tremendous areas to monitor to get observations.
A first conclusion of this study is thus to reinforce permanent sample plots (PSPs) in Central
Africa to get more observations on population dynamics for commercial species. Such
observations would permit a better precision of the estimate of the parameters (growth,
recruitment, mortality) of population dynamics, which would result in more accurate
estimates of stock recovery rates. Reinforcing PSPs means (1) designing new kinds of PSPs
that are more efficient (e.g. trails that connect permanently monitored trees rather than
classical plots), (2) increasing the number of PSPs, and (3) harmonizing PSPs at the regional
level, so that data coming from different sites can be used in a consistent way (Picard and
Gourlet-Fleury 2008). Such a network of PSPs could serve many other objectives such as
biodiversity assessments or carbon stock assessments.
A second conclusion is that estimates of stock recovery rates should always be accompanied
by their confidence interval. This is presently not the case in management plans where the
values are given alone. Using a similar study by Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury (2006) as an
example showed that the inspection of the estimate alone could lead to erroneous conclusions
regarding the long-term sustainability. The confidence interval permits a correct
interpretation of the stock recovery rate. Hence national forestry directives should
complement the stock recovery formula with another formula that gives its precision.
References
Bedel F, Durrieu de Madron L, Dupuy B, Favrichon V, Maître HF, Bar-Hen A, Narboni P.
1998. Dynamique de croissance dans les peuplements exploités et éclaircis de forêt
dense africaine: dispositif de M'Baïki en République Centrafricaine (1982-1995).
CIRAD-Forêt, Montpellier. 72pp
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Bonannée M. 2001. L'étude prospective du secteur forestier en Afrique (FOSA): République
centrafricaine. Document de travail FOSA/WP/32. FOSA, Rome
Catinot R. 1997. L'aménagement durable des forêts denses tropicales humides. ATIBT et
Éditions Scytale, Paris. 100pp
Durrieu de Madron L, Forni E, Karsenty A, Loffeier E, Pierre JM. 1998. Le projet
d'aménagement pilote intégré de Dimako, Cameroun, 1992-1996. CIRAD-Forêt,
Montpellier. 160pp
Efron B, Tibshirani RJ. 1993. An Introduction to the Bootstrap. Chapman & Hall, New York.
436pp
Karsenty A, Gourlet-Fleury S. 2006. Assessing sustainability of logging practices in the
Congo Basin's managed forests: the issue of commercial species recovery. Ecology and
Society 11: 26 [on line]
Leslie PH. 1945. In the use of matrices in certain population mathematics. Biometrika 33:
183-212
Nasi R, Nguinguiri JC, Ezzine de Blas D. (eds). 2006. Exploitation et gestion durable des
forêts en Afrique Centrale, L'Harmattan, Paris. 404pp
Palla F, Louppe D, Forni E. 2002. Sapelli. Fiche technique, écologique et sylvicole. CIRADForêt, Montpellier. 4pp
Picard N, Gourlet-Fleury S. 2008. Manuel de référence pour l'installation de dispositifs
permanents en forêt de production dans le Bassin du Congo. COMIFAC, Yaoundé.
265pp
Picard N, Yalibanda Y, Namkosserena S, Baya F. 2008. Estimating the stock recovery rate
using matrix models. Forest Ecology and Management 255: 3597-3605
R Development Core Team 2005. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R
Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna.
République Centrafricaine 1990. Loi no 90.003 du 9 juin 1990 portant code forestier
centrafricain. 23pp
République du Cameroun 2002. Arrêté no 0222/A/MINEF du 25 mai 2002 fixant les
procédures d'élaboration, d'approbation, de suivi et de contrôle de la mise en uvre des
plans d'aménagement des forêts de production du domaine forestier permanent. 15pp
Usher MB. 1966. A matrix approach to the management of renewable resources, with special
reference to the selection forests. Journal of Applied Ecology 3: 355-367
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THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF NONTIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS: DEVELOPMENT OF
HARVEST SYSTEMS AND MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS
W.J. Vermeulen1*, K.J. Esler2 and C.J. Geldenhuys3
1
Conservation Services, South African National Parks, Knysna, South Africa
Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, University of Stellenbosch,
Stellenbosch, South Africa
3
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
*Correspondig author: WesselV@sanparks.org
2
Abstract
There is a growing appreciation of the importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and
the role they could play in the socio-economic wellbeing of especially rural communities.
Harvest systems to ensure sustainable harvesting are largely still lacking and overutilisation is
of growing concern. Three case studies of different products harvested from natural forest in
the southern Cape, South Africa, were used to scrutinise the process of developing harvest
systems for NTFPs viz. fern (Rumohra adiantiformis) fronds (leaves) as greenery in the florist
industry, medicinal tree bark, and the corm (stem) of the geophyte Bulbine latifolia for
medicinal use. The results demonstrate that a simple generic process that provides for
research to be focused on the relevant fields can be followed effectively with the development
of harvest systems for NTFPs. This paper explores and discusses the process, and the
complexities and constraints with its successful implementation.
Introduction
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important in rural livelihoods and for economic
growth (Lawes et al. 2004). However, strategies and the development of harvest systems for
their sustainable use have been neglected worldwide and overutilisation is of growing concern
(Mudekwe 2007, Ndangalasi et al. 2007).
The objective of the study was to use three case studies of different forest species and
products to assess the requirements and process of developing systems and prescriptions for
successful and sustainable harvesting of NTFPs within a socio-economic and political
framework of sustainable use. The study was motivated by the management objective of
ensuring optimum, sustainable harvesting of NTFPs from natural forests in the southern Cape,
South Africa.
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Study area
The study was conducted in natural, closed-canopy forest in the southern Cape, South Africa,
i.e. part of the Southern Afrotemperate Forest group (Mucina and Rutherford 2006). These
forests form the largest forest complex in southern Africa, covering approximately 60,500 ha
between 22°00' and 24°30'E at 33°45'S latitude. The area receives orographic rain throughout
the year and has a moist, warm-temperate climate. Conservation, resource use and
ecotourism are important land-use types within the applied multiple-use management system.
Harvesting of NTFPs has become increasingly important after being overshadowed by
commercial timber production in the past. Participatory forest management (PFM) was
adopted to ensure an equitable distribution of benefits from natural forests in the region
(DWAF 2004).
Materials and Methods
The systematic process for the development of harvest systems and management strategies for
NTFPs is well-documented (Peters 1996, Cunningham 2001). It entails defining the product,
delineation of the resource area, studies of population dynamics and demography of target
species, and continued monitoring and system refinement after development and
implementation of the harvest system. The three case studies to scrutinise this process
included the fronds (leaves) of the fern Rumohra adiantiformis, the corm (stem) of the
geophyte Bulbine latifolia and medicinal tree bark.
Rumohra adiantiformis fern fronds are used in flower arrangements. Little was known about
its ecology, dynamics and productivity when commercial harvesting started in 1982. Applied
research was initiated at different levels and an adaptive management approach followed with
the development of harvest prescriptions for the species. This approach was interrogated,
studying historical records of fern yield and research conducted, and results of long-term
monitoring of population dynamics and harvest impact (see Vermeulen 2009 for more detail).
Tree bark is a commonly used traditional medicine in South Africa and overexploitation is a
growing concern (Grace et al. 2002). Responses of six tree species to bark harvesting was
assessed in terms of wound closure, susceptibility to fungal and insect attack, and how it
could inform harvest prescriptions for medicinal bark use. The species were Curtisia dentata,
Ilex mitis, Ocotea bullata, Prunus africana, Rapanea melanophloeos and Rhus chirindensis
(see Vermeulen 2009 for experimental layout and assessment protocols).
The corm of B. latifolia is used widely in South Africa for various medicinal purposes. With
little information available on the species, it was the ideal case study to assess the process of
developing harvest systems for NTFPs. Detailed studies of the habitat and distribution,
community association, population dynamics, demography and reproductive phenology of the
species were conducted to inform harvest prescriptions for the species, as described in detail
by Vermeulen (2009).
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Results
The research approach enabled valuable insight into the complexities of developing harvest
systems for NTFPs, the input and expertise required to conduct applied research, and the
variation in approach required for different products and plant growth forms. Detailed results
on the three case studies are presented by Vermeulen (2009).
The study on R. adiantiformis showed that the adaptive management approach can be used
effectively with NTFPs provided that the precautionary principle is applied. Long-term
monitoring, assessing harvest impact on the resource and natural fluctuations in population
dynamics, are essential for system refinement. The study on medicinal bark showed that tree
species respond differently to bark stripping, in terms of both bark regrowth and susceptibility
to fungal and insect damage. Species-specific results on tree response can be obtained in a
relatively short period to assess harvest options and to provide for the development of harvest
prescriptions. The study on B. latifolia showed that the species has a complex population
dynamics. It has a slow rate of renewal in terms of corm diameter and length growth, limiting
its harvest potential. The difference in population dynamics between ecotone and forest
populations complicates the development of harvest prescriptions for the species.
The overall results demonstrate that the systematic process can be followed effectively in the
development of harvest systems for NTFPs, but this could be constrained or influenced by
socio-economic circumstances, institutional arrangements, policy directives and availability
of resources and expertise.
Discussion
Systematic process for harvest system development
The generic process for the development of harvest systems and management strategies for
NTFPs is simplified in Figure 1, based on experience with the case studies in the southern
Cape. This includes the following key components:
Identification of user groups, stakeholder consultation and defining the product
The first step is the identification of the key user groups and an assessment of user needs
(Figure 1). Knowledge of the characteristics of the specific user group is also essential.
Participatory forest management (PFM) forums provide an essential platform for engagement
with the user groups. Communicating user rights to stakeholders are also important as illegal
harvesting may be regarded by ill-informed user groups as the only way to gain access to
resources. Engagement with specific user groups – rather than the community at large – is
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most effective in initiating development and implementation of harvest prescriptions in a
collaborative way.
Users and markets need specific products, and the products need to be clearly defined. Where
this is not done, it could result in indiscriminate harvesting and wastage, with an unnecessary
additional impact on the resource. Field observations of harvesting are most time- and costeffective in identifying species being used. However, to ensure that real stakeholder needs are
addressed, additional quantitative and qualitative data need to be obtained through inventories
and interviews with stakeholders.
Community association of target species and delineation of harvest area
Information on the habitat and vegetation type where the target species is found needs to be
gathered to enable identification and mapping of the potential harvest area (Figure 1). A sitebased, forest type classification proved to be indispensable for sound management planning
where multiple-use management objectives are pursued. It provides the ecological foundation
for forest management and could be used to assess the distribution of a target species if its
habitat preference is known. A more detailed phytosociological classification would allow for
more accurate mapping of the potential harvest area, and is also of great benefit where there is
a demand for a range of species in the same forest area. However, within forest or vegetation
types, species could have a patchy distribution, making it difficult to clearly define the
potential harvest area. For some species the area cannot be fixed but has to be dealt with at
landscape level, aligned with and adjusted to spatio-temporal variations of populations of the
target species.
Resource inventory, population dynamics and plant demography
Once the distribution of the target species and potential harvest area has been identified, a
more detailed inventory of the target species is required (Figure 1). This provides information
on the abundance and dynamics (e.g. population density and size class distribution) of the
species. Information on the distribution pattern of the target species is essential in planning
for surveys and inventories (Wong et al. 2001). The inventory of plant parts, e.g. fruit, seed
and bark would require a different sampling approach to whole plants (Cunningham 2001).
The rate of production indicates how much of the resource (as determined by the resource
survey) can be harvested on a sustainable basis. Definition of rate of production largely
depends on the species’ growth form and plant part being harvested. Baseline studies on
production rates should be conducted in both undisturbed and production areas, emphasising
the importance of zonation and setting aside areas where consumptive resource use is
prohibited.
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Formulation of management policy and
objectives for Forest Estate
Informed by
legislation and
institutional
arrangements
Stakeholder identification
Defining the product (species, plant part,
quality, etc.)
Vegetation classification and community
association of the target species
Delineation of harvest area
Based on planning
for integrated
forest management
and multiple-use
Resource inventory (population dynamic
studies)
Rate of renewal
(plant demography
studies)
Reproductive
phenology
studies
Long-term
permanent
plots
Development of harvest systems and
management prescriptions
Adaptive management
Implementation and management control
Goal-orientated monitoring
Long-term
permanent
plots
Harvest system refinement
Figure 1: Flow diagram indicating the generic process for the development of harvest
systems and management prescriptions for NTFPs.
Reproductive phenology
Where permanent plots are established, information on the reproductive biology and
phenology of the target species should also be collected (Figure 1). Information on the
phenology of the target species is important to identify the times of the year that the
population is most sensitive to harvesting. The relevance of phenology would depend on the
plant growth form and plant part harvested. Phenology includes, for example, flower and fruit
production, frond bud development and rate of development over different seasons to guide
fern frond harvesting, and seasonal differences in bark regrowth following medicinal bark
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harvesting. Also of relevance is that growth and phenology of groundflora species are more
likely to be influenced by extremes of weather (e.g. drought).
Development of a harvest system, continued monitoring and adaptive
management
Key aspects to the harvest system would include harvest rotation, the number or percentage of
plants that could be harvested from the population, minimum harvestable size and harvest
method. Continued monitoring is required to allow for refinement of harvest prescriptions
(Figure 1). This should include (a) long-term monitoring both inside and outside harvest areas
to gather further baseline data on population dynamics and plant demography, (b) monitoring
plant populations to assess harvest impact, and (c) monitoring the yield (quantity and quality)
from harvest areas. The pressing demand for forest resources often does not allow
scientifically sound harvest systems to be developed before access for consumptive use is
granted. The solution is an adaptive management approach whereby conservative, interim
harvest prescriptions based on existing knowledge are implemented together with applied
research and monitoring programmes.
Complexities with the development and implementation of harvest systems
Sustainability has an ecological, social and economic dimension and needs to be addressed at
the confluence of all three spheres, within a political framework and with due consideration of
institutional arrangements (Cunningham 2001, Geldenhuys 2004).
Ecological dimension
The generic process for harvest system development ensures that research is focused on the
relevant fields. However, it is questionable to what extent it could be widely implemented to
culminate in scientifically sound harvest prescriptions for NTFPs, considering the following:
Complexities of vegetation ecology and population dynamics
Ecosystems are not stable and harvest systems should accommodate both temporal and spatial
variation in population dynamics. Unpredictable changes in environmental conditions and
other stochastic events should also be considered. Furthermore, the vulnerability of a species
to harvesting is also determined by the competition hierarchy within the community.
Population dynamics of species occurring as metapopulations are defined by factors of
population size, life history parameters and the spatial variation in these factors, the number
and geographic configuration of habitat patches, and spatial correlation among these patches
(Akcakaya 2000). These complexities do not make for “easy” research to provide the
scientific basis for the development of harvest prescriptions.
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Interpretation of results and conversion into harvest prescriptions
There is no fixed way of converting the relevant research and survey results into harvest
prescriptions. Interpretation of research results and conversion into a harvest system and
management prescriptions require insight into the fields of both vegetation ecology and forest
management. Harvest prescriptions need to be simple, and little scope exists to incorporate
all the ecological drivers and population dynamic characteristics of a species in the key
prescriptions of harvest rotation and intensity.
Ongoing monitoring and harvest system refinement
The development and refinement of a harvest system for a target species or product is
ongoing, through applied research and goal-orientated monitoring. Such studies cannot easily
be outsourced, as is a growing trend, but require in-house expertise. Different levels of
monitoring are required for different species and products harvested. Considering the extent
of resource use, it is likely that sound monitoring programmes can only be implemented for
the more vulnerable species.
Diversity of products and species harvested
A wide range of products and species are being harvested from natural forest and woodland
(Lawes et al. 2004, Shackleton and Shackleton 2004). The process to develop harvest systems
and the nature of required research could vary greatly between different plant species, growth
forms and plant parts. Expertise or knowledge is required in the different fields of botany
(e.g. phytosociology, autecology, population dynamics, plant anatomy and physiology), from
project design and experimental layout to data analysis and interpretation of results.
Socio-economic dimension
Socio-economic circumstances could seriously hamper the successful development and
implementation of harvest systems for sustainable use of NTFPs. The following issues are
relevant:
Dependence on forest resources and expectations
It is a major challenge to obtain buy-in from user groups for the implementation of
sustainable harvest systems where this could negatively affect the current levels of supply of
forest products to sustain daily livelihood needs or the current extent of commercialisation.
The new South African National Forests Act (Act No. 84 of 1998) (NFA) and national forest
policy promote benefit sharing. Of concern is that unrealistic expectations could arise
amongst communities of the potential economic benefits that NTFPs could provide (Horn and
Clarke 2002). If the value of NTFPs is overrated, more people will enter the commercial
market and may become dependent on forest resources that are already overutilised.
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Costs of developing and implementing harvest systems
The costs of developing, implementing and monitoring sustainable harvest systems are
substantial in terms of expertise and resources required. Such expenses should, arguably, be
regarded as part of management’s cost to sustain social benefits when harvesting is for
domestic use by rural communities dependent on the resource. For commercial harvesting,
these costs should be absorbed by the commercial harvester, which could render many NTFP
harvest ventures economically unviable.
Commercialisation potential of NTFPs and trade chains
Horn and Clarke (2002) expressed the concern that forests offer limited economic
opportunities for significant benefit flows to local, poor people, considering the restrictions
necessary to achieve the overriding goal of sustainable forest management. Many attempts at
NTFP commercialisation have failed to deliver expected benefits (Belcher and Schreckenberg
2007). Also, where trade chains are not clearly defined, it results in undervaluation and
wastage of products along the trade chain from forest resources already under pressure.
Demand versus supply
It is often argued that, based on indigenous knowledge and practices, rural people have
harvested natural resources on a sustainable basis for centuries, but this is unlikely to prevail
with high population growth (Godoy and Bawa 1993) and commercial incentives. Dasmann
(1985) stated that the low level of resource exploitation under sustainable harvest systems will
not satisfy the demands of increasing populations, and that resources will be depleted
progressively. Alternatives to harvesting from the wild thus have to be high on the agenda in
the efforts to achieve sustainable forest management.
“Use-it-or-loose-it” scenario
Considering the socio-economic conditions and dependence of rural communities on forest
resources in South Africa, pressure on resources will continue through the “use-it-or-lose-it”
scenario (Price and Butt 2000). Furthermore, where there are uncertainties in sustaining
livelihoods, an “open access” situation could develop, resulting in an attitude of “cut the tree
before outsiders do” (Kusumanto et al. 2005). These scenarios create a huge threat to the
implementation of sustainable harvesting systems for NTFPs in certain forest areas, especially
where commercial benefits are at stake.
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Required social skills for community engagement
Social skills are required to engage with communities, develop harvest systems and take
implementation to its conclusion (Horn and Clarke 2002). The often lack of social skills
amongst forest managers is a further stumbling block in achieving sustainable harvesting of
NTFPs. Furthermore, user groups in rural communities are often insufficiently organised or
empowered to effectively engage with participatory forest management and related issues.
Institutional arrangements and policy directives
Access to resources and the development of harvest systems for sustainable use need to be
accommodated with due consideration of national policy and legislation. In South Africa, the
NFA and a policy of PFM provides for shared responsibility with forest management and to
ensure a sustained flow of benefits to stakeholders (DWAF 2004). Dasmann (1985),
however, argues that, because of political realities, long-term investment in sustainability is
often neglected as it only pays off politically if the public values it more than short-term profit
– which is seldom the case in poverty-stricken rural areas. Where legislation and policies are
pro resource use, it is thus essential that the necessary capacity is built by management
institutions, and that human and financial resources are available for the development and
implementation of systems for sustainable use. The ease with which the generic process of
sustained yield determination can be applied is therefore influenced by the socio-economic
dynamics in the region, and by the policy and socio-political aspirations of relevant
institutions.
Conclusion
Studies of the ecology, population dynamics and demography of plant species provide a
scientific basis for the development of harvest prescriptions for sustainable use – prescriptions
that can be refined over time through an adaptive management approach. Considering the
wide range of NTFPs used and the dependence of especially rural communities on resources,
a major challenge awaits forest managers to develop harvest systems through applied
research, its implementation and continued monitoring to allow for system refinement. Policy
and decision makers need to appreciate the skills, expertise and financial resources required to
realise this, and the importance of addressing the socio-economic circumstances within which
many user groups find themselves.
References
Akcakaya HR. 2000. Viability analyses with habitat-based metapopulation models.
Population Ecology 42: 45-53
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Belcher B, Schreckenberg K. 2007. Commercialisation of non-timber forest products: A
reality check. Development Policy Review 25(3): 355-377
Cunningham AB. 2001. Applied Ethnobotany. People, wild plant use and conservation.
People and Plants Conservation Manuals. Earthscan Publications, London. 300 pp
Dasmann RF. 1985. Achieving the sustainable use of species and ecosystems. Landscape
Planning 12: 211-219
DWAF 2004. Policy and strategic framework for participatory forest management.
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria. 19 pp
Geldenhuys CJ. 2004. Meeting the demand for Ocotea bullata bark: implications for the
conservation of high-value and medicinal tree species. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC,
Shackleton CM, Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa:
Policy, people and practice. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Scottsville, South
Africa. pp517-550
Godoy RA, Bawa KS. 1993. The economic value and sustainable harvest of plants and
animals from the tropical forest: Assumptions, hypotheses, and methods. Economic
Botany 47(3): 215-219
Grace OM, Prendergast HDV, Van Staden J, Jäger AK. 2002. The status of bark in South
African traditional health care. South African Journal of Botany 68: 21-30
Horn J, Clarke J. 2002. Capacity development in participatory forest management in
indigenous State forests, South Africa. A training needs assessments and training
development strategy for participatory forest management. Volume 1. Department of
Water Affairs and Forestry, Danish Cooperation for Environment Development and
RAMBOLL. Pretoria. 104 pp
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Managing forests together in Indonesia. Center for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR), Jakarta. 191 pp
Lawes MJ, Obiri JAF, Eeley HAC. 2004. The uses and value of indigenous forest resources in
South Africa. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC, Shackleton CM, Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous
forests and woodlands in South Africa. Policy, people and practice. University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press. Pietermaritzburg. pp227-273
Mucina L, Rutherford MC. (eds). 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 807 pp
Mudekwe J. 2007. The impact of subsistence use of forest products and the dynamics of
harvested woody species populations in a protected forest reserve in western Zimbabwe.
PhD thesis. Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch,
Stellenbosch
Ndangalasi HJ, Bitariho R, Dovie DBK. 2007. Harvesting of non-timber forest products and
implications for conservation in two montane forests of East Africa. Biological
Conservation 134: 242-250
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Shackleton CM, Shackleton SE. 2004. Use of woodland resources for direct household
provision. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC, Shackleton CM, Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous
forests and woodlands in South Africa. Policy, people and practice. University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press. Pietermaritzburg. pp. 195-225
Vermeulen WJ. 2009. The sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products from natural
forests in the Southern Cape, South Africa: Development of harvest systems and
management prescriptions. PhD thesis. Department of Conservation Ecology and
Entomology, University of Stellenbosch
Wong JLG, Thornber K, Baker N. 2001. Resource assessment of non-wood forest products.
Experience and biometric principles. Non-wood Forests Products 13. Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. 109 pp
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Resource harvesting and use
management practices:
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REGENRATION OF SELECTED TREES IN DAMBWA
FOREST RESERVE FOLLOWING INTRODUCTION OF
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT
M. Phiri* and P.W. Chirwa
Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1,
Stellenbosch, Matieland 7602, South Africa
*Corresponding author: mgphiri@yahoo.com
Abstract
Joint forest management was initiated in Dambwa forest reserve in southern part of Zambia in
2001. One of the objectives was to improve the condition of the forest reserve through
community involvement in forest protection and management. The forest has an area of
10,766 ha. A study was conducted to determine the regeneration of five commercially
valuable tree species: Baikiaea plurijuga, Pterocarpus angolensis, Afzelia quanzensis,
Guibourtia coleosperma and Colophospermum mopane. Forest resource assessment was
carried out in April 2008 to determine regeneration levels seven years after the introduction of
joint forest management. The results showed that there are almost 10,000 seedlings/saplings
growing per hectare. The most predominant species were Diplorhynchus condylocarpon
(2,007 sph) and Bauhinia petersiana (1,986 sph). The other species observed included Ochna
pulchra, Baphia massaiensis and Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia. Among the selected
commercial trees, Pterocarpus angolensis had 118 saplings per hectare, Baikiaea plurijuga 72
saplings per hectare and Colophospermum mopane 67 saplings per hectare. No regeneration
was observed for Afzelia quanzensis and Guibourtia coleosperma. Overall, 89% of the stems
for the selected commercial species were less than 30cm DBH; rendering them unsuitable for
harvesting. The high regeneration levels also conform to PRA findings in which the local
communities perceived the forest to have adequately regenerated. The high number of stems
in smaller diameter size classes indicated an inverse J-shaped type of forest, which is
considered as an indicator of adequate regeneration and population maintenance. Promotion
of community involvement in forest protection and management can therefore contribute
greatly to regeneration of selected commercially valuable tree species.
Introduction
Management of the forests by central government was a common approach in most African
and Asian countries before and soon after the attainment of the political independence. The
approach did not consider the aspiration of the local communities, as it was more concerned
with conservation and exploitation of forests in the central government interest (Vandergeest
1996, Arnold 2001, Ham et al. 2008). However, lack of local community participation can
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cause local communities to have negative attitudes towards conservation efforts and the
enforcement of conservation-related regulations (Heinen 1996).
In Zambia, the system did not allow access of local communities to the forests except with
special permits (GRZ 1973, FD 1998, PFAP 2005). Under such circumstances local people do
not have power over forest reserves or meaningful incentive to conserve and manage the
forest resources. The government on its own also failed to effectively manage the forest
reserves due to financial constraints and inadequate manpower (ZFAP 1998).
Following the realisation of past policy inadequacies, the national forestry policy and forests
acts were revised in 1998 and 1999 respectively. The revision of the forest policy and forest
legislation allowed participation of local communities, traditional institutions, NGOs and the
private sector in the management and development of the forest sector. The main feature of
the revised national forest policy was the stakeholders’ participation in the promotion of
sustainable forestry development (FD 1998, GRZ 1999, PFAP 2005).
The revision necessitated the introduction of joint forest management (JFM) on a pilot basis
to protect and manage forest reserves under the Forestry Department. This was in recognition
of the links between poverty and forests, and giving equal emphasis to both sustainable forest
management and rural livelihoods. The main objective of the joint forest management project
was therefore to improve the livelihoods of communities and condition of forests in Zambia.
The programme was aimed at implementing sustainable collaborative forest management
practices in the Luapula, Copperbelt and Southern provinces and share experiences.
Joint forest management was initiated in Dambwa forest reserve in the southern part of
Zambia in 2001. One of the objectives was to improve the condition of the forest reserve
through community involvement in forest protection and management.
This part of the study focused on evaluating the regeneration of economically important tree
species, since the inception of JFM; including the perception of the communities on the
condition of the forest. The information generated was part of the wider evaluation of the
performance of the JFM project; that seeks to improve project effectiveness and create
opportunities to share information with other stakeholders.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted in Dambwa forest reserve with an area of 10,690 ha in extent
located in Livingstone district in the southern part of Zambia. A forest resource assessment
was carried out in April 2008 to determine and assess levels of regeneration of the five
commercially valuable tree species after the introduction of joint forest management:
Baikiaea plurijuga, Pterocarpus angolensis, Afzelia quanzensis, Guibourtia coleosperma and
Colophospermum mopane.
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In April 2008 a total of 25 circular plots of 20 m radius were sampled. All trees >2 cm
diameter at breast height (DBH) on a plot were measured and recorded. Tree regeneration
(shrubs, saplings and seedlings) <2 cm DBH in a 5 m radius sub-plot located within the main
plot, was counted by species. The forest inventory data were analyzed using Excel.
Participatory research methods (see Babbie 1999, Stanley and Sedlack 1992) were used to
collect information on perception of local communities on the status of the forest reserve. The
heads of a total of 447 households from 11 villages in the immediate vicinity of Dambwa
forest reserve were interviewed, representing a sampling intensity of 25% (as used by Appiah
2001, Turyahabwe 2006).
Results and Discussion
Vegetation assessment
The forest assessment recorded 35 tree species for trees >2 cm DBH with an average stocking
of 219 stems/ha (sph). Baikiaea plurijuga was the selected species most frequently present
with 39 sph followed by Pterocarpus angolensis (14 sph), Guibourtia coleosperma (5 sph)
and Afzelia quanzensis and Colophospermum mopane (3 sph).
Ninety per cent of trees in the forest had a DBH of <30 cm (Figure 1), with the five selected
species having 89% of their trees with DBH <30 cm (Figure 2). Pterocarpus angolensis and
Colophospermum mopane had 100% of their stems <30 cm DBH, followed by Baikiaea
plurijuga (90%), Afzelia quanzensis (67%) and Guibourtia coleosperma (57%). The
minimum DBH considered suitable for timber harvesting is 30 cm (Takawira-Nyenya 2005).
Figure1: Stem diameter class distribution for all the sampled trees in Dambwa forest
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Figure 2: Stem diameter class distribution of commercial tree species in Dambwa forest
The regeneration results showed that there are almost 10,000 seedlings/saplings growing per
hectare. The most predominant species were Diplorhynchus condylocarpon (2,007 sph) and
Bauhinia petersiana (1,986 sph). The other species observed included Ochna pulchra (764
sph), Baphia massaiensis (571 sph) and Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia (230 sph) (Table
1). Vigorous regeneration was also observed for commercially valuable tree species (Table 1)
particularly for Pterocarpus angolensis (118 sph), Baikiaea plurijuga (72 sph), and
Colophospermum mopane (67 sph). However, no saplings were observed for Afzelia
quanzensis and Guibourtia coleosperma.
Perceptions on condition of the forest
The results of the PRA showed that the local communities perceived the forest reserve to have
regenerated after the introduction of joint forest management, conforming to the results of the
forest resource assessment (see resource assessment). Almost 65% of the respondents
indicated that the forest had regenerated, while only 19% indicated that the forest had
degraded and 12% thought it had remained the same (Figure 3). The perception of women
(71%) and men (60%) that Dambwa forest has regenerated is in line with the overall
perception of the community (65%). Only 16% of women and 22 % of men indicated that the
forest status had worsened compared to the 11% of women and 13% of men who perceived
that the forest condition remained the same as before introduction of JFM (Figure 4). More
than 50% of all age groups indicated that regeneration of Dambwa forest has improved (65%)
but 50% of the young people (<20 yrs) did not know (Table 2). Those younger than 35 years
or older than 65 years had a higher percentage (27%) thinking that the regeneration status is
worse than the general perception.
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Table 1: Forest regeneration in Dambwa forest: Including commercial tree species
Species (*=commercial timber species)
Diplorhynchus condylocarpon
Bauhinia petersiana
Others
Ochna pulchra
Baphia massaiensis
Combretum zeyheri
Diospyros batocana
Friesodielsia obovata
Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia
Combretum molle
Boscia angustifolia
Pterocarpus angolensis*
Brachystegia spiciformis
Terminalia sericea
Baikiaea plurijuga*
Burkea africana
Colophospermum mopane*
Strychnos spinosa
Lannea stuhlmannii
Strychnos cocculoides
Albizia antunesiana
Canthium grangula
Xylopia rubenscene
Annona Senegalensis
Dichrostachys cinerea
Combretum imbrerbe
Afzelia quanzensis*
Guibourtia coleosperma*
Stems/ha
2,006
1,986
1,849
764
570
560
530
234
229
163
127
117
107
102
71
66
66
41
36
36
31
25
25
10
10
5
0
0
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Community perception on forest regeneration
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Respondents (%)
65%
19%
12%
4%
Improved
Same
Worse
Unknown
Levels of regeneration
Figure 3: Overall perception amongst the local community on the status of forest
regeneration
Community gender perception on forest regeneration
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Respondents (%)
71%
60%
Female
Male
11% 13%
Improved
Same
16% 22%
3% 5%
Worse
Unknown
Levels of regeneration
Figure 4: Perception of the men and women on the status of forest regeneration in Dambwa
forest
Regeneration plays an important role in the renewal and perpetuation of forest or woodland
ecosystems. With proper management, most of these saplings will grow into trees replacing
bigger trees, which might have been harvested, securing the future of these commercially
valuable tree species. Factors reported to promote rapid regeneration include higher
precipitation, adequate supply of nutrients, full light, absence of fire, and absence of root
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
competition (Caro et al. 2005). If the regeneration is not disturbed, it can depict how the
structure of the forest will likely to be in the near future. It is important therefore to ensure the
survival of the regeneration in order to maintain the forest or woodland.
Table 2: Perception of different age groups within the local community on forest regeneration
in Dambwa forest
Age class,
years
≤20
21-35
36-50
51-65
≥66
Missing
Total
Perception of regeneration by age groups, %
Same
Improved
Unknown
0
0
50
27
15
58
14
11
71
16
11
68
27
9
64
14
14
57
19
12
65
50
0
4
5
0
14
4
The absence of stems in the upper diameter classes for selected tree species, as observed in
Figure 2, render them unsuitable for harvesting and also indicates that they were heavily and
selectively harvested for timber. The observed high number of individuals in smaller size
classes indicates a typical inverse J-shaped structure (Figure 1 & 2). The inverse J-shaped size
class distribution is regarded as an indicator of adequate regeneration and population
maintenance (Zagt and Weger 1998).
Figure 1 shows diameter distribution for the different species. A desired diameter distribution
from a management point of view is one where the bulk of the stems are in the lower diameter
classes, and the number of stems gradually decreasing as the diameter gets bigger. In this
case, there is a progression of trees from smaller diameter classes into larger diameter classes,
creating an opportunity for continuous harvesting of timber and poles. If the actual diameter
distribution deviates from the desired class distribution, it will certainly affect management
decisions in the short or long term.
There has been growing awareness on the loss of forest cover and the inability of government
ownership, control and management of forests to produce the desired results. Usually,
financial sustainability of centralised systems of forest management through the Forestry
Departments is of growing concern. At the same time local communities are emerging as
more organised than in the past and are not amenable to forest management regimes and
regulations, which are inappropriate to local conditions (Matose and Wily 1996).
The local communities in the study area were involved in forest patrols and controlled early
burning to promote sustainable forest management following the introduction of joint forest
management. As Fisher (1995; in Matose and Wily 1996) observed, collaborative approaches
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
to natural resources management seek the active involvement of local people in
environmental care and management.
The preliminary results have shown that protection and controlled early burning of the forest
reserve can enhance natural regeneration. The results are supported by DFSC (2001), Caro et
al. (2005) and Takawira-Nyenya (2005) who have reported that controlling undergrowth and
protection against late bush fires enhance tree regeneration and growth by reducing
competition and fuel loads in the forest. When regeneration is promoted and there are no
disturbances, it depicts the forest structure of the near future (Angombe 2004).
Conclusion
The high number of stems in smaller diameter size classes indicated an inverse J-shaped type
of the forest, which is considered as an indicator of adequate regeneration and population
maintenance. Promotion of community involvement in forest protection and management can
therefore contribute greatly to regeneration of selected commercially valuable tree species.
However, total protection and good management cannot be achieved due to inadequate
forestry staff and reduced budgetary allocation for forest protection and management. Thus
promotion of community involvement in forest protection and management can therefore
contribute greatly to regeneration of selected commercially valuable tree species.
Reference
Angombe S. 2004. Woody resources report of Katope Community Forest. Namibia Finland
Forestry Programme. Directorate of Forestry, Ministry of Environment and tourism.
Windhoek, Namibia
Appiah M. 2001. Co-partnership in forest management. The Gwira-Banso joint forest
management project in Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability 3(4): 343360. Kluwer Academic Publishers
Arnold JEM. 2001. Forests and people: Twenty-five years of community forestry. FAO, Rome
Babbie ER. 1999. The basics of social research. Belmont, California, Wadsworth.
Caro TM, Sungula M, Schwartz MW, Bella EM. 2005. Recruitment of Pterocarpus
angolensis in the wild. Forest Ecology and Management 219: 169-175
DFSC (Danida Forest Seed Centre) 2001. Conservation plan for genetic resources of Zambezi
teak (Baikiaea plurijuga) in Zambia. DFSC Case Study No.2, Danida Forest Seed Centre,
Humlebaek, Denmark.
FD (Forestry Department), 1998. National Forestry Policy. Forestry Department, Ministry of
Environment and natural resources, Lusaka, Zambia.
GRZ (Government of the Republic of Zambia), 1973. Forests Act Cap 199 of the Laws of
Zambia, Government Printers, Lusaka, Zambia.
GRZ (Government of the Republic of Zambia), 1999. Forests Act No. 7 of 1999, Government
Printers, Lusaka, Zambia.
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Ham C, Chirwa PW, Theron F. 2008. The forester as a change agent: From trees between the
people to people between the trees. In: Theron F. (ed). The development change agent. A
micro-level approach to development. JL van Schaik Publishers, Pretoria. pp 173-201
Heinen JT. 1996. Human behaviour, incentives, and protected area management.
Conservation Biology 10 (2): 681-684
Matose F, Wily L. 1996. Institutional arrangements governing the management of miombo
woodlands. In Campbell B. (ed). The miombo in transition: Woodlands and welfare in
Africa. Center for International Forestry Research. Bogor, Indonesia. pp195–219
PFAP (Provincial Forestry Action Programme) 2005. Lessons learnt from joint forest
management in Zambia. The experience of Provincial Forestry Action Programme
(PFAP II). Programme Coordination Unit, Forestry Department, Lusaka, Zambia.
Stanley J, Sedlack RG. 1992. Social research. Theory and method. Allan and Bacon, Boston.
Takawira-Nyenya R. 2005. Pterocarpus angolensis DC. In: Jansen PCM, Cardon D. (eds).
Prota 7: Timbers/Bois d’œuvre. [CD-Rom]. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Turyahabwe N. 2006. Local capacity to manage forestry resources under a decentralised
system of governance: the case of Uganda. PhD thesis, University of Stellenbosch, South
Africa
Vandergeest, P. 1996. Property rights in protected areas: Obstacles to community
involvement as a solution in Thailand. Environmental Conservation 23 (3): 259-268
Zagt RJ, Werger MJA. 1998. Community structure and the demography of primary species in
tropical rain forest. In: Newberry DM, Prins HHT, Brown ND. (eds). Dynamics of
tropical communities. Blackwell, Oxford. pp193-219
ZFAP (Zambia Forestry Action Programme) 1998. Zambia Forestry Action Plan, Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources, Lusaka, Zambia
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PRELIMINARY DATA ON TRADE AND MANAGEMENT OF
RATTAN IN AND AROUND KISANGANI (DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO)
J-M. Kahindo1*, J. Lejoly2, J-P. Mate1 and R. Nasi3
1
Laboratoire des Produits Forestiers Non Ligneux, Faculté des Sciences, Université de
Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
2
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Service de Botanique Systématique et de Phytosociologie
3
CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
*Corresponding author: jkahindo2@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Rattan is an important non-wood forest product in the economy of Democratic Republic of
Congo (DR Congo) and in the subsistence of populations in the Congo Basin. This paper
presents preliminary results of a survey conducted with rattan stakeholders in Kisangani and
the Yoko Forest Reserve (YFR) neighbourhood, in the Orientale Province, DR Congo. The
aim of the study was to identify areas supplying rattan canes and to characterise the rattan
sector in and around Kisangani. Over a 3-month period (104 days), canes traded from villages
to Kisangani were recorded, and various rattan stockholders were interviewed with submitted
questionnaires. According to preliminary results, 10 villages supply 71,709 linear metres of
small-diameter cane monthly, of which 64,226 m are processed by 12 workshops in Lubunga
Commune. Rattan items were found in 98% of 556 households studied in the six communes
of Kisangani town. More trade data from different rattan stakeholders, together with
ecological data are required to define appropriate management guidelines for sustainability of
the resource.
Introduction
Many studies demonstrate the role of non-wood forest products (NWFPs), notably rattan, in
the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and in the subsistence of
populations in the Congo Basin. This suggests that rattan offers a good opportunity for
economic development, which could provide benefits to both rural areas (supplementing
income generated through sales) and urban zones, in spite of the imbalance often noted in the
distribution of profits generated by the harvesting of the product (Zoro Bi and Kouakou
2004). Rattan is among the NWFPs that are presently strongly marketed at national or
international level (Sastry 2001).
In Kisangani, rattan is a major NWFP of high value that provides important income along the
market chain, from rural harvesters to urban consumers (Kahindo 2007). Similar observations
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
were reported from other urban areas of Central Africa (Falconer 1994, Morakinyo 1994,
Ndoye 1995, Sunderland 1998, Nzooh-Dongmo 1999, Trefon and Defo 1999, Balinga 2001,
Minga 2002, Oteng-Amoako and Obiri-Darko 2002), suggesting that rattan is a product of the
future for many African countries and so deserves particular attention. Because of its
(physical) flexibility, rattan is used to manufacture cane furniture and other articles. African
rattan, if it is well conditioned and treated, could compete in terms of quality with those of
Asia (Sunderland 2002).
Rattan has been extensively studied in Cameroon, mainly in terms of its socioeconomic
aspects (Clark and Tchamou 1998, Defo 1999, 2004a, Ndoye and Perez 1999). Compared
with other countries of the region, the DR Congo is behind in its development of a structured
NWFP sector, in spite of its vast areas of forest. Nevertheless, the products are widely used
throughout the country, but this use is poorly studied or understood (Kahindo 2007, Liengola
1999, Minga 2002) and thus poorly known by scientists and potential investors.
In Asia, particularly in Malaysia and The Philippines, the native area of most of the known
species, rattans have been well studied, notably their biology, taxonomy, ecology, inventory,
domestication and socioeconomics (Evans 2001, Liese 2001, Renuka 2001, Siebert 2001,
Sunderland and Nkefor 2002). After exhausting their natural stocks, Asian buyers are now in
search of resources to harvest in Central Africa. This contact with the old Asian industry has
added to the development of African rattan technology, including conditioning and
transformation techniques. As a result, rattan products have improved in quality, notably in
Yaoundé and other cities of the region.
DR Congo is home to about half of the identified African rattan species (see study of
Sunderland 2001 on African rattans), of which three are frequently used in rattan crafts:
Eremospatha haullevilleana, E. macrocarpa and Laccosperma secundiflorum (Kahindo 2007,
Minga 2002). Besides generating income to the active ‘rustic’ households in the sector in the
countries of the wet forest zones of Southeast Asia and Africa, rattan also generates
employment to stakeholders because of the high labour demand for the various operations and
processing, from collection to sale (Cody 1983, Falconer 1992, Morakinyo 1994, Siebert et al.
1994, Ndoye 1995).
Rattan articles are variously consumed at the level of either urban or rural households. Given
its level of use, especially in furnishing houses, rattan is a product of the future, potentially
able to substitute wood and thus able to reduce the pressure on the forest in this period when
the international community is mobilising against climate change.
The present study aimed to show the economic and social potential of rattan and rattan
products in and around Kisangani, with the following objectives:
to assess the importance of rattan in the lives of stakeholders;
to determine the level of organisation of the rattan sector in and around Kisangani
compared to elsewhere in the world;
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
to suggest some concrete actions for the promotion of this ‘resource of the future’ for
rapid expansion in the other towns of the Congo Basin and globally.
Materials and Methods
Kisangani is the third largest town of DR Congo, and the largest in the Orientale Province. It
is situated at 0°31'N, 25°11'E, and has six Communes including Lubunga, which is
geographically isolated by the Congo River and directly connected to the villages in the
neighbourhood of Yoko Forest Reserve. It benefits from a tropical wet rainforest climate, i.e.
Af type of Köppen (McKnight and Hess 2000), characterised by plenty of rain not uniformly
distributed over the year, an average relative humidity of more than 80%, average
temperatures oscillating around 25°C, and only a few sunny days. Its population, estimated at
600,000 inhabitants, is heterogeneous and obtains a living essentially from agriculture, small
business and fishing (Kahindo 2007).
Throughout the study, qualitative and quantitative data were collected by using a
questionnaire based on the model proposed by Sunderland (2001) and adapted to different
levels of intervention. Questions notably concerned the quantities of rattans harvested in the
Reserve and the surrounding villages up to 30 kilometres to the north of the Reserve along the
axis Kisangani-Ubundu, and those transformed and marketed in Kisangani town. The data are
partial, covering the period 21 June to 2 October 2008, i.e., 104 days of observations and
inquiries.
The quantity of rattan canes transported to the town was systematically noted at the village
level from two ‘lookout posts’. During the observation, only rattans from the Reserve and its
immediate neighbourhood (not exceeding 30 km) were counted. For calibration of the
material, certain packages of slender canes were bought, weighed and measured in the NonWood Forest Products Laboratory of the Science Faculty of the University of Kisangani.
Inquiries were also made with the rattan processors of 12 workshops in the Lubunga
Commune, comprising 119 processors and 69 manufacturers (81.2%), sellers (14.5%), and
retailers of rattan articles (4.3%), most of whom were unmarried young people aged 18 to 30
years. The choice of this administrative entity lies particularly in its geographical isolation (on
the western bank of the Congo River) and its direct connection with the neighbourhood
villages of the RFY, supplying rattan canes exclusively used in the workshops.
SPSS 14.0 software and MS Excel were used to organise the quantitative data, to describe
their distribution characteristics (frequency, mode, median, sum), and to compare them by
means of the appropriate tests (analysis of the variance and Pearson correlation).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Results and Discussion
Supplies to Kisangani
Ten villages along the main Kisangani-Ubundu highway, in and around the Forest Reserve of
Yoko are the major suppliers of E. haullevilleana canes. In 104 days of observation, 791
packages comprising 248,589 linear metres of small rattan (71,709 m a month) were recorded.
Most of the material came from the villages of Biaro (7 km to the south of the Reserve; 48%),
Babusoko 1 (18 km; 19%), and Bagao (23 km; 13%), with a daily average of four vehicles
transporting rattan canes.
At the local scale, these quantities seemed rather high according to Trefon and Defo (1999)
for the countries of Central Africa. However, they are estimated to be less than half of those
used monthly by workshops in Lagos (Morakinyo 1994) and a quarter of those supplied to 15
large rattan markets in the forest zone of Cameroon (Sunderland 2001, Sunderland and
Nkefor 2002).
Rattan workshops in Kisangani
Rattan processing in Kisangani is almost exclusively of the small rattan E. haullevilleana and
very rarely L. secundiflorum. Most of the time, rather than use L. secundiflorum, workshops
will use either the lower portion of E. haullevilleana canes or any fresh sticks of shrub or
liana that are flexible and have suitable dimensions.
The canes of L. secundiflorum, called ‘macara’, are the most appreciated in Cameroon. Their
use requires preliminary treatment, which consists of warming them with a blowtorch or
similar before shaping them (Defo 2004b). This kind of treatment is still unknown in the
Congolese workshops, which lack equipment and information; therefore, processors cannot
use the big rattan for furniture (only for the frames). Consequently, they resort to using any
‘stick’ for furniture arms. Regrettably, once these sticks shrink when they become dry, the
stalks loosen and the piece of furniture quickly loses its tone and shape, and shortly thereafter
will have to be disposed of.
Status of labour force and infrastructure
Rattan workshops in Kisangani are really groupings of independent craftsmen organised
around ‘bosses’, very often the oldest member of the group. These organisations, which have
been in operation for 4-26 years, use a reduced labour force estimated at 4.8 workers per
workshop. They are (for the most part) untrained and badly equipped, and dominated by
young people and minors having an average of 9.8 years in the profession. The presence of
these young people (52.2%) and minors (26.1%) in the profession can be explained by the
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
multiple ‘liberation’ wars in Kisangani over the decade 1995-2005. The work experience
declared by the dean of craftsmen (34 years) shows, however, that the rattan trade predates
this political instability and that the population is culturally attached to it.
The sole obstacle to the rattan market remains the quality of the products. Concerning the
embryonic level of the craft in Kisangani, age does not determine the quality, but rather
training does. The most striking example is southern Cameroon, where rattan workshops date
back to the 1980s and benefit from Asian expertise. Rattan working is practised by 66.9% of
those having another professional joinery qualification; this technical knowledge is an asset of
the Cameroonians, who experience the effects of the progressive transfer of the Asian
experience (Defo 2004b).
Supply of rattan canes and article processing
Weekly supplies of rattan canes are obtained from urban traders or from the municipal
markets. Twelve workshops process 168 compact packages of 28-50 canes of small rattan per
month, i.e. 64,226.4 linear metres, into the manufacture of articles with an estimated value of
US$4,657 (Table 1). The urban craftsmen are particularly specialised in the production of
rattan stools, called ‘caneton’ and ‘sinatosi’ according to their size, chairs and tables.
Basketwork is more developed in rural areas and provides other domestic articles such as
cradles, baskets, winnowing baskets, mats, flowerpots and lampshades.
Table 1. Level of monthly consumption of the rattan in workshops in Kisangani
Workshop Packages
Rattan value ($)
Product value ($)
1
16
77.6
672.5
2
20
97.0
600.0
3
8
38.8
400.0
4
24
116.4
300.0
5
8
38.8
385.0
6
32
155.2
150.0
7
8
38.8
200.0
8
24
116.4
550.0
9
4
19.4
500.0
10
8
38.8
200.0
11
8
38.8
150.0
12
8
38.8
549.0
Totals
168
814.8
4,656.5
Mean
14
67.9
388.0
Specialities
Stools, chairs
Stools
Stools
Stools
Stools, chairs
Stools
Stools
Stools
Stools
Chairs
Stools
Stools
The activities in workshops are diversified. During their processing, the rattan canes undergo
drying, scraping and splitting, before the weaving around frames of sticks. In The Philippines
222
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
and other countries of Southeast Asia where the sector has reached a very advanced level,
these three processes correspond to the initial operations of the process, which includes
several others, notably sizing, smoothing, polishing, cutting and fumigation. The product is
then sold to factories of various technical levels and various sizes, which manufacture
furniture for export (Defo 2004b).
According to the kind of item, the processing time varies between 4.6 and 71.5 minutes with
material of various lengths (Table 2). For example, the ‘caneton’, a small stool intended for
children, consumes 4.8 m of small rattan and requires only about 5 minutes to make. The
manufacture of a ‘sinatosi’, which requires almost the same quantity of rattan as a chair (10
m), seems more profitable. Based on the estimated value for each category of rattan furniture,
a workshop that makes exclusively ‘sinatosi’ stools should make the most profit.
Table 2: Processing and value of rattan articles in Kisangani
Articles
Processing
time (min)
Caneton
Sinatosi
Chair
Table
4.6
11.1
71.5
52.5
Total
length used
(m)
4.8
10.4
10
10
Monthly capacity
Number Consumption
(m)
1242
1080
621
630
172.5
189
195
195
Unit
price
($)
0.18
0.52
1.15
1.27
Generated
monetary
value($)
223.56
322.92
198.38
247.7
Commercialisation of rattan articles
The domestic consumption of rattan articles in Kisangani town is widely covered by 12
processing units in Lubunga Commune. The articles are sold by the manufacturers, salesmen
and sometimes retailers (Table 3).
Table 3: Actors in the marketing of articles of rattan to Kisangani
Place in the trade
Manufacturers
Salesmen
Retailers
Total
Number
56
10
3
69
Percentage
81.2
14.5
4.3
100.0
An analysis of data collected from 69 market actors, shows the following:
The greater the diversity of articles offered, the lower the sales (r = 0.050; P = 0.684)
and the less the seller is paid;
The highest sales are taken by adults (harmonic mean sample size just over $15), who
sell their products more easily than minors, who earns much less (< $10).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Conclusion
After 104 days of observation, 248,589 m of small rattan (71,709 m per month) harvested in
10 villages around the RFY were forwarded to Kisangani. The major part, i.e. 64,226 m, is
taken by 12 workshops in the Lubunga Commune. Various articles are crudely manufactured,
notably stools, chairs and tables, and sold and consumed in Kisangani town, and even in the
distant eastern cities such as Goma.
It is not easy to speak about an industry of rattan in and around Kisangani. The low level of
financial security and serious lack of capacity constitute major constraints to the development
of the sector in Kisangani. This situation is associated with the low level of education of
craftsmen, lack of equipment, and ignorance of the processes of treatment and transformation
of rattan canes. Given the potential of this resource to slow down deforestation in and
generate foreign earnings for the country, it would seem worthwhile to improve the rattan
sector for the wellbeing of all the stakeholders. To achieve this, it is recommended that:
1. The craftsmen get organised to create exposure points throughout the town to exhibit
their products, and that they think about improving the quality of their products,
without which the sector will not be valued by the consumers.
2. The consumers value the sector by preferentially and correctly using rattan articles to
reduce resource waste.
3. The authorities promote NWFPs in general, and rattan in particular, by providing
grants to the craftsmen and technical training to ignite their spirit of creativity and
production of better-quality articles.
4. The Congolese researchers expand and spread these kinds of studies throughout the
national territory to construct a database to allow the DR Congo NWFP sector to catch
up with the other countries of the region.
More trade data covering different rattan stakeholders, together with ecological data are
required to define appropriate management guidelines for sustainable use of the resource,
which would reduce pressure on the harvesting of forest trees.
Acknowlegdement
This study was made possible through the assistance of the European Union, CIFOR and
REAFOR, and the encouragement of Dr Sonwa and Dr Verina of CIFOR Cameroon.
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FOREST AGRICULTURE: SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
STRATEGIES AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN
SOUTHERN CAMEROON
A.W. Mala1, C.J. Geldenhuys2 and R. Prabhu3
1
Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South
Africa
2
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
3
CGIAR Regional Plan for Collective Action in Eastern & Southern Africa, The Alliance of
the CGIAR Centers, c/o ILRI, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
*Corresponding author: wamala@sun.ac.za and williammala@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Forest-agriculture, also known as ‘slash-and-burn agriculture’ or ‘shifting cultivation’, are
generally associated with biodiversity loss, rapid soil erosion, land degradation, low yield
return and profitability, increased rural poverty and unsustainable land use. This paper
challenges the relationship between forest-agriculture, sustainable livelihood strategies and
conservation of biodiversity in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. To do this, the
management of agricultural plant diversity has been captured within selected land uses of
agricultural landscape mosaics. The farmers’ livelihood strategies and biodiversity
conservation are built on the management of about 159 woody plant species distributed over
79 families and more than 25 crop varieties with more than 55 cultivars. The natural
domestication of woody species and the cultivation of several crop cultivars affect the
household consumption needs, income generation and biodiversity conservation. Forestagriculture is a source of ecological resilience, socio-economic sustainability and adaptive
management. The integration of forest and agriculture is based on local multi-criteria analysis
of biophysical indicators for the selection of appropriate land where crops will be cultivated
and associated with domesticated woody species towards a threshold of agricultural and forest
land productivity outcomes.
Introduction
Forest-agriculture, also known as ‘slash-and-burn agriculture’, or ‘shifting cultivation’ just to
quote these labels which portray the practice, has been associated over the past decades to
biodiversity loss, rapid soil erosion, land degradation, low yield return and profitability,
increased rural poverty and unsustainable land use outcomes (GEF 1993, ASB 1995, Roper
and Robers 1999). Moreover, the research and development processes behind this practice
have been guided by a segregation approach, based on a separation of forests and agriculture
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spatially, administratively and conceptually into two separate units for management and
research (Instone 2003a). The implications of this conceptual approach are that dynamic
interactions between societies and ecosystems were not properly captured and the socioecological systems became non-responsive to incorporate changes and new technologies
(Diaw et al. 1999, Scheffer et al. 2002, Prabhu 2003, Olsson et al. 2004). These limits have
inspired the emergence of new classes of conceptual thinking, research and intervention
processes around adaptive management (Ruitenbeck and Cartier 2001, Gunderson and
Holling 2002, Prabhu 2003). Meantime, the conventional portrayal of forest-agriculture was
challenged around the understanding of its socio-ecological resilience (Dounias 1996,
Dounias and Hladik 1996, Diaw 1997, Fujisaka and Escobar 1997, Carrière 1999) and of its
nature regarding the correlations between historical human-nature relationships and the
development of global environmental narratives (FitzSimmons and Goodman 1998, O’brien
2002, Instone 2003b). In southern Cameroon, forest-agriculture is embedded within the
cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle. The natural resource management that takes place
around forest-agriculture delineates two types of management sequences: temporary foodcrop agricultural systems; and more permanent cocoa or palm-tree agroforests.
The temporary food-crop agricultural systems start with Cucumeropsis agroforestry. This is
followed by a rotation of mixed food-crop agroforests and/or by different stages of fallow
systems until the cycle starts again. Carrière (1999) shows that fallows are mostly cleared
rather than the global claim of clearing ‘virgin forests’. The specific characteristic of this
sequence is that a certain number of woody species are kept (domesticated) during the
clearing for the better development of crops and different human uses. The major outcome is
the capacity of the socio-ecological system to regulate land and forest productivity through
the process of fallows (Dounias 1996, Diaw 1997, Carrière 1999, Gockowski et al. 2005).
The more permanent cash-crop agroforestry systems start with food-crop or Cucumeropsis
agroforests, followed by the implementation of cocoa or palm-tree agroforests, and/or by
conversion into mature secondary forests (Diaw 1997, Oyono et al. 2003). The specific
characteristic of this sequence is that the land use mimics the structure and composition of the
natural forest. Each element of the conversion cycle belongs to a social unit ranging from a
household, extended family and lineage in order to regulate the governance of natural
resources on which the economy, the livelihoods, the social reproduction systems and the
functioning of social institutions are based (Diaw 1997). Each land use phase is attached to a
social control ranging from lineage or segmented lineage or extended family to household,
household-man-woman, household-man and household-woman (Diaw 1997).
The studies of historical ecology of forest landscape mosaics have shown that local
knowledge management and associated practices influence the patterns of forest regeneration
and regrowth (Carrière 1999, Van Germeden et al. 2004). Forest-agriculture landscape
mosaics are a source for the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for food,
commercial and medicinal purposes and various other socio-economic needs (Ndoye 1997,
Gockowski and Dury 1999, Van Dijk 1999). The descriptions show that forest-agriculture is
based on a complex system which requires new processes in knowledge. As in any local
management practice, it is the result of interactions between environment, genetic resources,
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
history, culture, migrations, institutions and cognitive processes used by people over centuries
in developing complex and diverse agricultural systems (Dounias 1996, Dounias and Hladik
1996, Carrière 1999, Oyono et al. 2003). To challenge this knowledge gap in research and
intervention, a resilience-based framework of sustainable forest-agriculture outcomes is
required in order to better capture its links with ecology, economy and society (Penkuri and
Jokinen 1999, Ruittenbeck and Cartier 2001, Prabhu 2003, Campbell et al. 2006, Plummer
and Armitage 2006). The socio-ecological and socio-economic resilience background of
forest-agriculture practices need to be put into a better conceptual framework. This paper
challenges the conventional resilience framework of forest-agriculture for sustainable
livelihoods and biodiversity outcomes.
Materials and Methods
Study area
The study was done in the forest margins benchmark area of southern Cameroon designed to
assess natural resource use intensification and population density gradients in three blocks at
three levels, i.e low (Ebolowa), medium (Mbalmayo) and high (Yaoundé). The biophysical
and socio-economic characteristics of the study area are well documented (Figure 1;
Gockowski et al. 2005). Its climax vegetation represents three main types of forest
ecosystems: dense, semi-deciduous forest characteristic of the Yaoundé block, which extends
southwards into the Mbalmayo block; dense, humid, Congo Basin forest in the southern
reaches of the Mbalmayo block, which extends to the Ebolowa block; biologically diverse,
moist, evergreen, Atlantic forests in small pockets along the western border of the Ebolowa
and Mbalmayo blocks (ASB 1995). The inhabitants of this study area are Western Bantu
forest dwellers who practice shifting cultivation. The area represents the physical and cultural
characteristics extending from the Sanaga to the Ntem and Woleu rivers in southern
Cameroon, northern Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and emphasizes its cultural and linguistic
coherence (Diaw 1997). Farms in the Cameroon benchmark area are generally small and
fragmented. The average number of annual-crop fields is slightly more than four. The area of
the field of the predominant annual food crop is on average slightly over 0.13 ha. The mean
annual land cover associated with productive agricultural land use (a figure which does not
include fallow fields) was 2.6 ha per household in the Yaoundé block, 2.4 ha in the
Mbalmayo block, and 3.6 ha in the Ebolowa block. Roughly 50% of this area is covered by
complex cocoa agroforests (Gockowski et al. 2005).
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Figure 1: The ASB forest margins benchmark area in southern Cameroon (Gockowski et al.
2005).
Sampling methods
Six villages were selected within the study area, with two villages selected in each block.
Selection was based on three categories of intensity of monthly interactions with external
stakeholders (extension services): low = three days of activities; medium = one week of
activities; high = more than 10 days of activities with the support of reports of the field
activities. Thirty (=5*6) households, equally distributed between six villages. Household
selection was based on the socio-diversity of each village in terms of gender, number of clans
or lineages, and age category (young, adult and old). Five land uses (LUS) were selected from
nine land uses based on the following criteria: (i) the LUS with a high number of crop
species; (ii) the LUS having both the high economic importance and a combination of high
density of crops and non agricultural plant species such as seedlings, saplings, poles and trees
kept (domesticated) during the clearing of primary or old secondary forest; (iii) the key LUS
in the spatial deployment of cropping-fallow–forest conversion cycle; iv) the LUS with a
number of economic plant species; (iv) the length of the fallow period corresponding to
different rotations, i.e 15 years as the mean of 9 to 23 years old. The combination of these
criteria guided the selection of five land use types from the logical sequence in the conversion
cycle: cocoa agroforest; Cucumeropsis agroforest; mixed food-crop agroforest (or mixed
groundnut-based crop farm), young preforest fallow (5 years old), young secondary forest (15
years old).
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Data collection
Structured questionnaires divided into two sections were administrated to the households.
Section one collected data on the bio-physical characteristics of selected land uses related to
the former non-agricultural land use categories (virgin forest, old secondary forest,
intermediate secondary forest, pre-secondary forest fallow and young fallow) prior to the
current state of the land uses.
Section two collected data on agricultural plant biodiversity at land use level. Plots of 20 m x
20 m and 40 m x 5 m were used, adapted from the multidisciplinary landscape assessment
approach (Sheil et al. 2003). One to four plots of 20 m x 20 m were sampled in cocoa and
Cucumeropsis agroforests, depending on the total size of the farm. One plot of 20 m x 20 m
was sampled in each of regrowth fallow (five years old) and secondary forests (15 years old),
depending on the size of previous farms or agricultural land use. This was used to avoid the
problems of boundaries and size of the former farm. For mixed food-crop agroforest, 40 m x 5
m plots were systematically sampled. Each 20 m x 20 m plot has subdivided into four subunits of 20 m x 5 m, and each 40 m x 5 m plot was divided into 10 consecutive 5 m wide
subunits. Within these plots, the following data were collected for each plant: (i) local name
of the place; (ii) scientific name including family, genus, specie and author; (iii) local name of
the woody plants and crop varieties for mixed food crops; (iv) quality of a plant within three
categories (standing plant = 1; plant stem resprouting = 2; plant stem not resprouting = 3); (v)
basal diameter of each measured stem (cm); (vi) height of each plant; (vii) index of forking
(defined as the ratio between the height of the plant from its first fork over the total height of
the plant stem, based on a proposed framework ranging from 100% when the first fork is at
ground level, up to 0% when there is no forking).
Data analysis
The data collected were codified and computed in Excel, and the count of woody plant
species were summarized via Excel pivot tables per land use per block. The number and
occurrence of woody plant species were calculated based on the total number of species and
the results expressed per ha for appropriate comparison. The frequency of each parameter has
been calculated based on the total number of responses.
Results
Historical-ecology of agroforestry land use based on stage of vegetation/forest
on field prior to clearing
The local collective memory indicated that the fields of current cocoa agroforests were
established on either cleared secondary/degraded forest (41%) or young preforest fallow
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
(32%) compared to ‘virgin forest’ (27%). There is much variation in the frequencies of former
vegetation/forest between blocks (Table 1). The 25 Cucumeropsis agroforests were mainly
established in cleared secondary/degraded forest (74%) with contrasting patterns in other
former land uses between the Ebolowa and Mbalmayo blocks (Yaoundé block had none). The
cultivation of a Cucumeropis farm is highly influenced by the length of the fallow period.
Most of the current 30 preforest young fallow fields were secondary/degraded forest prior to
clearing (86.1%). All (100%) of the current 30 young secondary forest fields were
secondary/degraded forest before the clearing of a forest patch, but the pattern in terms of old
fallows (secondary forest) and young fallows in the Yaoundé block is different from the
pattern in the Ebolowa and Mbalmayo blocks.
Forest-agriculture outcomes and sustainable livelihood strategies
Contribution of food crops and forest products in household consumption needs
The importance of different food crops and forest products to satisfy household consumption
needs follows a relatively similar pattern across the 12 categories, with slight variations (order
of importance) between blocks in some of the categories (Table 2). Cassava and its derived
products is mentioned by most respondents (72.2%), followed by groundnuts, plantain and
cocoyam (around 30% each). NTFPs appear in the fifth position (25.6%) but this resulted
from the high response in Mbalmayou block (63.3%).
Trends of income generated from forest products within the forest landscape mosaics
Five main forest products contributed to income generation but the general trend is that the
mean values for the HF Zone do not vary much, and that the importance of the different
product groups varies much within/between blocks (Table 3). At Ebolowa fuel wood is a
source of income for all the respondents (100%), with zero in the other two blocks because
here most of respondents use fuel wood for cooking but not to generate income. At Ebolowa
the next most important products are timber, bush meat, fishery products and wild fruit
species. At Mbalmayo, fishery products (41%) and wild fruit species (36%) currently make
the highest contributions. At Yaoundé, the general contribution of the different products was
overall low.
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Table 1: Frequency of the vegetation/forest conditions of a specific field preceding the
current land use
HF Zone block
Virgin forest
Ebolowa
Mbalmayo
Yaoundé
HF Zone
12.1
85.1
11.1
27.2
Virgin forest
Ebolowa
Mbalmayo
Yaoundé
HF Zone
10.6
17.2
0.0
12.7
Virgin forest
Ebolowa
Mbalmayo
Yaoundé
HF Zone
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Cocoa agroforest
Secondary/degraded
Preforest young
forest
fallow
% of responses
47.8
40.2
14.9
0.0
48.2
40.7
40.9
31.9
Cucumeropsis agroforest
Secondary/degraded
Preforest young
forest
fallow
71.6
17.8
82.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
73.5
13.8
Preforest young fallow
Secondary/degraded
Preforest young
forest
fallow
100.0
0.0
100.0
0.0
64.8
35.2
86.1
13.9
Table 2: Percentage of responses of food/forest products contribution to household
consumption needs
Agricultural and forest products
Cassava & derived products
Groundnuts
Plantain
Cocoyam & derived & sub-products
NTFPs
Oil palm & derived products
Horticultural crops
Maize & derived products
Cucumeropsis mannii (ngon)
Sweet potatoes
Yam
Mushrooms
Ebolowa
73.3
40.0
33.3
30.0
6.7
3.3
6.7
10.0
30.0
3.3
0.0
0.0
Mbalmayo
50.0
30.0
33.3
33.3
63.3
16.7
20.0
13.3
3.3
3.3
10.0
3.3
Yaoundé
93.3
30.0
30.0
30.0
6.7
40.0
30.0
23.3
0.0
20.0
3.3
0.0
HF Zone
72.2
33.3
32.2
31.1
25.6
20.0
18.9
15.6
11.1
8.9
4.4
1.1
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Table 3: Percentage of responses of income generated from forest products
Forest products
Fuel wood
Timber
Fishery products
Bushmeat
Wild fruit species
Ebolowa Mbalmayo Yaoundé HF Zone
100.0
0.0
0.0
36.9
51.7
30.9
17.1
36.9
48.9
40.8
11.4
35.2
51.1
26.2
22.9
34.4
42.2
35.7
22.9
34.4
Management of biodiversity within the permanent forest-agriculture conversion
A total of 76 woody species were recorded, distributed over 41 plant families with the most
representative families being Sterculiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae, Moraceae,
Lauraceae, Caesalpiniaceae and Burseraceae. The top 10 woody species domesticated within
the cocoa agroforest systems, by stem density per ha, show much variation between blocks
(Table 4). Most of these are pioneer species and fast growing. The highest stem density for
these species occurs in the Yaoundé block, followed closely by the Ebolowa block with a
much lower density in the Mbalmayo block.
Table 4: Stems/ha for the 10 most abundant woody species found in the cocoa agroforests
Species
Persea americana
Elaeis guineensis
Margaritaria discoides
Dacryodes edulis
Funtumia spp
Macaranga spp
Didelotia letouzeyi
Albizia spp
Musa spp
Tabernaemontana spp
Grand Total stems/ha
Relative frequency
Ebolowa
Mbalmayo
35.0
20.0
35.0
12.5
35.0
25.0
0.0
15.0
0.0
5.0
182.5
38.1
16.3
10.0
16.3
22.5
16.3
10.0
5.0
7.5
3.8
0.0
107.7
22.5
Yaoundé
HF Zone
15.9
34.1
4.5
20.5
0.0
6.8
36.4
18.2
29.5
22.7
188.6
39.4
22.4
21.4
18.6
18.5
17.1
13.9
13.8
13.6
11.1
9.2
159.6
Characteristics*
1
1
3c
1
1
1a,b
1
1,3
1
1b
*Wood quality: 1 = soft woody; 2 = semi-woody; 3 = hard woody; Successional status: a = pioneer; b = early
regrowth; c = advanced regrowth; d = mature forest
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Management of agricultural biodiversity within the non-permanent croppingfallow-forest conversion cycle
The results present the abundance of stems of woody species found within the ideal sequence
of Cucumeropsis agroforests - mixed food-crop agroforests - preforest young fallows - young
secondary forests. The conversion is based on the management of 119 woody species
distributed in more than 59 families with the most representative families being, by order of
importance: Apocynaceae, Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Mimosaceae and Caesalpiniaceae. The
common woody species found within the four land uses are: Albizia spp, Tabernaemontana
spp, Elaeis guineensis and Myrianthus arboreus. Woody species such as Funtumia spp,
Macaranga spp and Voacanga africana are common within Cucumeropsis agroforests,
preforest young fallows and young secondary forests. The other woody species are common
to either two or one land use system.
Management of agricultural biodiversity in mixed food-crop agroforests: crop
species and their cultivars
Twenty five crop species were recorded with a total of 55 cultivars with 12% having four or
more cultivars, 8% with three cultivars, 60% with two cultivars and 24% with one cultivar
(Table 6). The higher number of cultivars per crop species is within cassava (Manihot
esculenta), plantain (Musa AAB) and groundnuts (Arachis hypogea). The crops with a higher
marketable proportion (90%, 80%) are represented by Colocasia esculenta and Musa species
(AAB).
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Table 5: Stems/ha of top 10 woody species found within non-permanent land use conversion
cycle
Cucumeropsis agroforests
Woody species
Musanga
cecropioides C2
Macaranga spp C3
Albizia spp C4
Funtumia spp C3
HFZ
55.0
53.0
53.0
Mixed food-crop
agroforests
Woody species
HFZ
Tabernaemontana 86.0
spp C4
37.5
Didelotia
letouzeyi C2
Albizia spp C4
30.5
45.7 Pseudospondias
longifolia C1
34.5 Myrianthus
aboreus C4
34.1 Rauwolfia
vomitoria C1
30.9 Alchornea
floribunda C2
27.9 Elaeis
guineensis C4
26.5 Celtis spp C2
Preforestry youngfallow
Young secondary forest
Woody species
HFZ Woody species
C3
Macaranga spp
33.3 Funtumia spp C3
Elaeis guineensis
HFZ
50.3
29.0 Macaranga spp C3
34.3
28.7 Elaeis guineensis
29.0
C4
Myrianthus
arboreus C4
19.1 Albizia spp C4
C4
25.3 Albizia spp C4
26.3
22.0 Tabernaemontana
21.0
spp C4
18,7 Myrianthus
21.0
C1
C4
arboreus
19.7
14.7 Voacanga
14.3 Tabernaemontana
C3
C4
africana
spp
14.2 Celtis spp C2
13.3
Pycnanthus
14.7 Oncoba
angolensis C1
welwitschii C1
13.3 Musanga
13.3
13.2 Alchornea
Terminalia superba
C1
cecropioides C2
floribunda C2
21.2 Spathodea
11.2 Funtumia spp C3
12.7
Myrianthus
13.0 Margaritaria
C4
C1
C1
campanulata
arboreus
discoides
Total Grand
381.8
256.4
212.7
240.9
C4: common to 4 land uses; C3: common to 3 land uses; C2: common to 2 land uses; C1: specific to 1 land use.
Tabernaemontana
spp C4
Voacanga
africana C3
Elaeis guineensis C4
16.0 Didelotia
letouzeyi C2
14.3 Antiaris africana
Table 6: Crop species with their local names and number of cultivars used within mixed
food-crop agroforests
Crop species
Local
names
Manihot esculenta
Musa (AAB)
Arachis hypogea
Zea mays
Solanum nigrum
Vernonia amygdalina
Musa (AAA)
Ipomoea batatas
Xanthosoma sagittifolium
Allium spp
Amaranthus spp
Carica papaya
Corchorus olitorius
mbon
ekon
owondo
fon
zom
metet
odjoé
meboura
akaba
ayan
folong
fofo
tegue
Cultivars
per crop
species
6
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Crop species
Local
names
Cucumeropsis mannii
Cucurbita spp
Hibiscus esculentus
Solanum incanum
Capsicum spp
Lycopersicon esculenta
Cucumeropsis mannii
Colocasia esculenta
Talinum triangulare
Solanum aethiopicum
Nicotiana tabacum
Cucumis sativa
Solanum tuberosum
ngôn
ndzeng
etetam
zong
ondondo
ngoro
ngon
atu
elók soup
zom nnam
ta’a
ombalak
atora
Cultivar
s
per
crop
species
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Discussion
The conventional portrayal of forest-agriculture does not reflect both the processes associated
with it and the context within which it takes place. This study showed that very few primary
forest areas are opened in a cultivation year (Table 1). In reality, the farmers manage a pool of
fallows of different age and development stage in order to sustain land use management
within their livelihood strategy (see study of Carrière 1999).
The variations observed in the contribution of agricultural and forest products in household
consumption needs, percentage contribution of forest products to income generation, the pool
of woody species within the non-permanent cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle, and
distribution of the top ten woody species (Tables 2-5) show the role of specific context in the
management of natural resources. The observed patterns confirm the role of knowledge and
spatial context in biodiversity policies (Penkuri and Jokinen 1999) rather than a generalization
as is done with the global environmental narratives (O’Brien 2002, Instone 2003a, 2003b).
The global environmental narratives, such as the loss of biodiversity associated with forestagriculture practices, are expressed in the creation of protected areas to consolidate humannature divisions; the fixed boundaries (in time and space) of such conservation territories
contradict the environmental flows that feature in global discourse, and perpetuate humannature separation (Prabhu et al. 2001, Scheffer et al. 2002, Instone 2003a, Prabhu 2003,
Olsson et al. 2004). However, Deleuze and Gauttari (1988), cited in Instone (2003a), suggests
the notion of territorialisation to overcome this division as a particular form of spatial and
conceptual translation. It may be helpful for rethinking conservation space in relation to
forest-agriculture, not as a fixed and rigid natural resources management practice, but as a
socio-ecological system with dynamics and non-linear interactions of societies and
ecosystems (Scheffer et al. 2002, Prabhu 2003). For them, territorialisation is about
connection, ordering and organization across all scales, from the genetic to the global, and
across all forms of life - human and non human. The results from this study show how human
intervention within the forest to satisfy consumption needs and market strategies affect plant
composition and vegetation structure of forest landscape mosaics (Dounias 1996, Dounias and
Hladik 1996, Carrière 1999, Van Garmeden et al. 2003). They indicate that forest-agriculture
practices, embedded within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle, provide the
conditions for building resilience for adaptive capacity in social-ecological systems (Folke et
al. 2002). The issue of space of biodiversity, which is a key component of the conventional
portrayal of forest-agriculture from the human-nature perspective, is affected by local forest
knowledge systems on both ecological ordering but also for cultural, political, ecological and
economic re-alignment (Instone 2003a). The effect of human-nature interactions through
forest-agriculture practices on the composition of forest landscape mosaics, challenge its
conventional portrayal and provide the resilience-based framework under which forestagriculture innovations could be addressed in the context of high biodiversity that prevail in
southern Cameroon.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Conclusion
Forest-agriculture is a traditional management practice that affects sustainable livelihood
strategies and biodiversity conservation. Results from this study confirm that these practices
are based on local management of agricultural biodiversity knowledge and affect the
composition and patterns of forest landscape mosaics. The practices are largely influenced by
the cultural, social, agronomic and economic motivation behind the diversity of crops and
woody plants used. The patterns of land use mosaics of farms, fallows and forests reflect the
household consumption strategies for sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation
through adaptive management of natural resource use practices. Such adaptive management
of forest-agriculture practices in the use of forest biodiversity has influenced the specific
composition of forests over centuries. The results suggest that there are real opportunities to
manage sustainable biodiversity outcomes in protected areas to address both the challenge of
conservation and the objectives of improved sustainable livelihoods.
Acknowlegdements
The authors thank the European Union, START/NORAD Fellowship programme and CIFOR
who funded the PhD study of the first author.
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HOW PEOPLE, BIODIVERSITY AND
TREES CAN GET IN EACH OTHERS WAY
M.W. Snoep1* and F. Kizza2
1
Face Foundation, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Uganda Wildlife Authority, Mount Elgon, Mbale, Uganda. kizzafredric@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author: Martijn.Snoep@FaceFoundation.nl
2
Abstract
Forest(ry) is often about people, more than it is about trees. This is also the case in the fringes
of the Mount Elgon National Park (MENP) in Uganda where the population pressure is
extremely high, resulting in a high demand for fertile land on the often instable slopes of the
Mount Elgon volcano and incidences of encroachment in the park. Simultaneously the
biodiversity in MENP is extremely valuable, hence worth protecting. The UWA-Face project
therefore, not only aims to restore the integrity of the degraded forest ecosystems and enhance
the biodiversity, but also aims to improve the livelihood of the local population. Co-benefits
like watershed protection and the protection of the lower lying agricultural land and
homesteads against erosion are also of paramount importance. But providing employment
opportunities and impart forest skills and knowledge through the UWA-Face project is not
enough: there are simply too many people and too little land to sustain the traditional way of
life. The key to the successful protection of the MENP is therefore the sustainable
development of the area. Supporting the development of a local agro-industry and using the
opportunity to generate carbon credits will increase the income of local households. Provided
these activities do not out-compete a minimum level of food production in the area, there is a
future for people, biodiversity and trees living together after all.
Introduction
National parks in extremely poor rural areas require integrated environmental-socialeconomic developmental management systems to reconcile socio-economic needs and
expectations with environmental conservation. The issues around the management of the
Mount Elgon National Park (MENP) in Uganda provide such a case study. The general
objective of the MENP authorities is to safeguard the biodiversity and integrity of the physical
and ecological processes of the park in perpetuity for the health, welfare, employment and
inspiration of present and future generations. However, the fertile land caused the
encroachment of a high density of rural farmers to settle in the area, encroach onto the area of
the MENP, and exert much pressure on the park management authority to achieve the stated
objective of conserving the natural area.
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The objective of this paper is to describe the biophysical environment of the MENP, the
historical development of the park, the problems experienced to integrate the needs of the
people with the rehabilitation and conservation of the Mt Elgon landscape, and to outline the
approaches taken to improve the future sustainable management of the MENP area.
Study area
Mount Elgon
This extinct solitary volcano has a huge crater spanning 8 km across. The volcano is located
on the border of Uganda and Kenya. The rim of the crater reaches 4,322 m above sea level,
but due to the large basal area (80 km across) the overall slope averages only 4%. The
mountain descends to the plain in a series of precipitous shelves and is deeply dissected by
numerous streams. Annual rainfall varies from 1,250 mm to more than 2,000 mm. Mt. Elgon
is an important watershed: 20 rivers originate from the mountain and flow into Uganda en
Kenya. About four million people are dependant on this watershed function. It serves as a
water catchment for the Nile River, Lake Victoria, and Lake Turkana.
Biodiversity
The vegetation types that naturally occur in the area are montane tropical high forest, a
bamboo zone and moorland. Mt. Elgon National Park (MENP) has a high biodiversity value.
It is part of the eastern edge of Africa’s western and central tropical forest. There is a
sequence of vegetation types that is related to altitude. Afro-montane and Afro-Alpine
endemic species are present in the zone above 2,000 m. Overall, 37 faunal species figure on
IUCN’s red list. A number of species are endemic to Mt. Elgon. Forests on Mt. Elgon belong
to the top 10 most species rich forests in Uganda. The biological significance was further
recognized when the park was declared a Man and Biosphere Reserve in 2005 (Howard
1991).
Population
The population density in the Mt Elgon area varies from 100 to more than 600 inhabitants per
km2 (Figure 1) compared to the average population density in Uganda of 133 per km2. In
Mbale, one of the largest districts of the Mt. Elgon region, the population growth is 3.5%,
which is the highest in Uganda. The majority of the inhabitants live from agriculture. The
average size of a land holding varies from 0.25 to 1 ha, while a household exists of 10 – 15
people. Generally over half of the household members are children. The major crops
cultivated are maize, sweet potatoes, bananas, yam and cassava. The population density in
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Kapchorwa District, north of Mbale District but also part of the Mt. Elgon region, is lower
and landholdings are larger.
Figure1: Population density in the areas around Mt. Elgon National Park
Management issues of Mount Elgon National Park
Mount Elgon National Park
Mount Elgon National Park covers a large part of the volcano – the total size at the Ugandan
side is 114,000 ha. The area was first gazetted as a Crown Forest in 1938. From 1968 to it was
administered as a Forest Reserve under the Forest Act. During 1993 the status was changed
into a Forest Park and it finally elevated to a National Park when the MENP was established
in 1993. MENP is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The general objective
of UWA for Mt. Elgon is to safeguard the biodiversity and integrity of the physical and
ecological processes of the park in perpetuity for the health, welfare, employment and
inspiration of present and future generations.
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Initial encroachment
Encroachment into the Mount Elgon area took place mainly in the period from 1970 to 1985.
The main reason was the political instability of the country, which caused people to move to
relatively safe (and fertile) areas like Mt. Elgon. At the same time, because of this instability,
there was hardly any control and law enforcement. About 25,000 ha of montane forest were
damaged or destroyed as a result of pit-sawing and slash and burn practices for agriculture.
Since the 1990s encroachment was stopped and areas were only re-encroached on a very
small scale.
Landslides
The steep slopes of Mt. Elgon are inherently unstable and prone to erosion and landslides.
The area in Uganda that is most sensitive to landslides is located within the district of Mbale,
in the south western part of the mountain. Natural factors that contribute to landslides are high
annual rainfall, the soil type, high weathering rates and the steep slopes. Other factors are
related to human interference and the increasing population pressure: deforestation,
excavations and the concentration of runoff water through linear landscape elements (like
roads or parcel boundaries). Triggering factors that cause the eventual landslide are extreme
rainfall events or even excavations. In the years 1933, 1964, 1970 and more recently in 1997 –
1999 landslides have caused a lot of fatalities and damage to the infrastructure and
environment. In 1997 in the Manjiya county (close to the south western part of the forest
rehabilitation area) 48 people were killed, crops and dwellings of 885 families disappeared
and 5,600 people became homeless. Arable land was reduced, adding to the land scarcity and
contributing to conflicts over land, and water supplies were polluted. According to an estimate
of the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment, the economic costs for the repair of bridges
and roads amounted to US$1.273 million for the Mbale district (Knapen et al. 2006;
Claessens et al. 2007).
Restoration of Mount Elgon National Park
Background to restoration activities
In 1988 the Government of Uganda made a commitment to the conservation of Mt. Elgon and
received technical support from IUCN and financial support from NORAD to assist in the
rehabilitation and to develop a strategy for the conservation of the forest (Mupada 1997). The
costs for the restoration of the former encroached area, that was partly covered with Kikuyu
grass (Pennisetum clandestinum), were prohibitive. In 1993 and 1994 Face Foundation was
identifying areas to establish forest and was invited to undertake restoration activities in
MENP. The funds for the project activity from the Face Foundation were specifically meant
for reforestation in order to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and contribute to climate
244
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
change mitigation. The 1 – 3 km wide zone of degraded land along the boundary within the
park on an altitude of 2,000 to 3,000 m was assigned as restoration area (Figure 2).
N
Restoration area
Mt. Elgon National Park
7
0
7
14 Kilometers
Figure 2: The restoration area within Mt. Elgon National Park
The objective of the UWA-Face project was to restore the natural vegetation in the MENP
area. This is achieved by planting indigenous tree species in compartments along the
boundary and protecting the area beyond the planting area. The project enhances the
biodiversity values of the park, provides employment opportunities to communities adjacent
to the park and imparts forest skills and knowledge to the local communities. Between 1994
and 2007 about 8,125 ha of the 25,000 ha restoration area had been planted and maintained.
The restoration area consists of the following main vegetation types: grassland (dominated by
Kikuyu grass), ferns dominated vegetation, shrub dominated vegetation (mainly Vernonia
auriculifera) and riverine vegetation. The intended forest is classified as rich, medium and
poor forest. Rich forest is high forest that corresponds to the Prunus africana moist montane
forest as described by Synnott (1968). Medium rich forest is open high forest with tall trees
over a dense dark understorey. It is a poorer version of the former type with almost the same
species composition. The poor forest consists of occasional large trees over herbs and shrubs.
It corresponds with Hagenia-Rapanea moist montane forest and Juniperus-Podocarpus dry
montane forest (Synnott 1968). The selection of species for planting depends on the site
conditions. Fast growing and light demanding species are planted in the areas dominated by
grass and ferns, while shade tolerant species are planted on spots with a canopy cover.
245
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Social benefits
In the design of the project it was believed that the reforestation activities would benefit the
local population. The forest protects the soil and diminishes the occurrence of landslides,
preventing casualties and damage to houses, cropland and infrastructure. It also forms a
natural resource that people can use to obtain non-timber forest products. The project itself
has provided many labour opportunities – it has been recognized as one of the few significant
employers in the region. The many field operations require well-maintained roads that
improve as a side effect the accessibility of villages on the mountain slopes. In addition to
income the workers receive food, medical care and social security. The workers also received
training and capacity building. The practical knowledge of raising and planting trees could be
(and has been) applied outside the park on the farms for their own purposes (e.g. for the
production of coffee seedlings, fruit trees and Eucalyptus seedlings). Income is also generated
through the sale of seedlings from farmer nurseries to the project and other interested
communities.
Apart from the project-specific benefits, the MENP as a whole provides benefits and UWA
considers the interests of the local population. There are mainly two mechanisms through
which local people have a profit from the park. The first is UWA’s revenue sharing
mechanism: 20% of the park revenues from tourism are invested in projects for the villages
around the park. Local people are invited to submit proposals and request for funding.
Examples are constructing or renovating schools, drilling wells or establishing dispensaries.
Active projects include bee keeping activities, Bushuy Dairy Project and the Bushiy-Manafwa
trail project. The second mechanism is the Collaborative Resource Management Agreements
(CRMA). Those agreements between local people on parish level and UWA give the
population access to specific park resources, like firewood, bamboo, honey and medicinal
plants. Within the agreements it is specified how much of the resources can be harvested and
in which periods. The boundary of the park is demarcated with a 10 m wide strip of
Eucalyptus trees, which is also used by the adjacent communities. In each parish a Boundary
Management Committee is elected by the community members to supervise and coordinate
harvesting and management of the boundary trees.
In addition to revenue sharing and the CRMA’s, the population participates through the local
government in a dialogue about park management issues. For this purpose the Community –
Protected Area Institution (now the Interdistrict Link Committee) was established in 2000. It
serves as a platform for the park management and the local government. The objective of the
Interdistrict Link Committee is to promote communication between the stakeholders, share
information, express concerns, provide a platform for conflict resolution and to enhance the
participation of stakeholders in the management of the park.
In conjunction with IUCN’s Mt. Elgon Conservation and Development project (MECDP), the
UWA has raised awareness in the region about the importance of conservation of the park. In
collaboration with district authorities and local NGO’s sustainable development in the area
outside the park has been promoted. Examples of promoted activities are agroforestry,
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beekeeping, improved farming systems, and fruit growing for cash income (Chhetri et al.
2003). This project ended in 2003. It is now followed up by the Mt. Elgon Regional
Ecosystem Conservation Program (MERECP).
Renewed encroachment
In the period from 1993 to 2003 the situation along the park boundary remained stable.
However, encroachment started again in the period 2004 – 2007. The size of the areas
affected is respectively 190, 238, 999 and 542 ha. It is explained by the ever continuing
growth of the population, the competition for land, grievances that stem from the evictions of
the early 1990s and the fertile volcanic soils. However, the factor that triggered the waves of
encroachment very often arose from the pronouncements of national and local politicians.
A consequence of encroachment is that investments in further rehabilitation of the park were
deferred, because there was no guarantee for a long-term forest carbon sink anymore. There
was no security that the planted forest would ever generate carbon credits. The result was that
the number of jobs that had already been reduced as a result of the changed financial support
for Face was again reduced as no new planting activities were being undertaken. The only
labour that remained (50 – 70 men) was for the maintenance of the already established forest.
Encroachment is concentrated in the south-western part of the park, in the Mbale District.
Incidences in Kapchorwa District are less frequent. Disturbance of the forest is limited to
illegal cutting of trees or tree branches. Encroachment seems to coincide with the population
density, but the role of local politicians might also be a factor. Probably the interaction of both
the population pressure for land and the attitude of local politics explain the occurrence of
encroachment.
The future for Mount Elgon National Park
High population pressure combined with poverty, a lack of a clearly defined park boundary
and political campaigning gave cause to conflicts and encroachment. The experience of the
past years has shown that the strong involvement of the local population is crucial for
maintaining the forest. It also shows that all activities undertaken with the aim to involve local
communities in the park management, to share benefits and to reduce pressure by promoting
rural development, are no guarantee for the absence of conflicts between the park
management and the local population. Another lesson is that encroachment is very often
induced by opinions and statements of local and national politicians.
Still, a renewed effort to improve the relationships between the park management and the
local population and their representatives is the only way to improve the situation. A long
term solution should mainly focus on the areas that gave rise to conflicts, i.e. the areas that
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
have been encroached in the past five years. In order to reach a sustainable solution for the
people, the environment and the biodiversity, the community livelihoods need to be enhanced
and nature conservation needs support from the local communities and their political leaders.
The following strategies could contribute to a more stable situation:
1. Community based forest rehabilitation: parts of the former encroached area can be
rehabilitated by involving the communities that live adjacent to the park boundary.
When provided with seedlings the local people can plant the indigenous trees and
practice intercropping for the period that the trees would allow that (e.g. until canopy
closure). The trees can be harvested, under supervision of the manager of the park,
when they are mature. In this way the forest protects the slopes and the people profit
from the land and the trees. At the same time these areas function as a buffer between
the agricultural land and the protected natural forest, i.e. forest not meant for
harvesting.
2. Carbon revenue sharing: a part of the revenues generated by the sale of carbon credits
that result from the forest rehabilitation can be used for the benefit of communities. It
is comparable to UWA’s revenue sharing mechanism. A fixed percentage of the
revenues could be deposited in a community carbon fund. Communities can submit
proposals for activities like the construction or renovation of schools, establishing
dispensaries or maintain a road. Another possibility is to contribute to the
development of income generating activities like bee keeping, improving agricultural
techniques and promoting eco and cultural tourism. A condition to such a mechanism
is that rehabilitated forest remains intact and there is a low risk of encroachment in the
park.
3. Contribute to rural development: the main problem in Mt. Elgon is the scarcity of land
as a result of the high population density. Part of the solution is to enhance the
agricultural productivity in order to yield more crops of high value (wheat, groundnut,
highland rice, watermelon) from the same area of land, which decreases the
competition for land. In addition, the introduction of agro-industries may add value to
the regional agricultural production. The introduction of other types of industry may
cause a shift towards a more balanced regional economy, that is less dependant on
agriculture alone.
4. The overarching strategy is to intensify the dialogue with the stakeholders of the park.
This is to create mutual understanding of the parties involved and reach consensus
where possible.
The first strategy is the most clear and promising solution. It is a compromise between the
desires of the communities and the park management and it focuses directly on the
problematic areas. The advantage of the second strategy is that it links the growth of the forest
to the income for the communities and provides an incentive to keep the forest intact.
However, its feasibility depends very much on the stability in the area. The risk of
encroachment should be low and that can only be determined afterwards, when the approach
has proved itself after at least one year. Otherwise the permanence of the carbon sink cannot
be guaranteed and the forest will not generate any carbon credits. The third strategy is the
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
most complex and indirect measure. It is beyond the scope of UWA, Face and the local
authorities and cooperation with other organisations is required.
The strategies are being explored and discussed with the stakeholders in Mt. Elgon. In the
past year there have been extensive discussions with the local leaders on district, parish and
village level about the park and the need to improve livelihoods. There was also a workshop
organized for district leaders and Members of Parliament from the districts surrounding the
National Park. The effect of those meetings is an increased mutual understanding and
agreement on the importance of combining nature conservation with local livelihoods. Since
that workshop the following activities are being undertaken:
Consultation meetings with local communities are organized and the issues such as
carbon revenue sharing and tree planting, intercropping and harvesting are being
discussed and agreements with the communities are being devised (Bududa selected as
a pilot district);
UWA and Face are identifying partners and discussing with possible partners for
participation in the coordination of a rural development programme to enhance the
local livelihoods;
UWA and the local government are requesting the national government to promote
investments in (agro)industrial activities in the Mt. Elgon region;
UWA is consulting local communities that live along the park boundary about their
opinion of participating in managing some of the restoration areas (tree planting,
intercropping and tree harvesting);
UWA is developing agreements for participation in the restoration area by local
communities;
Local people that have illegally occupied park land are leaving the area after having
harvested the crops they have planted;
There is support from the President, the relevant Ministers, Members of Parliament
from the Mt. Elgon region and the local government to adopt an approach of further
reconciling the interests of the park with the interests of the local communities.
About 800 ha of encroached land within the restoration area has been left by encroachers and
it is expected that more encroachers will follow. This does not apply to the areas that are
subject to court cases. Some communities claim property of land that is now within the park
(e.g. in Wanale and the Namisidwa Land Claimant in Buwabwala). Some of these lands are
part of the restoration area. The progress of the court cases is very slow; it might take several
years before a judgement is made. A decision on reforestation of those parcels must wait until
the court has made clear what the status of those areas is.
At this stage it is unclear which organization will be involved and what role they will have in
the future. It is clear that UWA will remain manager of the park and will have a crucial role in
the whole process.
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Although there are positive signals that socio-economic, natural and environmental interests
can be reconciled it is still too early to assume that the new initiatives and agreements result in
a sustainable solution for the whole area. The interests of the local people for land and of the
politicians to win votes remain high, especially because of the increasing population. Longterm security that the forest remains intact is required for the long term to ensure carbon
certification of the forest. In the current situation the permanence of the forest carbon stock is
still under risk. The new adopted approach has yet to prove itself.
References
Chhetri P, Mugisha A, White S. 2003. Community resource use in Kibale and Mt Elgon
National Parks, Uganda. Parks. Conservation Partnerships in Africa Vol 13 No 1: 28-38.
Claessens L, Knapen A, Kitutu MG, Poesen J, Deckers JA. 2007. Modelling landslide hazard,
soil redistribution and sediment yield of landslides on the Ugandan footslopes of Mount
Elgon. Geomorphology 90: 23-35.
Howard P. 1991. Nature conservation in Uganda’s tropical forest reserves. IUCN, Gland,
Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Knapen A, Kitutu MG, Poesen J, Breugelmans W, Deckers J, Muwanga A. 2006. Landslides
in a densely populated county at the footslopes of Mount Elgon (Uganda): characteristics
and causal factors. Geomorphology 73: 149-165.
Mupada E. 1997. Towards collaborative forest management in the conservation of Uganda’s
rain forests. Forest Department, Kampala, Uganda.
Synnott TJ. 1968. Working Plan for Mount Elgon Central Forest Reserve, 1968-78. Forest
Department, Entebbe, Uganda.
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MODELLING WOODY-PLANT DOMESTICATION AND
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN AGRICULTURAL
LANDSCAPE MOSAICS IN SOUTHERN CAMEROON
A.W. Mala1*, C.J. Geldenhuys2 and R. Prabhu3
1
Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South
Africa
2
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
3
CGIAR Regional Plan for Collective Action in Eastern & Southern Africa, The Alliance of
the CGIAR Centers, c/o ILRI, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
*Corresponding author: wamala@sun.ac.za and williammala@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Traditional forest-agriculture, or slash-and-burn, contrary to the conventional perception,
incorporates local knowledge of forest species and ecological process in their management.
This paper analyses the relationships between the domestication or retention of woody species
and local knowledge. Socio-economic characteristics of sites and farmers as well as the
quantity and quality of woody species (standing stems and re-sprouting) and 10 local tree uses
associated within Cucumersopsis farms are captured. The decision to domesticate woody
species during the clearing of the forest was analyzed with logistic regression. The results
show that the number of woody species domesticated is positively correlated with the natural
and social capital of the farmer but the relationship with his financial capital is less clear. The
annual domestication of woody species within the Cucumeropsis agroforest, a key land use
within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle, is strongly regressed with some of the 10
woody-plant uses, particularly food, fuel wood, timber and traditional medicine. This
confirms that only woody species with multiple uses are domesticated by farmers. The paper
recommends that current developments in tropical agroforestry and agricultural sciences
towards natural resource management (NRM) will not succeed without incorporation of local
knowledge of agricultural biodiversity in general, of domestication of woody species, and
management affecting the viability of agro-ecosystem within socio-ecological context.
Introduction
Forest-agriculture, also known as ‘slash-and-burn agriculture’ or ‘swidden cultivation’, has
been portrayed over the past decades as a cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss (GEF
1993, Garrity and Bandy 1996). This negative portrayal has been challenged over the past
decade by the rethinking of the nature and the biophysical and socio-economic processes of
forest-agriculture taking place in the field (O’brien 2002, Instone 2003a). This critical
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knowledge was generated all over the tropics to understand the socio-ecological resilience of
this practice (Diaw 1997, Oyono et al. 2003) and its positive impacts on forest regrowth and
regeneration (Dounias 1996, Carrière 1999, Van Germeden et al. 2003). Meantime, in order
to deal with the issues of deforestation, there has been a rapid development of technical
domestication of woody species. The challenge is to link genetic improvement research with
marketing to ensure income generation and food security; crucial components in the release of
new tree crops on a sufficient scale in sustainable agroforestry systems (Leakey and Izac
1996). For this perspective, the domestication of woody species seems to be both about
product development and product creation, i.e. rebuilding forest resources (Leakey and
Newton 1994). However, it has been shown that the forest landscape mosaics resulted from
the management of woody species, both wild and domesticated, that have been combined,
modified and managed by people for millennia, in complex and diverse agricultural systems
(Reichardt et al. 1994, Dounias 1996, Carrière 1999, FAO 1999a, 1999b, 2005, Lefroy et al.
1999, Toledo et al. 2003). These human-nature processes for managing natural resources have
been documented. However, the big challenge is to understand how and under what
conditions the woody species are domesticated when a forest patch is cleared, and to be able
to link this knowledge to the development of forest-agriculture innovations.
In southern Cameroon, the ecology of selected land uses has been studied mainly from the
sustainable tree management perspectives and to propose alternative agroforestry systems
(Dounias 1996, Dounias and Hladik 1996, Carrière 1999, Ngobo 2002, Sonwa 2004). In
cocoa plantations, these studies often focused on the understanding of the relationships
between the management of shade and the productivity of cocoa. It appears that three of the
10 most frequent woody species found in this land use by order of importance are Dacryodes
edulis, Persea americana and Terminalia superba (Gockowski and Dury 1999, Sonwa 2004).
In mixed food-crop and Cucumeropsis farms, four broad categories of woody species are
often associated with food crops: (i) woody species with agronomic, cultural an ecological
qualities such as indicators of soil fertility with Terminalia superba, Triplochiton scleroxylon
and Pycnanthus angolensis; (ii) soft-woody and semi-woody pioneer species and hard woody
long-living species; (iii) woody species that do not inhibit crop development (Dounias 1996,
Dounias and Hladik 1996, Carrière 1999); and (iv) timber species and species used for nonwood forest products (NWFPs). Carrière (1999) showed that the number of tree species
increase from the small-size to large-size tree category for remnant trees found in mixed foodcrop and Cucumeropsis farms. Farmers use several criteria to manage land uses based on their
agricultural biodiversity knowledge of land use age and of active agricultural land use
practices (Carrière 1999). However, the cognitive processes that take place when the forest is
cleared and that lead to an accumulation of different types of woody species, their size and
their spatial distribution remains insufficiently analyzed. Furthermore, very little is known
about how far the interactions between the environment and the size-categories of woody
species maintained during the clearing of the forest would determine the specific current
composition of forest landscape mosaics. This understanding is a crucial step in the design of
research and intervention processes, and the appropriate conditions for the implementation of
adaptive co-management of natural resource options in the context of high biodiversity
systems (Prabhu 2003, Woodley 2004, Colfer 2006).
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Our working definition of the domestication of woody species in the context of the farmers’
practices refers to the process of maintaining/retaining (domesticating) plants of woody
species when the farmers clear a patch opposed to the plant species that they systematically
fell. These species include both woody species found in Cucumeropsis and cocoa agroforests
and by extension in mixed food-crop agroforests that will directly affect the regrowth of the
forest, i.e. the change over from the cultivated product towards regrowth forest. The
domestication of woody species also refers to wild plant species planted by farmers.
Sometimes in the secondary and mature forests, people clear herbaceous species around the
woody species.
The objective of this paper is to analyse the relationships between the domestication of woody
species and local knowledge management of agricultural biodiversity. The main hypothesis is
that the domestication of woody species is influenced by local management of ecological and
socio-economic knowledge within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycles at the earlier
stage of the conversion cycle.
Material and Methods
Study area
The study was done in the forest margins benchmark area of southern Cameroon designed to
assess natural resource use intensification and population density gradients in three blocks at
three levels, i.e low (Ebolowa), medium (Mbalmayo) and high (Yaoundé). The biophysical
and socio-economic characteristics of the study area are well documented (Figure 1;
Gockowski et al. 2005). Its climax vegetation represents three main types of forest
ecosystems: dense, semi-deciduous forest characteristic of the Yaoundé block, which extends
southwards into the Mbalmayo block; dense, humid, Congo Basin forest in the southern
reaches of the Mbalmayo block, which extends to the Ebolowa block; biologically diverse,
moist, evergreen, Atlantic forests in small pockets along the western border of the Ebolowa
and Mbalmayo blocks (ASB 1995).
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Figure 1: The ASB forest margins benchmark area in southern Cameroon (Gockowski
et al. 2005).
Sampling methods
Six villages were selected within the study area, with two villages selected in each block.
Selection was based on three categories of intensity of monthly interactions with external
stakeholders (extension services): low = three days of activities; medium = one week of
activities; high = more than 10 days of activities with the support of reports of the field
activities. Thirty (=5*6) households, equally distributed between six villages. Household
selection was based on the socio-diversity of each village in terms of gender, number of clans
or lineages, and age category (young, adult and old). The Cucumeropsis agroforest land use
was selected from nine land uses because of its key role in the beginning of the croppingfallow-forest conversion cycle, its role in the land tenure processes with access rights and for
its potential in the domestication of non-agricultural plant species such as seedlings, saplings,
poles and trees kept as markers of land ownership.
Data collection
A structured questionnaire divided into 4 sections was administrated to the households.
Section 1 provided for collection of data on the socio-economic characteristics of villages:
distances (km) to the closest and most important markets; the perception of market access
(bad=1; manageable=2; good=3). Section 2 provided for data on the socio-economic
characteristics of the respondents: name of respondent; main occupation (1=peasant farmer;
2=retired civil servant; 3= civil servant), gender (1=male; 2=female); marital status
(1=married; 2=single; 3= widow(er)); age, in years (<30; 30-45; >45); education level
(1=never being to school; 2=primary education; 3=secondary education; 4=tertiary
education); belonging to social organizations (1=yes; 2=no); family or household size (1=1;
2=2-4; 3=5-8; 4=8); natural capital i.e. size of farm in ha (1=5-10; 2=10-15; 3=15-20; 4=>20);
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
and financial capital in FCFA (local currency with US$1=FCFA525.5, November 2008)
(1=<250000; 2=250000-350000; 3=>350000). Section 3 provided for data on agricultural
plant diversity at the land use level. One to four plots of 20 m x 20 m size were implemented
in Cucumeropsis agroforests depending on the total size of the farm. Within these plots, the
following data were collected for each plant: (i) local name of the place; (ii) scientific name of
woody plant including family, genus, specie and author; (iii) local name of the woody plant;
(iv) quality of a plant (standing plant = 1; plant stem resprouting = 2; plant stem not
resprouting = 3); (v) stem diameter of each measured stem (cm) at breast height (DBH); (vi)
height of each plant; (vii) index of forking (defined as the ratio between the height of the plant
from its first fork over the total height of the plant stem, based on a proposed framework
ranging from 100% when the first fork is at ground level, up to 0% when there is no forking.
(viii) woody quality of plant species (1=soft; 2=semi-woody; 3=hard woody). Section 4
provided for data on different uses of plant species: 1=food; 2=medicinal; 3=material for
house building; 4=tools; 5=fuel wood; 6=cultural or ritual; 7=marketable NWFP; 8=useful for
hunting; 9=security for the future; 10=special use).
Data analysis
The data collected were codified and computed in Excel, and the count of woody-plant
species were summarized via excel pivot tables per land use and for the six stem size
categories of plant per block. The plant size categories of woody species were defined based
on adaptation from the Letouzey (1979) model for the dense humid forest as follows: small
seedlings and sprouting stems: stems ≤2 m height; medium-sized saplings and poles: stems
≤10 cm DBH; large-sized poles: stems 10-20 cm DBH; small-sized trees: stems 20-50 cm
DBH; medium-sized trees: stems 50-100 cm DBH; and large-sized trees: stems >100 cm
DBH. Stem density was expressed in stems/ha. The Chi-square statistics were used to assess
the relationships between the number of woody species domesticated and stem density of six
plant-size categories. A Wald test with logistic regression statistic was used to predict the
probability of keeping/maintaining plant species based on farmer knowledge of their
diameter, height, size categories and index of forking, and uses of woody plants during the
clearing of the forest using XLStat2007 (Menard 1995).
Results
Socio-economic profile of villages and households
The study showed that the minimum and maximum distances to the closest (1-15 km versus
12-60 km) and important markets (5-40 km versus 33-115 km) do not the follow the resource
intensification gradient of the study area. The variation in distance is high for both the closet
and important markets, between the three blocks particularly for the Mbalmayo block
(generally far) versus the Yaoundé and Ebolowa blocks (generally closer). Most respondents
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
in all three blocks considered market access as manageable (all three blocks) to good
(Mbalmayo). The socio-economic profile indicated that most respondents were (i) peasant
farmers (64.6%) followed by retired civil servants (31.4%) and civil servants (4%); (ii)
females (77.7%) followed by males (22.3%); (iii) married (92.2%) followed by single (4.2%)
and widow (3.6%); (iv) >45 years old (70.5%) followed by 30-45 years old (29.5%) (none
younger than 30 years); (v) had done secondary education (54.7%) followed by primary
education (45.3%); (vi) belong to social organizations (95.8%); (vii) had a family size of 5-8
people (44.3%) followed by >8 people (38.8%) and 1-4 people (16.8%); (viii) owned >20 ha
of land (55.2%) followed by 15-20 ha (20.2%), 5-10 ha (15.2%) and 10-15 ha (9.5%); (ix)
earned an estimated annual revenue of >350 000 FCFA (65.2%) followed by <250 000 FCFA
(23.1%) and 250 000-300 000 FCFA (11.7%).
Abundance of woody species in Cucumeropsis agroforests
Cucumeropsis agroforest fields included 108 woody species distributed over 57 families with
the most representative by order of importance: Apocynaceae, Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae,
Mimosaceae and Caesalpiniaceae. The top 10 tree species over all size categories represented
22 species. The general trend in all three blocks (Table 1) is a relative high percentage of
small-sized seedlings and resprouting stems (53.9%), a much lower percentage of mediumsized trees (16.7%) and small-sized trees (13.8%), and a relatively small percentage of largesized poles (9%), medium-sized saplings and poles (6.2%) and large-sized trees (0.3%). In the
Ebolowa block, the 10 top species were represented by 11 species and the main species, in
order of total stem count of small and medium sized trees, were Musanga cecropiodes,
Macaranga sp, Elaeis guineensis and Albizia adianthifolia. The woody species were
predominantly small-sized seedlings and resprouting stems (58.6%) and small-sized trees
(31.0%). In the Mbalmayo block, the 10 top species were represented by 11 species and the
main species was Elaeis guineensis. The woody species were predominantly small-sized
seedlings and resprouting stems (37.3%) and both small-sized and medium-sized trees (22.7%
each). In the Yaoundé block, the 10 top species were represented by 10 species and the main
species was Celtis spp. The woody species were predominantly small-sized seedlings and
resprouting stems (60%) and medium-sized trees (18.3%). The only large-sized tree was
found in the Ebolowa block. There are variations of the total number of trees domesticated
between blocks, with more timber species present within the top 10 woody species in the
Mbalmayo block than in the Yaoundé and Ebolowa blocks (Table 1).
Relationship between decision to domesticate woody species and perceptions of
distance to markets and market access
The Wald test of logistic regression found that the decision by farmers to keep/maintain
woody species are influenced very highly significantly by the financial capital of the
respondent, and both distance from villages to the closer and the important markets, highly
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
significantly by the natural capital (levels 2 and 3) of the farmer and significantly by the
perception of village access, and not influenced by natural capital (level 1). The coefficient of
the equation (B) is positive for closer market, financial capital and natural capital (level 2) and
negative for important market and natural capital (level 3) (Table 2).
Relationship between biophysical characteristics of woody species and farmer’s
decision to domesticate them in Cucumeropsis farms
The results of the contingency table analyses indicate that plant size per type of use influence
the decision to fell or to keep/maintain plant species (Chi-square=11.1, df=5, p<0.05). The
number of felled trees increases from the small-sized seedlings and resprouting stems to the
large-sized trees while the number of plant species kept follows the inverse. The farmer’s
decision to maintain certain plant species during the clearing of forest patches is positively
influenced by the stem diameter (P<0.05) and negatively influenced by the stem height
(P<0.05) and its index of forking (P<0.05) (Table 3). The equation of the regression model of
decision to keep plant species is as follows:
= 1 / (1+exp(-(3.15165868225324+7.87435474127973E-03*(Tree dbh)
-7.03419127790424E-03*(Tree height)-2.82850084361277E-02*Tree forking index))).
Relationship between tree domestication status, respondents’ knowledge of tree
uses and household needs/perspectives
The relative high percentage of woody species are used for fuel wood (54.7%) and medicine
use (47.1%) that follow the resource use intensification gradient as well as the use of woody
species in the management of shade, soil fertility and special uses such as hosts for edible
caterpillars (Mala 2009). There are variations between blocks such as that the respondents in
Ebolowa and Mbalmayo blocks rely more on the uses of woody species than those in
Yaoundé block. The results of the Wald test of logistic regression (Table 3) found that three
of the ten plant use categories affect the decision of farmers to keep them: food uses are very
high significantly (P.=0.000)’ medicinal uses are highly significant (P=0.001); and timber
uses are significant (P=0.045). The coefficients of the regression equation per variable are
negative.
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Table 1: Stem density (stems/ha) for the top 10 woody species per tree size category in
Cucumeropis agroforest for the three blocks in the study area
Block in
Humid
forest zone
Ebolowa
Woody species
Tree size category
Small
seedlings,
saplings &
sprouts
≤2 m high
Total
Medium
saplings
& poles
Large
poles
Small
trees
Medium
trees
Large
trees
11-20 cm
dbh
21-50 cm
dbh
51-100
cm dbh
>100 cm
dbh
Musanga cecropioides
2.9
>2 m high
to ≤10 cm
dbh
0.0
0.0
11.8
0.0
0.0
14.7
Macaranga sp
5.9
0.0
2.9
1.5
0.0
0.0
10.3
Elaeis guineensis
7.4
0.0
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
8.8
Albizia adianthifolia
2.9
0.0
0.0
5.9
0.0
0.0
8.8
Icacina mannii
5.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.5
0.0
7.4
Voacanga africana
4.4
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.9
Tabernaemontana spp
5.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.9
Panda oleosa
4.4
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.9
Margaritaria discoides
0.0
0.0
0.0
4.4
0.0
1.5
5.9
Funtumia spp
4.4
0.0
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
5.9
Enantia chlorantha
5.9
0.0
0.0
0 .0
0.0
0.0
5.9
50.0
(58.6)
33.9
0,0
(0.0)
0.0
0.0
(0.0)
1.8
26.5
(31.0)
3.6
1.5
(1.7)
5.4
1.5
(1.7)
0.0
85.3
(100.0)
44.6
Voacanga africana
3.6
0.0
3.6
1.8
3.6
0.0
12.5
Hylodendron gabonense
1.8
0.0
0.0
3.6
5.4
0.0
10.7
Scyphocephamiiun ochocoa
0.0
0.0
3.6
3.6
1.8
0.0
8.9
Ricinodendron heudelotii
7.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.8
0.0
8.9
Petersianthus macrocarpus
0.0
1.8
0.0
7.1
0.0
0.0
8.9
Margaritaria discoides
0.0
0.0
1.8
1.8
5.4
0.0
8.9
Albizia adianthifolia
3.6
0.0
3.6
1.8
0.0
0.0
8.9
Terminalia superba
0.0
1.8
0.0
1.8
3.6
0.0
7.1
Milicia exelsa
0.0
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.8
0.0
7 .1
Total Ebolowa: Stems/ha
Relative density (%)
Mbalmayo Elaeis guineensis
0.0
1.8
0.0
3.6
1.8
0.0
7.1
50.0
(37.3)
45.0
7.1
(5.3)
0.0
16.1
(12.0)
0.0
30.4
(22.7)
0.0
30.4
(22.7)
15.0
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
133.9
(100.0)
60.0
Elaeis guineensis
40.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
10.0
0.0
50.0
Tabernaemontana spp
20.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
15.0
0.0
35.0
0.0
20.0
5.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
25.0
Distemonathus benthamianus
Total Mbalmayo: Stems/ha
Relative density (%)
Yaoundé
Celtis spp
Spathodea campanulata
Funtumia spp
15.0
0.0
5.0
5.0
0.0
0.0
25.0
Alchornea floribunda
25.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
25.0
5.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
15.0
0.0
20.0
Ficus mucuso
20.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
20.0
Didelotia letouzeyi
10.0
5.0
50
0.0
0.0
0.0
20.0
0.0
0.0
10.0
10.0
0.0
0.0
20.0
180.0
(60.0)
280.0
(53.9)
25.0
(8.3)
32.1
(6.2)
25.0
(8.3)
47.0
(9.0)
15.0
(5.0)
7.8
(13.8)
55.0
(18.3)
86.8
(16.7)
0.0
(0.0)
1.5
(0.3)
300.0
(100.0)
519.2
(100.0)
Oncoba welwitschii
Dacryodes edulis
Total Yaoundé: Stems/ha
Relative density (%)
Total: Stems/ha
Relative density (%)
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Table 2: Logistic regression of domestication of woody species based on socio-economic
characteristics of villages and farmers
Parameters
Closest market (Vclomark)
Important market (Vimpormark)
Market access (VAccess)
Financial capital (FC)
Natural capital (NC 1)
Natural capital (NC 2)
Natural capital (NC 3)
Constant
B
0.015
-0.022
0.186
0.232
0.104
0.581
-0.361
-0.547
S.E.
Wald df Sig.
0.004
14.1 1
0.000
0.003
66.6 1
0.000
0.077
5.8 1
0.016
0.043
28.7 1
0.000
0.123
0.7 1
0.397
0.179
10.5 1
0.001
0.124
8.5 1
0.004
0.184
8.8 1
0.003
Table 3: Logistic regression of plant species domestication based on farmers’ knowledge of
their uses in Cucumeropsis agroforests
Variables
Food (TU1)
Medicine (TU2)
Timber for houses (TU3)
Constant
B
S.E.
Wald
df
-1.675
0.115
213.806
-0.282
0.088
10.196
-0.202
0.101
4.037
1.262
0.109
134.857
Sig.
1
1
1
1
0.000
0.001
0.045
0.000
Discussion
The domestication of woody species by farmers at the beginning of the cropping-fallow-forest
conversion cycle is a reality. The Cucumeropsis agroforest fields contained plants of woody
species in the order of 85 stems/ha at Ebolowa, 134 stems/ha at Mbalmayo and 300 stems/ha
at Yaoundé (Table 1) and represented 108 woody species distributed over 57 families. In all
the blocks the highest percentage of these plants are below 2 m in height, with 60% in
Yaoundé, 59% in Ebolowa and 37% in Mbalmayo. One can assume that these plants
regenerated from seed or vegetative regrowth during cultivation of the crops. However, the
next largest stem density of a size category is for small (21-50 cm DBH) and medium-sized
(51-100 cm DBH) trees, with 31% small trees in Ebolowa, 23% in each of small and mediumsized trees in Mbalmayo and 18% medium-sized trees in Yaoundé, and it can be assumed that
most of these trees had been domesticated. There are variations between blocks for the total
number of trees domesticated with 45.4% in Mbalmayo, 34.4% in Ebolowa and 23.3% in
Yaoundé (Table 1). The variations indicate that the number of woody plants domesticated
does not follow the resource use intensification gradient of the study area but that it is
probably influenced by the biophysical characteristics of the woody species and the specific
socio-economic characteristics of each block such as the distance to important markets and
the perception of availability of natural capital (Table 2). The results also show that the stem
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size of woody species per type of use influence the decision to fell or to keep/maintain a
specific plant (Chi-square=11.1, df=5, p<0.05). The results suggest that the larger the size of a
woody species, the higher is the probability to be kept/maintained during the clearing of the
forest (Table 3). This confirms the results of Carrière (1999) that large-sized trees are rather
kept in the mixed food-crop and Cucumeropsis agroforests than the smaller-sized categories.
Three of the 10 categories of use of woody species (food, medicine, timber and material for
house construction) are significant to capture the cognitive processes behind the
domestication of woody species. However, the coefficient of the regression equation for these
variables was negative (Table 3). This suggests that these are the parameters that one should
address to increase the quantity and quality of woody species in the earlier stages of the
cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle. The technical aspects of domesticating woody
species to rebuild forest resources are still underestimating the ability and the cognitive
processes behind the natural-traditional domestication of woody species. Such traditional
cognitive processes behind domesticating the quantity and quality of woody species are not
linear but are based on the natural and financial capital of farmers (Table 2) and various
others socio-economic factors such as the availability of labour (Mala 2009). The results
suggest the need to define domestication of woody species that would reflect the processes
taking place within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle to maintain the woody species
as a component of agricultural biodiversity (Charyulu 1999, FAO 1999a, 1999b, 2005). This
definition should link woody plant diversity to the history, biophysical environment, culture,
society and socio-economic dimensions of the landscape that underlie local management
practices. The results show that the concept of domestication incorporates a range of variables
or indicators of forest-agriculture sustainability, including different non-agricultural plant
species of different size. This combination forms a multi-stratified landscape that is a source
of resilience within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle, with the diversity in quantity
and quality of woody species shifting from Cucumeropsis and mixed food-crop agroforests, to
cocoa agroforests, alternated with different stages of fallow (Carrière 1999). The number of
plant species per size category of woody plants decreases from seedlings and resprouting
stems to the large-sized trees confirming the high potential to accelerate forest regeneration
and regrowth but also to provide goods and services (Dounias 1996, Carrière 1999, Ngobo
2002).
Conclusion
The domestication of woody species within Cucumersopsis agroforests takes place under
complex cognitive processes. These processes are articulated around the farmers’ knowledge
of market access, distance to market, available financial and natural resources, and the
biophysical characteristics and uses of the available woody species. The decrease in the
number of woody species kept, from seedlings and sprouting stems to large-sized trees, create
the conditions for plant species to regenerate and regrow based on this standing ecological
memory. The management practices and ecological knowledge of farmers to combine both
crops and non-agricultural woody species within the cropping-fallow-forest conversion cycle
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
are the motor of agricultural and forest productivity, ecological processes and patterns
(species richness). Technical processes alone are not sufficiently adequate to properly
enhance the domestication of woody species in research and intervention processes at the
relevant scale in sustainable agroforestry systems. The complexity of cognitive processes
taking place in the context of high biodiversity under which local management of agricultural
biodiversity knowledge operates should be better understood.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the European Union, START/NORAD Fellowship programme and CIFOR
who funded the PhD study of the first author.
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MATCHING RESOURCE USE NEEDS WITH RESOURCE
STATUS AND POPULATION DYNAMICS OF TARGET
SPECIES IN TRANSKEI COASTAL FORESTS TO SUSTAIN
RESOURCE USE, PORT ST JOHNS FOREST ESTATE,
SOUTH AFRICA
C.J. Geldenhuys1* and S.G. Cawe 2
1
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2
Botany Department, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa
*Corresponding author: cgelden@mweb.co.za
Abstract
The demand for different forest products for subsistence and/or commercial purposes in the
Port St Johns Forest Estate along the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa,
impacts on the natural forest ecosystem, the conservation status of targeted species and the
sustainable harvesting of particular tree and non-tree species, whether legal or illegal. A pilot
study conducted in four forest/village complexes each within three Forest Management Units
(FMUs) looked at resource use in one household and the adjacent forest per selected
forest/village complex and a resource inventory in that forest. The household study showed
two important results: i) the main species for the main uses of wood (house construction,
fences and firewood) which included some introduced species eg Eucalyptus and Pinus
species; ii) a change from the traditional homes built of poles, laths and mud with thatched
roofs, to cement bricks with corrugated iron roofs with pine roof construction, and the use of
eucalypt poles for fences. The forest resource use study showed: i) utilization in six forests
declined; remained the same in three; but increased in the remaining three; ii) various tree and
shrub species were cut to provide laths and poles for hut construction, fence poles or
craftwork but the harvesting patterns for the various species differed considerably; iii) most
cut stems showed signs of vegetative regrowth (coppicing) and mere cutting is unlikely to
make them disappear from the forests but make them unavailable for a short while after
excessive harvesting. The inventory along two transects per selected forest, running from
edge to edge through the forest interior, showed that i) the importance of targeted tree species
below and above 5 cm DBH varies widely among the three FMUs and for the two size
categories; ii) the stem diameter distributions of the species in different forests indicate their
resource status and population dynamics, which in general show they have a good number of
stems <5 cm DBH, with a sharp decline in number of stems in the larger size categories; iii)
the two main targeted species, Millettia grandis and Ptaeroxylon obliquum, showed a strong
sprouting after being cut. Results from the study have a number of important implications for
the management of the natural forest resource base of the Port St Johns Forest Estate.
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
Background
Demand for different forest products for subsistence and/or commercial purposes in the Port
St Johns Forest Estate (PSJFE) may impact on the natural forest ecosystem, the conservation
status of targeted species and the sustainable harvesting of particular tree and non-tree
species, whether legal or illegal. The Forestry Department (DWAF) requested that a study be
done to obtain baseline data on the use of selected tree and other plant species, the levels at
which they are used, what they are used for, where these species grow, how abundant they
are, and what the status of the population of those species are, to establish sustainable
harvesting levels for such species.
The pilot study was designed in three phases: 1) general reconnaissance assessment; 2)
qualitative/quantitative resource use assessment in and around selected forest/village
complexes and species response to harvest practices; and 3) resource inventory to assess the
condition of the selected forests and population status of targeted tree species used for various
forest products. This paper presents information on resource use (phase 2) and on forest
condition and resource status (phase 3), and recommends guidelines for implementing
sustainable resource use.
Study area
The study was conducted in the PSJFE in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Three
coastal FMUs were selected for the study because of the high concentration of forests (Figure
1). The limited time frame confined this pilot study to 12 forests/forest complexes of a total of
about 80 forests/forest complexes, i.e. 15% of the forests. Each forest within the boundaries of
a FMU was numbered on a 1:60,000 map of the PSJFE (with orthophoto backdrop of the
area). Four forests were randomly selected from each selected FMU for the study:
Mainly Pondoland Scarp Forests (Von Maltitz et al. 2003): Mount Sullivan/Mount Thesiger
FMU: Mt Thesiger, Nyandu, Sonkwe, Tobolweni
Transkei Coastal Forests (Von Maltitz et al. 2003): Gxwaleni FMU: Ingcanda, Hombeni,
Matywaba, Sihlili; Bulawu FMU: Gogogo, Isidudu, Pahlakazi, Vitini.
265
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Majola FMU
Mt Thesiger FMU
Port St Johns
Gxwaleni FMU
Bulawu FMU
Figure 1: Location of the 12 selected forests (small circles) within each coastal FMU (large
squares) in the Port St Johns Forest Estate (Map source: DWAF, Pretoria).
Methodology
Qualitative/quantitative resource use: Households and Forest
Time constraints allowed for one week per FMU group of forests and one day per selected
forest (with associated settlement).
Resource use within household
One household from a village complex associated with a forest was visited during the
morning (08:00-12:00) to assess products used from the forest. A household was defined as
the area occupied by one family managed by the head of the family, consisting of the houses,
the home garden and the livestock enclosures. The following data were recorded:
Household: Family name; Name of village/settlement; Number of houses of different size and
type (traditional round huts and modern style houses); Electricity supply (yes/no); Size of
household by sex and age, and education level; Kind of enclosures, and the circumference of
each (home garden, cattle/goat pen, etc).
For houses: Length (circumference) and height of walls; Species used for poles in wall of
pole-mud walls, laths to keep poles together, and structure of roof (poles, laths, string for
attaching thatch), doors, door frames, windows, window frames; For houses with wall
structure exposed: horizontal distance of exposure (maximum 5 m long) in old houses, or four
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Resource harvesting and use management practices
sections of 5 m length in newly built houses. Each individual pole in each section was
recorded by height, diameter at base, and species.
For enclosures: Length of enclosure (circumference) and height of each type of enclosure; In
four sections of 5 m length each: height, basal diameter and species of each pole, and means
of keeping poles together (wire or fibre or laths); Frequency by which individual enclosures
are replaced, by type of structure.
Other uses of wood (species, dimensions, parts, purpose, frequency): Firewood; Sledges;
Kitchen utensils; Wood carving; etc.
Resource use from forest
Assessment of resource use from the nearby forest was done in the afternoon (12:00 – 16:30).
Resource use was observed along a random walk through the forest, in the company of
someone from the village. The following data were collected: Name of forest and point of
entry into forest (with GPS); Species and size of trees and understorey plants harvested
harvested, and for what purpose (if obvious, such as timber, laths, bark); Responses of species
to harvesting impacts; Time since harvesting (very recent to long time ago); General condition
of forest: old gaps, recent gaps, disturbance of understorey, regeneration of target species,
invader plants, etc. Gaps were classified as either old or recent; Presence of livestock (cattle,
goats, etc), based on the actual presence, or signs of footprints or faeces. The presence of
gaps, invader plants and livestock was rated as 0 = None; 1 = Sporadic to rare; 2 =
Intermediate; 3 = Abundant. Canopy condition was scored as 1 = Canopy intact; 2 = Scattered
small gaps; 3 = Large gaps, many emergent trees and general canopy lowered; 4 = Tree layer
removed; 5 = Forest cleared (e.g. for cultivation).
Resource inventory
Selected transects in each forest
For each selected forest a number of lines were drawn on an orthophoto of the forest
(1:10,000 scale) to cover the main environmental (altitudinal) gradients. Each potentially
accessible transect line was numbered, as for Isidudu forest (Figure 2) and two transects
randomly selected. Each selected transect started outside the forest margin and was sampled
through the forest, down the slope, through the valley to the open area outside the forest on
the other end of the line (Figure 3). Observations indicated that at least some of the species
regenerate on the forest margin and in forest gaps.
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Figure 2: Potential transect lines marked on the map of Isidudu forest.
Sampling along a selected transect line
Circular plots of 11.3 m radius (400 m²) with sub-plots of 5.65 m radius (100 m²) were
sampled along each transect line at points of homogenous stands (Figure 3). The site of tree
regeneration on the forest margin was often too narrow to use a circular plot. In such cases a
rectangular plot of the same area was used (Figure 3).
Regrowth
forest
Eucalypt
belt
Saplings
Mature forest
Transect line
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Figure 3: Profile of forest through a valley, indicating the placement of plots along the
hypothetical transect line (Plot 1: sub-plot rectangle of 20 x 5 m for woody plants <5
cm DBH (no trees ≥5 cm DBH for main plot); Plot 2: rectangle of 40 m x 10 m for
woody plants ≥5 cm DBH with sub-plot for woody plants <5 cm DBH; Plots 3 to 7:
circular plots with main plot 11.3 m radius for trees ≥5 cm DBH, and sub-plot 5.65 m
radius for woody plants <5 cm DBH; Plot 8: either rectangle or circular plot,
depending on width of eucalypt belt.)
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Recording of information on sample plots
Site information:
Forest name, transect & plot number, aspect and slope;
Grid reference, altitude, geology, geomorphology and substrate conditions;
Forest canopy: height, smoothness, size and causes of gaps;
Observed disturbances.
Stand information:
400 m2 main plot: All stems ≥5 cm DBH by species and DBH (a harvested tree was
indicated with an asterisk*). Each multiple stem ≥5 cm DBH on a tree was recorded
by DBH and all stems 1.0-4.9 cm DBH by counts, with indication that they belong to
the same tree.
100 m2 sub-plot: All stems 1.0-4.9 cm DBH by species and stem counts.
Harvested trees (recorded with stand information and noted with *):
Type of use: Main stem cut; branch cut; bark removed; roots removed; etc;
Response: Dead; sprouting on stem, at base or from roots; bark recovery: none, edge
growth, sheet growth; etc;
Bark-harvested trees: Estimated amount of bark harvested as %.
Calculation of importance values of species per FMU
Importance Value (IV) of a species, calculated for all forests sampled within FMU as
(RF+RD+RBA)/3 for stems ≥5 cm DBH and (RF+RD)/2 for stems 1-5 cm DBH, where
RF = Relative frequency = number of plots (frequency) in which the species was
present in a FMU, expressed as percentage of the sum of all frequencies of all species
in the FMU;
RD = Relative density = number of stems of a species in a FMU, expressed as a
percentage of all stems of all species in the FMU;
RBA = Relative basal area = total basal area (DBH expressed as horizontal stem
surface area) of a species in a FMU, expressed as a percentage of total basal area of all
stems of all species in the FMU.
Results and Discussion
Resource use by households
The study recorded a range of uses and the species used for each, including medicine, food,
fibre and general utensils (see Cawe and Geldenhuys 2007 for details). This paper only covers
wood use for construction of the houses and fences, and for firewood, i.e. by far the main use
of forest resources.
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Forty eight people lived as 4.4 persons per household (range 1 to 8), representing 24 males
and 24 females of which 25 were children (14 males, 11 females) up to 18 years of age.
Information on education level of people was not readily provided but 11 households had at
least somebody, usually children, with some education (primary or secondary school
education).
Household homes
The study showed important shifts in building style, away from the traditional thatched roof
round pole-and-mud wall huts in all areas, which resulted in changes in resource use: 16
houses with thatched roofs, 21 with corrugated iron roofs; 19 round huts and 21 square
houses; and 25 built with poles, laths and mud, and 15 with bricks. Only two households had
no electricity (both close to the main road and Port St Johns). The traditional houses consume
a lot of wood, including poles and laths for construction and firewood for cooking, warmth
and social gatherings (Table 1). Wall dimensions were determined for 25 traditional pole-andmud houses. Poles in the walls were counted in eight houses (hidden within mud in others).
Horizontal laths used in the walls were counted in three houses. Poles in the roof construction
were counted in eight houses. Laths used in the roof construction were counted in five houses.
Lath dimensions were similar in both the roofs and walls. The number of laths was calculated
based on the assumption of an overlap of 0.5 m in the laths.
Thirty species were used in house construction, with the main species (in order of importance;
* indicate alien species):
Millettia grandis (12 study areas), Ptaeroxylon obliquum (11), *Eucalyptus sp (7), *Cestrum
laevigatum (7) and scattered use of Brachylaena discolor, Buxus macowanii and B.
natalensis, Englerophytum natalense, Strychnos usambarensis, *Pinus sp, Tricalysia
capensis, Duvernoia adhatodioides, Combretum kraussi and Grewia occidentalis.
Fences
Dimensions and pole use in home garden fences were determined at nine households with
fences, and in cattle pen fences at four households (Table 1). Wire, laths and/or brush material
were used to fill the spaces between poles. Twenty four species were used in fence
construction. The main species are (in order of importance; * indicate alien species):
M. grandis, P. obliquum, *Eucalyptus sp, B. natalensis, T. capensis and D. adhatodioides.
Firewood
Firewood pile dimensions were determined at five households (with two piles at one
household; seven households had no firewood) (Table 1). Some households with no firewood
collected up to two headloads per day. Twenty six species were used as firewood and the
main species used are (in order of importance; * indicate alien species):
A. karroo and Dalbergia sp (both in 9 study areas), *C. laevigatum, *Eucalyptus sp, B.
natalensis, T. capensis, M. grandis, P. obliquum and D. adhatodioides.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Table 1: Average wood use of 25 traditional round pole-and-mud wall huts with thatched
roof in the Wild Coast area around Port St Johns
Usage
Walls
Dimensions
25 houses
20.8 m length
(range 16 – 31 m)
2.1 m height (range
1.8 – 2.6 m)
Poles
8 houses
28.5 (1.4 poles/1 m
wall length with range
0.8-2.3) with pole size
2.6 m x 6-8 cm
Roof
-
27.4 (1.3 poles/1 m
wall length)
3.3 m long x 6 cm
diameter
Garden
fence
281 m (range 140 –
514 m)
Area = 0.26 ha
(range 0.12 – 0.80
ha)
Livestock
fence
Firewood
Laths
3 houses
720.7 (16.5 laths/1 m wall height
(range 13.6 – 21.1)
(1.5 m long (range 0.9 – 2.4 m) x
3.4 cm diameter (range 2.1 – 4.5
cm)
168.1 (4.9 laths/1 m pole length
or 16.2 rows of laths)
1.5 m long (range 0.9 – 2.4 m) x
3.4 cm diameter (range 2.1 – 4.5
cm)
-
213.6 (7.6 poles/10 m
with range 5-10)
1.7 m long (range 1.3
– 2.4 m) x 8.1 cm
diameter (range 3 – 13
cm)
39.5 m
28.3
1.7 m long above
ground (range 1.3 –
2.4 m) x 9.6 cm
diameter (range 4 – 21
cm)
2.7 m long (range 1.9 – 3.3 m) x 1.2 m wide (range 1.0 – 1.5 m) x 0.8 m high
(range 0.5 – 1.4 m) = 3 m³ (range 1.2 - 5.0 m3 [latter pile included five
headloads])
Ngogo forest: Acacia karroo pile of 2.7 m long, 1.7 m wide and 0.7 high = 3.2 m³
Mbudu forest: four women each carried head load of 2.0 m long, 0.3 m wide and
0.3 m high = 4 x 0.2 m³
Resource use inside the forest
Stumps indicated the harvesting of various tree and shrub species, mainly to provide laths and
poles for hut construction, fences or craftwork. A total of 56 species were harvested with a
mean of 11.8 species (7-18 species) and 31.3 stems (17-47 stems) per forest. In Nyandu forest
47 stems of 18 species were cut. Other forests with large numbers of species harvested
include Isidudu (44 stems of 16 species), Sihili (41 stems of 16 species) and Tobolweni (35
stems of 15 species). Sonkwe forest had only 17 stems of 7 species cut. Millettia grandis was
the most intensively harvested species, accounting for 19.5% of all stems cut in the various
forests. Twenty one species had 5 or more stems harvested, but the top six species are, with
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
number of stems cut (intensity) in number of forests (frequency) between brackets: M.
grandis (73, 12), D. adhatodoides (32, 4), B. natalensis (24, 6), S. usambarensis (21, 7),
Tricalysia lanceolata (21, 6) and P. obliquum (21, 5).
The harvested stump diameter preferences for 11 most intensively harvested species, and a
group of 15 other canopy species, differ considerably (Figure 4). In most cases (63.6% of
species) stems of <20 cm stump diameter were cut but a much wider range of stem sizes of M.
grandis and P. obliquum were cut. The larger cut stems reflect the size to which these two
species can grow, and also the value of their poles used for craftwork (M. grandis) and as
fence posts (P. obliquum). The modal diameter class was 20-30 cm for M. grandis and 5–10
cm for P. obliquum. The modal diameter class for B. discolor and Cussonia sphaerocephala
was 20-30 cm but varies in the other species.
Response to cutting
The 11 most intensively utilized species coppiced to different degrees (numbers between
brackets show number of stems found cut, and percentage of cut stems that coppiced, for the
top species):
M. grandis (72 stems, 47.2%); D. adhatodoides (32 stems, 37.5%), B. natalensis (23 stems,
69%), S. usambarensis (21 stems, 95.3%), T. lanceolata (21 stems, 66.7%), P. obliquum (21
stems, 42.9%), Teclea natalensis (14 stems, 78.6%), Acalypha glabrata (15 stems, 73.3%)
and B. discolor (13 stems, 69.2%). Three of the four most-harvested species (M. grandis, D.
adhatodoides and P. obliquum) have a poor coppice rate (frequency of stems with coppices).
However, they can coppice vigorously in gaps and open areas and mere cutting is unlikely to
eliminate them from the forests.
Debarking
Twenty one species were debarked, mainly in Tobolweni (15 species), Nyandu (12 species)
and Mbudu (11 species), but the main species are:
M. grandis (17 stems, 7 forests), Apodytes dimidiata (6 stems, 1 forest), D. obovata (6 stems,
4 forests), Heywoodia lucens (5 stems, 3 forests), Margaritaria discoidea (5 stems, 2 forests)
and Croton sylvaticus (4 stems, 3 forests). The bark of most of these species is used
medicinally, but the bark of M. grandis and D. obovata is used for fibre. M. grandis bark rope
is often used to tie bundles of poles and laths taken from the forest.
History of resource harvesting
Assessments of recent and current use were combined into a single assessment (recent), using
the higher score of the two. The difference in scores for recent and old forest use indicated
whether resource use was increasing, constant or declining. In Sonkwe, Phahlakazi, Ingcanda,
Tobolweni, Nyandu and Mt Thesiger use declined, in Mbudu, Isidudu and Matywabe it
remained the same, but in Khunkula, Sihlili and Ngxongo it increased.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Most cut stumps were old except for T. natalensis and B. discolor (values between brackets
indicate number of stems cut and percentage recently cut):
M. grandis (74, 24.3%), B. natalensis (23, 39.1%), T. lanceolata (21, 38.1%), P. obliquum
(21, 14.3%), S. usambarensis (21, 4.8%), D. adhatodioides (32, 0%), A. glabrata (15, 0%), T.
natalensis (14, 57.1%), B. discolor (13, 53.8%), C. sphaerocephala and E. natalense (both
10, 0%).
Millettia grandis
Ptaeroxylon obliquum
15
10
5
0
5-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
20
15
10
5
0
50+
Cussonia sphaerocephala
5-9
10
5
0
20-29
30-39
40-49
1-4
40-49
10
5
5-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
20-29
30-39
40-49
10
5
5-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
30-39
1-4
5-9
40-49
30-39
40-49
50+
2 forests; 15 stems
20
15
10
5
Stem diameter, cm
20-29
Acalypha glabrata
25
50+
10-19
Stem diameter, cm
0
20-29
5
50+
Number of stems
Number of stems
0
10-19
10
7 forests; 21 stems
5
5-9
15
Tricalysia lanceolata
10
50+
20
0
1-4
7 forests; 23 stems
15
30-39
6 forests; 14 stems
15
Buxus natalensis
20
20-29
25
Stem diameter, cm
25
10-19
Teclea natalensis
20
Stem diameter, cm
1-4
5-9
Stem diameter, cm
25
50+
40-49
5
1-4
Number of stems
Number of stems
10-19
50+
10
50+
0
5-9
40-49
15
11 forests; 42 stems; 15 species
0
50+
20
Other canopy tree species
5
40-49
0
1-4
4 forests; 10 stems
10
30-39
2 forests; 13 stems
15
Englerophytum natalense
15
20-29
25
Stem diameter, cm
20
10-19
Brachylaena discolor
20
50+
25
1-4
5-9
Stem diameter, cm
0
30-39
5
50+
25
Stem diameter, cm
Number of stems
10-19
Number of stems
Number of stems
Number of stems
15
20-29
10
7 forests; 21 stems
20
10-19
15
Strychnos usambarensis
5 forests; 10 stems
5-9
20
Stem diameter, cm
25
1-4
25
0
1-4
Stem diameter, cm
Number of stems
4 forests; 32 stems
25
Number of stems
20
1-4
Duvernoia adhatodoides
6 forests; 21 stems
Number of stems
Number of stems
12 forests; 73 stems
25
25
20
15
10
5
0
1-4
5-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
Stem diameter, cm
40-49
50+
1-4
5-9
10-19
20-29
30-39
Stem diameter, cm
Figure 4: Stem diameter class distribution of the cut stems of the most intensively used
species, and a group of 15 other canopy tree species. The y-axis scale is the same for
all species for direct comparison of intensity of use.
Forest condition
Scores for old and recent gaps, canopy condition and invader plants were summed for each
forest. A forest in the best condition scored 1 (no gaps or invader plants and canopy intact). A
score ≥7 indicates serious problems and 14 would indicate an extremely poor forest condition.
Mt Thesiger, Sonkwe, Nyandu and Tobolweni were in reasonably good condition (score <7),
but the other forests were in poor condition; Ingcanda Forest being the worst. In general,
forests had large gaps with many emergent trees and a generally lowered canopy (score of 3).
Gaps, either recent or old, were fairly common (score of 2) or abundant except in Mbudu
Forest where canopy lowering is probably recent. Invader plants are becoming common (a
score of 2 in three forests), most likely because of the poor canopy condition.
273
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Resource inventory
A total of 119 plots were sampled on 26 transects through the 12 selected forests. Eight plots
in grassland or clearings along transects were not sampled. The complete results are contained
in Cawe and Geldenhuys (2007).
The Importance Value (IV) of a species was calculated per FMU group of forests but is
shown here for selected species calculated over all sampled forests in the PSJFE (Table 2).
For example, the regeneration (dbh <5 cm) and trees (dbh >5 cm) of M. grandis, the most
important tree species, is much better in the drier Bulawu and Gxwaleni forests than in the
moister Mt Thesiger forests. P. obliquum regenerates best in Gxwaleni forests but poorly in
the other forests. Brachylaena discolor regenerates very poorly in Bulawu and Gxwaleni
forests and poorly in Mt Thesiger forests, but is basically a light-demanding species. The
growing stock for stems ≥5 cm DBH in the different forests shows an overall 1079.1 stems/ha
(range 770-1606 stems/ha in Bulawu forests, 930-1315 stems/ha in Gxwaleni forests, and
1068-1220 stems/ha in Mt Thesiger forests) and overall basal area is a relatively low 23.67
m²/ha (range 14-25 m²/ha in Bulawu forests, 12-24 m²/ha in Gxwaleni forests, and 18-43
m²/ha in moister Mt Thesiger forests) (Table 2). Stem density of species in different stem
diameter categories provide insights into the population dynamics and resource status of a
species (Table 2). In general there is a good density of stems <5 cm DBH but a sharp decline
in the larger tree sizes.
An analysis of the stems per ha in each sampled plot along a transect through a forest, in the
stem diameter categories of <5; 5-9.9; 10-19.9; 20+ cm DBH, showed under what conditions
a species regenerates, grows taller and matures (not shown here, but see example for M.
grandis in Figure 5 for one area, and Cawe and Geldenhuys 2007 for the different species). M.
grandis occurs in all sampled forests (Table 2), but is more abundant in Bulawu and Gxwaleni
forests. Regeneration (stems <5 cm DBH) is abundant on the forest edge, and in old forest
gaps, but absent or with a few stems in closed canopy forest. Only few trees >10 cm DBH
occur in closed forest. There is abundant regeneration and this needs to be managed to
provide in the resource use needs. B. discolor occurs scattered as small trees (5-9.9 cm DBH)
or intermediate trees (10-19.9 cm DBH) and occasional larger trees (>20 cm DBH) (not
shown in Table 2). Regeneration is generally almost absent, but relatively abundant in
Sonkwe forest. Trees are more abundant in the Mt Thesiger area, and rare in Bulawu and
Gxwaleni forests. Sustainable use for poles of this species needs attention. C. kraussii occurs
scattered in Bulawu and Gxwaleni forests, with more abundant regeneration and small trees in
parts of Mt Thesiger forests. Patches of regeneration occurred outside sampled plots along the
forest margins and larger forest gaps in some areas. The ability of the cut stump to resprout
vigorously offers the potential to use this species better for laths and small poles. D.
adhatodioides occurs relatively infrequent with occasional good regeneration in Bulawu
forests, and parts of Mt Thesiger and Gxwaleni forests, with abundant regeneration along the
forest margin in places. Sustainable use needs attention in view of its relatively abundant
resource use. P. obliquum has a poor presence in the forests in relation to its abundant pole
use. Abundant regeneration in the proximity of larger trees was observed outside the forest
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
margin, in forest gaps, in parts of degraded forests, and even under eucalypt belts along the
forest margin. Vigorous sprouting of many cut stumps in the open presents a management
option. Sustainable resource use of this species needs urgent attention.
Table 2: Importance value and mean stem density per ha over all sampled forests of selected
species (with ≥10 stems/ha for either category <5 cm or >5 cm DBH).
109
10-29 30+
40.8
5.0
78.6
24.3
0.9
75.2
25.5 12.6
57.0
9.7
49.5
5.2
0.2
48.9
18.0
1.1
47.5
13.5
46.2
18.0
1.8
36.9
9.7
0.5
33.1
13.1
1.6
27.7
6.8
27.5
9.2
3.8
24.8
9.2
8.3
21.6
7.4
1.1
21.4
9.9
1.4
18.2
3.2
15.3
0.2
10.6
1.1
0.2
9.0
1.1
0.2
8.8
363.7 63.1 1057.4
502.5 117.5 1315.0
212.5 20.0 770.0
7.89 13.00 23.34
3.46 11.43 30.56
1.74 4.61 3.17
116
95
48
Min
5-9
32.9
50.0
18.9
39.9
43.5
28.4
32.7
17.1
23.0
13.1
20.7
11.7
4.1
12.8
7.0
12.2
10.4
7.7
7.4
630.6
957.5
442.5
2.45
Mean
<5
194.6
224.3
75.7
20.7
281.1
82.0
103.6
8.1
50.5
61.3
160.4
51.4
6.3
20.7
25.2
27.9
647.7
106.3
40.5
3030.6
4810.0
1870.0
-
Stems 5+ cm DBH in
different forests
12.5
2.8
2.5
10.0
10.0
2.5
2.5
12.5
10.0
2.5
2.5
2.5
5.0
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
25.0
Max
Number of
forests
≥5 cm
24.89
19.25
17.73
22.70
11.80
19.73
13.71
20.33
13.90
11.21
9.57
13.78
9.65
7.23
12.56
7.80
8.19
5.21
8.34
Small
trees
Mediu
m trees
Large
trees
Species
<5 cm
Millettia grandis
24.38
Englerophytum natalense
22.17
Philenoptera sutherlandii
10.26
Dalbergia obovata
6.20
Tricalysia lanceolata
17.25
Teclea natalensis
18.47
Duvernoia adhatodoides
11.62
Cussonia sphaerocephala
3.74
Chaetachme aristata
9.84
Strychnos usambarensis
11.82
Tricalysia capensis
14.36
Drypetes gerrardii
12.11
Heywoodia lucens
2.81
Combretum kraussii
5.30
Strychnos henningsii
7.62
Dalbergia armata
4.06
Buxus natalensis
38.16
Ptaeroxylon obliquum
8.96
*Cestrum laevigatum
5.84
Mean stems (all forests, all species)
Maximum stems
Minimum stems
Mean basal area m2/ha (all forests, all
species)
Maximum basal area
Minimum basal area
Total species involved
Mean stems/ha by tree
diameter (cm)
Regene
-ration
Importance
Value by DBH
classes over all
forests
412.5
212.5
177.5
127.5
362.5
130.0
120.0
115.0
97.5
80.0
110.0
65.0
100.0
112.5
35.0
91.7
52.5
75.0
45.0
12
9
6
12
8
12
10
11
12
9
7
10
6
9
12
10
11
5
3
42.55
12.08
125
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
Stems per ha
1500
1000
500
GS1205
GS1204
GS1203
GS1202
GS1201
GS0810
GS0809
GS0808
GS0807
GS0806
GMb0610
GMb0609
GMb0608
GMb0607
GMb0606
GMb0105
GMb0104
GMb0103
GMb0102
GMb0101
GMa0202
GI0411
GMa0201
GI0410
GI0409
GI0407
GI0406
GI0105
GI0104
GI0103
GI0102
GI0101
0
Plots on transects
1 to 4.9 cm
5 to 9.9 cm
10 to 19.9 cm
20 + cm
Figure 5: Population status of Millettia grandis in plots along transects through different
Gxwaleni forests. Each transect is separated by vertical dotted lines.
Ninety eight (71.5%) of the 137 woody species recorded in the survey were multi-stemmed; a
capacity important for the continued survival of these species when harvested. More detailed
observations of the sprouting behaviour of P. obliquum and M. grandis in severely degraded
forests and on the forest margin showed that cut small trees developed several to many
sprouts on the cut stem. This response suggests a possible way to manage the stumps during
the harvesting of poles and laths to ensure the survival of the species under intense use for
poles.
Discussion
This pilot study, with severe time and financial constraints, provided useful baseline data for
developing sustainable harvesting practices for the target species, but the information is not
suitable to determine sustainable harvesting levels, for which growth or production rates
would be needed.
The household study showed the many species people harvest for poles and laths for
construction, for fencing and for fuel wood, in what dimensions, but that a smaller number of
species (including alien invader plant species) are intensively used. The forest walk provided
particularly useful insights on how the species are harvested for different products and how
they respond to the different practices. The design of the brief forest inventory provided for
most of the species their distribution in different forests, population structure (abundance or
density, stem diameter distribution) and regeneration status (density and frequency of
seedlings, saplings and small poles). This provided essential information on the population
dynamics of species that are necessary to implement sustainable resource use. A study of
more forests will either confirm the patterns observed during this study or add other
perspectives on resource use variation or a better understanding of the characteristics and
dynamics of the targeted species. The household study had severe time constraints and in
future at least three households per village should be assessed to verify the observed trends
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
from this study. Two forest walks are needed per forest, based on zonation of the forest by
distance from a village (close by and further away).
The household study indicated important changes in resource use, which should form part of
future development planning in the area and actions towards sustainable resource (creating
alternative resources). Alternative house construction material are being used, such as
corrugated iron roofs, the use of mud or cement bricks, the use of alien tree species (pines and
eucalypts) in the roof construction and in the walls, and in fences (after chemical treatment
against rot), and smaller less durable material from C. laevigatum as poles, laths and even
firewood (good to start a fire). Contrary to expectation, corrugated iron roofs and cement
bricks in modern square houses were found in most households in all FMUs and not only near
main roads and the town. Most households have electricity but they still use wood as a source
of energy. Several households do not have livestock pens. The plantations of alien tree species
in the area, substituting much of the timber and small poles that would otherwise be obtained
from the natural forests, play a crucial role in the conservation of many of the natural forests.
The forests vary in their composition of the most important species, and in forest condition,
but the variation could be ascribed to the physical substrate, location within the landscape,
various degrees of resource use (historical and current), and status of recovery. Many forests
are in poor condition with many large gaps and presence of invasive alien species (some are
useful substitute resources), particularly those that experienced clearing for a short period
during the early 1990’s. The declining harvesting of woody species for poles and laths for
building traditional huts, which require much wood, towards more modern brick buildings
with corrugated iron roofs, will facilitate forest recovery.
For some species the intact forest provides a better habitat. But particularly the intensively
used species, such as M. grandis and P. obliquum, requires more open conditions for good
regeneration. In general, the stem diameter distributions (population status) of most species
show a good balance between abundant regeneration and small stems with some more mature
stems (sometimes the levels are relatively low). Such information, together with the
information on species response to harvesting practices (sprouting and multi-stemmedness),
provide a useful guide to develop sustainable resource management strategies for maintaining
the forest distribution, structure and overall species composition but also the population
dynamics and regeneration status of the species targeted for use.
Most species targeted for resource use show some degree of multi-stemmedness. All species
used for their wood coppice when cut, but the rate of coppicing varies among species.
Development of silvicultural management for such species would require that we know why
some cut stems of a species sprout and others not. Is it related to size of a stem, season of
cutting or height level of cutting? Over-harvesting may cause unavailability of such a species
for use until they reach again a suitable size to be harvested. M. grandis is the most
intensively utilized species for poles, fibre and crafts. P. obliquum is highly favoured for
construction and poles due to its resistance to decay. Both species regrow vigorously through
coppices. Coppice management is a tool to sustain the harvesting of laths and poles without
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Resource harvesting and use management practices
threatening the survival of such species, and could be developed through participatory forest
management with the local resource users. For example, resource users could be guided on
selective cutting of small stems of stumps with several coppice shoots, to initially provide
laths, and later small poles, but eventually trees.
Recommendations
Results from the study and the discussions above have a number of important implications for
the management of the natural forest resource base of the Port St Johns Forest Estate. These
include:
Better management of forest resource use (other than policing of illegal resource use),
as part of better resource management.
Integrated management between natural forest resource use, plantation management,
agricultural development, and provision of services that impact on daily livelihoods
(housing, electricity, etc). For example, the changes in house construction can lead to
forest recovery from former intensive use and degradation.
Indiscriminate clearing of alien invader plants, particularly those that have good local
use, will have serious implications for the forests. Such species do provide alternative
resources and contribute to forest recovery (nursing establishment of more shadetolerant natural forest species).
Specific attempts need to be implemented, through participatory forest management,
to encourage the management (stand manipulation, coppice management or other
approaches) of the good regenerating stands of target species, particularly along the
forest margin and in forest clearings. The abundance of natural regeneration makes it
unnecessary to plant these species.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the cooperation of the Forestry personnel in Port St Johns, in the District
and in the Region in the execution of this project.
References
Cawe SG, Geldenhuys CJ. 2007. Resource status and population dynamics of target species
in natural forests of the Port St Johns Forest Estate: A basis for sustainable resource
use. Report for Project 2006-397, Directorate: Forestry Technical Services, Department
of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria
Von Maltitz G, Mucina L, Geldenhuys CJ, Lawes MJ, Eeley H, Aidie H, Vink D, Fleming G,
Bailey C. 2003. Classification system for South African indigenous forests. An
objective classification for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Unpublished
report, No. ENV-P-C 2003-017Environmentek, CSIR, Pretoria. 275pp
278
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Multiple resource use for diverse needs:
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
279
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
THE IMPACT OF POLICY ON RESOURCE USE
IN MOZAMBIQUE: A CASE STUDY OF PINDANGANGA
M.P. Falcão1* and C.J. Geldenhuys2
1
Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo,
Mozambique.
2
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
*Corresponding author: mariopaulofalcao@yahoo.com
Abstract
The impact of alternative forest management regimes and sectorial and extra-sectorial policies
on the well-being of stakeholders and on woodland conservation was studied in miombo
woodlands in Pindanganga, central Mozambique. A dynamic model MIOMBOSIM, based on
game theory, was developed. The analysis was based on a simulation model of human
population and forest dynamics, costs of private sector, household consumption, commercial
outputs and input prices (timber, charcoal, non-timber forest products or NTFPs, and
domestic animals), using data from field surveys and the literature. The effects over time of
changes in agricultural and NTFP prices were simulated. The modelling approach allowed for
evaluation of management regimes, taking into account often conflicting stakeholder interests.
This study showed that improving stakeholder well-being and resource conservation can be
achieved with sound forest management practices. The cooperative management option
(community based natural resource management) is potentially beneficial to local
communities if properly implemented and can improve the condition of rural livelihoods and
the woodland resource. Regulated forest management regimes, incorporating social concerns
or incorporating social and environmental concerns, are potentially more beneficial to the
household sector than the open access regime. An increase in sales by 100% or a 25%
increase in market prices of NTFPs can lead to an increase in the per capita benefits of the
household sector. An increase in agricultural product prices by 25%, without any other
incentive structure in place, can lead to agricultural expansion at the study site. A combination
of these two policy instruments under ceteris paribus conditions can improve the well-being
of the rural communities depending on the management regime in place, but this increase is
not enough to lift the household benefits above the poverty line of US$1 per person per day.
The economic and conservation performances of the management regimes can change
depending on the policy instrument applied.
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Introduction
In the last years of the 20th century there was a clear move away from centralised and statedriven forest and woodland management towards decentralised and mainly community-based
regimes in the southern Africa region (Matose and Wily 1996). In the course of this shift, the
social formation of the community as well as the institutions and mechanisms which support
its functioning as a management entity, are being defined in new and significant ways.
Southern African countries have some historical similarities in their regimes of management
of natural resources. During the colonial and post-independence eras, control of natural
resources was centralised under the national government. In the 1980s a new approach of
decentralisation and involvement of other stakeholders rapidly emerged and most countries of
the southern African region embarked upon and adopted a new philosophy of natural resource
management approach called Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM).
The new approach attempts to share the social and political power over natural resources
more broadly, combining conservation and development and reflecting a wider process of
socio-political and economic change than had previously occurred in those countries in the
past (Wainwright and Wehrmeyer 1998, Hulme and Murphree 2001).
The Mozambican government has been effecting institutional changes over the past two
decades in the search for adequate policies and strategies for the management of its natural
resources. In 1997 the government approved a new Land Policy, followed by Environment
Law (1997). National Forestry and Wildlife Policy (1999) and the Decree Law of
Administrative Decentralisation (Decree Law No. 15/2000) to guide the management of the
natural resources (Nhantumbo et al. 2001, Wily and Mbaya 2001). The new Mozambican
National Forestry and Wildlife Law (1999) empowers local communities to own and
participate in the management of natural resources through CBNRM initiatives. It establishes
a process of participatory management of resources in which a management council (conselho
de gestão) is created that includes members of the community, local government, private
operators and other associations (Article 31, no. 1). To date the State intended to manage the
natural resources as joint ventures with the private sector and the local communities. The
National Environmental Law does not explicitly recognise the contribution of local
communities towards the management of natural resources, but serves as a basis for designing
regulations intended to minimise negative environmental impacts resulting from development
activities and/or irrational use of natural resources (Nhantumbo et al. 2001).
The first CBNRM project in Mozambique was launched in 1994 in the community of Bawa,
in Tete Province, located on the border with Zimbabwe and was known as 'Tchuma-Tchato'
(Wily and Mbaya 2001). The relative success of this programme encouraged the rapid spread
of new projects over the country. For example, four years after the establishment of the
Tchuma-Tchato project, about 40 projects were being implemented in Mozambique by
different government institutions and local and international NGOs through the financial
support of international donors (Anstey 2001).
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The general objective of this study was to assess the socio-economic and environmental
impacts of the use of miombo woodland resources and to identify the most appropriate
management regime in a way that satisfied the achievement of the goals of the stakeholders in
Pindanganga. This study had the following specific objectives: (i) Improve the game theory
model developed by Sumaila et al. (2003) that integrates the major uses of miombo
woodlands, their interaction and dynamics; (ii) identify the most appropriate management
regime and evaluate its socio- economic and environmental impacts; and (iii) test different
policy instruments to improve the understanding of the interaction between stakeholders and
the influence of different factors in management regimes.
This study was motivated by the fact that the game theory model developed by Sumaila et al.
(2003) did not take into consideration the following: household benefits, non-timber forest
products (NTFPs), human population dynamics, the allowable cut established in the
management plans, the effects of transaction costs on the cooperative management regime,
charcoal production efficiency variation, greater off-miombo employment opportunities or
tree diameter class segregation. To date, it is unknown what the socio-economic and
environmental impacts would be if these aspects were taken into consideration, or what would
happen if either new agricultural incentives were put in place or the commercial sales or
prices of NTFPs were increased.
Materials and Methods
Study area
Pindanganga is located in Gondola District in central Mozambique, which is one of the major
suppliers of timber, construction material (poles and thatching grass) and charcoal within
Manica Province to the provincial capital, Chimoio city. It is relatively rich in both forest and
wildlife natural resources. The forest area covers 36,512 ha of miombo woodland at a
stocking rate of 37 m3/ha, under a community-based forest management programme. The
climate in the study area is cool and wet, with a mean annual temperature of 21.5 0C. The
mean maximum temperature is 26.6 0C and the mean minimum is 16 0C. The cooler months
are May-August and the hotter months are September-April. The mean annual precipitation is
about 1,080 mm, concentrated in January and February, with a dry season during MaySeptember (MINED 1986).
The rural communities in Pindanganga lived under civil war from 1980 to 1994. As a result,
unforeseen large population concentrations developed around most of the large settlements,
within relatively safe corridors. High levels of damage of the woodland cover took place
because of harvesting of wood for fuel, timber, building materials and through clearing for
agriculture. However, since 1994 the communities have returned to a more normal lifestyle.
The typical mean farm size of a household is 3.5 ha and mean family size is six persons. The
human population at the study site is 2,331 inhabitants (INE 2001).
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The dynamic game theory model
In the conceptual model two groups of stakeholders are identified: the private/commercial
sector and the local community/household sector, both of whom are assumed to be under the
control of a regulator (the governance). Power of governance can be located at the
central/local/village level or with any other authority. It is assumed to have as objective the
maximisation of society benefits, which include direct economic benefits, social benefits and
environmental protection from the use of miombo resources on a sustainable basis.
Community interests in miombo woodlands are assumed to be the benefits that it can derive
from wood and NTFPs harvested for consumption and sale. Private sector interests are
motivated by the profit derived from logging activities. A summary of the three different
versions of the model is presented below, based on some assumptions on the relationship
between the user groups and the regulator. Decision-making by the household and
commercial sectors about the use of miombo woodlands is defined in the theoretical games. It
is assumed that a fixed area (Nt) is available to the communities, of which Na is under
agricultural cultivation and Nm is forested miombo woodlands.
The decision process in the commercial sector involves a determination of the amount of
timber to harvest annually (Hc) from Nt ha of miombo resources available to maximize the
annual net benefits. The household sector is interested in maximising utility of time
(maximising benefits). Firstly, it decides on the amount of forest area available to be
converted into agriculture, in order to maximise utility over time. Secondly, it decides how
much of the miombo area is going to be cleared for agriculture (Ha) and how much is
available for harvesting wood products (Hm) and NTFPs (thatching grass and honey). Lastly,
it decides how much of the remaining standing miombo area will be allocated to pole
harvesting (Hpo) and charcoal making (Hch).
Three principal game theory models were applied to study the use of miombo woodland
resources, namely a command model, a cooperative model (joint management) and a noncooperative model (separate management). Each type is briefly presented below.
Command model
This model assumes that the regulator (e.g. a central or local government) can dictate the
behaviour of the two sectors directly (decisions are centralised) through the allowable cut of
sites, established in the management plans. The society-wide net benefits are maximised
through the choice of the amount of labour to be used by the commercial and the household
sectors in each year over the time horizon of the analysis. The amount of labour employed
defines the volume of wood products to be harvested by each sector. The volume of forest
products defined in the management plans is the decision variable that the government uses in
managing these resources.
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The maximisation of the total equivalent annual net discounted benefits (Bt) is represented in
equation 1 and it is subject to the usual ecological, household constrains (equations 2 and 4)
and non-negativity.
Max
Bt t 1 D
T
(1)
Lh , Lc t 1
Bt Bc H a ,t Bh H a ,t Bs c H a ,t , h H a ,t Be H ac,t , H ah,t
In the above equation:
t 1
1 r t 1
1
D
, 0 1, t 1,..., T .
r 1 r
1 r t 1
t
where
ρ = discount factor
r = discount rate
D = factor to convert the net present value of the benefits to an annual value over the
harvesting period.
Depending on the values assigned to parameters θc, θh and θ, different scenarios of the
command model can be investigated. Three scenarios were considered, namely the scenario in
which the regulator is directly concerned with profits, social and environmental benefits but
favouring the household sector (θc=0, θh=1, and θ=1); the scenario in which both profits and
environmental benefits are considered (θc=0, θh=0, and θ=1); and the scenario in which both
profits and social benefits favouring the household sector are considered (θc=0, θh=1, and
θ=0).
The maximisation of benefits denoted by equation (1) is subject to the usual ecological
constraints (equations 2 and 3), household constraints (equation 4) and non-negativity. The
stock dynamics of miombo woodland are represented by equation (2), where the volume of
study miombo per diameter class in this period (Na,t) is determined by the volume in the
previous class (Na-1, t-1); the survival rate(s) is assumed to be constant for all diameter
classes; the volume in a given year (regeneration); and the amount of woodland resources
used in this period by the commercial and household users respectively. Na-0 is the initial
standing volume of miombo at the start of the game, and E represents the Mean Annual
Increment (MAI) of miombo to maintain the allowable cut. Equation (3) describes the growth
per diameter class over time of the miombo. The parameters ε, Ф and γ are ecological, they
can be used to vary the quality of the miombo stand (Frost 1996).
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N1,t Rt
N 2,t sN1,t 1 N1,t 1 H1h,t 1
N 3,t sN 2,t 1 N 2,t 1 H 2c,t 1 H 2h,t 1
N 4,t sN 3,t 1 N 3,t 1 H 3c,t 1
N 4,t E , t 1; N a ,0 given.
(2)
where
Rt = any natural regeneration that takes place;
Na,t = volume in a class diameter a in a given year t (m3).
g a ,t
1 t
(3.)
From now on the subscripts a (a = 1,.., A) and t (t = 1,.., T) will be used to represent tree
diameter classes and harvesting periods (cutting cycle) respectively. Note that A and T denote
the last diameter class and last harvesting period respectively. The subscripts c and h are used
to represent private/commercial and household sectors respectively. The harvesting activities
for the household sector are taking place in the second and third diameter classes while for the
commercial sector they are taking place on the third and fourth diameter classes.
Lh Lm La Ln Loff
(4)
Where Lh is equal to total labour available by the household; La = labour required to cultivate
land currently under agriculture; Ln = labour required for converting land to agriculture; and
Loff is required labour for off-farm/off-miombo activities.
Cooperative model
Under the cooperative model (participatory management of the natural forest resources) it is
assumed that the two users (household and commercial sector) have incentives to cooperate
through joint maximisation of their benefits, which are expressed as equivalent annual income
(EAI) as shown below. This relationship is subject to the usual ecological and household
constraints (equations 2 and 4 described earlier) and non-negativity.
Max h ,t 1 Bah,t 1 e,t 1 Bac,t Tc D , 0 1 ,
T
Lh , Lc t 1
(5)
Tc is the transaction cost of management of miombo woodland in a participatory way. The
value assigned to the parameter α reflects the relative weight given to each sector under
cooperative management. In this research the parameter α was assigned the value 0.5
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according to Mlay et al. (2003). This usually depends on the bargaining power of the user
(Munro 1979).
According to Mlay et al. (2003), the decision of the householder and commercial sector to
jointly manage miombo woodlands will depend on the additional net benefits gained relative
to net benefits forgone by not cooperating. The relative weight assigned to each sector in the
cooperative management regime is reflected by the preference parameter whose value varies
from 0 (giving all weight to the household sector) to 1 (giving all weight to the commercial
sector). Taking into account that the harvesting practice of the commercial sector is selective
while the harvesting practice of the household sector is non-selective, if the intangible
benefits through cooperation are taken into account, incentive for cooperation by the
commercial sector under lower values of the preference parameter is feasible and thus a
cooperation management regime giving equal weights to the two sectors (0.5) will be used as
reasonable to reflect the level of cooperation.
Non-cooperative model
In the non-cooperative model each of the different user groups or stakeholders (commercial
sector and household) is assumed to harvest independently without taking into account the
interest of other stakeholders. This model will be used to mimic an open access management
regime, currently the dominant management regime under which miombo woodlands are
being used in Mozambique (DNFFB 2003). The constrained maximisation problem for the
household sector is presented in equation 6:
Max
3
Lh
a 2
(
T
t 1
c ,t 1
Bah,t ) D
(6)
This relationship is subject to the usual ecological and household constraints (equations 2 and
4 described earlier) and non-negativity.
Similarly, the non-cooperative management problem facing the commercial sector can be
stated as follows:
Max
4
Lh ,Lc a 3
(
T
t 1
c ,t 1
Bac,t ) D
(7)
This equation is subject to the ecological and household constraints (equations 2 and 4
described earlier) and non-negativity.
In the non-cooperative model, in addition to all the θs being zero, the first term in the stock
adjustment equation is set equal to zero.
The three models can be solved by introducing modified Lagrange multipliers and applying
non-smooth convex optimisation (Flåm 1993). Simulation of the models is based on the
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numerical approach applied in Sumaila (1995, 1997) using the systems dynamic simulation
package known as Powersim, developed by ModellData AS in Bergen, Norway .
In the three models, rural households are assumed to harvest wood products for energy
(firewood and charcoal), building poles, thatching grass and honey. Firewood is harvested by
the households mainly for their own consumption, while charcoal is harvested for commercial
purposes. The number of charcoal bags (Hbg) produced from harvested miombo depends on
the average timber density of miombo trees (equal to 858 kg/m3 according to Bunster 1995),
the charcoal production efficiency; and the average mass of a charcoal bag (m). Timber
density for each tree species is indicated in Appendix A. This functional relationship is
expressed in equation (8). The gross income from miombo activities is expressed in equation
(9).
H
(8)
H bg
m
3
3
I hm,t Pp H apoles
H ach,t Pch 1
,t
a 2
a 2
(9)
Where
Pp = Average roadside market price of poles (US$/m3)
a = Tree diameter class.
H apoles = Total volume of poles harvested at diameter classes two and three in a year
(m3)
Pch = Mean roadside market price of a charcoal bag (US$/bag)
1 = New charcoal production efficiency (%)
= Mean timber density of miombo trees
The allocation of the total volume of harvested wood between poles (Hpo(a,t)) and energy
(Hch(a,t)) depends on the relative market prices of poles and charcoal as well as diameter
classes. It is given by equations (10) and (11) respectively. The market demand for poles is
lower than for charcoal, although pole prices are higher and take into account the effect of
relative prices. The amount of poles harvested is constrained to the maximum average amount
of poles sold in the past years (500 m3 per year) in order to constrain the optimal amount of
poles allocated by the model. The amount of charcoal produced annually is restricted by the
mean Annual Allowable Cut (MAAC) established by the management plans. This figure was
established after asking the interviewed householders and forest technicians about the harvest
levels of poles.
H tpoles
Pp H a ,m
P
3
Pch
a 2
p
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500
(10)
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
H tcharcoal
Pp H a ,m
P
3
Pch
a 2
p
MAAC
(11)
The amount of miombo harvested is a function of the volume of standing miombo (N(a,t)) per
timber class (a = 2 and 3) and labour allocated for this activity (Lm). A Cobb-Douglass
function used by Sumaila et al. (2003) was adjusted to include diameter segregation and is
expressed in equation (12).
qh 1 ih N a,t Lm
3
H
m
h ,t
t 1
a 2
(12)
Where
qh = household relative harvesting capacity parameter for removing miombo is
assumed to be constant for all diameter classes;
ih = average growth rate of rural population (human population dynamics);
μ, and are partial elasticities of production (they vary between zero and one). Each is
assumed to be 0.5 in the model (Mlay et al. 2003).
The amount of miombo harvested is limited to a maximum allowable cut established in the
management plans of the study sites, which was calculated based on the Mean Annual
Increment (MAI) of miombo forest at the study sites.
Model data requirements and data collection
All coefficients used for the model were derived from the survey results. Data on population,
area under forest cover, miombo employment and growth, commercial harvesting costs and
discount factors were obtained from secondary sources. The human population growth in the
study sites during the first 20 years of the simulation period is equal to 1.2%; for the next 10
years is equal to 1.5% and for the last 10 years is equal to 1.0% (INE 2001)
Field work
The study site was selected to capture the following features: presence of miombo woodlands;
the degree of access to transport and markets; presence of commercial logging; and presence
of activities of exploration of forest products (wood and NTFPs) for sale by households. The
target population was defined as households who use miombo woodlands for agriculture
and/or for extraction of wood and NTFPs for household consumption and sale. In this study
the sample unit was a household. For data collection, the sampling method involved a random
selection of households from listings prepared by village leaders in accordance with the
definition of the target population. According to FAO (1990), if the total number of
households is larger than 1000, the minimum sample should be 50 households. The total
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sample size for the study is 54 households. They were selected from villages or zones in
Pindanganga, out of 1,858 listed households. Since conditions were considered to be more or
less uniform, inter-village variation was assumed minimal and hence there was no need for
stratified or multi-stage sampling.
To accomplish this research a combination of methods was used to generate the required
information. The data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. A structured
questionnaire, checklists for formal interviews and informal discussions and participant
observations were the methods used to gather information from primary sources. The
questionnaire was used to collect data from sampled households in face-to-face interviews. It
investigated aspects of household consumption of wood products and NTFPs, activities,
labour distribution by sex and age, management of miombo trees, and selling activities. The
checklists were used for focused discussion with key stakeholders including relevant district
officers and village government leaders and local foresters. The survey was carried out during
September to November in 2002 and 2003, a period of 12 weeks in each year.
The data related to crop yields and wood and NTFPs prices were collected at the Provincial
and District Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries. An appraisal in various urban markets
and at rural roadsides gave the latest market prices of construction material (poles, bamboo
and grass), fuel wood (charcoal and firewood), logs and honey coming from the study areas.
The farmers surveyed did not collect the information about their own crop yields because
farmers often had difficulty even recalling within-year information on resource use when the
activities had been conducted several months preceding the date of interview.
In the survey, the transaction cost was determined from the objectives and working
experience of the Pindanganga community-based management programme. For this
programme, the information collected related to the composition of local committee members,
number of meetings per month/year, the human and financial resources used and the number
of people involved in patrolling and monitoring the miombo woodlands as well as enforcing
the transaction.
Charcoal efficiency was measured based on a random sample of 23 earth kilns. To estimate
the charcoal yield, the following measurements were taken: the number of trees harvested; the
length of the logs and branches prepared to go to the kiln; the diameter at mid point of the
length of all logs prepared to go to the kiln; and the numbers and mass of the charcoal bags
produced.
The subsistence income for the community is estimated based on the total number of
households in the community, the typical household size and composition by age and sex,
consumption basket of food and non-food items, the minimum per capita caloric requirements
established and the local market prices. The calories for the typical household were converted
into quantities of products and the monetary values were assigned using local market prices.
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Calibration and validation of the model
The calibration and validation of the model in this research was performed using the harvesting
capacity parameter and by evaluating the magnitude of benefits, resource use and conservation with
the stakeholders. The harvesting capacity parameter in the basic models was arbitrarily set according
to Mlay et al. (2003). The modelling results were discussed in November and December 2003 with the
MOFLOR manager, the Harvesting Timber Association for Manica Province, the technicians of the
provincial Directorate of Forest and Wildlife at Manica Province and the local committee members in
Pindanganga.
Results
Based on discussions with the stakeholders, the parameters for the model were finally set as
indicated in Table 1.
Table 1: Data requirements for the simulation model for Pindanganga
Data type
Amount of thatching grass sold
Average basal area of miombo woodland
Average farm size
Charcoal production efficiency
Chicken price
Chicken quantity sold by whole community
Discount factor
Existing agricultural land
Forest area
Goat price
Goat quantity sold by whole community
Harvesting cost by commercial sector
Honey quantity (price)
Number of families per site
Off-miombo labour
Pig price
Pig quantity sold by whole community
Price of grass
Price of charcoal
Price of poles
Price of standing miombo
Regeneration (survival rate)
Agricultural revenue per hectare
Subsistence income for community
Transaction cost (fixed cost)
Total person-days/year in community
Wage rate
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Units
Bundles/yr
m2/ha
ha
Percentage
US$/unit
Unit/year
ha
ha
US$/unit
Unit/year
US$/m3
Litres (US$/litre)
Persons
Percentage
US$/unit
Unit/year
US$/kg
US$/m3
US$/m3
US$/m3
%
US$/ha
US$
US$/ha
Person days/yr
US$ per year
Pindanganga
1,000
6.9
3.4
13.7
0.55
23,046
[0.909; 0.89]
6,317
36,512
6.1
4,754
2.5
10,000 (0.51)
1,858
0.008
9.2
1,153
0.01
1.7
2.05
11.5
0.012 (0.92)
126
677,470
2.26
1,657,283
405.6
290
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Basic simulation results
Data used for the basic simulations were taken directly from the fieldwork report and
questionnaires or calculated from there. The impact of management regimes on the
stakeholders’ benefits is presented in Table 2. The difference in benefits between the two
sectors reflects the difference in market values of the products harvested and harvesting
capacity.
The commercial sector derives more of the benefits under the non-cooperative management
regime from harvesting wood products compared to the household sector. Mlay et al. (2003)
found the non-cooperative management regime to be not the best option for the commercial
sector. These stakeholders can become involved in the cooperative management regime if the
total benefits (tangible and intangible benefits) and the penalties for non cooperation exceed
the additional benefits emanating from the non-cooperative management regime.
The household sector derives potentially more total household benefits from the regulated
management regime with social concerns, followed by non-cooperative regime and
cooperative management regime (Table 2).
Table 2: Equivalent annual net discounted benefits (EANDB) for private and household
sectors from miombo woodland activities in Pindanganga.
Management Regime
Non-cooperative
Cooperative
Environmental
Social
Social and environmental
Private sector
EANDBa
(US$ per annum)
(1) 443,519
(4) 391,381
(5) 230,371
(2) 433,173
(3) 428,266
Household sector
EANDB
(US$ per annum)
(2) 107,469
(3) 94,252
(5) 37,507
(1) 107,761
(4) 76,086
Household EANDB
(US$ per capita per
day)
0.03
0.03
0.01
0.03
0.02
a
The figures in parentheses represent the ranking of the management regime on the basis of EANDB’s within
each sector
The regulated option for environmental reasons leaves all stakeholders with the lowest
benefits. This makes sense because of the emphasis put by the regulator on environmental
concern; in this way more of the woodland resources are bound to be preserved, thereby
resulting in fewer benefits. If the objective is to maximise stakeholder benefits on a
sustainable basis, the highest equivalent annual net discounted benefits are achieved under
centralised management favouring the social aspects and non-cooperative management
regimes (Table 2). Equivalent annual net discounted benefits reduced to US$ 267,878 per
annum when the objective is resource conservation.
For the households, the command regimes incorporating social concerns, both noncooperative and cooperative, are the best options in terms of per capita household benefits
from miombo wood products, NTFPs and agriculture. The command environmental,
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command social and environmental management regime options are the least attractive. The
per capita benefits are the extra net income after the minimum subsistence requirements are
met. They were accounted for in the model and for all management regimes represent less
than 3% of US$1 per day (97% below the poverty line).
The trends in average volumes harvested annually to provide maximum discounted net
benefits under each management arrangement for the stakeholders, correspond to the benefits
derived from those products (Table 3). In comparison with the non-cooperative model, which
represents the current practice, least volume is harvested under the command regime
incorporating environmental benefits. For the household sector, the highest volume of wood
products is harvested under the command social regime, which is only slightly more than
under the non-cooperative regime, with decreasing volumes under the cooperative regime,
then command regime incorporating both social and environmental benefits and then the
environmental regime, in that order. The timber harvesting volumes for the commercial sector
are limited to a maximum of 6,000 m3 per year, in accordance with the management plan of
the study site. The highest allowed volume is reached for all management regimes, except the
command regime incorporating environment benefits. For the commercial sector, the average
annual harvest under the regulated regime for environmental reasons is about 60% of the
harvest under the open access regime.
The best outcome with respect to ecological health of the woodland is achieved under the
command environment regime, followed by the command regime incorporating social and
environmental benefits; the command regime incorporating social benefits; the cooperative
regime; and lastly the non-cooperative regime (status quo), in that order (Table 3, column 3).
The focus on environmental concerns means that a larger area of woodland cover has to be
maintained to meet peoples’ needs, while protecting the environment. Deforestation is highest
under the non-cooperative or open access management regimes (at the end of rotation only
about 11% of the initial woodland area will remain) (Table 3, column 2). As expected, the
regulated system incorporating only environmental concerns leads to least deforestation, but it
is the option economically least attractive to both the household and commercial sectors. The
average annual woodland area converted to agriculture is highest under the cooperative and
command regime incorporating social benefits, followed by the non-cooperative regime, then
the command regime incorporating social and environmental benefits and lastly the command
regime incorporating environmental benefits only.
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Table 3: Volumes harvested and amount of charcoal bags produced in Pindanganga
Management
Optiona
NC
COOP
CM-E
CM-S
CM-SE
Converted
Standing
Number of
b
land (ha) miombo (ha) charcoal bags
(3) 236
(5) 3,891
(2) 25,546
(1) 250
(3) 4,118
(3) 24,000
(5) 72
(1) 6,070
(5) 7,833
(2) 238
(4) 4,031
(1) 25,706
(4) 253
(2) 4,331
(4) 19,511
Harvested volume (m3)
Commercial Household Charcoal
6,000
11,666
8,329
6,000
11,403
7,825
3,577
3,577
2,554
6,000
11,739
8,381
6,000
10,068
6,361
a
. NC = Non-cooperative, COOP = Cooperative, CM-E = Command environment, CM-S = Command social,
CM-SE = Command social and environment.
b
The figures in parentheses represent the ranking of the management regime
Impact of sectoral policy on the well-being of stakeholders, resource use and
conservation under alternative management regimes
A general increase in the current commercial sales or market prices of NTFPs could be
brought about by, for example, improvement in road infrastructure, new markets closer to the
local communities, or removal of explicit government taxes on NTFPs. To assess the impact
of such an increase, the Pindanganga model is simulated with an arbitrary increase of 100%
on the current selling amount of NTFPs (scenario I) and an increase by 100% on the market
selling prices of NTFPs (scenario II).
The relative results on the impact of increasing commercial sales amount or prices of NTFPs
(honey, chickens, pigs, goat and thatching grass) on annual discounted net benefits from
miombo activities are presented in Table 4. These values were obtained by comparisons made
in relation to the basic simulation results within each management regime (values in
brackets), and in addition the non-cooperative model results were used as reference results for
assessing the other management regimes.
An increase in the commercial sales of NTFPs (scenario I) did lead to changes in the ranking
of the management regime within each sector, while an increase in market prices of NTFPs
(scenario II) did not lead to a change in the ranking. Raising the commercial sales of NTFPs
or market prices by 100% reduced annual discounted net benefits for the commercial sector
under all management options compared to the non-cooperative regime. The largest reduction
was observed under the command model with environmental concerns, where the discounted
net benefits relative to the base scenario were reduced by 27%. These results conform to a
priori expectations, since selling NTFPs contributed to the household economic benefits
derived from miombo forest for the householder sector. This scenario was in favour of the
household sector, meaning that in addition to the restriction on harvesting implied by the
environmental concern, the commercial sector is indirectly penalised by the social
consideration favouring the household sector.
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The household annual discounted net benefits from the sale of wood products from miombo
activities showed a decrease across all alternative management regimes and the total sale of
wood and non-wood products per capita per day increased compared with the basic runs. The
command regime, accounting only for environmental benefits, was the least beneficial with
discounted net benefits being decreased by 47.2% and 0.64% relative to the base scenario.
Net benefits attained their highest value under the social and environmental management
option. The observed increase in household benefits per capita per day from miombo
activities was caused by an increase in harvesting of NTFPs and a reduction in land area
converted to agriculture.
Table 4: The relative effect (%) of increases by 100% in commercial sales of NTFPs (I) and
market sale prices of NTFPs (II) on discounted net benefits from miombo activities
under alternative regimes in Pindanganga.
Management
Regime
Noncooperative
Cooperative
Environmental
Social
Social and
environmental
Commercial
annual benefitsa
I
II
100.0
100.0
(0.2)
(-0.6)
88.0
0.0
(-11.8)
(0.0)
51.8
52.2
(-48.1)
(-0.2)
97.4
98.3
(-2.4)
(0.1)
97.3
96.8
(-2.4)
(-0.4)
Household
annual benefits
I
II
100.0
100.0
(-1.0)
(-0.2)
94.0
109.1
(-6.9)
(0.7)
35.2
34.9
(-65.2)
(-0.2)
100.7
99.7
(-0.4)
(0.7)
96.7
78.6
(-4.3)
(-10.9)
Total annual
benefits
I
II
100.0
100.0
(0.0)
(-0.5)
89.2
89.6
(-10.8) (-10.9)
48.6
48.8
(-51.4) (-51.5)
98.0
98.6
(-2.0)
(-1.9)
97.2
93.2
(-2.8)
(-7.2)
Benefits per
capita per day
I
II
100.0
100.0
(3.6)
(4.7)
94.4
93.5
(-2.2)
(5.8)
41.3
40.9
(-57.2) (12.3)
100.7
99.7
(4.3)
(4.3)
97.2
80.4
(0.7)
(17.0)
a
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation comparing with the
basic scenario.
Using the non-cooperative model as a reference (the current management practice) the
command model incorporating environmental benefits was the least beneficial, while the
command with social and environmental concerns and the cooperative models were the most
beneficial. The increase by 100% in commercial sales and prices of NTFPs could lead to an
increase in household per capita benefits with 3% to 8% but it is not enough to reach the
poverty line (US$1 per person per day). This showed that forest policies concerned with
NTFPs by themselves in Pindanganga do not address the poverty of the local communities. In
terms of per capita benefits, raising market prices of NTFPs had a similar effect as the effect
of increasing the amount of NTFPs sold.
The average volume of miombo logs harvested by the commercial sector did not change
under any of the management options, except for the command regime with environmental
concerns (Table 5), which was a result of a harvesting restriction imposed by the management
plan. The largest decline in harvesting was observed under the command model incorporating
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
environmental benefits. Comparing the alternative management options with current practice
(the non-cooperative model), the largest harvest volume decline was observed under the
command model incorporating social and environmental benefits. However, the volume
harvested was least sensitive to increase the selling amount and prices of NTFPs under the
command model with social concerns.
The impact of increasing the commercial sales or prices of NTFPs in mitigating deforestation
was most pronounced, as expected, under the command model incorporating environmental
benefit. This management option showed the highest percentage of the area of standing
miombo woodlands at the end of the simulation. Increasing commercial sales and prices were
least effective in mitigating deforestation under the non-cooperative model. These results
seem to suggest that the management options that will minimise conflicts between multiple
objectives (command social environment and cooperative models) were the most beneficial.
Table 5: Relative effect (%) of a 100% increase in commercial sales (I) and a 100% price
increase of NTFPs (II) on average annual volume of miombo wood products harvested
under alternative management options in Pindanganga.
Converted Standing
Amount of
Harvested Volume (m3)
Management landb, ha Miombo, ha charcoal bags Commercial Household
Charcoal
Regimea
I
II
I
II
I
II
I
II
I
II
NC
100.0
100.0
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
(-0.4)
(0.4)
(-0.3) (0.7) (0.0) (0.0) (-0.6) (0.4) (-0.6) (0.4)
COOP
108.9
108.0
105.3 104.2 100.0 100.0 100.7 99.7 96.8 95.9
(8.5)
(2.5)
(4.9) (-0.9) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1) (2.3) (-3.8) (2.3)
CM-E
30.6
30.4
156.7 155.1 59.6 59.5 30.8 30.5 30.8 30.5
(-69.5)
(-0.5)
(56.1) (0.1) (-40.5) (-0.1) (-69.4) (-0.1) (-69.4) (-0.1)
CM-S
100.9
100.0
104.2 103.0 100.0 100.0 101.1 100.1 101.1 100.0
(0.4)
(-0.2)
(3.8) (0.1) (0.0) (0.0) (0.5) (-0.2) (0.5) (-0.2)
CM-SE
93.2
91.1
108.3 108.4 100.0 100.0 93.3 91.2 93.3 91.2
(-7.2)
(-14.6)
(8.0) (-2.0) (0.0) (0.0) (-7.3) (6.0) (-7.3) (19.8)
a
NC = Non-cooperative, COOP = Cooperative, CM-E = Command environment, CM-S = Command social,
CM-SE = Command social and environment.
b
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation comparing with the
basic scenario.
Impact of extra-sectoral policies on the well-being of stakeholders, resource use
and conservation under alternative management regimes
The extra-sectoral policies considered here are concerned with agricultural performance and
off-miombo employment opportunities. Agricultural policy changes are largely due to the
strong link that exists between subsistence agriculture and miombo woodlands. Agriculture is
one of the main causes of deforestation in Mozambique (Saket 2001). Policy changes related
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
295
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
to areas outside the miombo are often due to expectations that use of products from the
miombo will sustain the communities (Kaimowitz and Angelsen 1996).
This section analyses the impact of agricultural performance (technology changes in
agriculture leading to 25% price increases) on stakeholder benefits and deforestation in
miombo activities (Tables 6 & 7). An increase in agricultural revenue by 25% has reduced the
benefits of the commercial sector (Table 6), when comparing increased household benefits for the
cooperative and non-cooperative management regimes and reduced area of standing miombo at the
steady state, when compared to the base scenario. The response to a price increase for forest
conversion to agriculture is more pronounced under the command model incorporating environmental
benefits. The model’s prediction conforms to Barbier’s (2000) observation that in low input
agriculture, an increase in output prices will promote the area expansion instead of intensification at
least in the short term.
Table 6: Relative effect (%) of an increase by 25% in agricultural prices on discounted net
benefits from miombo activities under alternative regimes in Pindanganga.
Management
Regime
Non-cooperative
Cooperative
Environmental
Social
Social and
environmental
Commercial annual
benefitsa
100.0
(-0.1)
88.2
(-0.1)
74.6
(43.4)
97.7
(-0.1)
98.0
(1.4)
Household annual
benefits
100.0
(17.2)
96.0
(21.8)
49.1
(65.0)
102.1
(19.3)
102.4
(69.6)
Total annual
benefits
100.0
(3.3)
89.9
(4.3)
68.9
(46.5)
98.7
(3.8)
99.0
(11.7)
Benefits per
capita per day
100.0
(16.2)
96.0
(20.6)
51.4
(56.6)
101.9
(18.3)
102.5
(65.5)
a
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation comparing with the basic
scenario.
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 7: Relative effect (%) of an increase by 25% in agricultural output prices on charcoal
production and volumes harvested by the stakeholders under alternative management
options in Pindanganga.
Management
Regime
Non-cooperative
Cooperative
Environmental
Social
Social and
environment
Number of
charcoal
bagsa
100.0
(-3.9)
98.2
(0.4)
44.6
(39.7)
101.9
(-2.7)
99.5
(25.2)
Converted
land, ha
100.0
(4.2)
108.5
(6.9)
44.7
(52.0)
102.0
(5.7)
99.6
(-3.2)
Standing
miombo,
ha
100.0
(-2.2)
107.1
(-1.0)
96.7
(-39.4)
107.1
(1.1)
107.7
(-5.4)
Harvested Volume (m3)
Commercial
Household
Charcoal
100.0
(0.0)
100.0
(0.0)
85.5
(43.4)
100.0
(0.0)
100.0
(0.0)
100.0
(-1.3)
101.7
(2.7)
44.6
(43.5)
101.9
(-0.1)
99.5
(13.8)
100.0
(-3.9)
98.2
(0.4)
44.6
(39.7)
101.9
(-2.7)
99.5
(25.2)
a
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation comparing with the
basic scenario
Interaction between sectoral and extra-sectoral policies
The relative impact of the interaction between extra-sectoral and sectoral policies through a
simultaneous increase in NTFP market sale prices and agricultural output prices by 25% on
the benefits to stakeholders and woodland resources did not change the ranking of the
management regimes within each sector compared with the base scenario when prices of
NTFPs increased (Tables 8 & 9). The ranking was only changed when commercial sales or
agricultural output prices were increased.
The impact of a simultaneous increase in market prices of NTFPs and agricultural output
prices by 25% under ceteris paribus affected the commercial sector indirectly through labour
supply. It affected directly the household sector which performed both activities. The annual
household discounted net benefits from wood products increased for all management regimes
in relation to the base scenario, except for the environmental regime. The household net
benefits per capita per day from wood, NTFPs and agriculture increased for all management
regimes in relation to the base scenario, except for the environmental regime. In the case of
the commercial sector, the annual discounted net benefits increased, except for the command
with environmental concerns regime and the cooperative regime.
The maximum harvested volume for the commercial sector was not affected by these policy
changes and was expected as a consequence of the restriction incorporated in the model for
the allowed cut volume of commercial timber (in accordance with the management plan). The
total volume harvested by the household had increased compared to the base scenario, except
for the environmental regime.
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297
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 8: Relative effect (%) of the combined increase by 25% of NTFP market sale prices
and agricultural output prices on discounted net benefits from miombo activities under
alternative regimes in Pindanganga.
Management
Regime
Non-cooperative
Cooperative
Environmental
Social
Social and
environmental
Commercial
annual benefitsa
Household
annual benefits
Total annual
benefits
Benefits per
capita per day
100.0
(-0.6)
88.8
(0.0)
74.9
(43.4)
98.9
(0.6)
98.3
(1.2)
100.0
(16.5)
96.4
(12.3)
49.4
(-42.4)
102.4
(19.3)
102.3
(19.2)
100.0
(2.7)
90.5
(4.4)
69.3
(46.4)
99.7
(4.3)
99.2
(11.3)
100.0
(16.9)
96.6
(22.2)
52.0
(59.4)
102.2
(19.4)
102.2
(66.0)
a
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation compared with the
non cooperative management alternative under the basic scenario.
With regard to the impact of policy changes on the woodland resource, it was observed that
the standing woodland decreased in relation to the base scenario, except for the command
regime with social concerns. This reduction was due to the significant impact of the
agricultural price increase and to the relatively lower weight of NTFP prices compared with
agricultural products (maize and sorghum) and wood products (timber, charcoal and poles).
Land conversion to agriculture (Table 9) resulting from the increase in agricultural output
prices, increased as expected. The increase in net benefits from wood products to the
household sector resulted from the wood obtained in the process of land conversion to
agriculture. Cropper et al. (1997) and Panayotou and Sungsuwan (1994) found similar results
in two separate studies on deforestation in Thailand. Deininger and Minten (1996) in Mexico
found also a significant positive relationship between deforestation and agriculture revenue
increase.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
298
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 9: Relative effect (%) of the combined increase in market prices of NTFPs and
agricultural output prices by 25% on resource use under alternative management
options in Pindanganga
Management
regime
NC
COOP.
CM-E
CM-S
CM-SE
Converted
Land, ha
100.0
(3.8)
109.0
(6.9)
44.9
(52.0)
102.0
(5.2)
99.2
(-3.9)
Forest
area, ha
100.0
(-3.4)
108.5
(-1.0)
98.0
(-39.3)
108.4
(1.0)
109.5
(-5.0)
Number of
charcoal bags
100.0
(-4.3)
98.6
(0.5)
44.8
(39.8)
102.2
(-2.8)
99.1
(24.2)
Harvested Volume (m3)
Commercial Household Charcoal
100.0
100.0
100.0
(0.0)
(-1.7)
(-4.3)
100.0
102.1
98.6
(0.0)
(2.7)
(0.5)
85.5
44.8
44.8
(43.4)
(43.6)
(39.8)
100.0
102.2
102.2
(0.0)
(-0.2)
(-2.8)
100.0
99.1
99.1
(0.0)
(12.9)
(24.2)
a
The figures in parentheses represent the percentage of change at the end of simulation comparing with the
basic scenario
Discussion
Four different models of management of miombo woodlands in the southern Africa region
were identified. These were: (i) a dynamic game theory model for miombo woodlands
(Sumaila and Kowero 2001), (ii) a goal programming model for miombo woodlands
(Nhantumbo and Kowero 2001); (iii) the miombo ecosystem and land transformation model –
MELT (Desanker 2001); and (iv) a simulation model of miombo woodland dynamics under
different management regimes in Zimbabwe (Gambiza et al. 2000).
The dynamic game theory model developed in this research differs from the model developed
by Sumaila et al. (2003) by taking into account the following aspects:
the dynamics of both the human population and agricultural and forestry prices;
the demand for poles is compared with firewood and charcoal;
the demand from the commercial sector is restricted according to the allowed harvest
cut established in the community management plan;
the effect of transaction costs on the cooperative management regime, which affects
the harvesting levels of the two sectors, charcoal production efficiency, harvesting
technology efficiency and the dynamics of non-miombo activities over time,
highlights the conflict between householder and commercial sectors through variation
in diameter classes of tree species used for logs, charcoal, firewood and poles, and the
model accounts for the benefits from the NTFPs.
The mechanism of diameter class segregation included in the model allows us to constrain the
timber harvested by the commercial sector, according to the Forestry and Wildlife Policy
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
which states that the trees can be harvested only if they have a diameter at breast height
greater than 30 cm.
Mlay et al. (2003) found that the cooperative management regime is the second best
management option in terms of private benefits and total benefits for the two sectors in
Dondo, Nhamatanda and Gondola-Manica districts. In this research, the cooperative option is
ranked as the third option (and therefore less attractive), due to the inclusion of the transaction
costs in the analysis.
Implications of alternative management arrangements
The alternatives analysed for managing miombo woodland resources reflect either on-going
practices or new practices in their early stages of introduction. From experience, centrally
regulated regimes in Mozambique have not been effective in redressing deforestation, land
degradation and conservation. Although the government has the obligation to defend societywide interests, experience in natural resource conservation and use shows that the policies
adopted and instruments used for their implementation have been ineffective. Because the
social and economic benefits implied by the regulation are not felt at community level, there
has been an incentive for non-compliance, which in turn is facilitated by lack of institutional
and financial capacity for enforcement (Mlay et al. 2003).
In the implementation of CBNRM, the principal aim is biodiversity conservation. The
involvement of the community is viewed as strategic to minimise the problem of natural
resource degradation, given that the classic and centralised system of natural resource
management in Mozambique has shown itself inefficient in promoting and guaranteeing
sustainability. This approach involves other stakeholders, in particular rural communities
(Serra 2001).
Regulated management regimes which take into account social needs or both social and
environmental needs are potentially more beneficial to the household sector than open access
regimes. This suggests that if these benefits were to flow to the local communities, noncompliance to sustainable forest management activities could be minimised. This can be
guaranteed under decentralised management with local community participation but only with
clear definition of a benefit-sharing arrangement. The cooperative management regime, which
already has a legal support for property right protection, needs to be promoted in association
with policies and regulations that bring incentives to increase the benefits from activities
related with NTFPs. These include honey production, keeping domestic animals, and the sale
of thatching grass.
The results show that improvement in well-being and resource conservation can be achieved
with sound management practices. Regulated management regimes incorporating social or
social and environmental benefits provide higher benefits to the household sector than the
open access regime. This means that the well-being of the rural communities and woodland
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
300
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
conservation can potentially be improved if these benefits were felt at the community level.
Mlay et al. (2003) showed similar results for Central Mozambique, while Kachule et al.
(2001) found the same for Malawi.
The results of this research indicate that the levels of deforestation are greater under open
access regimes. Kaimowitz and Angelsen (1998) found similar results using analytical
models. The cooperative management regime, taking into account the transaction costs, shows
that both the local communities and the commercial sectors can gain under this arrangement.
The benefits for stakeholders found in this study are less than the benefits found by Mlay et
al. (2003). This can be explained by inclusion in this model of transaction costs, diameter
class segregation and population dynamics over the rotation period. In the case of
Mozambique, where the Forest and Wildlife Law permits communities to enter into
partnership with the private sector in its exploration of natural resources, the results show that
such cooperation is potentially beneficial to local communities if properly implemented.
Sectoral policies in the form of commercial sales and prices of NTFPs manifest their impact
on the woodland resource mainly through the household sector activities in the form of an
increase in household benefits from harvesting wood and non-wood products. The amount of
wood products harvested has reduced slightly.
Extra-sectoral policies, particularly those directed to promote agricultural production, can
have a positive or negative effect on forest development. Angelsen et al. (1996), in their study
of 19 Tanzanian regions, have found a significant increase in cropped area with increases in
agricultural prices. Kaimowitz and Angelsen (1998) stated that agricultural price increases,
without significantly altering the demand for labour or capital, increase the amount of
woodland cleared by each household. Our results show that modest price increases in
agriculture promote agricultural production through land expansion. Reduction in land
clearing for agriculture is achieved only if improvement in agricultural production technology
leads to a large increase in productivity. Another important issue to note is that the impact of
these policies on the woodland resources and the welfare of stakeholders is influenced by the
management regime in place.
The impact of the management regime and policy intervention on the welfare of stakeholders
and on the ecology of the woodland resources will depend on the natural resource endowment
and the initial socio-economic conditions on the ground. Policy changes in the household or
commercial sector are likely to affect the state of affairs in other sectors. While the general
direction of policy or institutional change can be predicted, the actual impact will reflect the
initial conditions which are site specific. In addition, the results show that there is no
management regime capable of satisfying all goals of the stakeholders, meaning that some
trade-off between goals is necessary. This means that a clear definition of priorities is
necessary.
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Conclusion
This study showed that an improvement in well-being of rural communities and resource
conservation can be achieved with sound management practices. The cooperative
management option or CBNRM is potentially beneficial to local communities if properly
implemented and can improve the rural livelihoods and the woodland resource condition.
Sectorial policies targeting NTFPs can lead to an increase in the per capita benefits to the
household sector by 1% to 5%. Extra sectorial policies promoting an increase in harvest
prices without any other incentive leads to agricultural expansion. A combination of these two
policy instruments under ceteris paribus can improve the well-being of the rural communities
by 10% to 25%, but cannot reach the poverty line (US$1 per capita per day). The study is
deterministic and thus cannot be expected to give a perfect picture of the study area.
Nevertheless, the results of this study provide forest managers alternative scenarios, which
they can use in their selection of appropriate resource management practices
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TOWARDS THE IMPROVEMENT OF POLICY AND
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT ON NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS:
SWAZILAND- A CASE STUDY
C.S. Dlamini1*, C.J. Geldenhuys2
1
Swaziland Institute for Research in Traditional Medicine, Medicinal & Indigenous Food
Plants, University of Swaziland, Kwaluseni, Swaziland / Department of Forest and Wood
Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2
Forestwood cc, Pretoria & Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of
Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
*Corresponding author: cliffsdlamini@yahoo.com
Abstract
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are a major component of rural household economies in
the four ecological zones of Swaziland. This study highlighted inadequacies in existing
national, regional and international policies/ strategies and legislation to manage NTFPs, and
data on use patterns and use values in 18 categories of NTFPs. Community consultations, user
surveys and basic economic analyses showed lack of traditional management systems and
variation in edible and medicinal NTFP use between communities and households within the
ecological zones. Resource surveys showed the negative impact of uncontrolled commercial
harvesting on the valuable standing NTFP stock especially on preferred species. Thus, the
study developed a theoretical framework for policy reform towards sustainable NTFP
management in Swaziland.
Introduction
The Swaziland population (±1 million) live in a total land area of 17,364 km2 (FAO-WFP
2008) and use diverse non-timber forest products (NTFPs) as a major component in their rural
household economy. It is mainly a rural and subsistence society, with a dual land tenure
system consisting of Swazi Nation Land (SNL) held in trust by the King and allocated to
households by chiefs, and Title Deed Land (TDL) that is freehold. It is a lower middleincome country whose income distribution is skewed, with an estimated 20% of the
population accounting for more than 50% of national income. An estimated 43% of the
population live in extreme poverty and 76% of the poor live in rural areas (FAO-WFP 2008).
The country has four agro-ecological zones: Lubombo Plateau; Lowveld; Middleveld;
Highveld. The climate is sub-tropical, characterised by wide ranges in total annual rainfall,
periods of droughts that particularly affects the Middleveld and Lowveld (Dlamini 2007).
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The total value generated by a forest consists of wood and non-wood goods and services
(Buttoud 2000, Gluck 2000). Goods and services of the forest resource can be classified into
four broad categories: direct use benefits/values; indirect use benefits/values; and intermediate
use services which can be divided into option values and existence values (McKenney and
Sarker 1994, Clarke et al. 1996, Buttoud 2000, DANCED 2000a, Shackleton et al. 2000,
Hassan 2001, Hassan et al. 2002, Shackleton 2002, Chipeta and Kowero 2004, Clarke and
Grundy 2004, Shackleton and Shackleton 2004). Direct use benefits include timber for
construction and furniture, wood for crafts and household tools, fire wood, construction poles,
wild fruits and other foods and other benefits. Indirect use benefits include pollination
services, livestock grazing, recreation/aesthetic services (eco-tourism), religious functions and
other benefits. Intermediate use services comprise carbon sequestration, watershed and soil
protection, biodiversity reserves, habitat for wild fauna and flora (breeding and nursery
functions) and other services.
In the past, the focus in forest management was on commercial timber, regarded as the
primary forest product (Peters et al. 1989, Chopra 1993, Godoy et al. 1993, McKenney and
Sarker 1994, DANCED 2000b, Wong et al. 2001, Hassan et al. 2002). However, it is
becoming clear that economically, environmentally, culturally and socially, non-timber forest
goods and services are equally important (Falconer 1992, Gunatilake et al. 1993, Chamberlain
et al. 1998, Langoya and Long 1998, Robles-Diaz-De-Leon and Kangas 1999, Chapeskie
1999, Shackleton et al. 2000, Dovie et al. 2001, Hassan et al. 2002, FAO 2003, Clarke and
Grundy 2004, Geldenhuys 2004, Lawes et al. 2004, Shackleton and Shackleton 2004, 2005,
Olsen 2005). In Swaziland commercial harvesting of timber from natural forests and
woodlands was confined to timber for farm structures (DANCED 2000b, Hassan et al. 2002).
It is easy to define and measure timber outputs from the forest, but it is difficult to define and
quantify many NTFPs (Balick and Mendelson 1992, McKenney and Sarker 1994, Shackleton
et al. 2000, Gram 2001, FAO 2001, 2003). NTFPs are classified in many different ways, for
example by end use and plant part used (Chandrasekharan 1995, Cook 1995, Temu 1995).
However, an internationally accepted standard classification is yet to be developed. A
tentative classification system for ease of data collection by researchers for the regional
outlook of NWFPs in Africa from various international classification systems was
inconclusive (FAO 2001). The categorisation of NTFPs is important for resource assessment
and economic valuation purposes (FAO 2001, Hassan et al. 2002).
The pressure on natural forests and woodlands in Swaziland and most parts of the world
requires a clear picture of the products and services used by different users for efficient
policies and sustainable forest resource management planning. This study of NTFPs is a first
step towards such an integrated approach towards a policy and strategy for sustainable
management of natural forests and woodlands in Swaziland. The overall objective of this
study was to determine the socio-economic use, direct use values and management of natural
forests and woodlands for edible and medicinal NTFPs in the four ecological zones of rural
Swaziland as basis for an improved policy and strategy towards sustainable management of
NTFPs (Dlamini 2007). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of (i) the
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hierarchical review process of NTFP relevant policies and legislation; (ii) the review of earlier
national NTFP studies and to develop NTFP categories for Swaziland based on different
sources of information on NTFPs; (iii) the quantity and value of NTFPs used in the four
ecological zones through community consultations, user surveys and economic valuation, and
(iv) the quantity and value of NTFP resources through resource surveys and their economic
valuation.
Materials and Methods
Policy review
A hierarchical method comprising four steps: preliminary selection of relevant policies and
legislation; first assessment on NTFP relevance of all selected policies and legislation; second
assessment of selected NTFP relevant policies and legislation; review and detailed analysis of
short-listed policies and legislation. This approach was modified from methods used in
several other studies (see Dlamini 2007). A model of 21 criteria was designed to analyse and
rank national and international policies (Dlamini 2007).
Status of NTFPs
Earlier national studies on NTFPs, and national, regional and international sources of
information were reviewed. Subject matter specialists were consulted in face to face
interviews to ascertain and establish NTFP categories that exist in Swaziland and to further
rank various plant species in order of importance and multiple use (see Dlamini 2007 for
details).
Site selection for community consultations, and for user and resource surveys
Sites were selected on the basis of three criteria:
1. Coverage of a broad spectrum of forest and woodland types in the four ecological zoes
of Swaziland;
2. Selected villages should be part of communities that live adjacent to natural forests
and woodlands and harvest and utilize NTFPs from those neighbouring woody
vegetation systems.
3. The selected natural forests and woodlands should be shortlisted from the list of
nominated forests developed during community consultations.
The following study sites and villages were selected in each ecological zone:
Highveld: Hhelehhele North (Mlumati & Hhelehhele); Middleveld:Grand Valley or
KaKholwane (Emoti & Kundodemnyama); Lubombo: KaShewula (Jamehlungwini &
Mangwenya); Lowveld: Siphofaneni (Hlutse & Madvuma)
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Community consultations
In each selected study site, two villages were selected with assistance from the District
Forestry Officer and Agriculture Extension Officers according to the site selection criteria
above. In each village, forty community representatives were selected comprising twenty men
and twenty women, with two community leaders as observers. Data were collected through
group discussions, individual interviews and the review of the National Forest Policy to
determine group and individual perceptions on biodiversity threats, NTFPs and related
policies (Dlamini 2007).
User surveys and economic valuation
A sampling approach was followed with two villages per site and 17 households per village to
assess what NTFPs people harvest from the natural forests/woodlands. Household profiles
were developed for each village through questionnaires. Individual questionnaires were
completed to cover the different products harvested by species, products and quantities for
domestic and/or commercial use, the time spent on resource use, the practices followed and
costs-benefits (values) of the different species and products (Dlamini 2007). Farm-gate prices
were collected monthly over the entire survey period from local sources. Annual value
extracted per household = Annual quantities extracted (either for domestic use or trade) x
mean farm-gate price.
Resource surveys and economic valuation
Key informant interviews with 28 subject matter specialists, 40 traditional healers and 136
local collectors to gather local knowledge on the species and their habitat, ecology, response
to harvesting, uses, etc. Resource surveys were undertaken in one natural forest/woodland
from each ecological zone. In each forest/woodland a nested sampling approach was used for
the resource inventory (see Dlamini 2007 for details), with 10 main 50 m x 50 m sample plots
per study site, subdivided as shown in Figure 1. The main plots were used to record for each
tree the species, diameter at breast height (DBH), and height, and unit price, total value and
other comments. Small trees, bushes and shrubs on the four sub-plots of 25 m x 25 m were
counted by species, size, and unit price, total value and other comments. Information on
understory individuals (mushrooms, berries, vegetables, herbs and other) were collected by
species name on the 16 sub-plots of 12.5 m x 12.5 m. The economic valuation model was
based on Peters et al. (1989), Balick and Mendelson (1992) and Godoy et al. (1993, 2000)
where: Trees/Shrubs: Total value = number of trees X annual yield per tree X unit price;
Under-storey: Total value = number of individuals X annual production X unit price.
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Figure 1: An illustration of the design of main plots and two levels of sub-plots for the
resource surveys.
Results
Policy review and implications
The inventory of policies and legislation potentially relevant to natural resource management
gave nine national policies/strategies, 15 Acts and 11 international principles. The screening
process indicated that existing national and international policies and legislation addressed
NTFPs differently; some adequately and some inadequately. Some national policies contain
elements of NTFPs and deal with them directly, but some deals with them indirectly; some do
not contain elements of NTFPs yet deal with them indirectly. Only policies and legislation
with 2 points and are dealing or covering more than one category of NTFPs were selected for
the final analysis. The scores for those national and international legal documents included in
the final analysis (Table1) show that they address NTFPs to varying degrees. The
international conventions scored the highest points because they cover a broad spectrum of
important and key issues on the development and sustainable management of NTFPs. The
lower scores of the national legal documents and confirm the view that they are outdated.
They are also orientated to promote preservation, not sustainable use, and therefore difficult
to implement. Preservation of natural environmental resources hinders their development and
sustainable use. Some of the new national programmes are in line with international principles
of sustainable use and management of NTFPs.
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NTFP categories and major NTFP species in Swaziland
A list of 18 major use categories of NTFPs in Swaziland was compiled from the literature
(Table 2), which are in line with international grouping of NTFPs. A species list was
compiled of the most preferred and commonly used plants used in Swaziland (Compton 1976,
Dlamini 1981, 1999, Ogle 1982, Mander 1998, Cassidy et al. 2000, Braun et al. 2004. The list
included the following number of species by uses: medicine (338), food (208), hand crafts
(53), cultural rituals (52), household items (39), ornamentals (17), tannins and dyes (13), fuel
wood (9), fodder and grazing (9), and thatching (8). A matrix of the NTFP plant species was
developed based on 14 direct use benefits to rank the species in order of importance on the
basis of number of uses over 14 direct use categories: Edible leaves; Edible fruits and berries;
Other edible portions; Medicinal products; Wattle and tannin; Fuel wood; Building material;
Floral products; Landscape; Crafts and household; Fodder and grazing; Tannin and dyes;
Thatching plants; Cultural plants. The top 12 most versatile species in terms of diversity of
use were as follows (* indicates introduced species):
Species with 6 uses: Sclerocarya birrea
Species with 4 uses: Bauhinia galpinii, Berchemia zeyheri; Dichrostachys cinerea, Euclea
crispa, Syzygium cordatum
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Table 1: Detailed breakdown of the scores and ranking against NTFP issues and elements for the selected legal documents
Legal documents
Convention on Biodiversity
SADC Forestry Protocol
UNCED Agenda 21
Millennium Development Goals
Environmental Initiative of New Partnership
for Africa Development (NEPAD)
SADC policy and strategy for Environment
and Sustainable Development
World Bank Forest Strategy/ Policy and
Forest Certification
Convention in International Trade of
Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna
National biodiversity strategy & action plan
Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest
management
National environment policy
National forest policy
Game act
Plant control act
Forest preservation act
National trust commission act
Scores* by Issues and elements of NTFPs**
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
International protocols, conventions and strategies
2 2 2 2 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 2 2 2 1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 1 2 2 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 2 1 1 1
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2 2 1 1 1
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
17
18
19
20
21
Grand
Score
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
42
41
40
38
38
1
2
3
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
38
4
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
37
5
1
2
2
2
0
1
1
1
33
6
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
0
2
2
1
2
1
2
30
30
1
1
2
2
0
2
1
1
2
2
2
0
0
1
2
2
2
0
1
1
2
2
2
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
29
28
19
10
9
8
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
(a)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2 1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2 1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
1
0
0
1
2
2
2
(b) National policies and legislation
1 1 2 1 1
2
2
2
2
1 1 0 0 1
2
2
2
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
2
1
0
2
2
2
1
0
1
2
2
2
1
0
1
2
2
1
0
1
0
2
2
1
0
1
0
Rank
*Scores: Issues and elements of NTFPs addressed: 2 = adequately; 1 = inadequately; 0 = not addressed
**The 21 Issues and elements of NTFPs: 1 Stakeholders involvement; 2 Economic incentives; 3 Existing gaps; 4 Broad spectrum; 5 Decentralisation; 6 Sustainable Management; 7
Schedules of species; 8 Red data list; 9 Flora Protection; 10 Strategies for sustainable management; 11 Commercialization and domestication; 12 Implementability; 13 Status of policy; 14
Impact of Alien Invasive species; 15 Ethnobotanical Surveys; 16 Trade Chains; 17 Valuation of NTFPs; 18 Integrated Forest Management; 19 Scientific understanding; 20 Training; 21
Collaboration
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 2: Use categories of NTFPs in Swaziland (goods and services)
Use Category
1. Forest foods & drinks
2. Forest medicines
3. Thatching material
4. Plant tannin & Dyes
5. Household items &
fibre products
6. Handicrafts & fibre
products
7. Animals & animal
products
8. Fuel wood & charcoal
9. Other NTFPs
10. Cultural ceremonies
& rituals
11. Landscaping and
ornamentals
12. Fodder & grazing
13. Floral greenery
14. Tourism and
recreation
15. Soil fertility & soil
conservation
16. Pollination services
17. Hydrological cycle &
water conservation
18. Other environmental
services
Comments
Direct Use
Edible fruits, leaves, roots, buds, herbs, other edible portions that contribute to
improving food security and nutritional status
Leaves, bark, fruits, roots, other
Different grasses used as roofing material
Plant dyes from bark and other parts, including vegetable tannin materials
Items made from indigenous forests found in households; include kitchen
utensils, mats, sweepers, other
Everyday utensils, some also used in traditional ceremonies. Weapons such as
knob sticks. Traded items made for tourists
Ivory, trophies, bones, feathers, butterflies, live animals and birds and
bushmeat, etc
A major source of energy to both rural and urban households traded in large
amounts throughout the country.
Spices, insect products, natural plant pigments, essential oils, incense wood,
latex, plant gums, waxes etc.
Indirect Use
Plants used in local and national ceremonies. Use of bird feathers in traditional
gear, Plants and animals used as indicators, e.g. red chested cuckoo calling in
the ploughing season.
Shade, windbreaks, garden plants, hedges, aesthetics. Improves the scenery.
Trees, shrubs, grasses, and others that provide for livestock fodder
Ferns, wild flowers, herbs, other
Intermediate Use Services
Forests and trees provide habitats for animals and plants that attract foreign
visitors and generate income. Useful in Biodiversity conservation.
Plant parts such as roots, leaves, fruits, bark, other, that contribute to soil
stabilization and maintaining soil fertility
Various insects; bees, beetles and other that contribute to crop production;
including birds and bats.
Natural forests and woodlands play a crucial role in the water cycle and in
water holding and circulation
Services such as oxygen production, acid rain deposition, carbon sequestration.
Species with 3 uses: Acacia dealbata*; Acacia karroo, Brachylaena discolor, Ficus sur,
Phoenix reclinata, Ziziphus mucronata.
Community consultations
Information on various species used for NTFPs in the study areas obtained through the
community consultation meetings show much variation between the study areas for the
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
different product groups (Table 3). The graphical representation (Figure 2) shows the
differences in perceptions of men versus women in the use of different types of resources.
User surveys and economic valuation
The mean quantities and values of edible and medicinal goods harvested per household per
year in the four study areas show much variation (Table 4). There is a very high extraction
rate of edible NTFPs at Siphofaneni area, suggesting households in this area make good use
of the available wild edible NTFPs in their surrounding natural woodlands. Similarly the
households of Grand Valley area rely heavily on the available natural medicines in their
surrounding woodlands.
Edible plant species
Threatened edible plant
species
Medicinal plant species
Threatened medicinal
plant species
Edible animal species
Threatened edible
animal species
Top priority species
Total
NTFP
species
Siphofaneni
Hhelehhele
North
Shewula
Product group
Grand Valley
Table 3: Number of preferred and threatened species reported during community
consultations (including repetitions for different categories) in the different study
sites, based on the perceptions of the respondents
Mean no.
responses
(out of
40)*
Standard
deviation
38
2
16
1
16
5
20
9
180
34
25.1 ab
25.6 ab
1.9
0.7
20
7
20
5
13
5
9
0
124
34
28.1 a
21.6 b
1.3
1.4
4
0
0
0
5
0
7
4
32
8
13.4 c
26.5 a
1.3
1.8
5
7
10
15
74
27.4 a
1.2
* Means with same letter indicates no differences and different letters indicate differences
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Figure 2: Graphical representation of the percentage responses of community representatives
(male and female separately) for the various product groups at the four study areas
Table 4: Mean annual quantities (kg) and values (US$) per household in the four study areas
in the ecological zones of Swaziland
NTFPs
Edible
Medicinal
Edible
Medicinal
Hhelehhele North
Grand Valley
Shewula
Number of observations (N) and mean* annual quantities (kg)
N
Kg
N
Kg
N
Kg
193
115.8b
239
410.4b
96
166.4b
99
2.8b
148
5.3a
103
1.6c
Number of observations (N) and mean* annual values (US$)
N
US$
N
US$
N
US$
193
53.9b
239 534.0ab
96
80.9b
99
65.6b
148
122.1 a
103
37.0c
Siphofaneni
N
217
102
Kg
2144.9a
1.6c
N
217
102
US$
995.6a
37.4c
*Means with same letters are not statistically significantly different, Exchange rate: 1US$ is equivalent to R6.50
as at 2004 (Times of Swaziland, 2nd March 2004)
The study assessed resource use over six classes of harvesting duration for edible NTFPs (in
weeks) and nine classes for harvesting duration medicinal NTFPs (in months). The highest
extraction rate for edible NTFPs occurred over eight weeks, and for medicinal NTFPs over 5
months (Table 5). Some species are harvested any time of the year (for medicine), but it
should be noted that these are not harvested continuously but fall within the given harvesting
durations as well.
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Table 5: Mean annual quantities and mean annual values per household over the respective
harvesting durations
Variable*
(a) Harvesting duration in weeks: Edibles
4
8
12
16
20
24
N
29
256
255
157
45
3
Kg
15.9 1804.3
106.9
644.9
239.3
64
US$
7.4
834.8
54.3
808.1
155.3
78.8
(b) Harvesting duration in months: Medicinal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
N
133
116
99
63
23
10
4
Kg
0.9
1.5
2.3
7.4
14.1
3
3
US$
22.3
36.3
54
171.4
325.8
69.2
70.7
* N = Number of observations; Kg = volume of harvest; US$ = value of harvest
8
1
4
93.2
9
3
4
103.8
A study by Hassan et al. (2002) amongst the rural communities (urban populations showed a
low dependence on direct harvesting from natural forests and woodlands) provided an
economic valuation of forest products for seven major NTFPs groups (Table 6). The
contribution of natural forests and woodlands in flow benefits, including the highlighted
NTFPs, was equivalent to 2.2% of the total GDP, 20% of agricultural GDP and 439% of the
contribution of forestry reported in the national accounts for 2000 (Hassan et al. 2002). It
should be noted that this excludes indirect use benefits and intermediate services of the
natural forests and woodlands.
The top 10 most harvested species in each of edible and medicinal NTFPs were selected based
on harvesting frequency and quantities over the four study sites (Table 7). Sclerocarya birrea
was the most highly ranked species in the user surveys (as was found in the matrix of
common NTFPs above which showed it to be the most multi-purpose species in Swaziland
with six uses).
Table 6: Total value of NTFP groups harvested for various purposes by ecological zone (US$
millions/year) (adapted from Hassan et al. (2002)
NTFPs group
Fuel wood
Thatch
Edibles
Medicines
Craft wood
Weaving grass
Fodder
Highveld
10.98
0.36
0.07
0.01
0.01
0.27
0.30
Middleveld
8.27
0.46
0.04
0.09
0.04
0.15
0.33
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Lowveld
7.20
0.47
0.10
0.03
0.07
0.20
Lubombo
3.15
0.03
0.01
0.06
Total
29.6
1.33
0.24
0.10
0.06
0.50
0.99
315
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 7: Top 10 most commonly harvested species in each of the categories of edible and
medicinal NTFPs across the study sites
Species (* = introduced species)
Mass (kg)
harvested/yr
Species
Mass (kg)
harvested/yr
Edibles
Medicinal
755 Aloe saponaria
Sclerocarya birrea
204 Momordica onvolucrata
Strychnos spinosa
186 Momordica claematidia
Strychnos madagascariensis
180 Tubernaemontana elegans
Aloe saponaria
Caterpillars
180 Schotia brachypetala
170 Kigelia africana
Psidium guajava*
Umbhindolo (SiSwati name)
160 Siphonochilus aethopicus
128 Pittosporum viridiflorum
Pollichia campestris
124 Rotheca hirsuta
Syzygium cordatum
123 Peltophorum africanum
Englerophytum natalense
The prioritised multi-purpose species harvested for both edible and medicinal purposes
Sclerocarya birrea; Psidium guajava*; Momordica involucrata; Momordica clematidea; Aloe
saponaria; Berchemia zeyheri
24.6
12.0
12.0
8.5
7.6
6.5
5.6
3.5
3.4
2.9
Resource surveys and economic valuation
The number of species recorded for the different ecological varied slightly between the zone
but the differences were not statistical significant (Table 8). However, Umtfumunye natural
forest and woodland in the Middleveld had a much higher number of species, for both edible
and medicinal NTFPs. The Shewula Nature Reserve in the Lubombo Plateau had the highest
number of multi-purpose plant species. Hlutse in the Lowveld had the lowest number of
species. Overall the findings of the study indicate that the natural forests and woodlands
selected for the resource surveys are denuded or heavily depleted of the preferred tree species
of edible and medicinal NTFPs. As a result there were far too few tree species per sampling
plot and it is not possible to establish relative frequencies of tree species based on DBH and
height. This assessment could therefore only deal with the number of individuals per species.
The differences between zones were, however, highly significant for inventory value, yields
and unit prices (Table 8).
The general assessment is that the condition of the natural forests and woodlands in the
selected study sites is poor. Some key species of edible and medicinal NTFPs have been noted
as being lost from the sampled areas (Table 9). Patches of bare land were most noticeable in
all the sampling plots in all study sites.
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 8: Summary of the inventory and economic valuation in sampled forests/woodlands in
the four ecological zones.
Study Area
Ecological zone
Hhelehhele
North
Highveld
Name of Forest
Lufafa
Shewula
Siphofaneni
Grand Valley
Lubombo
Plateau
Shewula
Reserve
Lowveld
Middleveld
Hlutse
Untfumunye
Number of species
18
18
12
34
Growth form
Number of stems per 10 plots (0.25 ha) by growth form
Trees
21
31
35
62
Shrubs
11
12
11
26
Understory
2
10
3
12
Other
7
5
2
60
Total
41
58
51
160
Categories
Number of individuals (Number of species)
Edible plants
22 (7)
13 (8)
15 (6)
62 (15)
Medicinal plants
16 (11)
24 (11)
23 (6)
88 (26)
Multipurpose plants
3 (3)
21 (3)
13 (4)
10 (7)
Variable
Stand values*
Stems/ha per species
20.1
36.1
23.5
20.2
Value: US$/ha
230.8
785.2
852.0
510.0
Unit price: US$/species
7.6
12.0
11.5
14.6
Yield: kg/ha/yr
20.9
31.5
43.1
17.8
* Exchange rate: 1US$ is equivalent to R6.50 as at 2004 (Times of Swaziland, 2nd March2004).
Table 9: List of missing common/key species (based on available local literature and
community consultations) in the inventory results across study sites
Edible species:
Medicinal Species:
Psalliota campestris
Aloe maculata
Syzygium cordatum
Ficus sur
Cephalanthus natalensis
Lannea discolor
Vangueria infausta
Lantana rugosa
Berchemia zeyheri
Pittosporum viridiflorum
Drimia delagoensis
Schotia brachypetala
Manilkara species
Harpephyllum caffrum
Encephalartos species
Senecio rhyncholaenus
Pterocarpus angolensis
Maesa lanceolata
Discussion
This study has shown that NTFPs have significant direct socio-economic use values and
benefits at local and national level in Swaziland. Inadequate policy recognition in general
leads to the underestimation of the role of NTFPs in sustaining rural economies (Dovie 2003).
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
But policy makers are not clear on what government, the private sector, or local communities
can do to preserve an optimum level of forest biodiversity (Bhattarai and Hammig 1998). As
an intervention, it is therefore necessary to ensure their sustainable use and management
through proper management systems that should be provided for in the national and
international policies and legislation relevant to the NTFP sector.
The existing national policies and legislation, including the national criteria and indicators for
sustainable forest management, contain elements and issues of NTFPs but to a lesser extent
compared to the existing international policies and legislation. This has made it difficult to
develop NTFPs at the local and national levels, despite their ecological, environmental, social,
cultural, spiritual, and economic roles in the country. The lack of a broader stakeholder
participation and involvement, including resource users, particularly rural communities, in
policy and legislation formulation processes is one of the reasons for the weak and ineffective
policies. In this study a new 4-step hierarchical approach to policy and legislation review and
analysis was developed and presented. The assessment of a total of 16 national and
international policies and legislation based on 21 criteria provides a basis for the improvement
of future natural resources management policies and legislation.
An analysis of previous studies in Swaziland showed a profound lack of information on the
status of NTFPs. There is a great need for qualitative and quantitative statistics on the status
of the full range of NTFPs (goods and services) in Swaziland. Shackleton and Shackleton
(2004) raised similar needs from a study in South Africa because of the emergency net
function and insurance which NTFPs provide during times of misfortune (drought, diseases,
economic recessions, etc). Omission of the total true economic value of the direct and
indirect use benefits and intermediate use services of NTFPs in Swaziland can lead to the
government agreeing to land conversion from natural woody systems to other land use
options (e.g. agriculture). A national resource and environmental accounting is necessary to
safeguard decision makers in the selection and approval of development projects.
The updated main categories of NTFPs (goods and services) presented in this study, in line
with other regional and international studies, provides a useful tool in the classification of
NTFPs. The matrix displaying multi-purpose properties of species of commonly used NTFPs
in Swaziland and the associated ranking of top priority NTFP species is a good basis for
species selection for local and national level domestication and commercialization initiatives.
This provide for the formulation and development of a standard procedure for economic
valuation of NTFPs (Dlamini 2007) and an improvement of studies done in Swaziland by
DANCED (2000b) and Hassan et al. (2002).
Local communities lack knowledge of the existing policies and legislation that safeguard the
sustainable use of NTFPs in the adjacent natural forests and woodlands. They stated that there
are no existing traditional local-level NTFP management systems. This is confirmed by the
ongoing overexploitation and unsustainable use of NTFPs leading to the current accelerated
rate of forest degradation and deforestation. Uncontrolled trade in NTFPs by non-resident
collectors in South Africa is considered as one of the inevitable threats to forest biodiversity
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
(Dovie 2003). This reaffirms that the existing policies and legislation are weak, ineffective
and not implementable. Proper and innovative policies and legislation need to be put in place
to cope with the current challenges. The positive side is that local communities have identified
potential threats to forest biodiversity and are willing to participate in the conservation and
sustainable use of the adjacent natural forests and woodlands. They already have initiatives
towards selection of top priority species for domestication and commercialisation. The
institutional, cultural, socio-economic, ecological/environmental and policy issues raised by
local communities provide a crucial and essential element and opportunity for the formulation
and development of guidelines for local-level sustainable management and development of
NTFPs.
This study captured a wide range in NTFP utilization. The method used in the economic
valuation of NTFPs is an improvement of that suggested by Godoy et al. (1993, 2000) and
FAO 2001). It considered assessing the use of NTFPs at the village doorstep and before the
doorstep, which resulted in higher quantities and values per household compared to previous
studies. The user surveys showed the variation, between and within the specified villages
across the four ecological zones of Swaziland, in the actual annual quantities harvested and
direct use values per household of selected edible and medicinal NTFPs. Some households
extract fewer edible NTFPs compared to other households, particularly those in the Shewula
area, Lubombo plateau, with reliable food aid programmes. Some households extracted fewer
medicinal NTFPs, such as in the Siphofaneni area in the Lowveld with easy access to modern
medicines. Households with many unemployed members rely more heavily on NTFPs for
medicines, food and rural household income than those with employed members. For
example, reliance on NTFPs is low in the Shewula area with more employed household
members. The reliance on NTFPs with over 70% of the population of Swaziland being
unemployed is a major subsidy to the Swaziland Government (see also Shackleton and
Shackleton 2004). Governments should take a leading role in the formulation, design,
development and implementation of local and national level projects and programmes for the
sustainable management and development of NTFPs. The annual direct use values per
household of this study are comparable to those reported by from the Soliga households in
India (Hedge et al. 1996) and for South African rural households (High and Shackleton 2000,
Shackleton et al. 2002).
The NTFP resource assessment and economic valuation in this study is a genesis of NTFP
inventory and valuation in Swaziland. The sampling method yielded higher inventory values
compared to the NTFP inventories in the Amazonian rainforests (Peters et al. 1989), in the
tropical forests (Balick and Mendelson 1992) and in Maryland (Robles-Diaz-De-Leon and
Kangas 1999). Besides differences in forest types and species composition, one reason could
be that this study used smaller sample plots of 50 m x 50 m (smaller than the conventional 1
ha), and included all the plant growth forms (trees, small trees, shrubs and understory). Most
other studies target mainly trees and exclude shrubs and understorey plants.
The information on species distribution and estimated standing value of the selected NTFPs
showed their economic value. The values are relatively high despite the fast disappearance
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
and extinction of top priority species. The increased demand for NTFPs may result in
uncontrolled over exploitation of NTFPs, leading to accelerated forest degradation and
deforestation, and possible future disappearance and extinction of important NTFP species.
Shackleton and Shackleton (2000) showed that extraction rates of several secondary forest
resources are sustainable but not for more important or preferred ones like fuel wood,
construction wood and medicinal plants. An action programme for the rehabilitation of
degraded forests and jungles is highly necessary, and should form part of the new National
Forest Action Programme to combat this potential environmental catastrophe.
Conclusion
Three broad issues and a set of recommendations for the sustainable management of NTFPs
need to be considered:
1. Decision makers, forest managers and resource users lack of information on beneficial
NTFPs for individual, community, and national well-being, and the economic, ecological and
social characteristics of NTFPs and their uses. Government efforts to research, compile and
disseminate information and statistics to key stakeholders on NTFP resources and their socioeconomic and ecological values should be strengthened. Government and development
agencies should support education and public awareness programmes for NTFP conservation
and sustainable use.
2. The lack of protected rights to access and benefit from NTFP resources can adversely affect
their conservation and sustainable use and discourage investment in the resource.
Government, with assistance from concerned agencies and organizations, should i) develop
and implement policies and legislation to provide secure access and benefits for the people
whose livelihoods are dependent on or supplemented by NTFPs; and ii) ensure that
stakeholders, particularly collectors, growers and traders are provided incentives to
sustainably manage NTFP resources.
3. Individuals, communities and institutions generally lack the technical, financial, political
and social capacity to influence policies and generate information necessary to manage and
monitor NTFP resources effectively. Government, with assistance from concerned agencies
and organizations, should support programmes and projects to build individual, institutional
and community-based capacity to manage NTFPs through active participation of stakeholders.
Government and research agencies should give priority to research and the development and
dissemination of management practices, integrated into multi-purpose forest and agro-forestry
resource management.
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Theoretical framework for the sustainable management of NTFPs
The adoption of a new theoretical framework (Figure 3) is recommended for the sustainable
management of NTFPs at the local, national, regional and international levels, divided into
eleven strategies, i.e. the blocks in Figure 3 (Dlamini 2007):
Figure 3: Schematic presentation of the key elements in the sustainable management and
development of NTFPs (adapted from Dlamini 2007).
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NATURAL RESOURCES FROM COMMUNITY FORESTS:
ARE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS SUSTAINABLE FOR
THE COMMUNITIES?
P. Cuny
Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Cameroon.
Corresponding author: cunyp@yahoo.fr
Abstract
The Cameroon forestry law of 1994, which provides for the allocation of community forests
(CF), among other things, gives rural communities access rights to the forest resources around
their villages. This process is going through a lot of difficulties: local population
empowerment, forest governance, adapting technical aspects to rural communities, difficult
return on investment in real conditions (without external support), etc. Despite these
difficulties, some communities (alone or with partners or projects) have had the opportunities
and the willingness to implement “success stories” which are part of the already rich book of
the Cameroonian community forestry. In two villages, logging of the CF has generated annual
various revenues: community revenues (€3,500 and €4,800) and individual revenues (wages)
(€9,500 and €11,600), depending on the level of external support to the community. Analysis
shows that an economic model (€24/year/person in predominantly timber region) seems to be
confirmed by the two cases (€26/year/person (2005) and €20/year/person (2007) chosen for
this paper. These “low” profits could be largely improved by improving social,
environmental, technical and economical sustainability. SNV and its partners develop
supports to the main actors (rural communities, government, small and local private
companies, CSO) in order to (i) take traditional arrangements into account (ii) reinforce the
community forest management entities (iii) consider with high attention the forest allocation
phase (iv) group the CF (“union of CF”) (v) allow the SMP to become a management
sustainable tool (vi) take the other products (especially NTFP) into account.
What is community forestry?
The Cameroon forestry law of 1994 provides for the involvement of new actors in the
management of forest and wildlife resources. The setting up of community forests (CF)
guarantees rural communities access rights to the forest resources of their villages (Box 1). On
the basis of a management agreement signed with the State (including a simple management
plan, SMP), villagers have the opportunity to manage and harvest the products from their
community forests and to consider opportunities for development (MINEF 1998, Brown et al.
2002). The objectives of community forestry are (i) to create jobs and generate income in
rural areas, (ii) to improve the living conditions of the people, and (iii) to ensure the
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sustainable management of the environment while meeting the basic needs of rural
communities. The aim is to reduce the basic triple constraint, namely (i) limited rural
community access to forest resources, (ii) inadequate handling by communities of their own
development, and (iii) almost non-existent income at the local level (Cuny and Tobith 2006).
Box 1
A Community forest is “a forest forming part of the non-permanent forest estate, which
is covered by a management agreement between a village community and the Forestry
Administration. Management of such a forest - which should not exceed 5,000 ha – is the
responsibility of the village community concerned, with the help or technical assistance
of the Forestry Administration”. Source: Article 3(11) of Decree 95/531/PM of 23
August 1995.
Role of SNV in community forestry
The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) has a long experience in community
forestry (CF) in Cameroon. Firstly, through the project for Support to Sustainable
Development in the Lomié/Dja region (SDDL), and secondly, the Capacity Building
Programme (CBP, 2002–2005, co-financed by the British Department for International
Development [DfID] and SNV) aiming at involving civil society organizations in the
sustainable management of forests in order to fight poverty in Cameroon. CF enables the
forest dwellers, one of the poorest segments of society, to increase their control over the
generation and reinvestment of revenue based on legal production and commercialisation of
high quality timber for fair prices (Klein et al. 2001). Since 2005, SNV Cameroon supports
the community forestry process at meso level (NGO support to communities) and at macro
level in order to improve the rules, taking into account all experiences (support to the subdirectory Community Forests of the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry [MINFOF]).
Since 2007, SNV supports all actors (Civil Society Organizations [CSOs], private
individuals/companies, government, etc.) specifically involved in reinforcement of the
capacity of communities by grouping their CFs for an economy of scale, exchange of
experiences, achieving better quality and quantity of products and better prices, etc. The SNV
approach aims to reduce the main constraints related to CF management and wood
commercialisation, to stimulate the use of legal timber from CFs by urban woodworkers and
to increase the revenue of both forest dwellers and urban woodworkers.
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ARE POPULATION NEEDS SATISFIED?
Timber from community forests
Management of CFs can “theoretically” yield revenues. A theoretical analysis of the costs and
benefits of CF using an economic model (Vabi et al. 2002) showed significant variation in
benefits derived by rural communities in three different regions (per year and per person): (i)
predominantly timber where income is estimated at €24/annum, (ii) partly timber where
income is estimated at €4.5/annum, (iii) predominantly non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
where income is estimated at €4.2/annum. Another study (Klein et al. 2001) showed that a
community that exploits its forest alone can obtain €95/m³ of sawn timber per annum (Eastern
Province).
The SMP is a strategic document which defines and schedules the activities to be carried out
in the CF within a given time and space. It is designed to serve as a viable instrument for
forest resource management. The cost of preparing the CF application file of the Kongo
village (supported by SNV) is estimated at €545, i.e. about €0.18/ha. The cost of preparing the
SMP for the Kongo CF was €2,305, i.e. about €0.75/ha (excluding technical assistance
provided by the project) (Assembe Mvondo 2006, Cuny et al. 2006).
After all these costs, in the small-scale framework foreseen by the law, logging requires the
use of mobile saws (Lucas Mill-type) and the manual transportation of sawn timber by
villagers (which sometimes causes health problems). Logging was done by villagers in
contract with local private companies, without support from the project. Total revenue for the
village and its inhabitants, over five years, was €65,300 (annual average: €13,000), i.e. €60/m³
and €26/year/person. Social/community benefits represented 27% of the total and direct
income to individuals represented 73% (Cuny and Tobith 2006). Despite management
difficulties and misappropriation of funds, the exploitation of the Kongo community forest led
to significant socio-economic development of the village and generated substantial income for
several families.
The case of Medjoh CF is different because of project support. Expenditure during the initial
stages of development of this CF, before arriving at the logging phase, amounted to
approximately €12,500 (€2.5/ha). Timber for the local market (kosipo or Entandrophragma
candollei; dabema or Piptadeniastrum africanum) was sold at €60/m³. After deduction of the
human resource costs related to harvesting, the community benefit was €13/m³. If the costs of
loading and transporting the timber for sale on the local market, the community would have
lost money, but the timber transport costs were paid for by a private international forestry
company. Timber (iroko or Melicia excelsa) was sold at a higher price to local buyers
(€170/m³). After withdrawal of the human resource costs related to the harvesting, the
benefits were €68/m³. The reduction in the benefits is important when the running costs are
taken into account (€31/m³) (Julve et al. 2007). Specifically, SCNIC, a small local private
company supported by SNV) has supported the community in negotiating an international
contract directly with “The Best Wood Company” (based in The Netherlands): the result has
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been a sale of 16 m³ of sawn timber with a net benefit of €110/m³ (twice as a sale through
intermediaries).
In the Medjoh CF, if villagers could exploit 200 m³ (planned for the annual harvesting cycle,
with 80% for the local market and 20% for the international market), the annual community
and individual revenues would be respectively €4,800 and €11,600. The overall annual
revenue would be €16,400 (€20/year/person).
In conclusion, the economic model of Vabi et a.l (2002), with €24/year/person in a
predominantly timber region, seems to be good when compared to the Kongo revenue of
€26/year/person (in 2005) and the Medjoh revenue of €20/year/person (in 2007).
Other products from community forests
The multi-resources inventory included NTFPs and particularly the fauna, but the plan made
no provision for hunting of animals of for commercial harvesting of other NTFPs. Thus, the
harvesting of fauna and NTFPs remains individualistic and domestic. Women harvest NTFPs
to satisfy family needs for food (vegetables, condiments, oils, etc.), health care (strong use of
medicinal plants) and other daily and domestic needs (packing, etc). Few specialized studies
report on the valuation of NTFPs from CFs. The local community of the COPAL CF use
many NTFPs (Akoa Akoa 2007). The economic study focused on four NTFPs: the
community annually sells Njanssang (Ricinodendron heudoletii) and wrapping leaves of
Maranthaceae for up to €15,200 and €7620 respectively; Andock (Irvingia gabonensis) and
Gnetum (Gnetum africanum) each yield €1,000. Average revenue is theoretically estimated at
€2.75/person/day.
This example shows that NTFPs can be a good opportunity for different components of the
community (women, young people, etc.) to generate revenue with the valuation of these
products. Compared with timber, NTFPs (and other products) are often considered as of low
value (this could be false in forests low in timber sources), despite their diversity and multiple
use. Their use varies considerably through time and space, and their sales can fluctuate
strongly according market demand. NTFPs can provide sources of income which can overlap
or can be in conflict. For example, fruit, bark and wood of the same species can provide
different products for different uses.
Women organizations generally market wild mango (fruit and nuts of Irvingia gabonensis)
and products of Maranthaceae which are favoured NTFPs in Cameroon, to generate some
income.
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Is sustainability achieved?
Social sustainability
The idea to create a CF is rarely the result of the willingness of the communities but it often
comes from external actors with much interest in the process. This situation makes social
mobilization difficult, with inadequate social organization and low representation of women
and the youth in the offices of the management entities (SNV 2005). The process therefore is
often taken over by some actors (most often the elite and businessmen), making ownership by
local communities with limited capacity and resources difficult (Auzel et al. 2001). Thus the
quality of the SMP varies according to the structures that prepare them. It is generally not
done in a participatory manner (hence limited sharing of benefits by communities thereby not
allowing good forest harvesting activities).
There are many organizational constraints. Communities do not manage the income derived
from the harvesting of community forests adequately (misappropriation of funds) and this
often leads to conflicts. It can happen that the timber buyers corrupt the forest managers in
order to get the timber at a low price and/or no payment. There is a huge communication gap
between those responsible for managing the forest and the rest of the community which, in the
short-term, can cause conflict. The sharing of information, considered as a power, is difficult
in the villages. The executive office (elected in the general assembly) loses its power as soon
as the forest begins to create wealth to the advantage of other powers (clans, elitist,
individualistic, tribal, etc.). In another way, the manual transportation of sawn timber on the
head by villagers is a tedious, dangerous and costly exercise, especially when products are far
from storage areas and derived from dense wood. Lastly, the process is often long, complex
and difficult. For example, in the Medjoh CF, the conciliation meeting took place in 2000
(beginning of the process) and made it possible to define the limits of the forest; the SMP has
been approved in 2005 and the harvesting started in October 2006.
Environmental sustainability
The harvesting from the CF has generally been fraught with many problems. Before 2003,
about 40% of forests underwent industrial-type harvesting (MINEF-DfID 2004).
Decentralized offices of MINFOF rarely monitor the process with the consequence that
community forest management procedures are often incorrectly applied. Ecological
sustainability can be endangered by over-exploitation and exclusive focus on timber species.
Thus, the harvested volume of valuable species is often higher than the natural potential of the
forest. This imbalance does not respect the SMP which can involve a suspension of the
management agreement. It is often the case that annually the logger covers the whole forest in
search of trees, which should have been harvested once in ten or even twenty years.
Moreover, in the Kongo village, two species (sapelli or Entandrophragma cylindricum; moabi
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or Baillonella toxisperma account for 75% of the total volume as a result of selective felling
(often without respecting the SMP).
Technical sustainability
The multi-resource inventory requires technical expertise (trained prospectors, dataprocessing), material (compasses, GPS, GIS) and financial means (€1.2/ha). Its preparation is
very expensive and requires high level technical skills but calculations of yield regulation
have value only for forests of a minimum area of 20,000 ha (Durieu et al. 2004). MINFOF do
not have sufficient means to control sustainable resource use and the main part of the CF
planning is confined to drawing a map of equal areas for annual harvests (Vermeulen et al.
1997). Finally, the inventory is rarely used as a tool of decision-making to aid development of
the SMP (Julve et al. 2007).
Input supplies (fuel, lubricants, spare parts, etc) and maintenance of equipment are some of
the major difficulties faced by communities to harvest and manage their forests (Nguenang
2003). Control (or information on irregularities) of community forest harvesting by the rural
population is also difficult (limited power).
Economical sustainability
Communities encounter major problems in marketing their forest products due to the absence
of a marketing culture, lack of skills and logistics. Investment is large at the beginning of the
process: inventory of the forest resources, SMP preparation, costly Lucas Mill-type mobile
saws (too expensive for communities) and the purchase of a bill of loading to MINFOF
(transportation of timber forest products).
Other constraints limit the profits of villagers: (i) Low price cheating by wood buyers and
middlemen (prices imposed; not negotiated) (ii) Contracts often oriented towards the interests
of the timber company or wood buyers, often too vague, and rarely respected. For example, in
Kongo the communities receive €39/m3 for Entndrophragma utile whereas its Free On Board
(FOB) value is €214/m3. Moreover, operations of timber grading are often against the
population interests and some buyers do not pay for timber delivered by communities.
In these conditions, return on investment (ROI) is very difficult and situations of dependence
are developing (in particular with private forest companies as in Medjoh), but are not viable in
the long term. CF should not depend on the willingness of the external actors but must aim at
an internal efficiency in order to be able to achieve its goals within its own means (sale of
products). In addition, the official formal market (within which the CFs should operate)
cannot be in competition with the parallel illegal timber market chain frequently called "wild
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sawing", an activity conducted because of the legal constraints and, which do to corruption,
create prices which are impossible to compete with.
Lastly, government now requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which poses a
new administrative burden for the community. The cost of the CF management process
increases because of the EIA price of €11.000 which reduces the possibility of poverty
alleviation.
Ways to improve the process towards sustainability
The many difficulties and constraints mentioned above make it difficult to reach sustainable
management of CFs, especially in the framework of logging. SNV (with other actors) is
involved in different processes to facilitate a better implementation of CF practices.
Consideration of traditional arrangements
It is often difficult to achieve actual representation in some villages at the side of the road
(composed of many non-local groups), and in others with Pygmies or migratory herders (who
are often excluded). Traditional village organizations are often not considered when NGOs
prepare the implementation of the legal CF management entity. However, villagers have
traditional systems of organization, such as the “gula” (system of traditional council
meetings), that maintains the balance of power in the village and therefore have strong social
legitimacy and a good representation. In the east of Cameroon, the “boumkwa” (community
of wise villagers) could also be considered. The specific decision-making systems of the
Pygmies (the “yé”) involve several groups (including women) who first discuss issues
separately and then come together in a “plenary”. On the basis of these traditional systems of
management, including sanctions (where they still exist), the organizational capacity of the
legal CF management entity (association or Common Initiative Group [CIG]) can be
strengthened. The traditional authority may see new structures such as the CIG as a rival
entity (competing for power and money) and conflicts between these two types of power may
develop. Developing a partnership between the NGO and the traditional leadership may help
to prevent such potential conflicts (Cuny 2004).
Reinforcement of the legal community forest management entity
The management entities (ME) have to improve (i) the representation and social legitimacy of
their leaders, (ii) their governance (better respect for articles of association and the rules), (iii)
their capacity to negotiate transparent contracts with actors (harvesting or marketing), in
relation to the SMP (to avoid over-harvesting of their forest resources), (iv) transparency in
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their management of accounts (better income management capacity), and (v) their acceptance
of a strong control by the village community.
Acceptance of the forest allocation phase
It is necessary to ensure ongoing sensitization of community members at the start and
throughout the CF management process to enable the whole population to understand the
developments and to assure control over the technical activities and management of revenue.
In communities lacking stable leadership structures (southern Cameroon), social development
aimed at ensuring community empowerment may take time towards adoption of a
“community spirit”. Throughout the development process there should be buy-in from all
actors to develop a sense of ownership of the concept, particularly by women and minorities
who are often excluded of the process. This phase is important because it lays the foundation
for the community participation approach and unites people around a common goal. This
would limit groups with divergent objectives and interests to eventually endanger the whole
exercise.
Grouping of community forests
SNV (and other actors like World Wide Fund for Nature [WWF] and Nature+) supports the
concept of grouping of the CFs to form a “Union of CFs” because of (i) experience sharing
and support between the CFs ("we are together"), (ii) the possibility of using the logging
equipment jointly (with precise rules), (iii) marketing of products of quantity/quality
according to the market demand, (iv) potential to diversify production (NTFPs, fisheries, etc.),
(v) the possibility through combined action, of lobbying/advocating/negotiation with the
government (particularly against administrative bureaucracy and illegal harvesting), and (vi)
seeking funds together. However, such a union of CFs should not constrain the autonomy of
each CF. Lastly, the contract procedure, described above, could be supported by grouping CFs
to create an economy of scale and increase the diversity of species used. The union of CFs
should develop an “entrepreneurial spirit” and unity: for example, ten associations can each
year offer more than 5,000 m3 and a large volume of quality species to timber harvesters
within a specific contractual framework that protects the interests of each community and, in
the long-term, aims at certifying timber intended for export.
Use the simple management plan as a tool to achieve sustainable management
The SMP has to become a sustainable management tool, despite the fact that it is a new
concept for the communities, it is not very applicable to small scale operations, and MINFOF
does not ensure effective follow-up (because of lack of interest and means). CF develops
amongst part of the community a concern for conservation which is translated into concrete
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reality by population supervision and reduction of illegal small-scale logging. Harvesting (in
collaboration with small private operators) can be a mining operation (a threat to forest
biodiversity) if it is focussed on a very limited number of species of high value on the timber
market. It is therefore essential to distinguish between management (community approach)
and exploitation-marketing (private or cooperative approach). This involves strengthening the
contracting capacity/ability of a community (it is the community that “decides”...). SNV
through its operating teams is carrying out actions in this way. Grassroots’ organizations
(CIGs and unions) backed by NGOs, need assistance in negotiating contracts and ensuring
respect for their execution. The functioning of grassroots’ organizations must be assessed by
the people themselves and improved upon on the basis of the internal working of the
community without losing sight of the fact that the management of a CF is a community
project.
Timber should not be the only resource
Numerous other opportunities can be integrated into the CF management beyond the current
focus on timber: NTFPs, ecotourism, subsistence hunting, small-scale fishing, extraction of
sand, stones or ores, reforestation, handicraft, fuel wood, charcoal, farming (commercial /
subsistence crops), etc. All these opportunities would allow the SMP to become polyvalent
and thereby involve all the components of the society. NTFP valuation in a CF could be made
with (i) the study on the situation of the various NTFPs (statute, pressure), (ii) the
development of plans of specific management for certain NTFPs, (iii) the creation of village
nurseries, (iv) the development of the harvesting and marketing of certain NTFPs, and (v) the
security of the product value chains. However, for the NTFP industry to enter the
Cameroonian mainstream industrial culture, it is critical to attempt the integration of the
timber industry with the NTFP industry to benefit both sectors. There are four possible types
of interaction between the NTFP and timber industries: independent resource use, competition
for resources, complementary resource use and symbiotic resource use. The latter two seem
the most adapted to the context of Cameroonian CFs and experiences in these two approaches
could be incorporated into such integrated and collaborative management within the
community forests.
Acknowledgements
SNV is a Netherlands Development Organization. It is present in 32 countries including 17 in
Africa. It has been operating in Cameroon since 1963 and provides support, counseling and
guidance to civil society organizations, local communities, decentralized services of the State
and the private sector. Through its main areas of action (community forestry, NTFPs,
pastoralism / livestock, water, health), SNV seeks to accomplish two main goals: job creation
/ income generation, access to basic services, without losing sight of social differences
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between minorities and the other components of the society. SNV ensures that activities
carried out in all its areas of action have a positive effect on gender relations.
Acronyms
CF
Community Forestry / Forest(s)
CIAD
International Support Centre for
Sustainable Development
CIG
Common Initiative Group
COPAL Coopérative des Paysans et
Agriculteurs de la Lékié
CSO
Civil Society Organization
DfID
Department for International
Development
EIA
Environmental Impact Assessment
MINEF
Ministry of the Environment and
Forestry
MINFOF Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife
NGO
NTFP
Non-Governmental Organization
Non-Timber Forest Product
ROI
SCNIC
Return on Investment
SDDL
Support to Sustainable Development
in the Lomié/Dja region
Simple Management Plan
Netherlands Development
Organization
World Wide Fund for Nature
FOB
GIS
Free On Board
Geographic Information System
SMP
SNV
GPS
Global Positioning System
WWF
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harvesting and wood processing for the benefit of the poor, 2-6 October 2006, Ho Chi
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octobre 2004 au CIRAD, Montpellier)
Klein M, Salla B, Kok J. 2001. Forêts communautaires: les efforts de mise en œuvre à Lomié,
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Séduisante théorie, douloureuse pratique : la foresterie communautaire camerounaise en
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MINEF 1998. Manual of the procedures for the attribution, and norms for the management of
community forests. 101pp
MINEF-DFID 2004. Etat des lieux de la foresterie communautaire au Cameroun. 149pp
Nguenang GM. 2003. Contraintes techniques et financières à l’élaboration des plans simples
de gestion. In: Bwangué J, et al. (eds). Actes de l’atelier sur la foresterie communautaire
de Somalomo du 5 – 6 juin 2003. Projet Forêt Communautaire. pp15-18
SNV 2005. Guide d’intégration du genre dans la foresterie communautaire, Cameroun. 40pp
Vabi M, Njankoua DW, Muluh GA. 2002. The costs and benefits of community forests in
selected agro-ecological regions of Cameroon. MINEF-CFDP, FRR, DFID.
Vermeulen C. 1997, Problématique de la délimitation des forêts communautaires en forêt
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l’espace forestier par l’ethnie Badjoué. Avenir des Peuples des Forêts Tropicales Faculté
Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux, 84pp
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HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY AND THE SAFETY-NET
FUNCTION OF NTFPs IN THE EASTERN CAPE AND
LIMPOPO PROVINCES, SOUTH AFRICA
F. Paumgarten1 and C.M. Shackleton
Department of Environmental Sciences, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
1
Present address: CIFOR-Zambia. Lusaka, Zambia.
Corresponding author: fi.paumgarten@gmail.com
Abstract
Many rural households live in and depend on forests, deriving multiple benefits from the
goods and services provided. These extend beyond the direct-use and associated cost saving,
and include an important safety-net function. NTFPs as a rural safety-net offer both
consumption- and income-smoothing options. Despite the increasing awareness of the
potential role played by NTFPs in helping households cope with vulnerability, the empirical
evidence of this function, its prevalence and how it manifests is still sparse. In light of these
gaps in the understanding and appreciation of the potential safety-net role of NTFPs, this
study examines the safety-net function within two rural villages in South Africa thereby
contributing towards an understanding of this role. Rural households in both villages are
vulnerable to a range of risks, shocks and trends. Annual expenses (including school fees),
increasing living costs, social expenses and expenses associated with illness/injury were
experienced by more than 60% of households over a two year period. Households turn to a
range of coping strategies in response to these crises, however certain responses were found to
be more common irrespective of the shock in question. Those used more prevalently both in
terms of proportion of households and the range of crises for which they were employed,
include the use and sale of NTFPs (70 %) and kinship (85 %). The use of NTFPs as a rural
safety-net was found to manifest through both the use and sale of various products (with
certain products being favoured particularly fuel wood) with increased use being the more
dominant manifestation. Understanding households’ own strategies for combating poverty
and vulnerability is important for the effective targeting of public safety-nets.
Introduction
The livelihoods of rural households throughout the developing world are inherently fragile,
exposed to shocks, trends and seasonal fluctuations over which households have limited or no
control (DFID 1999). Shocks include human, crop and livestock health shocks and economic
shocks. These are generally unpredictable in nature, can destroy assets or compel people to
precipitately dispose of assets as a means to cope. Trends are more predictable and do not
necessarily impact negatively on households. These include population, resource,
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technological, economic and governance trends. Seasonality is described as an enduring
source of hardship and includes the seasonality of process, production, health and
employment opportunities (DFID 1999). Rural households adopt a range of livelihood
strategies, draw from diverse income sources and invest in an assortment of assets in an
endeavour to achieve their livelihood outcomes and provide a buffer to risk (Niehof 2004,
Bryceson and Fonseca 2006). These livelihood strategies include off-farm and land-based
strategies, including the use and sale of non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
Coping strategies are characterised by a household’s resilience to shocks and ability to return
to a former livelihood status by relying on diverse incomes, food sources, skills and kinship
networks (De Waal and Whiteside 2003). Recently NTFPs have been considered for their role
in minimising crises-related impacts on rural households and as a possible means to assist
households to move out of poverty (Angelsen and Wunder 2003, Belcher et al. 2005). NTFPs
are used to meet basic needs, are sold to generate cash and serve an important gap-filling or
safety-net function (Khare el al. 2000, Shackleton et al. 2002). A household’s degree of
vulnerability and the NTFPs used as a safety-net are determined by the nature, probability and
intensity of the shock as well as the household’s ability to cope with such shocks in terms of
alternative income sources and insurance mechanisms (Angelsen and Wunder 2003,
McSweeney 2003). The need for empirical data on the value and strength of the safety-net
function of NTFPs as well as how the safety-net function manifests is still necessary
(Shackleton and Shackleton 2004, Belcher et al. 2005). There is a lack of characterisation and
common understanding of what constitutes a safety-net, as offered by access to and use of
NTFPs. Furthermore, research has often focussed on tropical forests with less focus on
resources from other ecosystems including savannas and woodlands. Consequently there is
the need to examine the concept and nature of rural safety-nets in the South African situation
with a particular focus on the role of NTFPs. For the purposes of this study the safety-net
function of NTFPs has been classified as the increased use of NTFPs, the use of different
NTFPs or the sale of NTFPs by households in response to times of need.
Study area
Two study sites were chosen, both within former homelands (as designated under South
Africa’s apartheid government). The village Dyala lies in the Kat River valley of the Eastern
Cape Province. Dixie is in the Bushbuckridge Municipality of the Limpopo province.
According to Gelb (2003) the Limpopo and Eastern Cape provinces are the two poorest in the
country.
Biophysical environment
Dyala experiences warm, wet summers and cold winters. Mean annual rainfall is 997 mm.
The surrounding area is a mosaic of grasslands and forest patches, including commercial
timber plantations and natural evergreen forest. Classified as Amathole Montane Grassland
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(Mucina and Rutherford 2006), highveld sour grasses are common although where heavy
grazing occurs, the indigenous pioneer Acacia karroo has spread. Non-perennial and
perennial streams ensure a water supply.
Dixie experiences dry, frost-free winters and warm, wet summers (Swart 1996). The mean
annual rainfall is approximately 600 mm although erratic rainfall, frequent droughts, poor
soils and limited land make cultivation difficult and crop failure common (Shackleton and
Shackleton 2000). Dixie falls within the “Granite Lowveld” vegetation type (Mucina and
Rutherford 2006).
Socio-economic environment
Former homeland areas throughout South Africa have similar characteristics in terms of poor
service provision, low levels of development, high unemployment and a reliance on diverse
livelihood strategies. Both Dyala and Dixie have limited infrastructure with no electricity,
potable water or sewage reticulation. People rely primarily on river- and rainwater while fuel
wood and paraffin constitute the primary forms of energy. Both communities rely on nearby
regional centres for more diverse services.
General economic activity in the surrounding areas is low with high unemployment. For
Dyala residents, there are limited opportunities in the forestry sector, small-scale tourism
ventures and as seasonal farm labourers. In Dixie, tourism and the informal economy are the
major employers. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercises indicated a high dependence
on government welfare grants. Land-based strategies include arable agriculture, animal
husbandry and NTFP use.
Land in the Kat River valley is a mix of private and communal/state land ownership. The
Dyala community has open access to land, including natural forest, except for the surrounding
forestry department timber plantations where access is controlled by permit. Land-use in
Dixie is a mix of residential plots, arable fields, communal grazing areas and up-market
private conservation areas. The community has residential, grazing and cropping rights to the
farm on which Dixie was established in 1963. Despite much of the area being marginal for
agriculture, households are involved in subsistence arable agriculture and animal husbandry
(Shackleton and Shackleton 2000).
Materials and Methods
Structured and semi-structured household interviews were employed. These addressed
households’ livelihood strategies (including the use and sale of NTFPs), households’
vulnerability context over a two year period and households’ response to crises, taking all
coping strategies into account but focussing in particular on the safety-net function of NTFPs
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(Paumgarten 2006). One hundred households were sampled: fifty households in each village.
The data were analysed: for nominal categorical data a Pearson’s Chi-Squared Test was used
to determine significant associations between variables whilst numerical values were analysed
using a t-test for independent samples (where the data was normally distributed) or the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U Test if the data failed tests for normality and homogeneity.
Results
Household vulnerability
All the sampled households were exposed to at least one crisis, either anticipated or
unanticipated, during the two year period (Table 1).
Common crises, experienced by more than 50% of households, were illness/injury, increased
living costs, and annual, social and agricultural expenses. The crises were experienced by
households in both villages with significant differences existing in five cases: social expenses,
loss of/damage to property, death/funeral expenses (Dixie), agricultural expenses and crop
loss/damage (Dyala) (Table 2).
The use and sale of NTFPs
In both villages all the sampled households reported using NTFPs suggesting that as a safetynet, this option is available to all. Before considering the safety-net function of NTFPs, the
more regular use was considered. All the sampled households reported using NTFPs, while
22% were involved in the sale. Households in Dixie were using and selling a significantly
greater number of resources than in Dyala (Table 3).
With respect to the different NTFPs, there were significant differences in the proportions of
households consuming in the case of thirteen. Those NTFPs where no significant inter-village
differences existed included fuel wood, wild fruits, medicinal plants, honey and thatch grass.
With respect to those NTFPs where significant differences did exist, in all but two cases a
greater proportion of households in Dixie were using the resources. The exceptions were wild
mushrooms and grass hand-brushes (Table 4).
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Table 1: Descriptions of identified anticipated and unanticipated crises
Crisis
1. Anticipated crises
Annual expenses
Social expenses
Agricultural expenses
Description
Associated with school fees and related costs.
Associated with social events including Christmas, Easter and
traditional ceremonies.
Expenses associated with arable agriculture.
Seasonal crop shortfalls
2. Unanticipated crises
Livestock diseases/death
Crop loss/damage
Loss of/damage to
property
Illness/injury
Death/funeral expenses
Loss of income
Increased living costs
Crop shortages from seasonal fluctuations in planting and production.
Expenses associated with the treatment of livestock diseases and loss.
Resulting from pests, heavy rains, diseases, poor seed, etc.
Included total crop failure.
Resulting from fire, weather, theft and rats.
Associated with medical costs.
Associated with effects on household labour and/or income.
Costs (food, cash and livestock) associated with the funeral of
household members or extended family.
Resulting from the retrenchment, injury, suspension (usually
temporary), resignation, retirement or death of the income earner or
government-grant receiver.
Resulting from the retraction of a government grant.
Loss of income after the completion of temporary employment.
Includes the increasing cost of food and household items.
Group discussions indicated an increased reliance on NTFPs.
Table 2: Proportion of households (%) that experienced crises over a two year period
Crisis
Annual expenses
Social expenses
Agricultural expenses
Seasonal crop shortfalls
Livestock diseases/death
Crop loss/damage
Loss of/damage to property
Illness/injury
Death/funeral expenses
Loss of income
Increased living costs
Mean
72
67
52
45
38
43
50
66
39
30
78
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Dyala
74
50
64
50
42
54
32
66
28
28
78
Dixie
70
84
40
40
34
32
68
66
50
32
78
X2
0.2
13.1
5.8
1.0
0.7
4.9
12.9
0.0
5.1
0.2
0.0
Significance
>0.05
<0.05
<0.05
>0.05
>0.05
<0.05
<0.05
<0.05
>0.05
-
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Table 3: Mean number of resources used per household
Dyala
Dixie
T/Z
Significance
Mean number of resources used per household
7.2±0.2
10.2±0.2
-10.6
<0.05
Mean number of resources sold per household
0.1±0.1
0.6±0.2
-2.1
<0.05
Table 4: Proportion of households (%) using different NTFPs
Dyala
Dixie
Mean
X2
Significance
Fuel wood
96.0
100.0
98.0
2.0
>0.05
Sand/soil/clay/termite mounds
92.0
100.0
96.0
4.2
<0.05
Wild edible herbs
80.0
100.0
90.0
11.1
<0.05
Wild edible fruits
88.0
84.0
86.0
0.3
>0.05
Medicinal plants
68.0
88.0
78.0
5.8
>0.05
Wooden utensils
52.0
94.0
73.0
22.4
<0.05
Twig hand-brushes
46.0
96.0
71.0
30.4
<0.05
Grass hand-brushes
92.0
28.0
60.0
42.7
<0.05
Fencing poles
42.0
70.0
56.0
7.9
<0.05
Weaving reeds
0.0
94.0
47.0
88.7
<0.05
Bushmeat
10.0
50.0
30.0
19.1
<0.05
Fish
0.0
52.0
26.0
35.1
<0.05
Wild honey
22.0
22.0
22.0
0.0
>0.05
Insects
0.0
38.0
19.0
23.5
<0.05
Housing poles
2.0
28.0
15.0
13.3
<0.05
Thatch grass
14.0
16.0
15.0
0.1
>0.05
Mushrooms
12.0
0.0
6.0
6.2
<0.05
Seeds
0.0
8.0
4.0
4.2
<0.05
NTFP
Fewer NTFPs were sold namely, fuel wood, sand, herbs, wooden utensils, grass hand-brushes,
bushmeat, weaving reeds and seed jewellery. Of those households selling NTFPs, 72.7% had
started to sell within the preceding five years while 90.9% stated they would continue to sell
unless they found employment or got too old/sick to collect. Households gave a variety of
reasons for engaging in the sale of NTFPs with the primary reasons being for the purchase of
food/household goods and in response to demand (Figure 1).
Safety-net function of NTFPs
All of the households had experienced at least one of the identified crises. NTFPs were used
as a safety-net in response to the complete range of crises (Figure 2) with significant intervillage differences for annual expenses and seasonal crop shortfalls. Seventy percent of
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households reported the use of NTFPs as a safety-net. This excludes those households that
reported relying on NTFPs in response to increasing living costs. If these households are
included then 82% of households expressed a reliance on NTFPs as a safety-net, making
NTFPs the second most common strategy after kinship. Excluding this percentage,
Paumgarten (2006) found kinship (85%), reduced spending (74%), changed diet and
budgeting (72%), NTFPs (70%), selling livestock (44%) and stokvels (41%) to be common
coping strategies although other strategies were identified.
Of the households that relied on NTFPs in response to crises, 40% used medicinal plants,
30% fresh herbs, 25.7% fuel wood, 17.1% dried herbs, 11.4% fruits, 8.6% construction
materials and 7.1% bushmeat while 10% sold fuel wood and 8.6% sold other NTFPs (Figure
3). While some NTFPs were more crisis-specific, others were used in response to a variety of
crises (Figure 4). For example, building materials were used exclusively for repairing
damaged houses. Medicinal plants were the most common NTFP, used for human and
livestock diseases/injuries but not in response to other crises. Fuel wood was used in response
to eleven of the twelve identified crises, but predominantly for those crises affecting
household income (e.g. increased living costs) or for anticipated crises (e.g. annual expenses).
Fuel wood was sold in response to nine crises, again predominantly in response to crises
affecting income (e.g. retrenchment and inflation) but also to raise money for anticipated
expenses such as social ceremonies. Respondents explained that fuel wood was the most
reliable NTFP in terms of sale as there is always local demand. Wild foods were used in
response to ten crises. As with fuel wood, this was as a cost-saving substitute. Wild foods
were used by households in response to crises that affected household income (e.g.
retrenchment and inflation), diet (i.e. crop loss and seasonal crop shortfalls) as well as
anticipated expenses such as annual expenses. Other NTFPs, including bushmeat, wooden
utensils and grass hand-brushes, were sold in response to eight of the crises.
In addition to the selected crises, households were asked to detail times when their household
had either: (i) used more NTFPs than normal (36%); (ii) used NTFPs not normally used
(10%); (iii) sold more NTFPs than normal (8%) and (iv) sold NTFPs not normally sold (8%).
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
3%
11%
Loss of income /
retrenchment
26%
Demand / market / order
placed
Poverty
26%
Primary income insufficient
For food / household goods
Other
21%
13%
Figure 1: Reasons households sold NTFPs over the two year period
Retrenchment/loss of income
Loss of/damage to assets
Identified crises
Livestock diseases/death
Inflation
Illness/Injury
Death
Dyala
Crop loss/damage
Dixie
Social Expenses
Seasonal Crop Shortfalls
Annual Expenses
Agricultural Expenses
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Proportion of households
Figure 2: Proportion of all households (%) using NTFPs in response to identified crises
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Proportion of households
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
50
40
30
20
10
0
NTFPs
Figure 3: Particular NTFPs used by households in response to crises
Retrenchment/job…
Loss of/damage to…
Livestock…
Identified crises
Inflation
Illness/injury
Death
Crop/loss damage
Social expenses
Seasonal crop…
Annual expenses
Agricultural expenses
0
10
20
30
40
Proportion of households
Sell other NTFPs
Sand / soil
Medicinal plants
Fuelwood ‐ sell
Fuelwood ‐ use
Wild foods
Figure 4: Particular NTFPs used in response to specific crises
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Discussion
Households in this study associated vulnerability with unanticipated shocks, anticipated
periods of hardship as well as with trends such as the increasing cost of living. Other
commentators have identified a similar range of crises suggesting these are a common feature
of rural livelihoods (Pattanayak and Sills 2001, Sen 2003). Of the identified crises all of the
households had experienced at least one, with some reporting the occurrence of several.
Households can experience multiple crises over a reasonably short time-period suggesting the
need for either a select few effective means of coping or a diversity of strategies to ensure
resilience. It is hypothesised that with potentially limited recovery time between crises, a
diversity of strategies ensures robustness. An appreciation of households’ means of coping is
necessary to effectively target assistance.
Rural households use various NTFPs for both consumption and sale (Cavendish 2000,
Shackleton et al. 2001). The proportion of households can be high particularly for key
resources such as fuel wood and wild foods (Dovie 2003, Shackleton et al. 2002). This study
supports these findings: all households sampled reported the use of NTFPs with wild herbs
and fruit, sand and fuel wood being used by more than 80%. Summarising findings of
resource use across South Africa, Shackleton et al. (2001) noted 70-100% of households use
fuel wood, 72-100% use wild fruits, 93-100% use wild herbs, 50-100% use medicinal plants
and 90-100% use wooden utensils. This study shows spatial variability in NTFP use with
local conditions playing a role. This spatial variability may have implications for land-use
planning, development programmes and policy aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable
NTFP use.
Twenty-two percent of households were selling NTFPs supporting findings by Shackleton et
al. (2000) who identified regions of South Africa where up to 25% of households were
selling. Households in Dixie were selling a significantly greater average number of resources
per household than their Dyala counterparts. Local conditions affect the trade in NTFPs. In
Dyala the sale was largely to meet local demand. Households in deeper rural areas market
products through informal networks selling opportunistically or in response to orders from
community members (Campbell et al. 1997). In Dixie resources were sold to meet local
demand as well as the growing market offered by tourists. This commoditisation of traditional
crafts for sale to tourists is an important aspect of NTFP trade throughout South Africa
(Shackleton 2005).
The safety-net role of NTFPs was prevalent with 70% of households reporting this function.
If the substitution of purchased products with NTFPs in response to increasing living costs is
included, then the safety-net function was reported by 82% of households. This safety-net
function is an important component of NTFP use (Pattanayak and Sills 2001). The high
proportion of households relying on NTFPs as a safety-net combined with the proportion that
use and sell NTFPs regularly, suggests households derive considerable benefits from NTFPs.
Additionally it suggests that the direct-use value may be an insufficient indication of the
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Multiple resource use for diverse needs
contribution made by NTFPs to livelihoods. Shackleton and Shackleton (2004) suggest that
the safety-net option may be of higher value than the direct-use value.
The safety-net function of NTFPs was found to manifest through direct household
provisioning and sale allowing for consumption- and income-smoothing. The results show the
use of NTFPs to be a more prevalent manifestation of the safety-net function. The use of
NTFPs included: (i) the use of wild foods as a dietary supplement and substitute when crises
impacted on household food security and ability to purchase foods; (ii) the use of medicinal
plants as a cheaper alternative to “western medicines”, and (iii) the use of fuel wood as a
substitute for more costly forms of energy. Pattanayak and Sills (2001) noted the reliance on
NTFPs for food, medicine and to generate cash through sales. Wild foods constitute both a
nutritional supplement and a gap-filler particularly during times of low agricultural
productivity (McSweeney 2003, De Merode et al. 2004). De Merode et al. (2004) highlight
that the unsustainable use of particular wild foods is not only of concern for conservation but
also that the depletion of these foods may exacerbate food insecurity, vulnerability and
poverty. De Jong et al. (2000) noted an increased reliance on medicinal plants in Zimbabwe in
response to declining health services while Skoufias (2003) highlights that if households rely
on NTFPs for minor crises they can save their other options, ensuring future welfare.
With respect to the sale of NTFPs as a manifestation, fewer households sold NTFPs with the
most commonly sold product being fuel wood (10%). Other products sold included reed mats,
carvings, thatch grass and bushmeat (8.6%). McSweeney (2003) noted approximately 9% of
households relying on the sale of NTFPs with different products sold to meet different needs.
This study however identified the sale of fuel wood in response to a range of crises with fewer
households selling other products. Fuel wood was identified as a key product to sell as it is
both available and used throughout the years. Additionally the wood can be collected and
stored to be sold when the need arises. Others have noted the importance of wood products for
this reason (Pattanayak and Sills 2001). The findings suggest that as a livelihood and coping
strategy the sale of NTFPs is becoming increasingly important in response to continued
vulnerability in South Africa’s rural areas supporting findings by Shackleton (2005): more
than 70% of those households selling NTFPs had started to sell within the preceding five
years.
Conclusion
This study has shown that rural households are vulnerable to various crises corroborating
others who have noted this vulnerability (Pattanayak and Sills 2001, Sen 2003). The results
highlight the extent of vulnerability with all of the households reporting experiencing at least
one misfortune over the two year period. NTFPs contribute towards risk reduction and
decreasing vulnerability on a daily basis and during exceptional circumstances (Pattanayak
and Sills 2001). Findings on the high proportion of households using NTFPs, the resources
used most prevalently as well as the trade in NTFPs support findings from elsewhere in South
Africa (Shackleton et al. 2001). For most households the trade is a recent development in
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response to increasing vulnerability with the majority of households stating they would
continue to sell due to a lack of alternative income sources.
Over a two year period more than two-thirds of households had relied on NTFPs as a safetynet. This safety-net role was found to compare favourably to other coping strategies.
Households used NTFPs in response to a variety of crises highlighting the importance and
multi-functionality of this role. Most of the households increased their use of NTFPs in
response to crises with a smaller proportion selling products. The findings suggest that
particular resources are used more commonly for coping, with a focus on fuel wood,
medicinal plants and wild foods. Fuel wood and curios are selected for their marketability
whilst wild foods and fuel wood contribute to household consumption-smoothing. The use of
select products implies that if increasing poverty drives more households to an increased
reliance on NTFPs, particular products face the risk of unsustainable use and over-utilization.
To deliver “real” benefits to those living with persistent vulnerability, cognizance needs to be
given to the variability of opportunities, risks and choices households face. In light of
evidence that NTFPs contribute to a significant proportion of households in both villages on
both a regular basis as well as through the safety-net function, access to and maintenance of
this resource base should not be undermined unless alternatives are provided (Cavendish
2000). The safety-net role needs to be communicated to policy developers and land-use
planners for the benefit of poverty alleviation strategies and to ensure the sustainable use of
NTFPs. Well managed systems of access to subsistence resources should be essential both
with respect to safety-nets and environmental sustainability (Scherr 2000). Ackermann (2003)
advocates the need for long-term forest management, increased agricultural production, landuse planning, sustainable use, the provision of alternative insurance mechanisms and the
domestication of wild foods. Findings of the high proportion of households relying on NTFPs
recommends further research and suggests that the realization and valuation of the safety-net
function may contribute to arguments to sustain natural systems in order to contribute towards
poverty reduction. Maintenance of and continued access to communal lands and the resources
provided may contribute significantly towards sustaining and improving the welfare of rural
households.
Understanding households’ own strategies for combating vulnerability is important for the
effective targeting of public safety-nets (Skoufias 2003). NTFPs are considered an important
safety-net for the poor who lack access to alternatives (Pattanayak and Sills 2001) however
the realisation of the contribution made must not detract attention from other development
strategies required to ensure livelihood sustainability and poverty alleviation. Further research
would be required on abundance, re-growth rates and so forth to establish the strength of the
resource base and the impact of these factors on the safety-net function of NTFPs.
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GENERATING INCOMES FROM DRY FOREST PRODUCTS
CASE STUDIES FROM MWINILUNGA, KAPIRI AND
CHONGWE DISTRICTS, ZAMBIA
M. Husselman
CIFOR, Zambia office, Lusaka, Zambia
Corresponding author: madeleenhusselman@yahoo.com
Abstract
With the increasing demand for forest products due to population growth, urbanization and
the opening of global markets, the harvesting and sale of these products has become part of
the livelihood strategies of many rural African poor. The low barriers for entry, such as the
low cost of production, create the opportunity for very poor households to engage in the trade
of many NTFPs. However, the potential of forest based enterprises to contribute to poverty
alleviation in African dry forests is not well understood, creating a barrier for effective
supporting policies and institutions. This paper presents the findings from a survey conducted
in four areas in Zambia. Particular attention is given to the range of products sold by rural
households and the opportunities and constraints to participate in this trade.
Recommendations to increase returns from forest based enterprises are given.
Introduction
People living in or around Africa’s dry forests have always depended on this resource as a
supply of products and services, to fulfil subsistence needs in their everyday lives or as a
safety net in times of need. With the increasing demand for forest products the harvesting and
sale of these products has also become an important income generating strategy for many
rural African poor (Shackleton et al. 2008). Incomes from forest products make up, on
average, 20% of total household income in southern Africa’s dry forest regions (Campbell et
al. 2002, Fisher 2004). Increasingly, forest based enterprises are considered to have a
potential for poverty alleviation and triggered the interest of donors, governments and
development agencies (Auren and Krassowska 2004). However, the success of commercial
use of forest products to indeed live up to these expectations is debated in the literature (e.g.
Belcher 2005, Neumann and Hirsch 2000). Wunder (2001) argues that, although many forest
based enterprises have the advantage that they are accessible for the poor and require limited
capital investment, in most settings these activities have little comparative advantages for
large scale poverty alleviation, compared to other livelihood strategies such as agriculture.
Zambia’s forest resources cover approximately 42% of the total land area (FAO 2005).
Although the available statistics are poor, the few case studies show that the contribution of
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forest product use and trade may be as high as 50% of total rural household income (Mutamba
in press). Single forest products, such as caterpillars, charcoal and honey may even provide
more cash income than agricultural activities, but commercial exploitation of these resources
depends on various conditions, including access to markets and local biodiversity (Jumbe et
al. 2008). Nevertheless, the belief that agricultural activities can contribute more to poverty
alleviation than forest products, has influenced both the Zambian government’s and donors’
investment in the forestry sector. In 2008, the Forestry Department, under the Ministry of
Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, received 0.11% of the national budget,
whereas the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives received 7.40% (GRZ 2008). External
support from NGOs and the private sector to forest enterprises has also been infrequent, often
short term and uncoordinated, compared to agricultural support. The only non-timber forest
product that has (historically) been given a lot of support is beekeeping.
This study is part of a larger ongoing research initiative, which aims to improve the incomes
of the poor through reinforcement of economic, institutional and policy incentives for
sustainable management of Africa’s dry forests. The objective of this paper is to explore the
use of forest products in general, identify which households participate in the trade of
different products, the existing markets for these products and opportunities and constraints
for rural households to benefit from the trade.
Materials and Methods
Study sites
This study includes four case studies from three provinces in Zambia. Study areas were
chosen, due to variability in environmental and socio-economic conditions and related
livelihood strategies. The villages in Salujinga area, Mwinilunga district, are surrounded by
dense Cryptosepalum forests. The area is connected to the provincial headquarters, Solwezi,
by a 411 km road in very poor condition and is one of Zambia’s historical hot-spots for
beekeeping. Kasisi and Chinyunyu, in Chongwe district, are 40 km and 80 km, respectively,
from Lusaka, the country’s capital. The forests in this area are heavily degraded. Chidumayo
(2001) estimates that 9,000 households in Chongwe district are involved in charcoal
production. Lunchu in Kapiri district, lies between Zambia’s two major urban centers, Lusaka
(240 km) and Ndola (115 km). Its forest cover is higher than in Chongwe district, but less
dense than in Salujinga. In these latter three areas, beekeeping has been promoted by the
Government and various NGOs during the last decade in an attempt to encourage sustainable
forest use and introduce new income generating opportunities.
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Data collection
A cluster of neighbouring villages comprising of a total of approximately 150 households was
selected in each study area. The main source of data was a survey, conducted in 2007, using a
structured questionnaire. A randomly selected sample of 30% of the households was
interviewed in each study area (N=221). Forest product trade is often seasonal and has a
highly erratic nature in levels of production, farm gate prices and buyers (Wynberg 2006).
This impedes accurate data collection on volumes collected and incomes derived from this
trade in a single snapshot survey. This study therefore did not attempt to record income data,
but focused on more descriptive information on the trade. The findings were supplemented
with information from in-depth interviews and group discussions in the communities.
Quantitative data was analyzed in SPSS. Households were categorized into five wealth classes
using Principal Components Analysis to determine the influence of wealth on participation in
forest product trade. Variables included size of cultivated land, type of shelter, food selfsufficiency and ownership of assets (e.g. plough, tractor, television, cell phone etc.).
Results
Forest products in rural livelihoods strategies
Almost all the interviewed households collect forest products for domestic use (Table 1). On
average households collect six products for their own use: the most popular include firewood,
thatching grass, mushrooms and medicinal plants. The number of households trading forest
products varied significantly between areas.
In Salujinga shifting cultivation is practiced and farmers do not have longer term (official or
traditional) tenure rights for their plots. The average area cultivated by households is the
lowest in this area (1 ha, see Table 1). Cultivated crops are mainly consumed by the
household and more than 60% of the households were categorized as relatively poor or very
poor (Figure 1). Only one household was classified as very wealthy: one of its members had a
paid job in town. Dependency on forest product trade appears to be highest in this area: 95%
of the households sell forest products. Also, households in this area trade significantly more
types of forest products: on average three forest products (Table 1). The main commercial
forest products are caterpillars, mushrooms, honey, thatching grass and reed products (Table
2). A recently completed project promoted commercialization of a wide range of forest
products in Salujinga area. This included training in improved production technologies and
participating groups were given equipment. However, little attention was given to market
linkages and as a result the farmers have not been able to reach new markets for these
products and trade has not increased compared to prior to the project.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
353
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Table 1: Details of the four Zambian study sites
Population density
(people km-2) B
Female headed
households (%)
Average area cultivated
(ha)
Major crops
Households collecting
forest products
(domestic use) (%)
Average number of
forest products collected
(%)
Households collecting
forest products (sale)
(%)
Average number of
forest products sold (%)
Households selling
forest products that they
did not collect (%)
Chinyunyu
(Chongwe
district)
13.2-17.9
Lunchu
(Kapiri
District)
11.2
Kasisi
(Chongwe
district)
13.2-17.9
Salujinga
(Mwinilunga
district)
6.2
7
5
24
17
4.04
8.93
2.91
1.01
Maize, cotton,
groundnuts
Maize,
cotton,
tobacco
Maize,
groundnuts,
vegetables
Significance
level for χ2
χ2=10.639,
df=3, p=0.014
χ2=92.219A,
df=3, p=0.00
Cassava,
maize, beans
χ2=2.00, df=3,
p=0.572
98
100
100
98
5.95
7.17
7.55
7.64
40
53
31
95
χ2=52.246,
df=3, p=0.00
0.62
0.92
0.51
3.14
31
8
8
2
χ2=129.832,
df=3, p=0.00
χ2=24.923,
df=3, p=0.00
χ2=60.630,
df=33, p=0.00
Lunchu is the other extreme: average cultivated areas are the largest here (9 ha), a wide range
of commercial crops are grown, and it is not unknown for farmers to own ploughs, tractors
and other productive assets. Farmers rotate their fields on plots which are acknowledged as
theirs by traditional institutions. Less than 10% of the households were classified as very poor
and more than half of the households sell a forest product. Both beekeeping and mushroom
cultivation have been promoted by the Forestry Department in the last decade. Two NGOs
have also trained beekeepers in this area and provided them with equipment on credit. Almost
a third of the households keep bees and most started less than a decade ago.
Households in Chinyunyu also practice subsistence and commercial agriculture on customary
land, for which they have traditional usufruct rights. They ranked as slightly poorer than in
Kapiri and Kasisi. Households collect on average fewer products for domestic use than in the
other three sites, though 40% of the households trade at least one forest product. Significantly
more households (31%) in this area, trade forest products, which they did not harvest
themselves (i.e. reed mats). Beekeeping was introduced in this area by an NGO in 2004.
Groups of farmers were given bark hives and seeds, if they stopped charcoal production.
However, due to limited training and experience only one farmer was able to harvest
sufficient honey for sale in 2006.
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
354
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Kasisi is an interesting case study, because many of its farmers are retirees who cultivate land
with title deeds. This area has a remarkably high percentage of female headed households
(24%). Commercial agriculture dominates in this area and many farmers produce (organic)
vegetables, maize and groundnuts for both urban and export markets. A third of the
households trade forest products. Many of the farmers in Kasisi have participated in training,
including beekeeping, at a nearby training centre, although they were not given any
equipment.
100%
90%
80%
70%
Very wealthy
60%
Wealthy
50%
Middle
40%
Poor
30%
Very poor
20%
10%
0%
Chinyunyu
Kapiri
Kasisi
Mwinilunga
Figure 1: Distribution of relative wealth classes within the four study areas
Table 2: Percentage of households collecting forest products for domestic use and sale
Caterpillars
Charcoal
Firewood
Medicinal plants
Mushrooms
Reed products
Thatching grass
Timber
Tubers
Wild vegetables
Wild fruits
Woodcarvings
Beekeeping
Honey hunting
Chinyunyu
Domestic Trade
65
7
15
5
98
4
85
0
75
25
13
4
98
5
4
0
18
0
11
0
56
5
4
0
35
2
18
4
Lunchu
Domestic Trade
15
0
19
8
100
2
78
0
97
14
3
3
98
12
10
0
42
10
68
2
86
2
14
3
39
29
47
7
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Kasisi
Domestic Trade
80
2
27
16
98
2
82
0
90
4
2
0
88
12
4
2
6
0
96
0
94
2
0
0
18
8
69
4
Salujinga
Domestic Trade
95
84
5
2
98
0
84
0
89
52
54
43
88
43
25
18
18
14
43
0
93
0
18
7
50
48
5
4
355
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
Who sells forest products?
Wealth did not significantly affect if households sold or did not sell forest products
(χ2=2.253, df=4, p=0.690) or the number of types of forest products a household sold
(χ2=31.753, df=24, p=0.133). The only traded product that showed significant variation
between wealth classes was mushrooms: more very poor households sold mushrooms than
wealthy and very wealthy households (χ2=10.105, df=4, p=0.039).
Gender of the household head also did not influence whether or not the household sold any of
the forest products. However, within households men and women collect and sell different
products. For example, charcoal is mostly produced and sold by adult men, and so are timber
and woodcarvings. Typical female forest based enterprises include mushrooms, wild fruits,
tubers and reed products. Some products are collected by women for domestic use, but when
traded the men become more prominently involved (e.g. thatching grass and caterpillars).
Variations in gender involvement did not vary between areas, except for beekeeping. In
Salujinga, where this is a traditional activity, adult men are in charge of keeping bees in 85%
of the households. If women are involved, it is together with the men. A major restriction to
female participation in beekeeping is the suspending of bark hives high in trees. In Lunchu
and Kasisi modern production technologies have been introduced and, as a result, almost half
of the beekeepers are women.
Markets for forest products
Many forest products are sold in villages, but other markets also exist. Charcoal is sold in
villages, along roads or in urban markets. Roadside trade also includes mushrooms,
caterpillars, wild fruits and reed products. Value chains for honey are more organized than
those of the other products. In Salujinga and Kapiri medium and large companies purchase
honey in bulk for processing, packaging and sale in urban and export markets. On the other
hand, beekeepers in Kasisi have discovered high value retail markets in Lusaka and although
volumes traded are lower than in Salujinga and Kapiri, prices received are four and eight
times higher than in Lunchu and Salujinga, respectively.
Discussion
The above presented results show that livelihood strategies of the rural poor in Zambia are
characterized by a diversity of activities. Although households grow crops they also depend
on dry forests for a wide range of products consumed or used at household level. At least a
third of the households in each area collects and sells forest products. It appears that the
number of households involved in trade of forest products decreases with proximity to urban
areas. This could be related the lack of forest resources in these areas (e.g. due to higher
population densities, clearance of forest land for agriculture and charcoal production), but also
to the availability of alternative income sources. The forests surrounding the remote Salujinga
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
356
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
area provide the largest number of families with an income. This area lies further from urban
markets, agricultural production is marginal and poverty levels are high. Our wealthiest study
area, Lunchu, ranked second highest: more than half of the households sell forest products.
Farmers living close to Lusaka have the advantage of selling their products at high retail
prices.
This raises interesting questions on the relationship between the involvement in forest product
trade and poverty. The low barriers for entry, such as the low cost of production, create the
opportunity for very poor households to engage in the trade of many forest products, but some
authors argue that, although this trade is important for poverty mitigation, it will not
significantly alleviate poverty (e.g. Wunder 2001). Others suggest that when an enterprise
yields a substantial amount of income, the poor will lose out to the elites (Dove 1993). In our
case studies both the wealthy and the poor traded all the forest products, except mushrooms,
which are sold predominantly by the poor. Gender involvement, however, varied amongst the
different products, and may even differ if a product is collected for domestic use or sale.
External support can empower women by facilitating participation in forest product trade, but
it may be necessary to plan separate strategies for protecting households who depend on
forests for basic survival, and supporting enterprises that can significantly increase household
incomes (Arnold and Ruiz Perez 2001).
The key constraints for marketing forest products varied between the study areas: lack of
markets, inputs and low producer prices ranked high in Salujinga; whereas low production
levels, lack of skills and forest degradation were mentioned frequently in the other three areas.
Te Velde et al. (2006) argue that the complexity of products in the eyes of local collectors is
not necessarily in the product itself, but in the information required to successfully market it.
Hence, when activities require some skills and access to capital and markets, it is the
wealthier and more entrepreneurial people who are able to be successfully involved in the
trade of forest products (Arnold 2002). The importance of good extension services, that
include linking producers to markets and stimulate entrepreneurship, is evident when we
compare the experiences of projects in the four areas. Only in Lunchu and Kasisi, have
farmers successfully managed to generate income from the introduced forest based enterprises
(i.e. beekeeping).
The example of beekeeping is unique, because no other forest product has a similarly
organized sector. It illustrates the necessity of structured partnerships between producers,
service providers and the private sector, with strong government oversight, to ensure that the
interests of the poor are protected (Wynberg 2006). The high demand for Zambian honey in
both domestic and international markets has encouraged an increasing number of companies
to purchase honey from beekeepers, even in the remoter parts of the country. Although large
urban markets exist for charcoal, mushrooms and caterpillars, amongst many others, these are
all traded informally. Neither does the trade in any of the forest products receive the support
that beekeeping does. This activity is included in many development programs and as a result
of training many new beekeepers, including women, have been able to generate additional
income. Institutional support, such as the recent launch of a quality assurance mark for honey
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
357
Multiple resource use for diverse needs
and the organic certification of bee-products in large parts of Northwestern Province, has also
boosted the industry. Current efforts to formulate a national Beekeeping Policy highlight the
recognition that the sector receives from the Zambian Government.
Conclusions
Small scale farmers in Zambia do not specialize in a single agricultural product and it is also
unlikely that these farmers will specialize in the trade of a single forest product. This,
however, does not exclude the need to support these various sectors and poverty alleviation
initiatives need to take into account the diversity of rural livelihood strategies and the
important contribution of forest product trade. Specific attention should thereby be given to
the prevailing local conditions of a target area and the specific actors involved, including
women and the poor. Training, the development of market information systems and
legislation that encourages private sector involvement can facilitate the adoption of and
enhance income from forest product trade. Sustainable forest management should hereby be
encouraged to ensure the potential for future generations to earn an income from these
valuable resources.
Acknowledgements
The field expenses for this study were covered by the Sida-funded Dry Forest Project.
References
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327pp
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
Forest Management through
institutional arrangements
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
TRADING LEGALITY WITH PRECAUTION:
PRELIMINARY IMPACTS OF MANAGEMENT PLANS AND
FOREST CERTIFICATION IN THE CAMEROONIAN
FORESTS
P. Cerutti1*, L. Tacconi2 and R.Nasi3
1
CIFOR, Yaounde, Cameroon
Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University, Canberra,
Australia
3
CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
*Corresponding author: p.cerutti@cgiar.org
2
Abstract
As of mid-2008, 63 of the 101 available forest management units (FMUs) in Cameroon were
managed according to approved management plans, and seven FMUs had received a FSC
certification. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the volumetric and financial
variations incurred by logging companies and by the government when adopting both the
management plans and the FSC regulations. The full adoption of sustainable, or at least
precautionary, values into approved management plans could reduce available volumes of the
most harvested species by 17%, while foregone revenues for the State could amount to about
18%. The financial losses incurred by both the State and logging companies by fully adopting
improved forest management in Cameroon should deserve more attention, if viable alternative
options are to be found and resistance to reform diminished.
Introduction
In 1994, Cameroon adopted a new law to regulate forests, wildlife and fisheries (Republic of
Cameroon 1994). The law was shaped around the concept of sustainable forest management
(SFM) (Karsenty 2006), and in order to reach that goal, the preparation of management plans
was mandated for all protected areas and forest management units (FMUs). Management
plans are considered by many in the Congo Basin as evidence of SFM (e.g. COMIFAC 2004,
CBFP 2006, GTZ and MINFOF 2006), but the latter remains very difficult to quantify,
especially because scientific knowledge of fundamental ecological processes on tropical
timber species remains weak (Repetto 1988, Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury 2006).
When scientific knowledge is lacking, and the risk of negative impacts on valuable timber
species is high, sustainable rules must be translated into precautionary ones. These rules
should be applied by logging companies when preparing their management plans, until
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
knowledge becomes greater and forest management can be bounded by better management
practices (Kiker and Putz 1997).
The Cameroonian law embeds the concepts of both improved knowledge, by mandating
management plans to be revised every five years, and precaution. Precautionary values for
fundamental silvicultural parameters, such as the minimum cutting diameter (MCD), were
proposed by two major research projects carried out in the 1990s (Durrieu de Madron et al.
1998a, 1998b, Forni and Mbarga 1998, Jonkers and Foahom 2004), later acknowledged by
both the government and logging companies (MINEF 1998a, 1998b), and eventually
embedded into the 2001 Ministerial Decree regulating the preparation, adoption and follow up
of management plans for logging concessions (MINEF 2001).
The current legal framework, i.e. the 2001 decree, regulates the preparation, adoption and
implementation of management plans, and explains the need to focus the analysis on different
MCDs, but has some weaknesses. The 2001 decree only partially translated precaution into
legal prescriptions (Vandenhaute and Doucet 2006, Cerutti et al. 2008). The decree allows
logging companies to harvest several valuable timber species with no precaution taken, i.e. to
apply values to basic silvicultural parameters, such as the MCDs, with the risk to be ‘not
compatible with a sustained production’ (Bureau Veritas Certification 2006, p.24). The
Ministry of Forests (hereafter the Ministry) has recently acknowledged the weaknesses of the
2001 decree and started a consultation process to amend it. Meanwhile, FMUs keep being
harvested according to management plans approved through a flawed legal framework, and
many valuable species are logged at non precautionary MCDs (Cerutti et al. 2008).
The Cameroonian law mandates precaution and prescribes that harvesting of any given timber
species must be carried out in such a way that, at the end of the current harvesting cycle, at
least 50% of the number of trees harvested, at a given MCD, must be available for logging
during the next harvesting cycle, at the same MCD (MINEF 1998a, 1998b, 2001). For reasons
of clarity, the 50% limit will hereafter be referred to as the reconstitution rate (RR). Although
a precautionary RR of at least 50% is mandated by the law, it is not applied to all timber
species (Cerutti et al. 2008). The decree allows logging companies to select the timber species
to which a higher RR than 50% will be applied from the list of all the species inventoried in
their FMUs. The selection process must comply with two rules: the number of selected
species must be larger than 20, and the total volume of the selected species must be larger
than 75% of the total volume inventoried in the FMU (art.6, MINEF 2001).
This legal prescription does not guarantee that companies select the timber species they
harvest the most (Vandenhaute and Heuse 2006, Cerutti et al. 2008). It only guarantees
selected species to be the most abundant in volumetric terms in the FMU. And since
precautionary RR of at least 50% must be applied only to selected species, excluded species
can be legally harvested at the MCD established by the administration (hereafter MCDadm),
which often imply RR smaller than the precautionary ones (Cerutti et al. 2008).
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Recently, several weaknesses of the legal framework have been corrected in a few FMUs that
adopted voluntary forest certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Certification, however, remains a voluntary non-state market-driven process (Cashore et al.
2004), to which not all logging companies may be interested to adhere. Thus, forest
management risks not improving on a national or regional scale if public policy change does
not occur (Elliott 2000).
For public policy change to occur, however, the financial constraints of improved or
precautionary forest management, for both the Ministry and logging companies, must be
understood and quantified. The financial challenges of implementing SFM are well
documented (e.g. Kiker and Putz 1997, Karsenty and Gourlet-Fleury 2006), but so far a
quantitative assessment of those challenges in the Cameroonian forestry sector, notably since
the adoption of the new regulatory framework, has never been attempted.
This paper tries to shed some preliminary light on those financial constraints by focusing on
the volumetric variations and consequent financial challenges faced by both the government
of Cameroon and logging companies in adopting different levels of improved forest
management, from the legally required management plans, to more demanding precautionary
levels, to the stricter parameters adopted as a consequence of FSC certification. As of mid2008, seven FMUs had received an FSC certificate, and thus a detailed analysis is carried out
on them.
Materials and Methods
Calculation of minimum cutting diameters
Four MCDs must be compared to estimate the changes in the volumes available for harvesting
by applying different levels of improved management:
(i)
Standard administrative MCDs (MCDadm) for any given timber species are
established by law. Where the rules of SFM and management plans are not
adopted, logging companies could harvest all species at MCDadm, and thus the
latter can be considered as the reference MCD to estimate the volume of timber
available for logging in any given FMU.
(ii)
The MCD applied and calculated by logging companies in their management
plans (MCDmp) can legally diverge from the requirements of the precautionary
principle. About 40 management plans were reviewed for this study although
only those pertaining to the seven certified FMUs were eventually used. Some
of the reviewed plans were accessed through the German Cooperation’s (GTZ)
library in Yaoundè and some were kindly provided by the logging companies.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
(iii)
The MCD that respects the precautionary principle (MCDame) is the MCD that
the company will have to adopt if all species were mandated to be harvested at
RRs higher than 50%. The MCDame was calculated for the FMU considered to
estimate the volumetric and financial differences between the MCDmp and the
MCDame.
(iv)
The MCD when applying the principles and criteria required by the FSC
(MCDfsc) is recommended by the certifying bodies to certified logging
companies. The MCDfsc was used to estimate the volumetric and financial
changes occurring when adopting FSC rules. Management plans with MCDfsc
have been downloaded from the certified companies' websites for such a
comparison.
In order to calculate the RRs for different MCDs, the population structures of the species
considered were calculated by allocating the stems of each species to 10-cm wide diameter
classes in a spreadsheet. The RRs were calculated for the MCDadm, the MCDmp, the MCDame
and the MCDfsc by applying the formula prescribed by the law [1].
[1]
Reconstitution rate (RR%) = [N0(1-Δ)(1-α)T]/Np
Given any particular MCD, and considering the population structure of any given species, 'N0'
is the number of trees that will have reached that MCD at the end of the first logging cycle,
and thus 'N0' accounts for the annual growing rate of the species considered, 'Δ' is a factor
accounting for the harvesting damages, 'α' is the mortality rate of the species considered, 'T' is
the duration of the harvesting cycle, and 'Np' is the number of trees, with a diameter larger
than the MCD considered, harvested during the current cycle. In Cameroon, although logging
companies usually harvest all trees above the MCD, 'Np' does not consider all diameter classes
above the MCD considered, but only the trees comprised between the MCD and the MCD+40
cm. For example, if the MCD considered is 50 cm, 'Np' will be the number of trees harvested
between 50 cm and 90 cm.
In theory, given the population structure of each species, the values assigned in [1] to the
growing rate, harvesting damages, and mortality rate should vary with the characteristics of
the forest being considered. The forest manager will then go through an iterative process to
establish the best combination of the length of the harvesting cycle and the MCD that results
in a RR higher than 50%.
In practice all parameters are assigned standard values by the administration; logging
companies never apply their local knowledge to adapt them in their management plans:
harvesting damages are fixed at 7%, mortality rates at 1% and harvesting cycle at 30 years.
The MCD is therefore the only variable which can be modified in order to obtain a RR higher
than 50%.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
Once the MCD at which RR higher than 50% occur (MCDame) is calculated, it can be
compared with the MCDmp, which can be smaller, and the MCDfsc, which can be larger, to
assess the differences among them and the baseline MCD/adm. The latter can still be used by
logging companies, for example when their management plans are not approved or when they
harvest outside the permanent forest domain.
Selection of most harvested species
In the analysis for this study only the population structures of the five most harvested species
in each FMU were used. The most harvested species were selected by using annual
production data provided by the Ministry. The decision to focus on the five most harvested
species was taken because, historically (Hédin 1930, Chambre d’Agriculture de l’Elevage et
des Forêts du Cameroun 1959, MINFOF 2006) as well as presently, they represent the bulk of
timber production. Over the period 2000-2007, for example, they accounted for about 83% of
total production in all active FMUs. Ayous (Triplochyton scleroxylon), sapelli
(Entandrophragma cylindricum) and tali (Erythrophleum ivorense) have constantly been the
three most harvested species, accounting together for over 72% of total production, while four
other species, i.e. fraké (Terminalia superba), azobé (Lophira alata), iroko (Milicia excelsa),
and more recently okan (Cylicodiscus gabonensis), ranked fourth or fifth in varying
percentages over the period considered (Figure 1).
The five most harvested species in the seven FMUs considered in this paper represented
between 68% and 97% of the FMUs’ average annual production, with the two most harvested
species accounting between 52% and 92% of average annual production.
100
90
80
Percent age
70
60
Fraké, iroko, azobé, okan
50
Tali
40
Sapelli
Ayous
30
20
10
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Figure 1: Five most harvested species per year as percentage of the total annual production of
active FMUs.
Volumetric variations
Total available timber volume vary in the selected FMUs when the three MCDs are applied
(Figure 2). Three bars are shown for each FMU considered. The first bar shows the variations
incurred by logging companies when moving from the MCDadm to the MCDmp. The second
365
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
bar shows variations taking place when moving from the MCDadm to the MCDame, i.e. when
all the five most harvested species were harvested with precautionary RR, and the third bar
shows variations occurring by adopting the MCDfsc.
FMU
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0
-5
-10
Percent age
-15
-20
-25
MCD/adm to MCD/MP
MCD/adm to MCD/ame
MCD/adm to MCD/FSC
-30
-35
-40
-45
-50
Figure 2: Volume reduction (%) in selected FMUs by type of minimum cutting diameter
(MCD) increase over the standard administrative MCD (MCDadm) for the five most
harvested species
In the cases of FMU 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (Figure 2), the differences between the first and the
second bars represent the quantitative effects caused by the flawed legal framework, which
allows companies to harvest valuable species at MCDs (MCDmp) smaller than precautionary
ones (MCDame). In the case of FMU 3, the MCDmp of all the 5 most harvested species were
equal to the baseline MCDadm, thus the first bar equals zero.
The certifying bodies requested FMUs 1, 2 and 3 to increase their MCDs (MCDfsc, third bar),
and thus decreased the volume available for logging (Figure 2), well above the levels
requested by the application of available knowledge and precautionary RR of at least 50%
(MCDame, second bar). By contrast, FMUs 5 and 6 show that the requirements of the
certifying bodies were as good as those of the legal framework (MCDmp = MCDfsc), but still
insufficient to guarantee adoption of the precautionary RR.
On average, the annual reduction in the volumes of the 5 most harvested species available for
harvesting, as compared to the baseline MCDadm, can be estimated at about 11% with the
implementation of the current legal framework (MCDmp), at about 17% when adopting he
precautionary RR (MCDame), and of about 24% when adopting the MCDfsc.
Apart from average values, adoption of the precautionary RR (MCDame, second bar) does not
impact all FMUs evenly (Figure 2). For example, in FMU 4 the implementation of the
management plan, where the five most harvested species were already logged at precautionary
RR (MCDmp = MCDame), implied a decrease in available volumes of about 4%, while in FMU
7 it implied a decrease of about 22%. Similarly, the adoption of the FSC requirements
(MCDfsc) caused a decrease of about 4% in FMU 4 (MCDame = MCDfsc) and of about 48% in
FMU 3, as compared to the volumes available for logging at MCDadm.
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Financial variations
Three points are noteworthy to consider in terms of profit losses of logging companies and
foregone revenues for the State:
(i)
Profit and revenue losses have been estimated on actual harvested volumes.
That is important because a comparison between the available volumes as
estimated in the management plan inventories (sampling intensities of 0.5% to
1.0%) and the actual annual harvest of the sampled FMUs as derived from
production data, shows that only about 50% of the volumes found in the
management plan inventories are eventually harvested by logging companies.
Companies pay volumetric taxes on actual harvested volumes. Moreover, a
commercialisation factor was used to estimate profit losses of companies. The
commercialisation factor accounts for the amount of timber which is
eventually processed and sold, and thus it better represents the volumes on
which profits are made. Average commercialisation factors as found in the
literature have been applied (e.g. Durrieu de Madron et al. 1998a, ONFInternational et al. 2002).
(ii)
FOB values for each species considered, averaged over the period 2000-2008,
have been used to estimate both profit losses and foregone revenues. FOB
values are a reliable indicator of the State's foregone revenues because
volumetric taxes are indexed on the FOB values per species that are published
each year by the Ministry of Finance. However, they may underestimate profit
losses for logging companies. The FOB prices published by the Ministry of
Finance are often lower than those published by the ITTO. For example, the
FOB prices adopted in Cameroon for logs of ayous in 2007 were 32% lower
than the FOB prices reported by the ITTO for the same species (Figure 3).
Similar trends can be observed for azobé and sapelli.
10
5
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
Percent age
-5
-10
-15
Ayous
Sapelli
Azobé
-20
-25
-30
-35
Figure 3: Official Cameroonian vs ITTO FOB prices (Grade B logs)
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(iii)
Annual losses are only tentative estimates, assuming that the average FOB
values over the period 2000-2008 are representative of the FOB values for the
entire harvesting cycle, i.e. 30 years. Moreover, inflation has not been
accounted for.
Profit losses for logging companies
The decrease in the timber volumes available for logging implies profit losses for logging
companies. Results show that, on average, profits for the five most harvested species in
selected FMUs could be about 13% lower when adopting the MCDmp, when compared with a
situation of not implementing the management plans (MCDadm). Estimated profit losses are
higher when adopting MCDame (-21%) and MCDfsc (-23%).
In absolute terms, average annual profit losses per FMU are estimated at about €460,000 with
the adoption of the MCDmp and at about €520,000 with the adoption of the MCDame.
Estimated losses were higher for logging companies adopting the MCDfsc, but it is worth
noting that, while profit losses due to certification should in theory be counterbalanced by
premium market prices, it is the government that should decide whether to provide incentives
to logging companies who adopt improved forest management.
Foregone revenues for the State
The decrease in the timber volumes available for logging implies foregone revenues for the
State, because several taxes, such as the felling and the sawmill taxes, are paid by logging
companies on harvested volumes. After accounting for the different FOB values for each of
the five most harvested species in each of the seven FMU, results show that State revenues
could decrease by about 11%, 18%, and 23% when adopting, respectively, the MCDmp, the
MCDame and the MCDfsc.
In absolute terms, the estimated average annual foregone revenue for the State per FMU for
the five most harvested species could be about €14,000 by adopting MCDmp, €24,000 with
MCDfsc and about €21,000 with MCDame.
On average, over the period 2004-2007, sixty-five FMUs have been paying volumetric taxes
for their five most harvested species totalling about €7.9 million. If all FMUs would adopt the
precautionary RR (MCDame) for their five most harvested species, the State could incur annual
losses of about €1.3 million only in terms of the felling and sawmill taxes.
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Discussion
Political will and ownership, and especially the lack thereof, are often singled out as the main
obstacles to the implementation of reform by the government (World Bank 2004). That seems
to be the case for the implementation of SFM in Cameroon: the 1994 law, a 1995 decree and
two manuals of procedures adopted in 1998, all acknowledged the value of sustainable forest
management. Yet, when it came to the adoption of the practical rules to prepare management
plans, the 2001 decree included weak rules when the government knew the negative
consequences for SFM at least since 2000 (Durrieu de Madron and Ngaha 2000).
Political will, however, can only be shaped by changing the priorities of the government's
agenda. Adoption of precautionary MCDs showed that the profits to companies and revenues
to the State would be less than with implementing the actual legal framework. That could
partly explain why the reform of the current legal framework is not a top priority for neither
the government nor the logging companies. Viable forms of incentives will have to be looked
for.
Certified companies did improve forest management, and voluntarily adopted several more
stringent harvesting parameters, reducing the average available volumes of their five most
harvested species by about 24%. Market incentives certainly played a role in making the
changes acceptable, but that shows that other forms of incentives could possibly be used by
the government to improve forest management nationwide. Certification remains a voluntary
process that several particularly smaller companies may not be willing to adopt (Elliott 2000).
Hence, if forest management is to be improved on a national scale, it must be coupled with
public policy changes (Gale and Burda 1998, Elliott 2000).
However, before sound policies could be developed, the financial implications of the
implementation of improved forest management for the government of Cameroon call for the
clarification and harmonisation of roles and responsibilities within the government itself,
notably between the Ministry of Forests, charged with the implementation and control of
sustainable forest management, and the Ministry of Finance, in charge of revenue collection.
Results show that the adoption of precautionary reconstitution rates could imply volumetric
revenue losses for the five most harvested species of about 18%, as compared to a reduction
of about 11% caused by the adoption of management plans with the current flawed legal
framework. If the two Ministries shared a common vision, those losses could be accounted for
and counterbalanced by the development of a mid- to long-term strategy, for example in the
form of fiscal incentives authorised by the Ministry of Finance on lesser used species
(MINEFI 2006), while the Ministry of Forests could plan concurrent modifications of the
annual authorised volumes in FMUs.
Instead, notwithstanding frequent calls for that common strategy (MINEFI 2000, 2006), the
Ministry of Finance, in line with its mandate, remains more concerned with the maximisation
of revenues than with the adoption of improved forest management. The Ministry of Forests,
because of its weak analytical capacity, has not yet been able to provide Finance with viable
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
alternatives, based on assessments of annual harvesting potential, species abundance, and
production trends that could foster forest management while maintaining or increasing
revenues. In this respect, the role of international donors must not be underestimated. It often
happens that pressures from the latter on the Ministry of Forests to adopt, implement, and
control the sustainable management of its forests, are dissonant with the parallel pressures
made on the Ministry of Finance to increase non-oil revenues as much as possible.
If public policies do not develop along with certification, even the best intentioned logging
companies, as well as their certifying bodies, could resort to what Cashore et al. (2004) call
the adaptation of FSC principles to lower standards, i.e. standards that are still in line with the
legal requirements but that are only a degraded version of the original targets of the FSC
model. That is what seems to be happening in Cameroon, with certifying bodies allowing
logging companies to trade the use of non-precautionary MCDs on the top species with very
generous decreases on the available volume of lesser harvested species (Figure 5). The top
harvested species in selected FMUs are still harvested without precaution (MCDfsc <
MCDame), but a MCDfsc much larger than the precautionary ones is allowed for lesser
harvested species, with no scientific evidence justifying such increases.
FMU
Percent age
1
2
3
First species Fifth species First species Fifth species
MCD
MCD
MCD
MCD
First species Fifth species
MCD
MCD
ame
ame
FSC
ame
FSC
ame
FSC
ame
FSC
FSC
ame
FSC
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60
-70
-80
-90
-100
Figure 5: Volume variations (%) in selected FMUs by type of minimum cutting diameters
(MCD) increase for the first and fifth most harvested species.
Paradoxically, if this trend continues, it could be more difficult for certified companies to
increase the harvested volumes of lesser used species in the future, notwithstanding any
incentive, such as tax reductions, the government might adopt in order to promote their use.
The FSC approach of allowing logging companies to harvest their top species at non
precautionary MCDs is economically viable in the short-term, and it is indeed justified by the
companies and certifying bodies on the basis that their activities in Cameroon could be halted
if precautionary values had to be adopted (Bureau Veritas Certification 2006, RP Pallisco
2008).
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
However, in the long-term, this approach could run against at least two results expected from
the implementation of improved forest management in Cameroon: the sustainable, or at least
precautionary, harvesting of all species and the promotion of lesser harvested ones.
Conclusion
The adoption of management plans since 2004 and of the stricter management rules requested
by the FSC since 2005 in the Cameroonian forestry sector, pushed logging companies to
improve the way their FMUs are managed, at least as far as minimum harvesting parameters,
such as the minimum cutting diameter, are concerned.
There is certainly scope for further improvements, both on the part of the government of
Cameroon and the certifying bodies and logging companies. The government must correct
one important weakness of the current legal framework that allows logging companies to
harvest their top harvested species at non precautionary levels. Certifying bodies should resist
the tendency to allow logging companies to adopt degraded FSC standards. The latter are
certainly legal, but in several cases they risk being non sustainable and often they are not
backed by scientific evidence.
We do not argue FSC standards be made legally binding for all companies, but we do argue
legal standards be improved at least to minimum precautionary levels, which could be
modified when new scientific knowledge become available. However, this paper shows that
the full adoption of improved forest management could be hampered by the lack of viable
alternative options for logging companies as well as for the State to cope with the monetary
losses incurred by applying stricter management rules, be they precautionary values or the
FSC standards.
Financial losses are a major issue. In the seven FMUs analysed, it is estimated that the
adoption of precautionary values could decrease the production of their five most harvested
species by 17% and with the FSC rules by 24%. Foregone State revenues could amount to
about 18% and 23% respectively, as compared to the baseline situation where management
plans were not implemented.
Those losses must at least be partly counterbalanced if forest management is to be fully
adopted on a national scale. It is in the very nature of certification schemes to adapt and
improve through periodic audits (Putz and Romero 2001), but not all logging companies can
be expected to enrol in a certification scheme, and the role of the government in providing
parallel alternative viable options is paramount.
The agenda of the Ministry, and the private sector, can be changed only when those
disadvantages, or at least part of them, are fully understood, quantified, and counterbalanced
through viable alternative options. To that end, one of the most urgent steps needed in order to
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
foster the adoption of improved sustainable management is the adoption of a common
strategy by the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Finance, with clear and quantifiable
incentives that stimulate the use of more secondary species while the volumes of the most
harvested species decrease.
Acknowledgement
An adapted version of this paper has been published as follows:
Cerutti PO, Tacconi L, Nasi R, Lescuyer G. (online 2010). Legal vs. certified forest
management: preliminary impacts of forest certification in Cameroon. Forest Policy and
Economics.
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BENEFITS AND SHORTCOMINGS OF DECENTRALISED
FOREST MANAGEMENT IN BURKINA FASO
Z.H.-N. Bouda1*, D. Tiveau1,2, P. Savadogo3,4 and B. Ouédraogo5
1
CIFOR, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
3
Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Tropical Silviculture and Seed
Laboratory, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
SE- 901 83 Umeå, Sweden.
4
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Institut de l’Environnement
et de Recherches Agricoles, Département Productions Forestières, Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso
5
Université de Ouagadougou, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Sciences Humaines,
Département de Sociologie, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
*Corresponding author : h.bouda@cgiar.org
2
Abstract
Decentralization initiatives are on-going in many developing countries. In Burkina Faso, the
government has embarked on a long-term decentralization effort that groups rural villages
into self-governing communes with the capacity to plan their own development programs.
Nearly two decades before this process, a system of joint forest management was introduced.
The new form of administrative decentralization has impacted on joint forest management.
This study sought to examine the effects of decentralization on joint forest management and
the livelihoods of the rural poor. Information was obtained through semi-structured
interviews, interviews with local forestry officials, direct observation, and by reviewing
existing literature. The results indicated that administrative decentralization brings legality to
joint forest management, which was already legitimated by local people. In return, joint forest
management generates benefits to local people through socio-economic infrastructure, wood
and non-wood forest products, to the local government through tax collection systems, and to
the forest through some extent improved ecological sustainability. There were shortcomings
however, such as land tenure insecurity, low local organizational capacity; lack of
transparency in the wood fuel market, low level of diversification of the sources of revenue
and weakness of local institution to implement their functions. Thus, a concerted effort should
be made to manage the remaining natural forests through the development of appropriate
strategies to empower local communities to manage and benefit from forest resources through
the new arrangements for administrative decentralization. Caution is needed regarding
transparency, financial and technical incentives and long-term commitment from the central
government.
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Introduction
Dry forests are central to rural livelihoods (CIFOR 2002). They provide people with a wide
array of wood and non-wood forest products, such as firewood, construction materials, edible
fruits, pastures and medicines. Various studies have indicated that African dry forests are
experiencing an unprecedented level of degradation (Lambin 1999, Wardell et al. 2003,
UNEP 2006) due to climate change and, particularly, over-harvesting by people (Darkoh
2003). The damaging consequences of deforestation and degradation of dry forests include
disruption of ecosystem goods and services and, in turn, the livelihoods of forest-dwellers
(Darkoh 2003).
In Burkina Faso, the rural sector is primordial for the nation's economy; it employs 86% of
the total population. Approximately 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from
agricultural activities (MECV 2004). The woody vegetation is disappearing with a
deforestation rate estimated at 0.2% per year (FAO 2001). The remaining dry forests and
woodlands are being preserved through the establishment of “State forest” reserves, ranches,
buffer zones outside the ranches that constitute the villagers’ hunting zones, unprotected
forests and forests managed by cooperatives for wood as well as biodiversity conservation.
These areas are not strictly protected against human impact and are being utilized both legally
and illegally by local people. Because they are ecologically and socio-economically valuable,
sustainable management of these forested areas is of growing concern.
A brief review of the literature on institutional development of forest management from
across the country, shows that the environmental policy in Burkina Faso has shifted from
indifferent exploitation via conservation to management conservation aiming at sustainable
use of forests, empowerment of local populations in land management and fostering multi-use
forest production (Anonymous 1997). Involvement of local communities and securing the
rights of marginalised groups in management of natural forest is a central theme for the
development agenda. The poverty-governance-environment link has been further highlighted
in recent years through interventions aimed at building local capacity in forest management.
To this respect, joint or participatory management of natural forests was introduced in the
1980s after plantation efforts had failed to solve the perceived energy crisis (Delnooz 1999).
The aims of joint forest management were to supply cities with wood fuel, ensure
sustainability and fight against desertification (Kaboré 2002).
The national forest management plan was originally designed for State forests (forêts
classées), then widened to include other forests. In this paper we use the term forests in its
broad sense that includes all types of woodlands and other woody vegetation that usually is
not dense enough to be classified as forests according to the strict FAO (2006) definition: ‘a
“forest” is a minimum area of land of 0.05-1.0 ha with tree crown cover (or equivalent
stocking level) of more than 10-30% with the potential of in situ trees to reach a minimum
height of 2-5 m at maturity. A forest may consist either of closed forest formations where
trees of various storey and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground or open forest’.
Experimental sites were established to satisfy needs of the national forest management plan
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for more scientific input to ensure sustainability. On the sociological level, participatory
methods were introduced that allowed local people with backstopping from the government to
manage forests according to a management plan and a contract with the State.
Like many other African countries, Burkina Faso embarked on a decentralization process in
the 1990s and this was supported by a wide range of donors. In theory, decentralization is
believed to increase democratization of natural resource management by allowing local
stakeholders to make decisions on the control and use of local resources (CIFOR 2003). It is
seen as an important means to foster and nurture the important elements of good governance
in developing countries. Policy-makers and researchers recommend decentralized natural
resource management for many reasons (Ribot 2002, Rondinelli et al. 1983). Some of them
are that (i) local people are likely to identify and prioritise their environmental problems more
accurately than centralised organisations, (ii) resource allocation is more efficient and
transaction costs lower when decisions are taken locally, so that State expenditure on
management can be reduced, while resource conservation is improved, (iii) local groups are
more likely to respect decisions that they have participated in taking, (iv) monitoring of
resource use is improved, and (v) marginalised groups gain greater influence on local policy.
This article examines the case of a Joint Forest Management (JFM) program in the CenterWest region of Burkina Faso, where significant development of institutional reforms in the
management of de facto common property resources such as forests has been undertaken in
the past few decades (Delnooz 2003). It provides an account of the participatory natural forest
management and the enhancement of personal and collective social, economic and
environmental benefits, institutional benefits and potential shortcomings of decentralized
forest management.
Background to forest cover and joint forest management
Management of forests and woodlands has been influenced by the political and climatic
histories in all West African countries. In the 1930s a large part of the North Sudanian zone of
West Africa was delimited and protected by the colonial administration as wildlife sanctuaries
to prevent land use change due to the expansion of shifting cultivation (Shepard 1992). After
independence, forests and woodlands were preserved through the establishment of State
forests for wood production and biodiversity conservation. The need to ensure that local
people have access and use rights to the nearby forest and to develop a sustainable
relationship with these forests has grown since the mid 1970s. During this period
development strategies and practice, were moving towards a rural led focus (World Bank
1978) and the need to help rural populations mobilise by devoting greater efforts towards
meeting their “basic needs”. Meanwhile, the wood fuel crisis (Eckholm 1975) following the
1973 jump in fossil energy prices and accelerated reduction of tree cover in Sahelian countries
during and after the prolonged period of drought in the 1970s, drew more attention to the
dependence of people on forests and the need to engage the knowledge of people living in the
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nearby forests (through dialogue and collaboration) to maintain the vegetation cover required
for environmental stability.
In Burkina Faso, the forest cover was 7,154,163 ha in 1990, 6,914,276 ha in 2000 and
6,794,332 ha in 2005 (about 25% of the country area) (FAO 2005). These forests include tree
savanna and open forests (28.6%), shrubby savanna (37.14%), striped thickets (1.41%),
gallery forests (0.99%) and original anthropogenic vegetation (32%; fallow, agro-forestry
parklands, plantations and woodlots). These forested lands have continuously been used as
sources of urban wood fuel legally and sometimes illegally. After the severe drought years in
the Sahelian region, large-scale plantation projects using introduced species such as
Eucalyptus camaldulensis Denh., Gmelina arborea Roxb., and Tectona grandis L.f. were
initiated to meet the urban wood fuel needs and to control desertification; unfortunately these
turned out to be costly and unsuccessful due to lack of involvement of local people (Jensen
1997, Bellefontaine et al. 2000, Nygård 2000, Zida 2007). From the 1980s, natural forest
management emerged as a subject of interest in Burkina Faso, and joint or participatory forest
management (with wide responsibility and ownership assigned to the local population) has
been implemented with the help of a joint UNDP/FAO project (Delnooz 1999, FAO 1990).
These activities were part of a National Program of Forest Management covering the
technical, political or legal aspects of natural forest management, including regulation of
disturbance factors such as fire, tree cutting and livestock grazing (Sawadogo 2006,
Bellefontaine et al. 2000, Kaboré 2004). The activities that involved men and women were
mainly intended to ensure sustainable supply of wood fuel for urban centres like
Ouagadougou (Delnooz 1999). The project formed Forest Planning Areas (chantiers
d’aménagement forestier) and the control was attributed to Forest Management Cooperatives
(groupements de gestion forestière) and represent a form of decentralized forest management.
As urbanization increases, wood fuel extraction has largely influenced land use around urban
areas and along main roads. In 1999, a national report on sustainable forest management
(MECV 2004) showed 775,000 ha of managed forests, of which 29% are managed by
different projects. The managed forests represent less than 12% of the national forest cover.
The wood fuel drawn from these forests is the main source of energy for neighbouring big
cities. Table 1 shows the firewood production for the seven forests closest to Ouagadougou.
Context of joint forest management
The participatory approach of natural resource management and the concept of
decentralization reforms in West Africa took place over the last two decades (Ouédraogo
HMG 2004). These reforms aimed to improve local management and development by
transferring management responsibility and powers to local institutions (Ribot 1999,
Hermosilla 2000). However, suitable conditions for more equitable and efficient management
have not yet been established in Africa (Ribot 2003, Anderson et al. 2006) and the real
incorporation of the local communities’ priorities remains questionable (Ribot 2001, Mwangi
and Dohrn 2008). In Burkina Faso, joint or participatory forest management has developed
significantly in the context of institutional arrangements regarding forest management. The
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inevitable continued forest depletion, much to the detriment of the country's ecological,
economic, and environmental stability, led to the exploration of managerial alternatives,
which could halt this phenomenon. Effective involvement of village communities in evolving
sustainable forest management systems was looked upon as an important approach to address
the long-standing problems of deforestation and land degradation. With the development of
village forestry, rural people started to engage in environmental protection activities through
tree planting, soil conservation, agroforestry improvement, construction of wind breaks and
the use of improved stoves. During this time, the participatory approach to forest management
emerged based on the involvement of local communities, which was more promising than the
former top-down approach (Ouédraogo B 2002, Ouédraogo HMG 2003, Kaboré 2004).
Various usufruct agreements providing increased access to wood fuel or non-wood forest
products, revenue sharing or other instruments have been tried as incentives. In this process,
joint forest management was based on the following major principles (Renes and Coulibaly
1998, MECV 2004):
participation of local people organized in forest management associations referred to
as GGF in our case study;
self-funded forest management;
some silvicultural practices namely selective tree cutting, livestock grazing and
prescribed fire that take into account the dynamics of the forest and the socioeconomic requirements of adjacent villages.
Material and Methods
Study sites
This research was carried out in the forest planning areas of the Centre-West region (1°02’l2°00’N and 1°30’-2°80’W), one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions (Figure 1). The
main reasons for selecting this region were the climatic location of the region (NorthSudanian) and the importance of the area for wood fuel supply to the main cities, with more
than 75% of the total wood fuel consumption of Ouagadougou (Ouédraogo M 2002).
Agribusiness is of growing importance in the region characterized by a large demand for land
from intellectuals investing in commercial agriculture (Ouédraogo M 2003).
The forest management sites are located in three provinces (Sanguié, Sissili and Ziro). The
region is very flat with an average altitude of 300 meters. Phyto-geographically, it is situated
in the Sudanian regional centre of endemism in the the south Sudanian Zone (Fontes and
Guinko 1995). The climate is tropical with a unimodal rainy season lasting from May to
October. The vegetation cover consists of tree savanna in the south and shrubby savanna in
the north. The most common woody species are Vittelaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa,
Lannea microcarpa, Acacia albida, Tamarindus indica, Adansonia digitata and Detarium
microcarpum. The herbaceous vegetation is dominated by Andropogon gayanus and A.
pseudapricus. The region has quite important wildlife populations. The most abundant
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animals are elephants (Loxodonta africana), buffaloes (Syncerus caffer and Alcelaphus
bucelaphus), hipotragues (Hyppotragus equinus), cobs (Kobus defassa), warthogs
(Phacochoerus aethiopicus), red monkeys (Erythrocebus patas), hares (Lepus capensis), and
significant bird and reptile fauna.
In 2006, the population density was 55 persons/km², against a national average of 34
persons/km². The region has a high in-migration rate (farmers mostly) since the 1980s (Henry
et al. 2003). Ethnically it is constituted of Lyele, Nuni, Sissala, Wala and migrant groups
dominated essentially by Mossi (farmers) and Fulani people (pastoralists) respectively from
the central (Central Plateau) and northern (Sahel) parts of the country who come to the area in
search of new land suitable for cultivation and grazing (Kristensen and Balslev 2003). The
dominant production methods in the study area are traditional subsistence farming systems
with cereals (such as sorghum, millet, and maize) and tubers (yam and sweet potatoes), and
animal husbandry. Since about a decade ago, there is high competition with lucrative
production systems: wood fuel and non-wood forest product NWFP) harvesting activities,
cash crop production (cotton and fruit-tree plantation) and ranching (Paré et al. 2008). The
region has seven jointly managed forests (CAF), covering 240,000 ha. Trees are mainly cut
for commercial wood fuel (with a capacity of 120,000 m3 of wood fuel per year), charcoal and
poles by local populations that are organised in co-operatives. The wood is transported to
towns (Ouédraogo M 2002). NWFPs such as fruit, leaves, tubers, perennial grass straw and
hay, and meat are also harvested.
Figure 1: Location of the classified areas and forest management units in the region of Centre
West region, Burkina Faso
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Research methodology
Information was obtained using a combination of participatory rural appraisal and personal
conversation with various stakeholders in forest management, direct observation and by
reviewing existing literature (available recent publications, development plans, policy
documents and research studies / reports). When required to fill information gaps, we
collected information through a structured questionnaire survey at local level. The main
question asked was: what are the benefits and shortcomings of the decentralized forest
management in your area? Rural leaders and forest administration officials were interviewed
to discuss their views on the benefit and shortcomings of decentralized forest management. A
participatory diagnostic called Méthode Active de Recherches Participatives (MARP) was
used with the support of a team of experts (lawyer, geographer, sociologist, forester,
economist) to obtain information from stakeholders involved in joint forest management of
what works in terms of institutions, organization, socio–economic aspects and services.
Results and Discussion
Forest income contribution to household economy
Wood constitutes the main source of energy for households in the country (Kaboré 2004). In
the capital city Ouagadougou the dominating source of household cooking energy in is woodenergy which is used by 76.3% of the households; 70.1% mainly use firewood and 6.2%
charcoal (Ouédraogo B 2006). They satisfy their needs through harvesting from natural forest
(Renes and Coulibaly 1988; Sawadogo and Ouédraogo 2005), but the production capacity is
weak; only 30% of the exploitable wood is sold according to the management plans (Pakodé
2004). The wood fuel harvesting is of tremendous importance for people living in and around
community managed woodlands. Supplies of wood to the cities come solely by road from the
wooded savanna formations existing in the region. The wood is cut either during clearing for
crop-growing or expressly for processing of wood fuel for sale. In both cases, the work is
done by local smallholders and it provides them with a by-no-means negligible addition to
their income. In 2000, the city of Ouagadougou consumed nearly 350,000 tons of wood which
came mainly from the center-west region (>75%). This amount was estimated at more than
$US 10 millions, calculated at FCFA500 per (fluctuating) US$1 (Ouédraogo B 2002). The
forest management unit of Cassou contributed the highest proportion of wood and cash
income (Table 1). The distance to be covered to find wood is now 70-100 km along the main
roads. Off these highways, little wood is still to be found within reasonable distance and the
difficulties related to transportation increase. Light trucks (3.5-ton or more) are increasingly
replacing vans and donkey-drawn carts, which had in turn replaced donkeys, bicycles and
humans. The consumption greatly exceeds the production of the remaining surrounding stands
and the production decreases as the trees disappear.
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Table 1: Wood fuel production and estimated values in 2002 and 2003 for the Centre west
region of Burkina Faso, West Africa
Forest management unit
Production
(m3)
Bougnounou/Nébiel
Cassou
Nazinon
Sapouy-Biéha
Sud-Ouest Sissili
Silly Pouni/Zawara
Tiogo
Total
21 992
31 545
19 336
23 380
7 404
9 024
7 408
120089
2002
Value
($US)
113 841
163 292
100 092
121 026
38 327
46 712
38 347
621 637
Income to
Local people*
US$
98 317
141 025
86 443
104 522
33 100
40 343
33 118
536 868
2003
Production
Value
3
(m )
($US)
26 611
38 386
14 272
14 541
5 157
10 476
9 027
118 470
137 751
198 704
73 879
75 271
26 695
54 229
46 728
613 256
After Pakodé (2004)
* Income to local people = 86.4%
The final price of wood fuel in the main cities (Koudougou or Ouagadougou) was three times
higher than the prices at the collection sites. The wood is in fact bought by middlemen, often
the transporters. The price paid is about $US4.4/m3. Once transported, this wood is resold at
$US14/m3 and more, according to whether an entire load is delivered, if it has been split or,
finally, whether it is sold in small quantities. A study of the forest management associations in
Burkina Faso (Ful 2000) showed that only 20% of the income from wood fuel ends up in the
pockets of the 46,000 woodcutters. The remainder is shared between 134 wholesalers buying
and trading from the forest sites and the 7,200 retailers, earning 50% and 30% respectively
(Table 2). The erratic rainfall adds to the price variations because the rainy season is also the
crop-growing season and the harvesters no longer have the time to cut wood. There is then a
wood shortage on the market.
Table 2: Repartition of the income drawn from managed forests from 1986 to 1999 in the
Centre West region of Burkina Faso, West Africa
Destiny of receipts
Forest taxes (Public treasury)
Woodcutters (GGF members)
Village management funds (GGF)
Management funds (Forest Service)
Total
Amount (US$)
5,882
21,647
3,529
11,765
42,824
%
13.74
50.55
8-24
27.47
100
Average/year
420
1,546
252
840
3,059
After Sawadogo and Ouédraogo (2005)
Forest income contributed to household cash income in addition to agriculture that provided
sorghum and millet (main staple foods in the zones) for the woodcutters. With an average of
$US680/year/head of household (according to a survey made of 144 households), this
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contribution is much higher than the national poverty threshold established at
$US164.9/year/adult (MECV 2004).
Impacts of decentralization on joint forest management
The assessment of sustainable natural forest management confirms the existence of enormous
possibilities but also of insufficiencies and raises concerns regarding the change related to
administrative decentralization (Pakodé 2004). The impacts of decentralization on joint forest
management are discussed under three headings: benefits, shortcomings and the relationships
between local associations, decentralization and joint forest management.
Benefits of administrative decentralization for joint management of forests
The current joint forest management system which has been in place for 20 years could serve
as a source of inspiration for the relatively new process of administrative decentralization.
Administrative decentralization is now reaching rural areas and could be a great opportunity
to improve the scheme for joint management of forests.
(i) Impact on the legal status of forests
The joint forest management areas now have legal status as State Forests (forêts classées) and
remain the property of the State who only transfers the right to the villagers for management.
Villagers are organised in management groups and decentralization has led to the
establishment of local authorities. These authorities are now trained to represent the central
administration locally, especially when it comes to natural resource management. A large part
of the managed forests becomes the property of rural communities and this has led to the need
to revise the contract between the State and the local management groups that takes the new
partner into account. The specific mandates given to local governments and communities
include: management of local forest reserves for biodiversity conservation; to regulate policy
implementation; to conserve and manage village forest reserves and trees on farms; and to
participate in joint management of conservation areas. The question of traditional rights is
however an important one since decentralization affects the legitimacy of traditional rights to
forest land. The opposition between modern law and traditional law therefore gains in
strength although decentralization is supposed to help find a resolution. Without customary
rights and benefit sharing mechanisms of natural resources, local populations will continue to
become indifferent to the environment because they have no incentive to contain degradation
and conserve the environment and natural resources.
(ii) Ecological impact
Fear that local authorities will adopt bad management practices of natural resources has
slowed down with the transfer of forest resources to local stakeholders. Lack of technical
capacity in the rural communities can quickly be resolved since the transfer of management is
accompanied by transfer of financial and human resources. There is however fear that
different kinds of social infrastructure such as health clinics, schools and roads could lead to
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over-exploitation of forest resources since they are their principal source of revenue and the
needs are tremendous. This exploitation could in turn lead to serious environmental impact
such as a shift in the species composition due to overharvesting of certain wood fuel species
and a subsequent disequilibrium of ecosystems.
(iii) Impact on the value of forests
The management plans that are currently in place focus on management for one objective
only: supply of wood fuel to big urban centres. This approach excludes actors who are
interested in building enterprises based on NWFPs. Since the 1990s there has been a strong
decrease of forest land in favour of agricultural activities. In 1999, 22 villages in the Ziro
province gave up 2,081 ha of their joint forest management land to 61 agro-businessmen
(DRED/CO 2003) which means an average chunk of land of 34 ha/person which in turn is
more than 10 times the size of the average personal property.
The Tiogo State Forest, another forest in the Sudanian Zone, generates more than
US$100,000/year (Yelkouni 2004). This amount includes wood and other benefits people
draw from the forest. The same study showed that if the Tiogo forest, is cleared and turned
into agricultural land, its value decreases to US$74,000/year. These figures clearly show that
there is incentive for local people to preserve forests rather than clearing it for cotton or other
cash crop production.
Local communities living adjacent to the forest, extract a variety of non-timber products from
forests to consume or to generate income. These products include food, fodder, medicines,
spices, resins, dyes and utensils. NTFPs are important for food security, health and social and
economic welfare of rural communities. They provide a significant nutritional contribution,
especially crucial during times of drought and famine and create more varied, palatable, and
balanced diets. Rural people also depend on forests for income and employment. Since forests
constitute a very important source of revenue for rural communities they will very largely rely
on valuation of the forests. Also policies targeting better valuation need to be explored at
local, national, regional and international level. This will have to include rigorous control of
land trading and diversification of forest products.
(iv) Impact on redistribution of revenue
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to decentralization will be benefit sharing of the
revenue from joint forest management schemes. The principal actor here will be the local
administration. They will claim their share of the pie and the current sharing arrangement
need to be revised. The woodcutters, like the management associations, already complain over
their share which they find too small and static (has remained the same for years). In 2000,
households in Ouagadougou spent more than US$12,000,000 on wood fuel but less than US$
710,000 ended up in the pockets of woodcutters (Ouédraogo B 2002). An analysis by Thiam
(1998) showed that the current level of funds reinvested into the management of the forests is
not enough. These management funds rarely go back to maintaining forest sustainability. The
context of decentralization is an opportunity for all stakeholders to revise this sharing
arrangement in order to avoid future conflicts.
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(v) Impact on formalization of relations between different stakeholders through local by-laws
The relationships between the management groups, their union and other partners are often of
a very informal character. Many decisions are oral which makes it difficult to put them into
practise and to follow up on them afterwards. The context of decentralization may allow for
formalization of these relationships between the different forest stakeholders and the local
government through local by-laws.
(vi) Impact on respect of the management plans
Closer management of forests through decentralization may be an opportunity to correct
imperfections regarding the management plans. The management plans are not followed all
the way and this is the joint responsibility of the union of forest management groups, their
leaders who are sometimes negligent, the technical backstopping team who is supposed to
help the management groups but who in many cases are very tightly connected to the forest
service (Pakodé 2004). The forest management plan must be approved by the local authorities
who also should monitor its implementation.
Shortcomings of administrative decentralization for joint management of forests
If decentralization presents itself as an opportunity to reinforce local management of forest
resources, it will not happen without friction for the current system. Putting rural
decentralization into place will reshape existing rules. What are the shortcomings of
decentralization for joint forest management?
(i) Politicizing the joint forest management scheme
Until now the forest management groups have economic activities that are more or less
disconnected from politics. The entry point for local administration may bring about a
political side of the approach and control of this source of revenue might allow for control of
a good part of the voters. There are therefore potential risks of elite capture.
(ii) Conflicts of interest
The arrival of a new player (local government) may increase conflicts of interest between
stakeholders. The technical services may become less cooperative if they see a part of their
source of revenue disappearing. The new local authority would like to maximise its profit to
be able to address the different needs of the rural communities. The revenue of the forest
management group and the woodcutters may decrease. In this competition for benefit, good
judgement and sustainable management may have to run against corruption and strong
competitors such as technical services, wholesalers and local authorities.
(iii) Unclear land rights and the place for customary law
If decentralization sets the stage for formal management it does not guarantee security in its
current state. Land management and especially forest land management under decentralization
clearly excludes customary rights which have played an important role at the local level for
centuries. Managed forests are located on land that is characterized by overlapping multiple
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rights (customary and modern). The establishment of these managed forests is the result of
negotiations with the traditional owners who always encourage joint management. Today
these traditional owners are overlooked because the law does not provide use and withdrawal
rights on their own land. If discussions and negotiations do not take place on time the system
can not guarantee land tenure security (MAHRH 2007). Traditional leaders support the joint
forest management schemes because they still have certain influence over the land. What will
happen when they are sure they have lost this influence? And what can we say about the vast
chunks of land that have already been bought by agro-businessmen on land that should have
been transferred to rural communities? Some communities will end up with very little land
because so much of it has already been bought. There are no guarantees for success since all
stakeholders have their own views on land rights. The gap between legal (modern law) and
customary law remains.
Local associations, decentralization and joint forest management
Rural organizations play a central role in the management of forest resources. Their most
important role is to protect the forests against all forms of degradation. This goal remains
difficult to reach, however, because the management groups have neither the competence, nor
the means to accomplish this mission. That explains many infringements happening now: no
respect for the management plan, uncontrolled clearing, late fires, illegal cutting, infringement
by some migrants, some agro-businessmen and even some surrounding native populations.
In addition to the union of management groups, the area has several rural organizations which
constitute an inescapable link with the local community that needs to be taken into account
within the context of decentralization. The roles they have played on the ground before
implementation of administrative decentralization will now be devolved to the local
government. The municipal councils and the mayors should therefore engage a dialog with
these organizations and other actors to define a platform of action with them. The assets
already accumulated by the local organizations within the context of local development
should benefit the process of administrative decentralization. Thus these organizations will be
able to legitimate the process of administrative decentralization, to be sources of security and
solidarity, and provide income for investment in social infrastructure. In return, the process of
decentralization should offer to the rural organizations a relevant framework to undertake
development activities in their districts. This support can be:
better identification of priorities with the participation of rural populations;
building and management of social infrastructure (schools, community clinics, rural
road network);
bring administrative services closer to the rural population (civil action, training,
technical support);
arbitration and management of conflicts;
better organization for rural participation in the management of local development
activities;
land use security.
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Conclusion
The thorough analyses of the jointly managed forests reveal positive elements at technical and
organizational levels, as well as some challenges to be taken into account.
At the local level, joint management allowed better planning of the space and resources,
possibility to defuse conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, opportunity to help local
people to meet their needs (schools, food, medicine, etc.), possibility to reinforce the
endogenous capacity of self-promotion of the populations in the sustainable management of
forests and creation of frameworks for dialogue between actors of the wood fuel commodity
chain.
At the environmental level, joint forest management helped to improve the ecological balance
through concrete action. For example, the environmental heritage is safeguarded by the
decisive and permanent role of rural populations. They develop new socio-ecological balances
through perpetuation of the forest by afforestation, enrichment by direct seeding and
protection against late fires.
Achievement of such results remains dependent on a certain number of parameters however,
such as availability of appropriate laws regulating forestry development, adapted tools for
implementation and skilled staff.
In addition, the scheme of joint management of forests should, if applied properly, be more
profitable for local people. Nowadays, the forest management groups are weak when it comes
to negotiating prices with wholesalers and the administration. Moreover, more than 50% of
the taxes paid at the forest sites by wholesalers turn over directly or indirectly in the treasury
of the State through the management fund, the working capital and the cutting license. Within
the context of administrative decentralization with the creation of the rural communities, the
stakes will consist in passing from an exogenous approach imposed from the top to an
endogenous approach including the seeking of local compromise between actors for a
dynamic and respectful production of forest resources. In addition to the cost, the length and
the complexity of the process of establishing jointly managed forests constitute a real brake to
up-scaling it to all the forests of the country. It is necessary to work towards a simplification
(technical and cost) of this process to accelerate the rhythm of setting up the joint
management approach in other forests and to work more in the direction of a real
appropriation of forest management by the local communities.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) who
has funded this study via the CIFOR’s "Dry Forest Project". Our sincere thanks: to the GGF
and UGGF members of the study area (especially those from Cassou), Omar GUIGEMDE
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and Luc NIGNAN for providing facilities during the data collection and to Marie Bernadette
Savadogo/Guibila and Théophile BAMA for their help during the field work.
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66
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TWENTY YEARS OF EXPERRIENCE OF JOINT
DRY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN BURKINA FASO
L. Sawadogo1 and D Tiveau2*
1
CNRST, INERA, DPF BP 10 Koudougou, Burkina Faso
CIFOR, 06 BP 9478 Ouagadougou 06, Burkina Faso.
*Corresponding author: danieltiveau@hotmail.com
2
Abstract
A series of projects In Burkina Faso, West Africa, started in the 1980s led to the
establishment of a system of joint forest management that should be sustainable, produce
wood fuel to the nation’s capital and allow local people to engage and benefit from
management of their forests. The model tested in the Nazinon state forest is the pioneer that
has inspired management models throughout the country and outside its borders. Harvesting
started in 1988 and the first 20-year rotation period has now come to an end. This study
evaluates this management system. It assesses the current state of the resource (biodiversity
and production) and tries to project future impacts of the current model. The study also
provides background material for the national evaluation of the plan. The Nazinon forest
management area was assessed with a sampling ratio of 0.30%. It has a functional
administration and organisation of producer groups but several practises go against the
management plan, such as large numbers of livestock graze in the forest and most of the land
burns annually. Legal wood harvesting concentrates on six species but illegal wood
harvesting is also common. The reason for and consequences of such practises are discussed.
More emphasis on non-timber forest products is recommended for the revised management
plan. There is also a need for better archiving systems for various types of documents,
empowerment of producer groups, review of the management policies, better follow-up of
regeneration and better criteria for selecting what tree individuals can be legally cut.
Introduction
In Burkina Faso, forests and other woodlands cover 25.9% of the country, of which 75% are
community controlled areas and 25% are state owned (FAO 2001). Most woodlands are found
in the southern, eastern and western parts of the country. These woodlands are under great
pressure due to migration of people from the north and central parts where land degradation is
severe. These people search for agricultural and pastoral land and this often leads to conflicts
between farmers and cattle owners, migrants and natives as well as farmers and state officers.
The overall consequence is accelerated forest degradation. In Burkina Faso, annual
deforestation is estimated to 40,000 to 60,000 ha and annual reforestation is 1100 ha
(Ouédraogo B 2001). The woodlands are also experiencing degradation of biodiversity due to
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recurrent droughts and other anthropogenic factors like bush fires, overgrazing, land clearing
for agriculture and tree cutting for wood fuel. Rapid growth of urban centers leads to
increasing demand for wood fuel. For example, the population of the capital Ouagadougou
increased from 465,969 people in 1985 to 1,066,082 people in 2006. Similar trends can be
seen across the continent. The wood fuel demand of Ouagadougou was estimated at 1,376,056
stères (m3) in 2000 (Ouédraogo B 2006) with an annual increase of 9.88% (ESMAP 1991).
Plantations of introduced species (mainly Eucalyptus) was attempted to resolve the wood fuel
crisis in big cities but this failed and in the 1980s Burkina Faso turned towards sustainable
natural forest management instead.
Funded by UNDP and implemented by FAO, the project PNUD/FAO/BKF/89/011 was
launched in 1986. It aimed at participatory management of Nazinon forest to supply
Ouagadougou with wood fuel. This project was the pioneer that inspired all the forest
management programs in the country and some in neighboring countries too. For instance,
Niger and Mali started rural wood fuel markets in 1992 and 1995 respectively by taking the
experiment of Nazinon forest management into account.
People in adjacent villages are organized in forest management cooperatives to cut wood fuel
in the forest according to a management plan and conditions that are stipulated in a contract
with the State. Wood fuel is cut in a selective manner and the rotation period is 20 years. The
wood fuel is sold by producers to transporters who convey it by old trunks to the capital
where they sell it to the consumers.
In Nazinon the first plot was cut in 1988 so the first 20-year rotation period ended in 2007. It
is therefore crucial to assess the system in order to highlight successes and shortcomings for
better orientation of the next phase. This would be a useful exercise of lessons to be learnt, not
only for this and other joint forest management schemes in Burkina Faso but also for other
countries on the continent.
The objective of this paper is to present the results of an assessment of the current state
(biodiversity and production) of the vegetation in the Nazinon forest, to attempt to project
future changes due to the current management model, and to provide the background for the
national evaluation of the management plan that started in April 2008.
Materials and Methods
Study site description
The Nazinon forest (11°30’-11°51’N and 1°27’-1°50’W) is located ca 70 km south of
Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in the province of Ziro. Physiographically the area
is classified as a slightly undulated plateau with altitude ranging between 260 and 360 m (KyDembele et al. 2007). The soils are characterized as Haplic Luvisols and Haplic Alisols
(Rietkerk et al. 1998). The forest is located in the south-Sudanian zone with a mean annual
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rainfall of 907 mm (1990-2007) falling in summer between May and October. The mean daily
temperature ranges between 15 and 40oC.
The Nazion forest area under management (CAF) is 23,699 ha. The CAF of Nazion is divided
into seven forest management units (FMUs or UAF in French) of 2,000 to 4,000 ha each.
They are indicated with different colors in Figure 1 (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gray, Brown
and Orange). Each FMU is subdivided into 20 blocks of 100 to 200 ha each, for harvesting
one block each year over the 20-year harvesting cycle. Every year one block is selected at
random for harvesting. In total, 25 cooperatives (GGF) totaling 850 members participate in
the Nazinon joint forest management scheme.
Summary of management and harvesting prescriptions
Vulnerable areas such as slopes, river banks, vegetation on termite mounds should not
be cut;
Areas with less than 200 stems/ha should not be cut;
Harvesting cycle (rotation period) is 20 years;
Selective tree cutting was adopted instead of clear cutting;
Only trees with a diameter (at breast height) ranging between 10 and 25 cm can be cut;
wood fuel from this diameter class is considered as merchantable;
50% of the merchantable volume of the plot can be cut;
Priority must be given to felling of malformed trees and individuals most affected by
disease;
Trees should be cut at 15 cm stump height;
Tree composition of cut areas should be supplemented by direct seeding and tree
planting;
Cut areas should be protected from bush fires and grazing for at least 3 years;
The remaining areas should be burnt annually in prescribed early burning.
Vegetation inventory method
The complete inventory of all the woody plants on sample plots was done during 1 to 22 May
2006. Four (4) circular plots of 20 m radius were sampled in each of the 20 blocks of the
seven FMUs, giving a total of 560 sampled plots. The sampling ratio was 0.23 to 0.46% based
on the area of each FMU. The geographic coordinates of the plots were recorded to allow
follow up.
The following information was recorded for each woody individual:
Scientific name
Stump (or individual) number
Number of stems per stump
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Height of every stem per stump
Circumference at stump level (15 cm) of stems with a circumference greater than 10
cm
Circumference at breast height (CHP) (130 cm above ground level) of stems with a
stump level circumference greater than 10 cm
Health status (healthy, burnt, dead, pollarded, infestation by Loranthaceae, etc).
Figure 1: Location of Nazinon forest and the different Forest Management Units (FMUs or
UAF) denoted by colors as follows (in order from top left to right, then top to bottom):
Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Gray, Brown and Orange.
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Other observations included occurrence of fire, livestock presence and recent wood cutting, to
assess the degree to which the management prescriptions were followed.
The collected data were analyzed for species richness, density, basal area and health status to
characterize the vegetation status (biodiversity and production) after 20 years of implementing
joint forest management. Tree individuals were divided into three diameter classes for
practical reasons as follows:
DBH <10 cm (regeneration class)
DBH 10-25 cm (merchantable wood class)
DBH >25 cm (seed-tree class).
Results and Discussions
Species richness
In total, 90 woody species were recorded during the inventory in the Nazinon forest. Similar
figures were found in Tiogo forest in the same vegetation zone (Sawadogo L 1996, Savadogo
P 2002).
Only six species were found in all seven FMUs (UAFs) (Table 1). Two (2) species, Detarium
microcarpum and Vitellaria paradoxa (shea tree), were the most abundant in all FMUs
ranging from 29% (Green FMU at top right) to 43% (Brown FMU at second from bottom).
These are the two most valuable ones in terms of wood fuel and fruit. They are both cut for
wood fuel. The nuts of Vitellaria paradoxa are collected by women to produce shea butter.
The fruit of Detarium microcarpum are edible and rich in vitamin A. Wine can be made from
the fruit. Piliostigma thonningii is an indicator of fallows in recovery. Dicrostachys cinerea is
an invading shrub that should be kept under control in order to avoid encroachment.
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Table 1: Relative abundance (%) of woody species in the seven forest management units
(FMUs or UAF) of Nazinon CAF, Berkina Faso
Species
Red
Yello
w
26.04
10.82
3.96
9.84
2.78
5.17
FMU or UAF
Gray
Blue
Green
Brown
Orang
e
26.81
8.95
3.42
8.56
3.89
4.43
18.61
22.05
23.32
17.42
34.05
Detarium microcarpum
13.60
10.21
16.14
11.62
9.32
Vitellaria paradoxa
6.22
3.17
3.73
2.20
2.80
Piliostigma thonningii
3.56
5.80
8.95
5.26
6.54
Pteleopsis suberosa
3.21
4.72
4.00
2.56
6.17
Strychnos spinosa
3.83
4.61
4.94
5.37
6.51
Terminalia
avicennioides
1.83
3.15
1.89
4.97
2.37
4.01
Acacia dudgeoni
6.62
4.67
7.05
2.03
3.90
3.85
Anogeissus leiocarpus
3.94
2.83
2.63
2.42
4.98
4.03
Burkea africana
3.96
3.19
3.16
3.75
4.05
3.00
Combretum glutinosum
2.10
4.05
4.30
2.61
4.95
4.28
Crossopteryx febrifuga
2.13
6.39
1.94
2.36
3.30
Combretum molle
2.69
3.02
4.57
5.87
2.20
Dicrostachys cinerea
Total number of species
73
77
73
74
78
70
77
* N = Number of FMUs or UAF where the species was encountered during the inventory
N
*
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
Stand structure
This is presented by stem density over tree size categories. The highest density was found in
the Yellow FMU with 2925 stems/ha while the lowest density was recorded in the Red FMU
with 1345 stems/ha (Figure 2).
The dominance of young and small individuals could be due to recurrent bush fires that
almost every year destroy the stems of most species and keep their bushy stature. Most of the
species regenerate by coppice and root suckers and this make them very resilient. The most
abundant species, Detarium microcarpum, produce large numbers of stems (coppice and root
suckers) post disturbance such as cutting and fire. These stems go through a thinning period
of a few years of die-off until 2 or 3 stems take over, become remnant and grow into the next
classes.
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management through institutional arrrangements
3000
Nb stems/ha
2500
2000
1500
Seed tree (D
DBH>25)
1000
Merch. (10<<DBH<25cm)
Regen (DBH
H<10cm)
500
0
Blue Brown Gray Yelloow Orange Red
Green
UAFF
ody species in the sevenn FMUs (UAFs) of
Figure 22: Stem dennsity (horizontal structuure) of woo
N
Nazinon forrest
Basal aarea
Total baasal area is a good estim
mate of thee potential wood
w
producction of a fo
forest. Merchantable
wood baasal area is the producttion that couuld be legallly cut. Only
y six speciees are comm
monly cut
and soold for wood
w
fuel: Detarium microcarp
pum, Vitelllaria paraadoxa, Terrminalia
avicennnioides, Croossopteryx febrifuga,
f
A
Anogeissus leiocarpus
l
and
a Burkea africana. The
T total
2
2
basal arrea varied frrom 6.92 m /ha (Gray F
FMU) to 4.6
67 m /ha (B
Blue FMU) ((Figure 3).
7
Basal area (m2/ha)
6
5
4
Total Basaal area
3
Ba Merch (10<DBH<25
2
Ba Fuel woood
1
0
UAF
woody speccies in the seeven FMUss in Nazinon
n forest.
Figure 3: Basal arrea at breastt height of w
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M
in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
The merchantable wood basal area represents from 27% to 40% of the total basal area of the
FMU. Most of the remaining basal area is made up of a few large seed trees. The basal area of
the six most cut wood fuel species ranges from 14% to 21% of the total basal area depending
on the FMU. The proportion that can be legally cut for wood fuel is therefore relatively small
compared to the potential wood production of the forest.
Health status of woody vegetation
More than 92% of the individuals >4 m height of woody species in the FMUs of Nazinon
forest are in good health (Table 2).
Table 2 : Health status expressed as % of tree individuals >4 m height in the seven FMUs (or
UAFs) Nazinon forest
Health status
Good health
Burnt
Infested by
Loranthaceae
Dead
Pollarded
Red
94.9
1.8
2.2
Green
95.4
2.0
1.6
0.7
0.4
0.9
0.1
FMU or UAF
Gray
Yellow Orange
94.6
95.0
93.1
2.4
2.2
1.8
1.6
1.3
2.2
1.1
0.3
0.8
0.7
2.2
0.7
Blue
92.8
3.2
3.2
Brown
94.4
3.0
1.5
0.6
0.2
0.8
0.3
The most common damage is caused by bush fires that burn trunks and branches and even
top-kills saplings. The species Crossopteryx febrifuga is most sensitive to fire. All mature
individuals of this species have holes in the trunk due to fire. It is likely to become a
threatened species over time as there are very few young individuals of it (personal
observation). Vitellaria paradoxa is often infested by Loranthaceae (Tapinanthus spp.).
Pterocarpus erinaceus is frequently pollarded for forage. The relative low proportion of dead
wood is certainly due to permanent collection by people and destruction by bush fires.
Discussion of state of Nazinon joint forest management
Strengths of joint forest management to date
Well structured administration
The existence of a management plan (Figure 4), conditions of contract with the State and a
well structured administration is a good step for efficient participative management of the
forest and transparency in benefit sharing.
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Forest potential in natural resources
With its 90 woody species, the Nazinon forest has great potential to produce more natural
resources than just wood fuel. The resilience of these species is remarkable. For example,
despite the great pressure on Detarium microcarpum and Vitellaria paradoxa, they are the
most abundant species (as in the uncut areas) after 20 years of wood harvesting.
Shortcomings of joint forest management to date
Lack of or insufficient knowledge of forest productivity parameters
There are no reliable methods for assessing dry forest resources (i.e. wood production) in the
Sahelian and Sudanian zones. This makes it difficult to predict the quantities of wood that can
be cut and therefore assess the income generated by this activity. The growth rate of the
species cut is not known which makes it difficult to assess the rate of recovery of the
harvested part and therefore the harvesting cycle. Indeed, the 20-year cycle for this forest was
not based on sound data but more or less taken out of the blue. Another complicating factor is
insufficient knowledge of the influence of disturbances such as droughts, fire and livestock on
the vegetation. Research is crucial to understand the biology and ecology of local species.
Management prescriptions depend on knowledge of these factors.
Board of
Management of
CAF
Internal audit
committee
External audit
committee
Technical
Directorate
Management
Unit 1
Management
Unit 2
Management
Unit n
Forest
Management
Cooperatives
Forest
Management
Cooperatives
Forest
Management
Cooperatives
Figure 4: Organisational chart of the Nazinon Joint Forest Management
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Lack of respect for the management prescriptions
The woodcutting focused only on two species, Detarium microcarpum and Vitellaria
paradoxa. In the long run, the impact of this species-based selective cutting could have
negative impacts on the stand. The high pressure on these few species could be a threat to
their survival. The size-based criteria for cutting for all species are another shortcoming.
Some species will remain uncut because they are small even at the mature stage. They could
become invading and then force people to harvest species with a lower fuel value.
Vitellaria paradoxa is cut for wood fuel but should rather be protected for shea butter
production. The species does not regenerate well (seedlings grow very slow). Disappearance
of the species would cause a loss of the profit from shea nuts and its value-added products on
the international market. Detarium microcarpum on the other hand sprouts vigorously which
makes it more resilient than many other species. Nevertheless, the high cutting pressure
maintains its bushy stature which decreases its productivity.
Cutting is not done uniformly in all blocks. Indeed, some blocks are almost clear-cut (overexploited) while some are hardly cut at all (under-exploited). Similar observations were made
by Nouvellet et al. (1995) in the neighboring CAF of Bougounou-Nebielyanayou where wellstocked areas were overharvested and areas with sparser tree cover were under-exploited. In
addition, illegal logging occurred in blocks not planned to be cut that particular year.
The 15 cm height at which cutting should be done according to the plan is not respected. In
this study cutting height ranged from 23 to 57 cm in the Nazinon forest according to the
species cut. This is probably because it is a comfortable height to work at but it reduces the
regeneration capacity of the stump.
Fire and livestock exclusion from plots newly cut is not respected. In this study, the whole
forest was every year subjected to grazing and fire.
Management based on one product
The current management is based only on wood fuel although non timber forest products
(NTFPs) and pastoral management are mentioned in the management plan. For example, the
abundance of Vitellaria paradoxa in the Nazinon forest is an opportunity to develop a sheabutter based business. The growing international market for this product is a real opportunity
for increasing the economic value of the forest. The exports of shea butter and unprocessed
shea kernels brought in US$7 million in 2000, making it the country's third most important
export product, after cotton and livestock (Harch 2001).
Proper management of grazing (timing and intensity) could be used for fire management in
the forest. Grazing could remove grass biomass and help to lower fire intensity and therefore
increase wood productivity. In Tiogo and Laba forest in the same climatic zone, moderate
grazing reduced herbaceous biomass and decreased stump mortality following selective wood
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cutting (Sawadogo L et al. 2002). Similar levels of grazing did not negatively affect soil
infiltration in the same forests (Savadogo P et al. 2007).
Land insecurity
During the last 10 years, the province of Ziro where Nazinon forest is located was subjected
to intense land grabbing for cash-crop agriculture mainly by private investors (civilian
servants, politicians and traders). In 2004, more than 117 so-called agro-businessmen having
between 5 ha to more than 600 ha each, have been inventoried in the province (Ouédraogo M
2004). The scarcity of land forces migrants and local people to encroach the managed forest
to grow crops and cotton. During this study, fields have been found in some plots of the CAF.
In summary, this new set of pressures raises the risk not only of increasing poverty, social
exclusion and civil conflict among local people, but also of increased CO2 emissions from
increased deforestation and forest degradation.
Deficiency of archiving systems and activity monitoring
It was impossible to find data concerning the first inventory of the vegetation of Nazinon
CAF. We could not assess the real impact of the management model during the twenty year
period.
No follow up is done on the regeneration by coppice, direct seeding or planting in the cut
plots. This would have given valuable information that could have been used to re-assess the
new plan especially regarding the suitable harvesting cycle.
Lack of empowerment of producer groups
The relative weakness of local organizations and a lack of empowerment and accountability
are major constraints for sustainable forest management. For example, the price of wood fuel
at the producer level is established by the state administration although it’s stipulated in the
management plan that the producers could negotiate the price according to market conditions.
Wood fuel is the only product where the price at producer level remained unchanged since
1998. One stere (m3) of wood fuel cost FCFA2200 (ca US$4) from which 50% make up the
share of the woodcutter. The value in town is more than 10 000 FCFA (ca US$20).
Transporters, who buy the wood fuel from producers in the forest to sell in town, are the
winners of the system; they set the price and the species to be cut by the producers.
Conclusions and future perspective
The viability of the Nazinon forest will depend on a number of things. Firstly, the next
generation management plan will have to be diversified to include other products than wood
fuel, for example NTFPs such as shea nuts, honey, and medicinal plants, etc. This could be an
opportunity to target the international market. People could therefore benefit from
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certification and fair trade schemes to increase their income. The growing carbon market is
another opportunity to conserve the forest instead of clearing it for agriculture. Secondly, a
political will to empower the local population is crucial for sustainable management of the
forest. Thirdly, there is less and less respect for basic management principles which lead to
undesirable extreme exploitation of the Nazinon forest management area. It is important for
sustainable management to sensitise and continuously train actors in resource use.
One thing is clear, the need for energy for the capital will not decrease with the current levels
of urbanization. Increasing prices of fossil fuels are likely to further add to the need for wood
fuel in many parts of Africa. Therefore the focus should be put on managing the remaining
forest instead of planting deforested areas. More attention should be paid to biological and
ecological studies to increase the knowledge in assessing forest resources, local species
regeneration and the impact of climatic and anthropogenic factors on the productivity of these
resources in order to get tools for better planning of management actions.
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Harsch E. 2001. Making trade work for poor women: Villagers in Burkina Faso discover an
opening in the global market. Africa Recovery 15(4): 6
Ky-Dembele C, Tigabu M, Bayala J, Ouédraogo SJ, Odén PC. 2007. The relative importance
of different regeneration mechanisms in a selectively cut savanna-woodland in Burkina
Faso, West Africa. Forest Ecology and Management 243: 28-38
Nouvellet Y, Fries J, Bellefontaine R, Sawadogo L. 1995. Recherches sylvicoles relatives à
l’aménagement des forêts sèches. IUFRO XX Congrès Mondial 6-12 août 1995.
Tempere, Finland
Ouédraogo B. 2001 L’étude prospective du secteur forestier en Afrique (FOSA), Burkina
Faso. Document national de prospective - Burkina Faso, FAO
Ouédraogo B. 2006. La demande de bois-énergie à Ouagadougou: esquisse d’évaluation de
l’impact physique et des échecs des politiques de prix. Revue développement durable et
territoires
Ouédraogo M. 2004. New stakeholders and the promotion of agro-sylvo-pastoral acticivities
in southern Burkina Faso : False or inexperience? Issue paper no 118
Rietkerk M, Blijdorp R, Slingerland M. 1998. Cutting and resprouting of Detarium
microcarpum and herbaceous forage availability in a semiarid environment in Burkina
Faso. Agroforestry Systems 41(2): 201–211
Sawadogo L. 1996. Evaluation des potentialités pastorales d'une forêt classée soudanienne
du Burkina Faso. Cas de la forêt classée de Tiogo. Thèse Doctorat 3ème Cycle. thesis,
Université de Ouagadougou.
Sawadogo L, Fournier A. 2004. Influence de différents régimes de feu sur la dynamique de la
végétation du Parc W. Rapport de consultation. 30pp
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Sawadogo L, Nygård R, Pallo F. 2002. Effects of livestock and prescribed fire on coppice
growth after selective cutting of Sudanian savannah in Burkina Faso. Annals of Forest
Science 59(2): 185-195
Savadogo P. 2002. Pâturages de la forêt classée de Tiogo: diversité floristique, productivité,
valeur nutritive et utilisations pastorales. Université Polytechnique de Bobo-Dioulasso.
Mémoire d’Ingénieur du Développement Rural. 105pp + annexes
Savadogo P, Sawadogo L, Tiveau D. 2007. Effects of grazing intensity and prescribed fire on
soil physical and hydrological properties and pasture yield in the savanna woodlands of
Burkina Faso. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 118: 80-92
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Rehabilitation of degraded
and cleared forests
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GERMINATION OF Widdringtonia whytei SEED TO PROVIDE
ALTERNATIVE RESOURCES OF THIS NARROW ENDEMIC
TIMBER TREE IN MALAWI
D. Gondwe1, M. Sacande2, E. Sambo3, D. Nangoma4 and E. Chirwa3
1
Mzuzu University, Department of Forestry, P/B 201, Mzuzu 2, Malawi
Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West
Sussex, RH 17 6TN, UK
3
University of Malawi, Chancellor College, PO Box 280, Zomba, Malawi.
4
Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust, PO Box 139, Mulanje, Malawi
*Corresponding author: gondwedom@yahoo.com
2
Abstract
Widdringtonia whytei (Mulanje cedar) is the national tree of Malawi and endemic to Mount
Mulanje. The tree is highly valued because of its durable timber and fragrant oil. Currently,
Mulanje cedar is at the verge of extinction due to over-exploitation. Ex-situ conservation of
this valuable tree is problematic due to inadequate knowledge of the behaviour of the seed.
This study investigated seed handling techniques to improve germination of W. whytei seed.
Seed germination occurred only at 20ºC. Mean percentage germination is shown between
brackets for the following equilibrium relative humidity 68.4% (81±2), 64.5% (92±3), 37.5%
(90±1), 19.7% (91), 11.0% (89±1) and 5% (92±1). W. whytei seeds can tolerate desiccation.
Highly significant differences between the moisture contents (P≤0.001) probably indicate that
seed should not be exposed to fluctuating relative humidity. Pre-treatment (KNO3) achieved
germination percentages of 92±7, 90±12, 88±9, 89±11%, and 87±3%, respectively with no
significant statistical differences (P≥0.05). KNO3 failed to trigger seed germination. Results
revealed large proportions of empty seeds. Further research should therefore investigate the
reproductive biology of W. whytei seed to establish the cause of these empty seeds.
Introduction
Widdringtonia whytei, commonly known as Mulanje cedar, is endemic to Mount Mulanje and
also the national tree of Malawi (Chapman 1995). It is confined to steep gorges at 1,800 –
2,100 m altitude, where it grows to 30 – 40 m high with a breast height diameter of 1-1.5 m
(White et al. 2001). The wood of Mulanje cedar is excellent for construction, furniture and
panel boards. One W. whytei tree is valued at £1,000 (Chapman 1995). It can significantly
contribute to the economy of Malawi if sustainably managed. However, the species is
currently fragmented into small clusters covering a total area of only 847.3 ha (Makungwa
2004) showing a decline in area from 1,462 ha in 1989 (Sakai 1989). Over-exploitation is the
major cause of this population decline coupled with invasive species, bush fires and Cinara
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cupressi infestation (Hilton-Taylor 2000, Chilima 1989). Hence, W. whytei is endangered
(IUCN 2006). Unless immediate and decisive steps are taken to counter the effects of Mulanje
cedar destruction, much of it will be irreversibly lost in a few years to come.
Ex-situ conservation seems to be a viable option for sustaining Mulanje cedar. However, its
success is currently limited due to scanty information on the behaviour of the seed. Optimum
seed moisture content and germination have been poorly documented, resulting in haphazard
implementation of ex-situ conservation strategies. This study investigated seed germination
responses in order to improve conservation and sustainable use of Mulanje Cedar. The study
specifically aimed at (i) establishing the optimum moisture content (MC) that would enhance
desiccation survival and conservation potential of W. whytei seed, (ii) examining pre-sowing
treatments that could improve seed germination, and (iii) determining the optimum
temperature regime for germinating W. whytei seed.
Materials and Methods
Study site, cone collection, seed extraction, cleaning and initial MC
determination
Mature cones were collected from 25 trees spaced at 100 m intervals at Sombani on the
northern section of Mount Mulanje (15o50’S, 35o42’E), at 2,068 m altitude. Mean annual
rainfall is 2,859 mm and mean annual temperature range is –3 to 24˚C (Eastwood 1988).
Cones were spread on a wire mesh tray at room temperature to dry and release the seed. Seed
were then cleaned through a ziz-zag seed blower to remove empty seed and debris. Initial MC
was determined by equilibrating sample seeds in the hygro-palm chamber for 30 minutes after
which the relationship between RH and temperature was used to determine seed MC from the
psychometric chart (Prober 2003).
Desiccation of seed in lithium chloride (LiCl) and silica gel
One thousand five hundred (1,500) seeds were suspended in an atmosphere above each of the
four (4) different Lithium Chloride (LiCl) concentrations and silica gel until the relative
humidity of the seed equilibrated to the target eRH of LiCl solutions (Table 1). Seven
hundred seeds were kept under ambient conditions to serve as a control.
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Table 1: Levels of relative humidity attained for Lithium Chloride solutions of varying
concentrations
Desiccating solution g (g LiCl/100 ml water)
30
50
60
90
Open air (Control)
Silica gel
Corresponding equilibrium Relative
Humidity% (eRH)
64.5
37.5
19.7
11.0
68.4
5.0
Seed pre-treatment
Appropriate amounts of KNO3 powder were weighed and dissolved in distilled water to the
required concentrations of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8% (Matasyo-Banda 1999). Then 100 seeds
from each of the six moisture contents (Table 1) were soaked in the four KNO3 concentrations
and covered to prevent contamination for 12 hours. Distilled water served as a control.
Experimental design, treatments and germination of equilibrated seeds
The experiment was a 6 x 5 x 3 factorial design with six moisture content levels (Table 1);
five pre-treatments; and three constant temperature regimes of 10, 20 and 30oC. Each
treatment unit consisted of 100 seeds and was replicated four times. Seeds were then sown on
1% agar and incubated at 10, 20 and 30oC in a completely randomised design (CRD).
Germination counts were recorded daily using a visible protrusion of the radicle till 30 days
elapsed. Seeds that failed to germinate were tested for viability using the Tetrazolium
Chloride (TZ) test. The general statistical model for the experiment was:
Yykl S i M ij Tk (SM ) y (ST ) ik (MT ) ik (SMT ) yk ijkl
Where; Y ykl = Expected response variable (germination); = grand (population) mean; S i =
seed pre-treatment effect; M ij = moisture content treatment effect; Tk = effect of temperature;
( SM ) y + (ST)ik + (MT)jk + (SMT)yk = all interaction and ijkl = residual (error).
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Data analysis
Seed germination percentage and germination energy
Germination percentages were calculated as the total number of seeds that germinated in each
treatment. Seed germination energy, which predicts seedling establishment in the field, was
regarded as the number of days required to attain 50% of the final germination percentage
(Schmidt 2000).
Analysis of variance
Germination percentages were first transformed into arc sine values in order to normalize the
data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then performed on the transformed data using
GenStat computer package to determine significance and interaction between the treatments.
The best treatment mean(s) were separated using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference (LSD).
Results
Effect of cleaning on W. whytei seed quality
Thirty percent of 27,365 seeds collected were filled whereas the other proportion consisted of
empty but fully formed seeds.
Seed germination responses to constant temperature regimes
Figure 1 shows that only 1% and 3% of seeds germinated at 10 and 30ºC, respectively. Seeds
that failed to germinate at 10ºC were however, viable (Figure 1). At 30oC, 30% of the seeds
died (Table 2). However, seed germination was extremely high at 20ºC (Figure 1 and Plate 1).
Only dormant seeds failed to germinate at this temperature (20ºC).
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100
Average germination%
90
80
70
10oC
60
20oC
50
30oC
40
20oC2
30
20
10
0
Temperature regime (oC)
Figure 1: Effect of temperature on germination of W. whytei seed after 30 days incubation at
10ºC, 20ºC and 30ºC. 20oC2 = viability percentages at termination of experiment
Effect of desiccation and KNO3 treatment on seed germination
ANOVA showed highly significant differences (P≤0.001) in seed germination between
moisture contents (Table 3). Highest germination occurred at 64.5 and 5.0% RH whereas
68.4% RH attained lowest germination (Table 4). Pre-treatments were not statistically
different (P≥0.05) in terms of seed germination although lower concentrations recorded
slightly higher germination than seeds soaked in 0.8% KNO3 concentration (Table 5). There
were no significant interactions between the moisture content levels and KNO3 concentrations
(Table 5).
Table 2. Average seed viability at 30ºC temperature regime
Relative Humidity (%)
68.4
64.5
37.5
19.7
11.0
5.0
Viable seeds (%)
46
43
44
44
43
42
Dead seeds (%)
37
32
32
32
32
30
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Table 3: Two way analysis of variance for Relative Humidity (RH) and pre-treatment -KNO3
concentrations
Source of variation
Pretreatment
Relative Humidity
RH * Pretreatment
Residual
Total
df
4
5
20
Sum of Squares
118.19
Mean Square
560.14
300.58
1345.93
2324.84
90
119
29.55
112.03
15.03
14.95
F
1.98
Sig.
0.105
7.49
<.001
1.00
0.465
Table 4: Germination at 20 ºC of desiccated W. whytei seeds to different desiccation periods
(days)
Target RH (%)
68.4
64.5
37.5
19.7
11.0
5.0
Corresponding
MC (%)
13.6
13.4
7.9
5.2
3.8
2.0
Mean germination (%)
81b
92a
90a
91a
92a
92a
Viable seeds after germination
test
18
10
11
5
9
11
Key: MC= Moisture content, RH= Relative humidity
Figures with same letters are not significantly different (P=≤0.05)
Table 5: Interaction between Relative humidity (RH) and KNO3 concentration treatments at
200C temperature regimes on germination (Values are arcsine transformation)
Pre-sowing treatment
KNO3 solution (%)
Distilled water
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Mean germination
percentage RH
68.4
93
82
94
80
78
81b
64.5
95
91
90
92
91
92a
Relative Humidity (%)
37.5
19.7
91
93
93
91
93
93
89
91
83
88
90a
91a
11.0
90
89
89
87
88
89a
5.0
91
94
89
94
94
92a
Mean
germination %
92
90
88
89
87
89
LSD 2.49
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Number of days to 50% germination
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
68.4 RH
64.5 RH
37.5 RH
19.7 RH
11 RH
5 RH
Relative humidity (%)
Figure 2: Average seed germination speed for each moisture content
Discussion
Effect of blowing on W. whytei mature seed quality
Large proportions of empty, but fully formed seed in W. whytei could be due to unpollinated
female cones (ovulate cones) and/or embryo abortion whose cause is open for speculation. W.
whytei is wind-pollinated (anemophily). Efficient wind-pollination occurs with large
homogeneous populations with trees located close together. However, W. whytei stands on
Mount Mulanje consist of different age gradations some of which may be too young to
produce pollen (Bayliss et al. 2007, Makungwa 2004). This may limit the amount of pollen
present in the air for fertilization. Conversely, anemophily requires large amounts of dry
pollen that can be efficiently carried down by breeze. However, Mulanje Mountain is usually
associated with misty weather conditions (Hardcastle 1978). Thus, if pollen production
coincides with these conditions, it may fail to ‘wind down’ because of the high moisture
content of the air. Thorough investigations should be carried out to establish these hypotheses.
These results are consistent with those of Bonner (2000) who found only 20% of filled seed in
cones of Atlantic white cedar. As a result, poor seed germination of W. whytei in previous
studies could be attributed predominantly, to the naturally low percentages of filled seeds,
about which, seed managers have no knowledge.
Effect of temperature on germination of W. whytei seed
Comparing the viability percentages at termination of experiment (in Figure 1 shown as
20oC2), and failure of the same seed to germinate at 10ºC (Figure 1), it would be reasonable
to believe that the rate of metabolic processes was reduced at 10ºC due to the cold
environment. Consequently, the seed remained quiescent. Gondwe and Kambadya (2004
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unpublished) found similar results in a thermal gradient plate. Probably, high rotting of seed
at 30ºC (Table 4) was due to accelerated ageing as a result of high temperature. Pritchard and
Dickie (2003) stipulate that temperature range of 30oC - 40oC facilitates rapid seed ageing.
Also, high temperature (30oC) might have caused induced dormancy on the viable seeds
(Table 5). The results support earlier findings by Gondwe and Kambadya (2004 unpublished)
where W. whytei seeds did not germinate at high temperature (≥30oC). These results may have
relevance on the sites where W. whytei seedlings are currently being raised in Malawi. It is
doubtful as to whether or not nurseries are established in sites with temperatures around 20oC.
Otherwise, optimum seed germination may be inhibited. In addition, the global climate
change may have implications on these results. Current predictions on the global climate
change indicate that the global mean temperature over the next 100 years will be at the high
end of or even exceed the IPCC 2001 estimates of 1.4 to 5.8oC above the temperatures of the
1990s (Reilly et al. 2001). Although some seeds exhibited tolerance to high temperature
(Table 2), the global rise in temperature may have far reaching consequences on the survival
of W. whytei on Mount Mulanje, as seed germination would be severely impeded. Persistent
heat during drought stricken years may also have negative consequences on the germination
and survival of W. whytei on the mountain. However, metabolic processes seem to have been
activated at 20oC as evidenced in preceding sections.
Effect of desiccation and KNO3 treatment on the germination of seeds at 20oC
Significant differences (P≤0.001) between the moisture contents (Tables 4 and 5) may
indicate that moisture content strongly influenced seed germination. Further, 92%
germination recorded at 5.0% RH (Table 4) might imply that seed of W. whytei were tolerant
to desiccation. Thus W. whytei seed may be classified as orthodox and, as such, can be stored
for a long time under sub-freezing temperatures. This could be an opportunity to intensify exsitu seed conservation strategies for the Mulanje cedar tree. Although Nyman (1963)
recommended KNO3 as a stimulant of germination of some coniferous seeds, germination of
W. whytei seed treated with KNO3 did not show any statistical differences (P≤0.05) (Tables 3
and 5). Consequently, KNO3 treatments were ineffective in enhancing seed germination of W.
whytei in this study. KNO3 increases sensitivity to positively photoblastic seeds and interacts
with temperature to increase germination (Ferreira and Small 1974). However, Tooley (1938)
found that KNO3 stimulated germination of Polypogon only at alternating temperatures.
Hence, ineffectiveness of KNO3 in stirring up seed germination in this study (Table 5) may
possibly be ascribed to constant temperature regimes.
The low mean germination percentage for 0.8% KNO3 (Table 5) may indicate that KNO3
activated seed germination only at low KNO3 concentration. Similar results have been
reported in seed germination of Atriplex nummularia and Epilobium montanum seed (AbuZanat and Samarah 2005, Mayer and Poljakoff-Mayber 1975). At higher concentrations, it is
argued, KNO3 solutes decrease the osmotic potential of the germination solutions, which
impairs imbibition, thereby retarding germination (Bonner 1968, Salisbury and Ross 1978).
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Effect of moisture content and KNO3 treatments on the germination vigour of W.
whytei seeds at 200C
It had been suggested that slow seed germination is a sign of the seed being dormant (Baskin
and Baskin 1998, Bewley and Black 1994). Sporadic seed germination at the different RH
levels (Figure 2), may indicate that W. whytei seed may have some form of dormancy.
Germination vigour determines the response of seed to stress conditions (Schmidt 2000).
Hence, extrapolating the experimental results to field conditions (Figure 2) only seeds
incubated at 19.7% RH predicted high seedling survival (Figure 3). Furthermore, high seed
vigour in all the treatments at 19.7% RH might designate that generally, KNO3 was more
effective at 19.7% RH than in the other treatments (Figure 3). This may demonstrate that
based on speed of germination, 19.7% RH could be the optimum equilibrium relative
humidity for drying W. whytei seed (Figure 3). Vertucci and Roos (1990) claimed that seed
moisture content in equilibrium with 19-27% relative humidity are safe for long-term seed
longevity as opposed to ultra-dry moisture content. Probably, W. whytei seed should be
dehydrated to this equilibrium moisture content range for it to survive long-term storage.
However, seed storage studies are needed to substantiate these observations.
Conclusion
These results showed that W. whytei seed can be safely dried to ≤5% MC level. It is therefore
concluded that W. whytei seed is orthodox and can withstand subfreezing storage
temperatures. The seed germinates readily without pre-treatment. However, for optimum
germination, empty seeds should be removed before sowing. It was also established that 20oC
is the best temperature regime for germinating W. whytei seed. These findings offer an
opportunity to the Government of Malawi to intensify ex-situ conservation in the form of seed
and/or plantation for sustainable management and utilization of Mulanje cedar. Further
research should determine the maximum longevity of Mulanje cedar seed under subfreezing
temperature regimes. Another study should investigate the phenology of Mulanje cedar.
Acknowledgement
I express my deepest heartfelt and profound appreciation to Mzuzu University and the
Millennium Seed Bank Project of the United Kingdom for the financial assistance towards
this work. My acknowledgements to Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust for indirectly,
assisting financially and/or materially during seed collecting expedition. Many thanks to
colleagues in the Department of Forestry, Mzuzu University especially Ms J. Mhango, Mr. C.
R. Y. Munthali and Dr. J. Blyth for their contributions towards this work.
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germination of Oldman saltbush (Atriplex nummularia). African Journal of Range and
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Bayliss J, Makungwa S, Hecht J, Nangoma D, Bruessow C. 2007. Saving the Island in the
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provenances of Strychnos spinosa Lam. Subsp locua in Malawi. Masters of Science
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Mayer AM, Poljakoff-Mayber A. 1975. The germination of seeds. Pergamon Press-Oxford.
Nyman B. 1963. Studies on germination in seeds of Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.) with
special reference to the light factor. Studia For. Suecica 2:1-164
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Prober RJ. 2003. Seed viability under ambient conditions, and the importance of drying. In:
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Pritchard HW, Dickie JB. 2003. Predicting seed longevity: The use and abuse of seed
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Schmidt L. 2000. Guide to handling of tropical and subtropical forest seed. Danida Forest
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Tooley VK. 1938. Proc. Ass. Off. Seed Analyst. 30th Ann. Meeting. N. America pp 227
Vertuccci CW, Roos EE. 1990. Theoretical basis of protocols for seed storage. Plant
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INFORMING FOREST RESTORATION: AN APPRAISAL OF
LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE FROM A
COMMUNITY ON THE WILD COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA
D.J. Weyer and S.E. Shackleton*
Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape,
South Africa, 6140
*Corresponding author: s.shackleton@ru.ac.za
Abstract
The dependency of rural people on the forest resources of the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape
Province of South Africa and their need for arable land has not been without impact. Forests
are becoming increasingly fragmented and degraded which in turn has had negative feedbacks
on rural livelihood security. The opportunities associated with the carbon market have opened
doors for financing the restoration of degraded forests. Such a project has been proposed for a
section of the Matiwane Forest along the Wild Coast. Standard ethnobotanical techniques and
participatory learning approaches were used to elucidate priority species for restoration whilst
appraising the institutional context into which such an endeavour would be embedded. While
a suite of locally-important species emerged, it seems the traditional forest management
practices and customs of the region have become threadbare and for effective restoration to
occur, revitalisation of these forest management institutions is required.
Introduction
The importance of forests and their products in contributing to the well-being and, often, the
survival of millions of rural poor across the globe has been widely recognised (Sunderlin et
al. 2005, Shackleton et al. 2007). In South Africa, population growth, increasing poverty, the
HIV/Aids pandemic, political and administrative reform, and growing commercial markets
for forest resources all play a role in communities having to cope with a deteriorating resource
base and increasingly stressed livelihoods (Lawes et al. 2004). This is particularly the case in
the O.R. Thambo District Municipality (formally Transkei) of the Eastern Cape; home to one
of the few remaining areas of biodiversity-rich, closed canopy Transkei Coastal Forest in
South Africa.
Because of low rates of formal employment in the Municipality, most residents rely on
welfare grants, cultivation of crops and a range of forest products for their livelihood needs
(Chalmers and Fabricius 2007). Pressure for both arable land and essential forest products has
resulted in progressive erosion of the forest resource with some 42 forest patches in the region
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being reported as partially or totally cleared (De Villiers 2002). Forest restoration linked to
the carbon market has, consequently, been mooted as one potential avenue for thwarting
further biodiversity loss and ensuring a continued supply of key livelihood resources.
The impetus setting this research in motion was, therefore, recognition of the need for
baseline studies that will provide a platform for restoration to commence. One of the foremost
objectives was to identify suitable tree species for rehabilitation based on local livelihood
needs and forest dependency. The expectation is that once baseline studies have been carried
out, restoration of the degraded forest will proceed and this will provide job opportunities for
local residents who will also be involved in managing the project. Moreover, it is hoped that
trade in sequestered carbon will provide sustainable income for the community into the future,
as well as an incentive for forest conservation.
In order to elucidate the degree to which local livelihoods and forest products are intertwined,
a suite of participatory methods were selected that worked in concert with the recognised
importance of local ecological knowledge (LEK). Aside from pinpointing priority species for
restoration, insight was sought concerning the institutions the community has in place to
govern its forest resources and their competency. Each of these objectives should assist in
better understanding how restoration of the degraded forest can be accomplished.
Study area
The study site, an area of the Matiwane Forest known as Gongwane and its adjacent
community (31°49’25.3’’S; 29°15’ 73.0’’E), is located in the Local Municipality of Nyandeni
in the north-eastern part of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Figure 1). It falls under
the jurisdiction of O.R. Tambo District Municipality, the poorest district in the Eastern Cape
having some 1.5 million people living below the poverty line (Eastern Cape Department of
Social Development 2008). Nyandeni Local Municipality, in turn, has the highest population
density within the district (91/km2) and an unemployment rate of 76.1% (Nyandeni Local
Municipality, n.d.). Gongwane State Forest lies adjacent to Hluleka Nature Reserve, a
protected area managed by the Eastern Cape Parks Board. According to the reserve manager,
local access to forest resources is restricted save for thatch grass (Cymbopogon validus
[(Stapf.) Stapf ex Burtt Davy]), which is harvested between August and October (Ntokoza
pers. comm. Eastern Cape Parks Board 2008).
418
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest m
management through institutional arrrangements
Figure 11: Locationn of the stud
dy site alongg the Wild Coast
C
of thee Eastern Caape Provincce, South
A
Africa
Materrials and Methods
M
Three ccomplemenntary metho
ods were uused: a ‘trree quiz’ to
o identify important species,
interviews and partticipatory ru
ural appraissal exercisees to ascertaain other infformation reelated to
the use and management of th
he forest. Thhis provided
d the opportunity for trriangulated analysis
of largeely qualitativve data deriived from loocal peopless’ perceptions and know
wledge.
d, founded upon a num
mber of critteria: (i)
A list oof priority trree species was ultimaately formed
the freqquency withh which the species waas referred to
t during th
he course off the three methods
used; (ii) respondeents specificcally statingg that it waas a priority
y species for
or restoration; (iii) a
a an alternnative to other more scarce treee species; (iv)
(
it is
species that couldd be used as
ploitation bboth by loccals and non
n-locals duue to its imp
portance
particularly suscepptible to exp
(Table 22).
‘Tree qquiz’
obotanical ttechnique known
k
as
The ‘treee quiz’ wass based on a modificattion of a staandard ethno
the ‘infformant consensus’ method
m
(Krrog et al. 2005).
2
Prio
or to data collection, ad hoc
interviews with foorest guardss and localls resulted in a list of 15 locallyy-importantt woody
species to be used in the quiz. Specimenns of these species
s
weree taken to hhouseholds with the
assistannce of a local interpreter. Every eeffort was made
m
to inv
volve as divverse a userr, gender
and agee group as possible (Kro
og et al. 20005, Theilad
de et al. 2007). A sampple of 31 infformants
perform
med the ‘quiiz’, varying in age from
m 13 to 76 and
a represeentative of uuser-group diversity
d
in the viillage.
419
Sustainaable Forest Management
M
in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
The evaluation of the importance of each species in the ‘quiz’ with regards to its specific uses
was recorded on a scale from 0 – 1.5 (Table 1). The four point scale works on the following
basic assumption: an unknown product scores a 0; a useful product will score a 1.0 and this is
adjusted by half a point up or down if the informant can provide definite information denoting
superior or inferior characteristics of the species (Theilade et al. 2007). For example, a species
scores 1.5 if it is given preference over other species, while a species that is seldom used will
score a 0.5 (Theilade et al. 2007).
Table 1: Abridged use-value score table for Duvernoia adhatodoides*
Use-categories
Construction
Total use-value
USE-VALUE
(Duvernoia
adhatodoides)
1.5
1 0.5 0
No. of informants
4
18
9
Total value
24.0
Average
0.8
0.8
Following this, 10 use-categories were formed based on participants’ responses, including
construction, human and veterinary medicine, fuel wood, domestic utensils, implements, food
and water, farming, traditional and other (Table 1). A use-value was then calculated for each
species in each use-category across all informants. These scores were summed within each
use-category and total use-values were calculated for each species as the sum of average usevalues for all use-categories.
Interviews and participatory rural appraisal exercises
Following the ‘tree quiz’, 30 participants were further questioned concerning their knowledge
on local institutional structures for forest management and their perceptions of the current
state of the forest. Focus group sessions were held with the specific aim of illuminating local
perceptions regarding the restoration initiative proposed for the area. A Venn diagramming
exercise was undertaken with a local women’s group to identify key institutions and needs
within the community, and a ranking exercise to identify priority tree species in the eyes of
children took place at a local primary school. Key informant interviews were also conducted
with the forest manager [Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF)] and the reserve
manager (Hluleka Nature Reserve).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
Results and Discussion
Priority species
Based on the multi-criteria approach described in the methods, Millettia grandis [(E.Mey.)
Skeels], Ptaeroxylon obliquum [(Thunb.) Radlk] and Duvernoia adhatodoides (E.Mey. ex
Nees) (Table 2) were revealed as the top priority species for restoration. These species also
appeared in a list compiled by Cawe and Geldenhuys (2007) of locally-important species
harvested from the Port St John’s Forest Estate north of the study site. Their list was based on
the number of stems harvested, frequency of presence in plots and total basal area found.
Table 2: Priority species for restoration based on local perceptions
Variable
Locally-important
Alternative to use of scarce species
Growth rate
No. of use-categories
Susceptible to exploitation
Milletia
grandis
Yes
Yes
Slow
6
Yes
Ptaeroxylon
obliquum
Yes
Yes
Slow
6
Yes
Duvernoia
adhatodoides
Yes
Yes
Fast
3
Yes
Local ecological knowledge, gender and age
The ‘tree quiz’ revealed that three species were widely recognised, with 97% of participants
being familiar with Acacia karroo (Hayne), while 90% and 84% were familiar with Millettia
grandis and Grewia lasiocarpa (E.Mey. ex Harv) respectively (Table 3). With respect to the
other 12 species, recognition varied between 74% and 13% of informants. Interestingly, a
species like Ptaeroxylon obliquum, which was mentioned in every engagement with the
community, was only recognised by 42% of participants. Participants were reported to know a
species only if they could provide its correct name and one or more of its uses. It is possible
that the 15 woody species identified for this exercise were not fully representative of the
broader community’s most important species, perhaps because the selection was made by
men. The low levels of recognition may, however, also have been due to difficulties
identifying the species from a sample rather than viewing the whole specimen in the forest,
where the bark and the shape of the tree may be more indicative than the leaves.
Concerning the number of use-categories that species fell into, Vepris lanceolata [(Lam.)
G.Don] and Acacia karroo were recorded as having the most number of uses (nine and seven
respectively). The trees with the highest use-value score included Millettia grandis (1.9),
Grewia lasiocarpa (1.6) and Acacia karroo (1.5) (Table 3).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
Men displayed a greater knowledge of the tree species employed in the ‘quiz’ than women
(Table 4). This may be because of the skewed tree selection in favour of male-user
preferences or because males are invariably the primary collectors and users of wood-based
products, with the exception of fuel wood for home consumption (Neumann and Hirsch 2000,
Shackleton and Shackleton 2004). If the study had looked at the entire array of forest
products, including non-wood products, used by local inhabitants, then perhaps the findings
would have been different as women tend to make use of a more diverse range of resources
than men (Shackleton and Shackleton 2004).
The middle-aged to older generation (>29 yrs) was revealed as being more knowledgeable of
the tree species than the younger generation (<29 yrs). Although this was not statistically
significant (p = 0.0526), it may have been so had the sample size been larger. This finding is
comparable to that of Dovie et al. (2008), who found that males and older people were
generally more knowledgeable regarding the usefulness of woody plant species. Discussion
with the interpreter unearthed the effect of westernisation in the area and the consequent lack
of appeal LEK has among the younger generation (<29 yrs).
Table 3: ‘Tree quiz’ responses
Botanical name
Vernacular name
% of
respondents
identifying
correctly
90
84
97
71
No. of
usecategories
Millettia grandis (E.Mey.) Skeels
Grewia lasiocarpa E.Mey. ex Harv
Acacia karroo Hayne
Duvernoia adhatodoides E.Mey.
ex Nees
Vepris lanceolata (Lam.) G.Don
Rauvolfia caffra Sond
Tricalysia lanceolata (Meisn. ex
Hochst.) Sim
Coddia rudis (E.Mey. ex Harv.)
Verdc
Ptaeroxylon obliquum (Thunb.)
Radlk
Dais cotinifolia L
Zanthoxylum davyi (I.Verd.)
P.G.Waterman
Buxus macowanii Oliv
Strychnos henningsii Gilg
Chaetachme aristata Planch
Schotia afra (L.) Thunb
Umsimbithi
Umhlolo
Umnga
Ihlehlwe
Use-value
score
6
5
7
3
1.9
1.6
1.5
1.2
Umzani
Umjelo
Isixesa
61
74
61
9
3
4
1.1
1.1
0.9
Intsinde
71
3
0.9
Umthathi
42
6
0.8
Intozane
Umlungumabele
68
55
6
5
0.8
0.7
Umgalagala
Umnonono
Umkovoti
Umgxam
26
13
13
13
3
4
4
3
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.2
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
Table 4: The association between gender and age and positive species identification
Category
Female
Male
Average % of respondents positively
identifying a species
42.8 ± 21.3
71.42 ± 13.3
<29 yrs
>29 yrs
44.2 ± 22.2
61.2 ± 21.7
Sample size
(n)
17
14
Statistical test
Mann-Whitney
(z = 3.57; df = 29; p = < 0.05)
10
21
T-Test for independent groups
(t = 2.02; df = 29; p > 0.05)
Local perceptions of ‘the state of the forest’
The findings regarding respondents’ opinions on the ‘state of the forest’ were mixed and
difficult to interpret. The better part of respondents (60.0%) believed the forest to be in a
degraded state. On the contrary, some 30.8% of males believed that the forest was
regenerating, while only 5.9 % of females believed this to be the case. Furthermore, 29.4% of
females did not perceive the forest to be in a degraded state and of these, several mentioned
exotic tree species to be of significant importance to them.
Interestingly, the impact of the increased availability of household grants for the community
has resulted in a decline in the practice of forest clearing for cultivation. McAllister (2000 in
Shackleton et al. 2001) remarks that in the broader region all agricultural efforts are being
invested in home plots as opposed to the cultivation of fields; something which was apparent
in the study village.
Local forest resource management practices and institutions
Perspectives regarding current institution/s responsible for management
Most respondents (43.3%) indicated that government employed forest guards are primarily
responsible for the management of the forest, while only 3.3% mentioned the existence of
cultural norms and taboos to control the harvesting of important tree species. A significant
proportion of respondents (30.0%) believed that both current government management
systems (forest guards) and traditional systems have failed to result in effective management
of the forest (Figure 2).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
No-one
13.3%
Joint
management
6.7%
Government
23.3%
Local
56.7%
Figure 2: Perspectives regarding current institution/s responsible for management of
Gongwane Forest
Conversations with village members and the forest manager yielded many different responses
regarding access to harvesting from Gongwane Forest. The latter averred that the State Forest
is closed to the community but they, as the authority, have to ‘turn a blind eye’ to local
harvesting because more challenging tasks have to be attended to, like curbing indiscriminate
clearing for agriculture (Nkibi pers. comm. DWAF 2008). According to the National Forest
Act (No. 84 of 1998), ‘everyone has reasonable access to state forests for purposes of
recreation, education, culture or spiritual fulfilment’ (Section 19) within designated areas
[Section 20 (2)]. Furthermore, there is a list of activities which may be licensed in state forests
including ‘the felling of trees and removal of timber; the cutting, disturbance, damage or
destruction of any other forest produce; the removal or receipt of any other forest produce’
[Section 23 (1b, c, d)]. With regards to both the designation of areas of access within the
State Forest and the issuing of licenses to locals for harvesting, the forest manager maintained
that they (DWAF) are ill-equipped to do so (Nkibi pers. comm. DWAF 2008). This lack of
capacity needs attention if the authorities are to provide meaningful support to the restoration
initiative.
Locally-proposed management
The local population, possibly as a result of the failings of current government-led
management of the forest, are in favour of locally-led management of the forest with 56.7% of
respondents in support of this option (Figure 3). Only two respondents were aware of the
concept of joint management between local institutions and government.
This strong support for local management of the forest is suggestive of some degree of social
cohesion which is encouraging in terms of the ultimate goals of entrusting restoration in the
hands of the community. Yet the need for government support is crucial (Crook and Clapp
1998, Shackleton et al. 2001) and the community’s lack of understanding regarding joint
management is something that will require attention. Their unanimous opinion that the
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Forest management through institutional arrangements
restoration site should be located within the nature reserve where it would be properly
protected is almost contradictory to their desire for self-governance because it denotes that
they do not have faith in their own actions. This institutional haphazardness is a potential
stumbling block for the proposed restoration endeavour in the region.
Self-conscience
3.3%
Nothing
6.7%
Cultural
3.3%
Cultural/Govt
6.7%
Failed system
30.0%
Govt
43.3%
Don't know
6.7%
Figure 3: Locally-proposed management for Gongwane Forest
Conclusion
A total of 66 different tree species were referred to during the course of fieldwork; a reflection
of the importance of tree diversity in local people’s livelihoods. Participants in the ‘tree quiz’
listed multiple uses for each of the 15 species included, with certain species like Vepris
lanceolata falling into nine different use-categories. The priority species for restoration
included Millettia grandis, Ptaeroxylon obliquum and Duvernoia adhatodoides, each of
which are indigenous trees and provide a good base from which to make future decisions
regarding restoration.
Local participation in the restoration process and subsequent management of the restored sites
is critical as highlighted by the wide perception that the community should have at least some
forest management responsibilities. The reality is that rural poverty is a significant driver of
resource depletion and no restoration endeavour, or any other programme orchestrated to
address the sustainable management of forests, should take place without simultaneously
addressing local needs (von Maltitz and Shackleton 2004).
With this in mind, the following recommendations are made:
The proposed restoration of Gongwane and Matiwane Forests needs to bolster the use
of LEK in implementation.
The restoration endeavour should take cognisance of the gender dimensions of forest
use, as what is important for men may not be for women.
An understanding of co-management needs to be developed within the community; a
successful restoration programme will require buy-in from a number of stakeholders –
fundamentally the community themselves.
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Strong local institutions are required, together with capacity at government level, to
develop sustainable harvesting guidelines and to allocate and enforce use rights, and in
so doing ensure sustainability of restored sites.
DWAF needs to redefine the boundaries between State and communal forest so that it
is clear to all parties which regulations are applicable to which areas.
The proposed restoration focus on degraded communal land while the community is in
favour of the Nature Reserve as a site needs to be reconciled.
Participatory research similar to what has been undertaken in this study should
continue with other communities adjacent to the larger Matiwane Forest.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the Rhodes Restoration Research Group and the DWAF for this internship and
the opportunity to carry out such self-fulfilling work among the people of Lucingweni. Thank
you also to Dr. Sheona Shackleton for her invaluable input into this work and for
accommodating me within her busy schedule. To Ayanda Sigwela, for pioneering this work in
the former Transkei and being of great support in the data capture phase of this research. To
the community of Lucingweni and my interpreter Andile, thank you for hosting me so
graciously and being willing to be a part of this undertaking.
References
Cawe SG, Geldenhuys CJ. 2007. Resource status and population dynamics of target species
in Natural forests of the Port St Johns Forest Estate: a basis for sustainable resource
use. Unpublished report No. 2006-397. DWAF, Pretoria. 96pp
Chalmers N, Fabricius C. 2007. Expert and generalist local knowledge about land-cover
change on South Africa’s Wild Coast: can local ecological knowledge add value to
science? Ecology and Society 12(1): 10
Crook C. Clapp RA. 1998. Is market-oriented forest conservation a contradiction in terms?
Environmental Conservation 25(2): 131-145
De Villiers DJ. 2002. Impacts of human and biological factors on distributions of indigenous
mammals in Transkei, with particular emphasis on the forest dwelling bushbuck
(Tragelaphus scriptus), blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) and bushpig
(Potamochoerus porcus). MSc thesis, University of Transkei, Mthatha. 188pp
Dovie DBK, Witkowski ETF, Shackleton CM. 2008. Knowledge of plant resource use based
on location, gender and generation. Applied Geography 28: 311-322
Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (2008) Socio-economic and demographic
profile: O.R. Tambo District Municipality.
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online:
http://www.socdev.ecprov.gov.za/statistics/demographics/ortambo_area_info.htm, [07/04/2008 – currently inaccessible]
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Krog M, Theilade I, Hansen HH, Ruffo CK. 2005. Estimating use-values and relative
importance of trees to the Kaguru people in semi-arid Tanzania. Forests, Trees and
Livelihoods 15: 25-40
Lawes MJ, Midgley JJ, Chapman CA. 2004. South Africa’s forests: the ecology and
sustainable use of indigenous timber resources. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC, Shackleton
CM, Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa: Policy,
People and Practice. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. Pietermaritzberg, South
Africa. pp31-77
Neumann RP, Hirsch E. 2000. Commercialisation of non-timber forest products: review and
analysis of research. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia. pp30-31
Nyandeni Local Municipality: Planning & Development. Nyandeni Local Municipality:
Investment Opportunities. Libode
Shackleton CM, Shackleton SE, Cousins B. 2001. The role of land-based strategies in rural
livelihoods: the contribution of arable production, animal husbandry and natural resource
harvesting in communal areas in South Africa. Development South Africa 18(5): 581604
Shackleton CM, Shackleton SE. 2004. Use of woodland resources for direct household
provisioning. In: Lawes MJ, Eeley HAC, Shackleton CM, Geach BGS. (eds). Indigenous
forests and woodlands in South Africa: Policy, people and practice, University of
KwaZulu-Natal Press. Pietermaritzberg, South Africa. pp195-225
Shackleton CM, Shackleton SE, Buiten E, Bird N. 2007. The importance of dry woodlands
and forests in rural livelihoods and poverty alleviation in South Africa. Forest Policy and
Economics 9: 558-577
Sunderlin WD, Angelsen A, Belcher B, Burgers P, Nasi R, Santoso L, Wunder S. 2005.
Livelihoods, forests, and conservation in developing countries: an overview. World
Development 33(9): 1383-1402
Theilade I, Hansen HH, Krog M, Ruffo CK. 2007. Use-values and relative importance of trees
to the Kaguru people in semi-arid Tanzania: part II woodland species. Forests, Trees and
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Von Maltitz GP, Shackleton SE. 2004. Use and management of forests and woodlands in
South Africa: stakeholders, institutions and processes from past to present. In: Lawes
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IMPACT OF CHANGING GROUNDWATER
TABLE ON TREE GROWTH IN ZAZAMALALA FOREST
W Van Roy and R De Wulf*
Laboratory of Forest Management and Spatial Information Techniques (FORSIT), Faculty of
Bio-science Engineering, University Gent, Coupure 653, B9000 Gent, Belgium
*Corresponding author: Robert.dewulf@ugent.be
Abstract
Expansion of wet rice cultivation in the immediate vicinity of the Zazamalala reafforestation
project in Madagascar caused the groundwater table to increase from a depth of 4 m to new
levels between 1 and 2 m depth since the year 2000. This will have serious consequences on
the future of the reafforestation project as it is meant to provide for the restoration of the
endemic dry deciduous forest in southwest Madagascar. A GIS-based model of the
groundwater table, based on systematic gauging conducted in 2007, allowed to formulate
suggestions on the spatial distribution of further reafforestation with endemic and introduced
species in response to groundwater table depths. Tree ring analysis of six key tree species in
Zazamalala was conducted: Commiphora guillaumini, Tamarindus indica, Dalbergia
purpurascens, Ziziphus mauritania, Poupartia caffra and Broussonetia greveana. It was
concluded that diameter increment in response to increasing depth of the groundwater table
was different for the sampled tree species. These conclusions may serve to formulate proper
management prescriptions for forest areas subject to drastic site alterations due to changing
land use.
Introduction
The dry deciduous forests of Madagascar feature a high degree of ecosystem biodiversity
(Gauthier and Goodman 2003). Due to population pressure and deforestation, this forest type
is seriously threatened. It covered about 400,000 ha in the 1970’s, but the total surface area
decreased to less than 30,000 ha today (Sandy 2006).
The Zazamalala reafforestation project was established to try to counteract this negative
evolution. The project area is almost completely surrounded by rice fields. Hence, the recently
established forest serves as the last refuge for local plant and animal species. The project
would also provide important information about the conflict between socio-economic
development and conservation, as around the nearby Kirindy nature reserve new rice fields
are being planned.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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In the Zazamalala forest almost no forestry research has taken place. The primary issue is the
relationship between tree growth and the presence of rice fields in the immediate vicinity of
the forest. The groundwater level under the forest in the dry season is several meters deep.
Expansion of wet rice cultivation caused the ground water level to increase considerably, with
a visible impact on the forest vegetation. For example, the endemic baobab Adansonia
gradidieri is dying off, and there is a serious risk of the species becoming extinct in this area.
Materials and Methods
Study area
The dry coastal area in the southwest of Madagascar is known as the Menabe region (Figure
1). The climate features a dry season lasting from 6 to 8 months. Most of the rainfall falls in
December and February, with the annual mean around 800 mm.
Figure 1: Menabe region and location of Morondava Tsinjorano (MapSource 2004).
The structure and phenology of the dry deciduous forest is largely determined by the
availability of water. With a few exceptions (Sorg and Rohner 1996) very little data about the
phenology of this forest in Madagascar have been published. About 80% of the vegetation
consists of big flat leaved grass species, that are very sensitive to fires, and which are
regularly burnt by herdsmen. Loss of nutrients and damage to the organic top layer cause loss
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Forest management through institutional arrangements
of fertility. The remaining trees are small, and survive mainly by vegetative reproduction from
the underground root system: Ziziphus mauritania, Poupartia caffra, Tamarindus indica, etc.
Baobabs (Adansonia spp.) are emergent species in this deciduous forest type, that once
covered 400,000 ha on the west coast of Madagascar. With the exception of a few fragmented
patches (mostly related to graveyards, and sites of religious significance), all original forest
has gone. The construction of the canal of Dabera in the colonial era made wet rice cultivation
possible. Next to occupying large tracts of forest land, new farm projects (irrigated citrus
cultivation, tobacco and cotton cultivation, sugar cane) resulted in a large scale immigration
of farmers, further increasing the pressure on the forest, predominantly by swidden agriculture
and clearing of the forest by fire. This canal was renovated in 1982 after a long period of
neglect, and is in fact a diversion from Morondava River. The level of the canal can be
regulated by wooden barriers.
The original forest used to cater for all timber requirements in Morondova, but overharvesting and degradation caused a marked shift in available species (Table 1).
Table 1: Distribution of timber species as recorded on the market of Morondava (Raonintsoa
1996)
Species
Hazomalania voyroni
Dalbergia spp.
Broussonetia greveana
Commiphora spp.
Zonthoxylum spp.
Other species
1985 (%)
65.0
11.5
7.2
7.2
8.3
0.8
1987 (%)
62.0
11.5
19.3
6.3
0
4.7
1988 (%)
0.3
7.9
5.3
30.1
0
64.3
1989 (%)
0
14.8
0
68.9
0
15.5
The Zazamalala reafforestation project is located in the village of Tsinjorano at the national
road No. 35, about 30 km from Morondava. It is next to the Dabera canal mentioned above. It
is a private project established in 2000 by Dr. Simon Rietveld and Jocelyne Farazamalala, by
the purchase of 40 ha, that was a part of a deserted orange farm. The forest is characterized by
a marked dominance of Ziziphus mauritania, Tamarindus indica and Poupartia caffra. These
species are typical for degraded forest and abandoned fields.
The main aim of the project was to restore the endemic deciduous forest type by enriching the
thorny vegetation with endemic tree species. As it is a project funded by private means, the
expansion of the forest area proceeds slowly, but nevertheless a total of 60 ha has been
established, with annual purchases of 5 to 10 ha being planned (Rietveld 2008). The project
has suffered considerably from theft, illegal logging, poaching and forest fires. As a
countermeasure, the local population was offered assistance with education, health services
and consulting with farming practice. In addition, seeds and tree seedlings were distributed.
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Research rationale
The present expansion of wet rice cultivation and the associated increase in the groundwater
table is the primary concern for the long term survival of the reafforestation project. Most
endemic species do not withstand water logging. Some introduced species such as Ceiba
pentandra grow well, but in general there is a lack of knowledge regarding the suitability of
tree species to the changing site conditions, and to the increased groundwater table in
particular.
Tree ring analysis was an obvious approach to assess growth patterns over time. While effects
of water logging on diameter increment have been documented extensively with temperate
species (Schweingruber 2007), similar studies with trees in semi-arid climates are scarce.
Trees in the seasonal tropics often feature false or barely discernable tree rings, coincident
tree rings and growth anomalies (Schweingruber 1996).
The suitability of tree species for growth analysis was determined from the following criteria:
presence of tree rings, visual assessment of the difference between early wood and late wood,
presence of ring-porous wood vessels, and presence of borer parenchyma cells. Based on
published data (Inside Wood 2004), the following species were retained (vernacular names
between brackets): Commiphora guillaumini H. Perrier (Arofy), Tamarindus indica L. (Kily),
Ziziphus mauritania Lamk. (Mokonazy), Dalbergia purpurascens Baill. (Manarifotsy),
Poupartia caffra (Sonder) H. Perrier (Sakoa), and Broussonetia greveana (Baillon) C.C.Berg,
(Vory).
A number of potentially important species were excluded from the experiments. Timber core
samples of Adansonia za Baill. could not be preserved properly, although tree-rings were
clearly visible. Tree-rings of Albizzia greveana Baill. were barely detectable. Too few
specimens of three other Dalbergia species were present in the research area. The wood of
Stereospermum euphorioides (Bojer) A.DC. and Cedrelopsis spp. was too hard to obtain
wood-core samples.
Groundwater table measurements
The level of the groundwater table was assessed using an Edelman 7 cm diameter hand augur,
a PVC piezometer and a bell attached to a measuring tape. No groundwater table
measurements have been carried out in the research area before. The influence of the adjacent
rice fields on the ground water table was assessed by sampling along a linear transect into the
forest. A similar exercise was conducted to assess the influence of the presence of the Dabera
canal. Given the time limits of the field campaign, a systematic sampling procedure was
carried out inside the forest (Figure 2).
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Figure 2: Shape of the Zazamalala reafforestation project and location of the sample points to
measure the groundwater table level.
A total of 40 measuring points was determined. In addition, 42 extra measurements were
conducted, amongst which there were 10 unused water reservoirs. The groundwater table
level of six corner points was monitored daily, and all others were measured at least three
times in a 2-month period. This setup allowed the assessment of temporal variability between
measurements. The coordinates of the raster points were recorded with a GPS. Using a raster
GIS a groundwater level model of the research area was obtained. A model including all 82
measuring points proved to be the most reliable representation of the groundwater level in the
study area. Using interpolation techniques a model with three groundwater table zones was
obtained (Table 2). An overlay operation between the map area and the ground table model
resulted in a map describing the average groundwater table per area.
Table 2: Groundwater table zones resulting from GIS interpolation of a systematic sampling
network
Groundwater table zone
1
2
3
Depth (cm)
0-100
100-200
>200
Average level of
groundwater table (cm)
84
144
218
Surface area (ha)
8.68
43.18
13.90
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Tree-ring analysis
Timber core samples were obtained using a Pressler type Suunto drill, featuring a drill
diameter of 5 mm, and a length of 40 cm. The samples were taken at breast height. In each
water table zone a minimum of six core samples were obtained from the selected tree species.
A total of 100 trees were sampled. The fact that a particular species was absent in a zone was
taken as an indication of the unsuitability of the site. Reference timber core samples were
obtained from Kirindy and Mahabo, to allow for a comparison with average tree-ring width in
primary forest.
At least two core samples were taken of every sample tree. The second sample was taken at
180° from the first one. From smaller trees only one sample was taken straight through the
bole. Large trees were sampled close to the centre of the bole. In a number of cases additional
samples were taken at 90° and 270° from the first one. The field work yielded 211 core
samples in Zazamalala.
Core samples were put in specially manufactured receptacles to prevent damage during
transport to Belgium. Prior to analysis with a stereo microscope the samples were mounted
and polished with abrasive paper. The mean annual increment of the diameter was determined
for the period 1995-2000, and for the last four years, in order to assess growth change patterns
due to the changing groundwater table. The hardware was a Lyntab, and the software was
TSAP-Win, an often used tool in dendrochronological research.
Results and Discussion
Influence of rice fields and the Dabera canal on the ground water table
The presence of rice fields strongly influences the groundwater table in the forest (Figure 3).
However, care should be taken in the interpretation of this single measurement as the
groundwater table profile is dependent upon soil type and hydraulic conductivity. The
influence of the Dabera canal is less conclusive (Figure 4). The relationship between the
distance to the rice field and the groundwater table was described by the following
exponentially decreasing model:
GWT = -a*e-b.X + c*X + d
With: a, b, c and d = constants
X = distance to the rice fields (in m)
GWT = ground water table (depth, in cm)
The result confirms that the influence of rice fields is apparent to a distance between 100 m
and 200 m (Figure 5). The sizeable spread around the model can be attributed to
pedomorphological characteristics of the soil that are likely to vary across the forest.
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Nevertheless, the influence of adjacent rice fields causes the groundwater table to increase
considerably. The southern parcels are drier, and here endemic tree species are to be preferred
for reafforestation. The northern parcels are much wetter and here preference could be given
to introduced species (for fuel wood and construction timber) that are suited to this particular
type of environment.
Figure 3: Profile of the groundwater table as a function of distance from the rice field.
Figure 4: Profile of the groundwater table as a function of distance from the Dabera canal.
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Figure 5: Groundwater table as a function of distance to the rice fields.
Relationship between tree-ring width and groundwater table level
The average tree-ring width of the period 1995-2000 was compared with the period 20042007. As it took several years to establish the rice fields from 2000 on, it was assumed that
2004 was a safe starting date for the analysis. All data were subjected to the same rigourous
set of tests including (1) cross date parameters to establish whether there is a correspondence
between different core samples; (2) calculation of Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests to
check normality and homoscedasticity, and (3) parametric and non-parametric tests to
ascertain significance of difference of tree-ring width across groundwater table zones and
periods. The results are presented for each of the six selected tree species.
Commiphora guillaumini
Arofy is one of the most important construction timber species in the Zazamalala area, and it
usually occurs in the drier sites of the dry deciduous forest. It was therefore assumed that this
species is particularly susceptible to an increase of the groundwater table. Average tree ring
width in Mahabo and Kirindy is not significantly different for the two periods (Figure 6a). It
is therefore assumed that any significant difference in Zazamalala is due to changing
groundwater tables. That was only the case for groundwater table zone 2. It should be noted
that only very few specimens occurred in groundwater table zone 1, so the results are not
conclusive.
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Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte van Commiphora guillaumini voor de
verschillende subpopulaties
300
GJB voor 2000
GJB na 2004
Gemiddelde Jaarringbreedte (1/100 mm)
Totaal
250
200
150
100
50
0
Zazamalala
GWT 1
Zazamalala
GWT 2
Zazamalala
GWT 3
Mahabo
Kirindy
gemiddelde
Figure 6: Average tree-ring width (ATW, in 1/100 mm) of Commiphora guillaumini (a, left)
and Tamarindus indica (b, right) in the different groundwater table zones (GWT) and
in reference populations.
Tamarindus indica
Kily is one of the most dominant species in Zazamalala, and as it is a species with modest site
requirements, it is expected that diameter increment will not change significantly with
changes of the groundwater table. T. indica showed a significant increased average tree ring
width in the second period (Figure 6b) and therefore appears to benefit from an increasing
groundwater table.
Dalbergia purpurascens
Manarifotsy is an endemic species yielding very valuable wood. It grows well in the better
sites. In Zazamalala It did not occur in groundwater table zone 1. Hence only data for the
other two zones were available. There are significant increases in ring width for both
groundwater table zones between the twee observed periods (Figure 7a). The control
measurements in Mahabo and Kirindy do not display significant differences and much
narrower rings.
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Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte van Ziziphus mauritania per grondwatertafelzone
Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte van Dalbergia purpurascens voor de
verschillende subpopulaties
GJB voor 2000
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
G em iddelde ja a rring br eedte (1 /1 0 0 m m )
Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte (1/100 mm)
Totaal
GJB voor 2000
450
GJB na 2004
GJB na 2004
Totaal
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
GWT zone 2
GWT zone 3
Mahabo
Kirindy
gemiddelde
Zazamalala GWT 1
Zazamalala GWT 2
Zazamalala GWT 3
Gemiddelde
Figure 7: Average tree-ring width (ATW, in 1/100 mm) of Dalbergia purpurascens (a, left)
and Ziziphus Mauritania (b, right) in the different groundwater table zones (GWT) and
in reference populations.
Ziziphus mauritania
Mokonazy is the most dominant tree species in Zazamalala, and is characteristic for
secondary forest and tree savannas. It is an important source of fuel wood in the region, and
the fruits are consumed by the local population. The species has moderate site requirements
and is typical for dry and warm climates. Tree ring width varies very little with groundwater
level (Figure 7b). The largest values are found in groundwater table zone 3, confirming the
fact that the species thrives best in well-drained sites.
Poupartia caffra
Sakoa, similar to Mokonazy, is typical for secondary vegetation and tree savannas. The site
requirements are moderate. The small differences in tree ring growth between the considered
periods is not significant (Figure 8a), but the species has higher growth rates in drier areas,
which could be expected.
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Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte van Poupartia caffra per grondwatertafelzone
Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte van Broussonetia greveana per
subpopulatie
GJB voor 2000
Totaal
Totaal
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
GJB voor 2000
GJB na 2004
400
GJB na 2004
Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte (1/100 mm)
Gemiddelde jaarringbreedte (1/100 m m )
450
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
Zazamalala GWT 1
Zazamalala GWT 2
Zazamalala GWT 3
Gemiddelde
Zazamalala
GWT 1
Zazamalala
GWT 2
Zazamalala
GWT 3
Kirindy
Gemiddelde
Figure 8: Average tree-ring width (ATW, in 1/100 mm) of Poupartia caffra (a, left) and
Broussonetia greveana (b, right) in the different groundwater table zones (GWT) and
in reference populations.
Broussonetia greveana
Vory is endemic and produces excellent construction timber. It prefers moist sites, but does
not tolerate flooding. It is therefore expected that diameter increment will increase in zones
with higher groundwater tables. The results confirm these expectations (Figure 8b), but the
differences are not significant. The decreased tree-ring width in groundwater table zone 1 is
probably due to occasional flooding.
Conclusion
The reported results indicate a variable response in diameter growth to increasing
groundwater table. In most of the cases the response (positive/negative) was generally
predictable as key site requirements were known from the literature. The actual values do
indicate that the influence of adjacent rice fields is noticeable. These conclusions should be
regarded with some caution: the number of samples (groundwater table measurements) was
relatively limited, and the measuring activity was limited in time. However, the results show
that with relatively unsophisticated methods, and over a relatively short time, indications of
changing growth patterns could be assessed. The findings can be important and useful for
spatial planning of reafforestation, in view of particular site conditions and selection of
species for specific tree products.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Dr. Simon Rietveld and Ms. Jocelyne Farazamalala of the reafforestation
project in Zazamalala, and to Marian for support in the field.
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References
Gauthier L, Goodman SM. 2003. Introduction to the Flora of Madagascar. In: Goodman, SM,
Benstead JP. (eds). The natural history of Madagascar. The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, USA. pp229-250
Inside Wood 2004. The modern wood database. Inside Wood, http://insidewood/lib.ncsu.edu
(consulted on March 8th, 2008)
Mapsource 2004. Garmin Ltd, Version 6.0
Raonintsoa PN. 1996. The role of the forest in the regional economy. In: Ganzhorn JU, Sorg
JP. (eds). Ecology and economy of a tropical dry forest in Madagascar. Primate Report
Special Issue, 46-1. Erich Goltze GmbH and Co. KG, Göttingen, Germany. pp41-48
Rietveld S. 2008. A reforestation project in the southwest of Madagascar.
http://www.madagaskar.com (consulted on February 25th 2008)
Sandy C. 2006. Real and imagined landscapes: land use and conservation in the Menabe.
Conservation and Society 4(2): 304-324
Schweingruber FH. 1996. Tree rings and the environment. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest,
Snow and Landscape Research, Paul Haupt Verlag, Bern
Schweingruber FH. 2007. Wood structure and environment. Springer, Berlin
Sorg JP, Rohner U. 1996. Climate and tree phenology of the dry deciduous forest of the
Kirindy forest. In: Ganzhorn JU, Sorg JP. (eds). Ecology and economy of the tropical dry
forest in Madagascar. Primate Report Special Issue, 46-1. Erich Goltze GmbH and Co.
KG, Göttingen, Germany. pp57-80
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Forests and Climate Change Response
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CHANGING FIRE REGIMES IN THE COTE d’IVOIRE
SAVANNA: IMPLICATIONS FOR GREENHOUSE
EMISSIONS AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION
K. Moussa1*, T.J. Bassett1 and J.N. Nkem2
1
Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA
CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
*Corresponding author: kon@uiuc.edu
2
Abstract
West African savannas are depicted in the climate change literature as the “burn center” of the
planet. This paper suggests that this representation is based on a misunderstanding of burning
intensity and the nature of savanna environments. It is argued that burning is not as
destructive as perceived and that its effects on vegetation change are more complex than
believed. The case study of Katiali examines how farmers and herders use fire as a tool for
Sudanian savanna management, and how these practices modify burning regimes and savanna
ecosystems over time. The study also investigates the implications of changing burning
regimes and vegetation dynamics on greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration of carbon.
The theoretical framework of this research builds upon political ecology, which examines the
natural resource management practices of ordinary farmers and herders with emphasis on
historical-geographical patterns of environmental change, local knowledge, and local specific
ecologies. The research was conducted during one dry season from late October 2007 to May
2008 in the Sudanian savanna of northern Côte d’Ivoire. Data were collected through field
observations, individual and group interviews, and household surveys. Weather station data
were recorded daily. Findings reveal that the Sudanian savanna is a complex environment
composed of a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, and crops. This diversity is important to
recognize in modeling the impact of savanna burning on greenhouse gas emissions. Results
also show that farmers and herders increasingly set fires earlier in the dry season to protect
orchards and to promote grass regrowth for grazing. Early dry season burning favors the
expansion of trees in the Sudanian savannas. The transition demonstrates a shift to a more
wooded vegetation cover that could potentially sequester more carbon dioxide than is
presently attributed to the system.
Introduction
Climate change is a major environmental challenge facing the world today. The literature
strongly links human activities such as greenhouse gas emissions with global warming
(Crutzen and Andreae 1990, Levine et al. 1995, Liousse et al. 2004, Koppmann et al. 2005,
Reid et al. 2005, Longo and Freitas 2006, Tunved et al. 2006). Global warming scientists
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consider biomass burning as an important contributor to atmospheric greenhouse gases and
particulate matter (Levine et al. 1995, NASA 2005). Tropical Africa is widely viewed as a
“fire center” or as a “burn center” of the planet (Levine et al. 1995, Hayhoe et al. 2002, Small
et al. 2002, Ludwig et al. 2003, Liousse et al. 2004, Koppmann et al. 2005, Reid et al. 2005).
There are two recurring themes in the literature regarding fire and the Sudanian savanna
(Crutzen and Andreae 1990: 1670, Cros et al. 2000: 29, 348, Mbow et al. 2000: 565, Brown
and Gaston 2001, Van der Werf et al. 2003: 552, Liousse et al. 2004: 78, Jain and Young
2005: 3). Firstly, savanna fires are considered to be intense and highly destructive. Secondly,
savanna ecosystems are discussed as if they were homogeneous landscapes.
It is argued here that climate change scientists need to recognize the diversity of savanna
landscapes comprised of different vegetation communities, including grass savannas, shrub
savanna, savanna woodlands, dry forests, and gallery forest, and a variety of annual and
perennial crops, including tree crops (Hoffmann 1985, Riou 1995, Bassett and Koné 2008).
This plant community diversity is important when examining the effects of fire on vegetation
cover, greenhouse gas emissions during burning, and the potential for carbon sequestration.
Climate change scientists should also consider the diversity of fires (Monnier 1968, 1975) and
burning regimes and their transformation under changing social, political and ecological
conditions. In West Africa, the timing of burning is extremely important in terms of the
effects of a fire on land cover change and greenhouse gas emissions. Dry season fires are
commonly divided into three periods: early, middle and late dry season (Monnier 1968, César
1990, Mbow et al. 2000, Bassett et al. 2003, Koné et al. 2008). But the climate change
literature rarely considers the temporal dimension of burning (Nguyen et al. 1993: 209-210,
Cros et al. 2000: 29, 348). Only general information is available on burning frequency
(Crutzen and Andreae 1990: 1670, Goldammer 1990, Mbow et al. 2000: 575, Abbadie et al.
2006: 51). Combustion efficiency in savanna landscapes also remains unclear. Previous
studies provide several ranges of combustion efficiency (Ward and Hardy 1991, Koppmann et
al. 2005). The literature indicates that combustion efficiency differs according to vegetation
type and combustion stage. These gaps in the literature call for further research on burning
regimes and land cover change.
This paper examines the burning practices of local people, their perceptions of biomass
burning and vegetation dynamics. It also analyzes the implications of changes in burning
regimes and vegetation dynamics on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. The
study takes an interdisciplinary political-ecological approach to the study of humanenvironmental relationships that integrates social, political, cultural and biophysical processes
in order to deepen our understanding of environmental and social change (Zimmerer and
Bassett 2003). The approach examines the long-term human-environmental interactions based
on local history, local knowledge, and local ecologies (Blaikie 1994, Peet and Watts 2004)
with the goal of contributing to knowledge about global environmental change (Bryant 1992,
Blaikie 1994, Forsyth 2002).
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Materials and Methods
Study area
The research was conducted in the Sudanian savanna of northern Côte d’Ivoire (Figure 1).
The climate is characterized by one rainy season (June to October) and one long dry season
(November to May). Average annual rainfall is between 1,100 and 1,500 mm (IFFN 1999).
The Ivorian savanna ecosystems are characterized by widespread biomass burning during the
dry season. Farmers, herders, hunters and honey gatherers all set fires. Fire is facilitated by
the existence of a more or less continuous grass layer.
Ecologists use several parameters to define savanna vegetation at the local and regional
scales. At the regional level in West Africa, the savanna vegetation is divided into the
Guinean savanna, the Sub-Sudanian savanna, and the Sudanian savanna ecosystems (Figure
1). These definitions are based on rainfall, topography, soil characteristics, and vegetation.
The Sudanian savanna ecosystem is composed of gallery forest, dry forest, savanna
woodland, shrub savanna, grass savanna, fallow field and croplands (Figure 2). At the local
scale, Hoffmann (1985) defines savannas based on floristic composition (dominant grass
and/or tree species), ecological criteria (water, soil, types of rocks, position on the slope), and
structural parameters (tree height and cover). Riou bases his typology of savanna vegetation
types on tree height. Grass savanna has either no trees or a few trees of <2 m height; shrub
savanna has trees of 2 to 8 m; savanna woodland is characterized by trees of 8-15 m; dry
forest is made up of trees of 8-20 m with a closed canopy; and gallery forest is composed of
big trees of > 20 m along rivers (Figure 2).
The locality selected for the research is Katiali (Figure 1). Katiali is located 55 km northwest
of Korhogo, the main regional city. More than 3,000 people composed of the Senufo, Jula and
FulBe ethnic groups inhabit the village. Agricultural activities focus on cotton, the main cash
crop, food crops, tree crops, hunting and honey gathering. Livestock raising is an important
land use activity for especially FulBe households who practice a highly mobile form of cattle
raising. Agricultural polices dating from the 1960s and 1970s have emphasized the
development of cotton and livestock raising (Bassett 1986, 2001, Bassett and Koné 2008).
Farmer and herder responses to these policies have transformed the land cover of the
Sudanian savanna into a patchwork of fields and fallows that are successively farmed and
grazed. Biomass burning in Katiali begins early in the dry season between late October and
early November when FulBe herders burn lignified grasses to encourage fresh grass regrowth
for cattle grazing.
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Figure 1: Vegetation zones and research site in Côte d’Ivoire (Source: Monnier 1974)
Figure 2: Fallow field, grass savanna, and savanna woodland vegetation types in the
Sudanian savanna zone, Katiali
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Methodology
The research was conducted during one dry season from late October 2007 to May 2008 to
examine burning practices in different vegetation types throughout the Katiali region. The
study involved document collection, direct observation, household surveys, and interviews
with individuals and groups. A census of all the inhabitants living in Katiali was conducted at
the beginning of the study. The census revealed different actors involved in burning and was
used to select a more representative sample of 40 households for subsequent surveys.
Household heads were surveyed on different uses of fire, reasons for burning, different
periods at which fires are set and why at those periods, and on fire management practices used
by farmers and pastoralists. Village leaders (men and women), farmers, pastoralists and
hunters were interviewed about specific burning practices and motivations, and their
perceptions of savanna fires (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Interview with a farmer in his field
Weather station data, including wind speed and direction, ambient air temperature, relative air
humidity, and rainfall were recorded daily (Figure 4). These data provide information
necessary for burning regime analysis. The location of fires in the Katiali region was recorded
using a global positioning system (GPS) device.
The land cover change study analyzed three plots of 10 x 10 m in each vegetation class to
determine tree and grass species, perennial versus annual grass species, height of trees and
grasses, and measured available biomass load likely to burn during bush fires (Figure 5). The
study also recorded the historical understanding of vegetation dynamics of local people
through transect walks, oral histories, and group discussions.
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Figure 4: The portable weather station and console used to collect climate data
Figure 5: Experimental burning plot (10 x 10 m) for the grass savanna vegetation type
Results
Burning regimes study
The study of burning regimes consisted of the analysis of burning practices, different burning
periods and their effects on fire intensity, burning frequency, and on combustion efficiency.
The results reveal that the main actors involved in biomass burning in the Katiali region are
farmers, herders, hunters, and honey gatherers. Local resource users increasingly use fire
early in the dry season as a management tool. Farmers set fire to protect their cashew and
mango orchards, and herders burn for new grass growth that is more palatable to cattle
(Figure 6). Hunters set fires in the middle of the dry season during the months of January and
February to flush out game, while honey gatherers extract honey late in the dry season.
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Figure 6: (a) Left: Fire set by a farmer in the evening of 9 Dec 2007 to make a fire break
around his mango orchard; (b) Right: Grass regrowth from early burning (7 Dec
2007).
The case study of Katiali shows that burning intensity varies during the dry season (Figure 7).
Burning is less intense at the beginning of the dry season (late October-December), very
intense in the middle of the dry season (January-February), and less intense at the end of the
dry season (March-April) (Monnier 1968, César 1990, Bassett and Koli Bi 2000, Mbow et al.
2000, Koné et al. 2008). Informants declared that fire flame height has declined over time and
is not as high as 30 years ago because of the impact of grazing pressure on the height and load
of grasses.
Figures 7: Biomass burning from left to right: early dry season (22 Nov 2007), mid dry
season (10 Jan 2008), and late dry season (6 Apr 2008).
The study also shows important daily patterns in fire intensity due to the interactive effects of
ambient air temperature, relative air humidity, and wind speed. Three periods stand out. Fires
are set in the morning before 9 am, between 9 am and 6 pm, and after 6 pm, depending on the
purpose of the burning. Farmers set fires either before 9 am or after 6 pm to protect their tree
plantations. Such fires are controlled to burn small areas around the plantations with less
intensity in relation to the influence of the harmattan. The harmattan is a continental dry and
hot air mass of the northern hemisphere blowing southward and covering the whole of West
Africa from December to March during the dry season (November to May). It leads to hot and
dry weather conditions during the day and cool and humid weather conditions during the
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night. Generally the ambient air temperature between 6 pm and 9 am is low (13oC to 17oC),
the relative air humidity is high (43%-54%) and the wind speed is very low, around 0 m/s
(Figure 8). Herders ignite the bush as well during the months of November and December,
and either before 9 am or after 6 pm to avoid intense fires that could result in crop damage or
negatively affect underground grass roots.
In contrast to farmers and herders, hunters prefer very intense fires that could “clean” the
landscape. Therefore they usually set fire between 9 am and 6 pm. Such fires are very intense
because the ambient air temperature increases (23oC to 33oC) while the relative air humidity
decreases from 23% to 13%. The increase in temperature and the decrease in relative
humidity increase the ignition potential of grasses during this period of the day. The higher
daily wind speed between 9 am and 6 pm (from 3.1 m/s to 8 m/s) also increases fire intensity.
In short, the study reveals that farmers and herders generally burn the savanna early in the dry
season. They typically set fires early in the morning or late in the evening, which results in
less intense burning and a mosaic of burned and unburned patches in the landscape (Figure 7).
In contrast, hunters typically burn during the middle dry season. This practice results in very
intense fires. But these middle dry season burns are not as destructive because they are
preceded by early dry season fires that have reduced biomass loads and created fire breaks in
the landscape.
Field trips throughout the village territory during the dry season demonstrate that bush fires
are currently more frequent and smaller in size compared to 30 years ago. Contemporary
bushfires start at the beginning of the dry season in late October when grasses are not very
dry. This results in a patchwork pattern of small burned and unburned areas in the landscape
(Laris 2002; Mbow 2000; Koné et al. 2008). Results from this study show that the burning
efficiency declined during the period 1975-2008. Burning efficiency varies over time because
of the availability of grass biomass and relative humidity during the period of bushfires. Fires
set at the beginning of the dry season do not burn all the available grasses because of the
humidity contained in the air, soil, and plants. Fires during the middle of the dry season are
very efficient and burn all the available grass. Late dry season burning is not as efficient
because there is less available biomass left to burn at that period (Figure 7).
Land cover change analysis
This study showed a decline in the grass biomass load likely to burn and that the Sudanian
savanna ecosystem has become more wooded over the past 30 years. The use of fire to protect
cashew and mango orchards, for grass regrowth, and for land clearing, mainly at the
beginning of the dry season, leads to less intense and inefficient burns. Grazing pressure and
the expansion of cultivated areas diminish grass cover. The study of Bassett and Koli Bi
(2000) in the Katiali region also consider several human and biophysical factors that influence
the distribution of the savanna vegetation including “shifting cultivation, grazing, and fire, as
well as topography, soils, and rainfall”. They identify fire as one of the important factors that
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refashion savanna ecosystems. Burning regimes (timing of burning, burning frequency,
combustion efficiency and fire intensity) constitute the key factor of savanna ecosystem
dynamics (Gillon 1983, Bassett and Koli Bi 2000).
Figure 8: Changes in temperature, humidity and wind speed for 10 December 2007 and 18
January 2008 as recorded at the weather station.
Informants over 30 years of age indicated during interviews that when they were young there
was more grass organic matter than currently and the landscape was not covered with as much
woody species as today. Currently the major tree species of the Katiali region are Isoberlinia
doka, Daniallia oliveri, Vitellaria paradoxa, Pericopsis laxifora, Piliostigma thonningii,
Entanda africana, Afzelia africana, Ficus capensis (sur) and Parkia biglobosa. Farmers and
herders protect most of those tree species because of their economic value. Women use
Vitellaria paradoxa to produce shea butter and herders cut down Afzelia africana trees to feed
their cattle in the middle and late dry season when there is no grass to graze (Figure 9).
Farmers consider the increase in the number and size of Isoberlinia doka and Daniellia oliveri
trees as an indication of fertile land and the presence of Pericopsis laxifora as an indication of
poor soil. There is also an increase in the area of tree plantations. Farmers are expanding the
area of mango and cashew orchards to diversify agricultural production (Bassett and Koné
2008).
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Figure 9: A FulBé herder cutting branches from an Afzelia africana tree to feed his cattle
In short, the use of fire earlier in the dry season, increased grazing pressure, the expansion of
tree plantations, and the existence of fire breaks have modified burning regimes in the
Sudanian savanna. The new burning regimes are creating more wooded landscapes that have
positive implications for climate change.
Implications for climate change
The environmental change literature assumes that farmers and herders set intense and highly
destructive fires during the middle and late dry seasons. This widespread burning is believed
to contribute to significant amounts of greenhouse gases and particulate matter to the
atmosphere (Levine et al. 1999, Hayhoe et al. 2002, Small et al. 2002, Ludwig et al. 2003,
Liousse et al. 2004, IPCC 2005, Koppmann et al. 2005, Reid et al. 2005). In contrast to these
common assumptions, the observed trend in changes in vegetation cover is likely to be
beneficial for carbon retention and the sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The results of this research are useful to analyze the impact of agricultural and pastoral land
use systems on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration potentials in West Africa.
The resulting increase in vegetation cover will potentially sequester more carbon dioxide than
is presently attributed to the system. In addition, the new burning regime conditions and the
decline in the availability of the biomass likely to burn produce fewer greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere.
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Conclusion
The case study uses a political-ecological approach to reveal the emergence of new burning
regimes and to provide a more accurate assessment of land use and land cover change in the
Sudanian savanna. Local resource users increasingly burn the savanna in the early dry season
to protect their cashew and mango orchards and to encourage new grass growth for their
cattle. This early dry season burning is less intense and less efficient and favors the expansion
of diverse tree species such as Isoberlinia doka, Daniellia oliveri, Vitellia paradoxa and
Afzelia africana. The less intense and less destructive burning also produces lower gas and
aerosol emissions into the atmosphere. The resulting increase in vegetation cover is also an
important carbon sink, which potentially sequesters and retains more carbon dioxide than is
presently attributed to the system. This research results are very important to climate change
scientists who seek environmental change information at the local and regional scales and for
environmental policy makers involved in negotiations in the carbon market. Updated and
accurate environmental information and insights, will better inform decision makers in
formulating more appropriate environmental policies.
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by the Norman Borlaug-LEAP fellowship, the National Science
Foundation (BCS-0727224) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). We
thank all of these institutions for this support. We also thank the inhabitants of Katiali for
their cooperation and interest in this research project.
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THE SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PUZZLE:
POLICIES, LEGISLATION, DEFORESTATION AND THE
CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUE IN GHANA
*1B.A. Gyampoh, 1S. Amisah, 2M. Idinoba and 2J. Nkem
1
Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
*Corresponding author: b.gyampoh@gmail.com
2
Abstract
Forests have influenced climate, soil and water resources which have supported Ghana’s
agriculture, the backbone of her economy. In less than 50 years, Ghana’s primary rain forest
was reduced by 90%; even in this era of sustainable forest management. This paper presents a
review of major forest policies and legislations since the beginning of the 20th century, and
their implications for forest management and climate change. Extensive desk study and
survey of literature were undertaken on forest policies, legislation and enforcement in Ghana.
Two major policies and several legislations have been passed in the forestry sector in Ghana
since colonial times, with major improvements since 1990. Unfortunately, week capacity,
inadequate resources, poor supervision, the justice system and corruption continue to hamper
effective implementation of forest policies and enforcement of regulations. All the policies
and legislation enacted have no direction on climate change and as it stands now, cannot help
in mitigation and/or adaptation to climate change. Between 1990 and 2005, Ghana lost 26%
(1,931,000 ha) of its forest cover, at 2% annually. Between 1990 and 2000, Ghana lost
135,000 ha of forests annually, and a further 115,000 ha annually between 2000 and 2005.
Ghana’s CO2 emissions have, accordingly, increased steadily from 0.2419 to 0.3075 and to
0.326 metric tonnes per capita, for 1990, 2000 and 2004 respectively, with resultant changes
in climate. Climate change will in turn affect the remaining forests through increasing damage
to forest health through proliferation of forest fires, pests and diseases.
Introduction
Ghana is endowed with several natural resources including tropical rainforests, which has
been a major source of revenue for the country. Forests have also influenced climate, soil and
water resources which have supported Ghana’s agricultural sector, the backbone of the
country’s economy. However, sustainable management of Ghana’s forest has been a major
issue for successive governments since colonial times. At the beginning of the last century, a
third of Ghana’s total land area of 238,540 km2 was covered by high forest whiles the
remaining land was covered by savanna woodland (Antwi 1999). In the last 50 years, Ghana's
forest cover has shown drastic reduction; even in this era of sustainable forest management.
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It is impossible to think about sustainable forest management without policies to guide
decision making on the use of the resource and legislation to provide legal backing to those
policies (Owusu 1999). Ghana is not new to forest policies. As early as 1908, a report on
Ghana’s forests was presented to the colonial government by H.N. Thompson in which he
recommended establishment of a Forestry Department; creation of forest reserves; and some
regulation of timber felling and exports. This report formed the basis for the colonial
government’s forest policy. After the recommendations from Thompson, there has been
several interventions in the form of ordinances, policies and legislation all aimed at regulating
activities in the forest sector but little seems to have been achieved. Some have attributed the
reduction of Ghana’s forest to the failure of Ghana's forestry policies and strategies to ensure
that forest resources were managed on economically viable, socially beneficial and
environmentally sound principles.
Ghana has had a fair share of global environmental problems. Change in weather patterns and
recurrent droughts, severely affect agricultural activities. Soil erosion and habitat destruction
with resultant water pollution threatens biodiversity. Decreasing river discharge and
inadequate supplies of potable water are major issues in Ghana. The relationship between
these environmental problems and deforestation is well established. In this paper, major forest
policies and legislations and their implications for forest management in Ghana in relation to
current climate trends are presented and discussed.
Materials and Methods
Extensive desk study and survey of literature were undertaken on the forest policies and
legislations in Ghana. Documents were gathered from the Forestry Commission of Ghana;
Resource Management Support Centre (Ghana); Ghana Meteorological Agency;
Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana; Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources of the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana; Ghana Archives;
and the Internet. The documents reviewed include forest ordinances and laws passed in Ghana
from colonial times to date and other literature on forests in Ghana. The study examined
existing information and data on forest policies, acts, decrees and legislations, enforcement of
legislations and how they address or relate to climate changes.
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Results
Review of forest policies in Ghana
A review of Forest policies in Ghana are presented in the sections that follow.
1948 Ghana forest policy
There is a long tradition of government interventions at different times all aimed at
sustainable management of Ghana’s forest estate. The very first formal National Forest Policy
on forests was adopted in 1948 following the visit and Report on Forests by H. N. Thompson,
Conservator of Forests in southern Nigeria, in 1908 (Owusu 1999). Thompson’s report
convinced the government of the need to take control of forests following a series of failed
attempts by the colonial government to properly manage the forests of Gold Coast (now
Ghana). The key issues in the policy were to reserve sufficient forests and forest lands to
supply the benefits needed by the people; manage the reserved forests for sustained yield of
timber; conduct research to support utilization and forest management; utilize resources on
non-reserved forest lands fully before their liquidation by farming; promote local
administration of forest and educate the local people to understand the value of forests; and
train staff or develop Africans to higher positions.
This policy directed forestry activities in Ghana over a long period of time. Among all the key
issues in the 1948 policy, the colonial government and subsequent governments after
independence in 1957 seem to have focused more on the exploitation of forest resources,
mainly timber. Promotion of local administration of forestry, for example, received very little
attention though it was seen as very crucial to the sustainable management of the forests. The
economic benefits of forests were actively pursued and the ecological importance was
sidelined. Research to support utilisation and forest management received little attention.
Research was focused more on economically viable tree species to be harvested for export.
The direction of this policy led to increasing emphasis on central government administration,
control and ownership of the country’s forests. Local people’s involvement in forest
management was not pursued as the policy had stated. According to Owusu (1999), there was
an increasing marginalisation and even alienation, of local communities in the administration
of forests; a trend towards forestry being practised only by foresters for the nation’s benefit;
and a trend towards the “timberisation” of forestry. This was the state of Ghana’s forests from
the post-independence period to the late 1980s.
1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ghana’s forests were under excessive exploitation, illegal
harvesting led by chain saw operators was flourishing excessively and prescribed harvesting
procedures were being flouted with impunity. Worst of all, forestry institutions had become
demoralized and inefficient because of continued underfunding. Concerns and agitations from
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major stakeholders and growing global interests in forest loss culminated in the revision of the
old forest policy and eventually, the new Forest and Wildlife policy in 1994 (MLF 1994).
The overall aim of the Forest and Wildlife Policy of 1994 is conservation and sustainable
development of the nation's forest and wildlife for maintenance of environmental quality and
perpetual flow of benefits to all parts of society. The two fold aim of environmental quality
and sustainable benefits had the following specific objectives:
Management and improvement of Ghana's permanent forest estate for preservation of
soil and water, conservation of biological diversity, environmental stability and
sustainable production of domestic and commercial products;
Promotion of efficient forest-based industries, in secondary and tertiary processing, to
use timber and other products from forests and wildlife and satisfy domestic and
international demand with competitively priced products;
Promotion of public awareness and involvement of rural people in forest and wildlife
conservation to maintain life-sustaining systems, preserve scenic areas and enhance
potential for recreation, tourism and income generating opportunities;
Promotion of research-based and technology-led forestry and wildlife management to
ensure forest sustainability, socio-economic growth and environmental stability;
Development of effective capacity and competence at district, regional and national
levels for sustainable management of forest and wildlife.
Pre-independence forestry sector legislations and regulations in Ghana
Policies without backing legislation are as good as not existing. The legislation provides
enforceable rules which when broken will attract lawful sanctions. This gives life and
meaning to the policy and also ensures a successful implementation of the policy.
Historical background
The first enactment with a bearing on forests was the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1883,
which empowered traditional councils to make bye-laws to protect water courses and
conserve forests (Agbosu 1983). A report of the Commission on Agricultural Potential of the
Gold Coast, published in 1894, first drew the colonial administration’s attention to the need
and urgency to protect the forest resources. Sensing the likely threat of restrictions on forest
harvests, the timber merchants responded with an immediate large scale increase in timber
harvest for use as fuel and props in the mines and for export to Europe.
The Forest Reservation and Water Courses Protection Ordinance was enacted by the colonial
administration in 1889 to protect forests but according to Agbosu (1983) it never came into
force because of objection from timber firms, the middle class and traditional authorities.
Other ordinances that followed such as the Concessions Ordinance to govern the acquisition
of timber concessions, and the abortive Timber Protection Ordinance which sought to regulate
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some aspects of the timber trade, were also vehemently objected to by both the British
merchants and the local middle-class because they foresaw a negative effect on their business
and profits. Agbosu (1983) also argues that the colonial government was interested in the
revenue to be gotten rather than protecting the forests, judging from the provisions in the
ordinances they sought to introduce.
Forest Ordinance, 1927 – Cap 157
It was not until 1927 that the first forest statute was passed. This ordinance led to the creation
of forest reserves and vested power in an appointment of a Reserve Settlement Commissioner
(RSC). The commissioner had the authority to listen and judge on claims of rights over a
proposed area. The judgement of the RSC informed the government in publishing the final
order making an area a forest reserve.
Forests (Amendment) Ordinance, 1954
This ordinance was an amendment to Cap 157(Government of the Gold Coast 1954). It
concerns the procedures in an enquiry by the RSC in respect of rights of a proposed Forest
Reserve and procedures with a Native Court. The amendments included an introduction of a
“Native Appeal Court”. The ordinance provided for dispute resolution with respect to
ownership of land in reserves and differentiated the roles of the Native Court, Native Appeal
Court and the RSC.
Post-independence forestry sector legislations and regulations in Ghana
Forests Amendment Act, 1957
This is a further amendment to Cap 157, after independence. It amended section 34 of Cap
157 (Government of Ghana 1957). The amendment of the principal Act concerns regulationmaking powers of the Governor in Council and the extension of that power so as to apply
regulations to areas constituted as Forest Reserves by by-laws made by the appropriate local
authority. In the case of conflict between local by-laws and a regulation, the provisions of the
regulation prevailed.
Forest Protection Decree, 1974 (NRCD 243)’ and ‘Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002
(Act 624)’
‘The Forest Protection Decree, 1974 (NRCD 243)’ declares any specified damaging of trees,
cultivation, creating fires, obstructing of water flows, hunting or fishing or grazing or
trespassing of cattle in a Forest Reserve without a written permission of the competent forest
authority to be an offence. This decree mainly replaced the offence creating sessions of the
Cap 157 and, for the first time, took a serious look at persistent offenders and forest officers
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who took part in forest offences by conniving with law breakers. Under this decree, duties and
powers of Forest Officers were specified, persistent offenders were banned from engaging in
timber business and forest officers found culpable were summarily dismissed. The NRCD 243
was a major step to ensure a strict protection of Ghana’s forest.
After almost thirty years of the Forest Protection Decree of 1974, the Forest Protection
(Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 624), was passed to amend the Forest Protection Decree 1974
(NRCD 243) to provide for higher penalties for offences therein and to provide for related
purposes (Government of Ghana 2002a). For example, subsection (1) of section 1 of the
NRCD 243, which is on forest offences, was amended as follows: “any person who in a
Forest Reserve without the written consent of the competent forest authority fells, uproots,
lops, girdles, taps, damages by fire or otherwise any tree or timber; makes or cultivates any
farm or erects any building; causes any damage by negligence in felling any tree or cutting or
removing any timber; sets fire to any grass or herbage, or kindles a fire without taking due
precaution to prevent its spread; makes or lights a fire contrary to any order of the Forestry
Commission; in any way obstructs the channel of any river, stream, canal or creek; hunts,
shoots, fishes, poisons water or sets traps or snares; subjects any forest produce to any
manufacturing process or collects, conveys or removes any forest produce; or pastures cattle
or permits any cattle to trespass, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both,
except that for a second or subsequent offence under this section the offender shall be liable
on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 250 penalty units or to imprisonment not
exceeding 3 years or to both”.
‘Concessions Act 1962 (Act 124)’
The Concessions Act 1962 (Act 124), prohibited the creating of forest reserves by local
governments; it removed the role of courts in granting timber concession and transferred that
role to a Minister of State, and vested all timber rights in the president acting as a trustee for
the owners. This law was deemed appropriate by the government of that time when it wanted
to control the commanding heights of the economy.
‘Trees and Timber Decree, 1974 (NRCD 273)’ and ‘Trees and Timber (Amendment) Act,
1994 (Act 493)’
The Trees and Timber Decree, 1974 (NRCD 273) aimed at protecting trees and timber and
regulating their cutting, transportation and export. It required timber merchants to register
property marks with the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests (Government of Ghana
1974). Timber merchants were required to mark the stump of each tree they felled and the
logs with their unique registered property marks. Areas outside forest reserves but having a
good stocking of timber were declared temporarily protected areas until the timber was
harvested.
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Twenty years later, the Trees and Timber (Amendment) Act, 1994 (Act 493) was passed to
amend the Trees and Timber Decree, 1974 (NRCD 273), aiming at encouraging development
of the local timber industry through processing of harvested logs beyond the saw-milling
stage by placing punitive levies on the export of certain timber species in log form and on the
export of air-dried lumber. It was expected to add value to the logs before export and also to
create employment (Government of Ghana 1994). This act supports the objective 2 of the
1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy.
‘Forestry Commission Act, 1980 (Act 405)’ and ‘Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571)’
The Forestry Commission Act of 1980 (Act 405) provided for the establishment of the Ghana
Forestry Commission (Government of Ghana 1980). The functions of the Ghana Timber
Marketing Board, the Forest Products Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research, the Forestry Department and the Department of Game and Wildlife were
to be exercised under the supervision of the Forestry Commission.
In 1999, after an assessment of the operations of the Forestry Commission, which had been in
existence for almost two decades, the Forestry Commission Act, 1999 (Act 571), was passed
to re-establish the Forestry Commission in order to bring under the Commission the main
public bodies and agencies implementing the functions of protection, development,
management and regulation of forests and wildlife resources and to provide for related
matters (Government of Ghana 1999). The re-established Forestry Commission is a corporate
body responsible for the regulation of the utilization of forest and wildlife resources, the
conservation and management of those resources and the co-ordination of policies related to
them.
‘Timber Resource Management Act, 1997 (Act 547)’, and ‘Timber Resources Management
Regulations, 1998 (L.I. 1649)’
This act streamlined the process for granting rights to harvest trees and extract timber (timber
rights) to ensure the sustainable management and utilization of timber resources. Harvesting
timber without obtaining a Timber Utilization Contract (TUC) was made an offence which
attracted a fine of 1000% of the value of the timber or imprisonment for 6 months to 2 years,
and confiscation of the timber, tools, equipment and machinery. The Timber Resources
Management Regulations, 1998, (L.I. 1649) provided rules and regulations to guide the
implementation of Act 547. Under Act 547, the contract holder enters into a contract with the
Government to utilize and manage the timber resource on stated Terms and Conditions
(Government of Ghana 1998).
‘Timber Resources Management (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 617)’
This act is an amendment of the Timber Resources Management Act 1997 and is to exclude
from its application land with private forest plantations, to provide timber rights for the
maximum duration, and maximum limit of area. It also provides for incentives and benefits
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applicable to investors in forestry and wildlife and to provide for matters related to these
(Government of Ghana 2002b).
‘Forest Plantation Development Fund Act, 2000 (Act 583)’, and ‘Forest Plantation
Development Fund (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 623)’
Act 583 established a Forest Plantation Development Fund to provide financial assistance for
the development of private commercial forestry plantations, to provide for the management of
the fund and to provide for related matters such as research and technical advice to persons
involved in commercial plantation forestry on specified conditions (Government of Ghana
2000). Funds for this fund were to be generated from the proceeds of the timber export levy
imposed under the Trees and Timber Decree 1974 (NRCD 273) as amended by the Trees and
Timber (Amendment) Act, 1994 (Act 493), from grants and loans for encouraging investment
in plantation forestry, from grants provided by international environmental and other
institutions to support forest plantation development projects for social and environmental
benefits, and from money provided by the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana for private
forest plantation purposes.
Act 623 was enacted to amend the Forest Development Fund Act, 2000 (Act 583) to enable
plantation growers, both in the public and private sectors, to participate in forestry plantations
and to provide for related matters (Government of Ghana 2002c).
Discussion
Major policy and legislation challenges in managing Ghana’s forests
To start with, historical assessment points out that forest administration in Ghana did not start
on a good footing, i.e. on the basis of sound national land or forest policy. According to
Agbosu (1983), the colonial government left the administration of forest lands to the
traditional authorities (as seen with the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance of 1883), subject to
such controls as might be imposed by statutes and regulation. These traditional authorities
were mainly illiterates, relatively ignorant and not adequately equipped to efficiently manage
the forests. This was a great incentive to timber merchants who exploited the nation’s timber
resources. Some British businessmen together with their local middlemen, educated elite,
lawyers and merchants even rallied the traditional authorities to oppose the colonial
government’s decision to create forest reserves to be administered by trained personnel. This
fact became evident during the period of the mining boom and of the increase in timber trade
in the first decade of the 20th century (Agbosu 1983).
After a shift in policy from total state control to active participation of local communities in
the management of forests, there was the need to enact relevant literature to back the new
policy and give life to it. Weak capacity, inadequate resources, poor supervision, the justice or
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court system and corruption, in particular, have continued to hamper the effective
implementation of forest policies and enforcement of regulations aimed at sustainable forest
management. These problems started long ago and there is recorded evidence (as indicated in
Agbosu 1983) of communications by Mr. Giles Hunt, writing on behalf of the West African
branch of the Liverpool Chamber of Mines. Mr Hunt complained about the manner in which
timber firms were allowed to operate freely in the forest reserves without any adherence to the
ordinances, the cutting of smaller trees and excessive destruction caused to the forest in the
course of harvesting a single tree. These concerns were being expressed as early as before
1910 and, unfortunately, they still sound very relevant in 2008. Mr. Hunt went on to propose
the setting up of a Forestry Department of suitably trained and qualified personnel to properly
administer the forest estate of Ghana.
It is fair to say that in the last decade, there have been improvements in forest legislation with
the passing of some acts which have, in some cases repealed or amended wholly or sections
of previous laws to make them more potent, recommend stiffer penalties to serve as a
deterrent and meet current needs. Examples are Act 493 and Act 624.
Deforestation in Ghana and forest policies and legislation
Ghana has one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa and the world — at 2% annually.
Whilst the whole world lost 3% of its total forest area, averaging 0.2% every year between
1990 and 2005, Ghana lost an average of 135,000 ha of forest per year between 1990 and
2000, amounting to an average annual deforestation rate of -2% (FAO 2007). Between 2000
and 2005, Ghana’s forests decreased by a further 115,000 ha, with a rate of forest change of 2% per annum. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Ghana lost 26% of its forest cover, or around
1,931,000 ha (UNEP 2008). Measuring the total rate of habitat conversion (defined as change
in forest area plus change in woodland area minus net plantation expansion) for 1990-2005,
Ghana lost 27.6% of its forest and woodland habitat.
Deforestation is top on the important environmental issues in Ghana, according to UNEP
(2008). Deforestation in Ghana is primarily driven by slash-and-burn agriculture, timber
harvesting, wildfires, mining, and rising demand for fuel wood. In the cocoa growing regions
of Ghana, which also happen to be in the forest areas, large tracts of tropical forest have been
cleared to support increasing cocoa cultivation which is a major contributor to Ghana’s
agricultural-based economy. Currently, Ghana is the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa
beans (FAO 2007) and when world cocoa prices are low, Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings
are significantly affected and is often compensated for by increasing timber and mineral
exports. Thus, cocoa farming is both a direct and indirect driver of deforestation (UNEP
2008).
The Ghana government, since the 1980s, has provided generous incentives to attract
investments in the mining sector and have even given mining concessions within some of
Ghana’s forest reserves, eg. Afao Hills Forest Reserve (UNEP 2008). This poses a serious
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threat to Ghana’s remaining forests. Over 60 per cent of the Wassa West District in western
Ghana is now under concession to large-scale gold mining companies, the greatest
concentration of mining in a single district in Africa (UNEP 2008). The large footprints of
these open-pit mines directly result in significant forest loss. In addition, related infrastructure
and associated population growth indirectly drive even greater land cover conversion. The
latest findings, according to “Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment” released by the
United Nation’s Environment Programme in June 2008, indicate that significant portions of
Wasa West tropical rainforest have been degraded by or lost to this gold mining boom since
the 1980s. In addition to the threat from mining, shifting cultivation, uncontrolled logging,
charcoal production, and increasing population, place enormous pressure on the remaining of
Ghana’s tropical forests.
According to UNCCD (2002), one-third of Ghana’s land is already affected by desertification.
The land is becoming increasingly arid and this is evidenced by lowered water tables, siltation
of rivers, and increased flooding; rapid deforestation and poor cultivation practices are largely
responsible for this (UNEP 2008).
There is no doubt that Ghana’s forest policies, legislations and lapses in enforcement has
highly contributed to the rate of deforestation in the country. Until 1994, detailed clearly
defined forest policies specifying goals, objectives and strategies for development of forest
and the future direction of the timber industry were not in existence (MLF 1996) despite the
1948 forest policy. This is surely a recipe for disaster in forest management. Boateng (1994)
concluded that forest degradation intensified through illegal cutting and encroachment for
agricultural purposes. Due to the lack of proper policy direction on tree harvesting, timber
firms and concessionaires were selectively felling only preferred commercial timber species.
Another major contributor to Ghana’s deforestation has been the alienation of forest
communities from policy formulation although such communities were expected to help in
protecting the forests (MLF 1996). The lack of legal sanctions, and where available, it not
being deterrent enough, for example low fines, has encouraged illegal forest harvesting. It is
therefore not surprising that in less than 50 years, Ghana’s primary rain forest has been
reduced by 90% (UNEP 2008).
Deforestation, forest policies and legislation and climate change in Ghana
Removal of forests will undoubtedly cause a change in climate by affecting the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Due to the ability of forests to absorb and store carbon over
an extended period of time, they serve as “carbon sinks”. In effect, when forests are removed,
this unique role that they play to keep CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere at normal levels
is lost and rather the carbon stored in them is released into the atmosphere as CO2 gas upon
burning. The world’s forest ecosystems are estimated to store more carbon than the entire
atmosphere (Greenfacts 2007).
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From 1990 to 2000 and to 2004, CO2 emissions in Ghana have increased steadily from 0.2419
to 0.3075 and to 0.326 metric tonnes per capita, respectively (UNEP 2008). This is very much
expected in a country where deforestation rate is high and slash-and-burn agriculture is
widely practiced. Climate change will in turn affect the remaining forests profoundly through
increasing damage to forest health through proliferation of forest fires, pests and diseases
(FAO 2007). Unfortunately, both the “1948 Forest Policy” and the “1994 Forest and Wildlife
Policy” have no direction on climate change. This means at it stands now these policies can
not help in mitigation and/or adaptation to climate change which is a major environmental
issue.
Conclusion
Poverty and ignorance are major factors contributing to countries not achieving sustainable
forest management. No matter the correctness and effectiveness of the policies and legislation
formulated and enacted, respectively, human beings are to implement them. With high
poverty levels, people such as forest guards who patrol the forests, lawyers and judges,
security officers like the police who are to enforce laws, professional foresters or forestry
officials who make decisions, can be influenced and corrupted by money to compromise on
the right thing to be done to the detriment of our forests. Despite seeming improvements in
the legal and policy environment, progress towards sustainable forest management in Ghana
is difficult because beneath such nice policies and legislation lies a substructure of
exploitative and repressive relations between the corporate timber industry and the state on
the one hand and forest-dependent communities and the public on the other (FERN 2006).
This, unfortunately, is the real situation on the ground since colonial times.
References
Agbosu LK 1983. The origins of forest law and policy in Ghana during the colonial period.
Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Journal of African Law 27(2): 169-187. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/745580
Antwi LB. 1999. What we have: Our forest heritage. Proceedings, Workshop for Media
Personnel on Forestry and Wildlife Reporting. IRNR-UST, 6-11 June 1999
Boateng K 1994. Policies towards encroachment into forest reserves, with special reference
to Tano Suraw Forest Reserve, Ghana. MSc thesis, University of Aberdeen
FAO 2007. State of the World’s Forest 2007. FAO, Rome. [www.fao.org]
FERN 2006. Forest governance in Ghana – an NGO perspective. A report produced for
FERN by Forest Watch Ghana, March 2006. Zuidam Uithof, Utrecht, Netherlands
Government of Ghana 1957. The Forests (Amendment) Act, 1957. National Assembly of
Ghana, No. 10 of 1957. Accra, Ghana
Government of Ghana 1974. The Trees and Timber Decree, 1974 (NRCD 273)
Government of Ghana 1980. The Ghana Forestry Commission Act, ACT 405. Parliament of
the Republic of Ghana. Ghana Publishing Corporation, Accra-Tema, Ghana
464
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Government of Ghana 1994. The Trees and Timber (Amendment) Act, 1994 – Act 493.
Available at: http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/act_493/index.htm
Government of Ghana 1998. Timber Resources Management Regulations, 1998 - L.I. 1649.
Available at: http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/li_1649/index.html
Government of Ghana 1999. The Forestry Commission Act, 1999 - Act 571. Available at:
http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/act_571/index.html
Government of Ghana 2000. The Forest Plantation Development Fund Act, 2000 – Act 583.
Available at: http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/act_583/index.htm
Government of Ghana 2002a. The Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 – Act 624.
Available at: http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/act_624/index.htm
Government of Ghana 2002b. Timber Resources Management (Amendment) Act, 2002 - Act
617. Available at: http://www.fcghana.com/publications/laws/act_617/index.html
Government of Ghana 2002c. The Forest Plantation Development Fund (Amendment) Act,
2002 – Act 623
Government of the Gold Coast 1954. The Forests (Amendment) Ordinance, 1954. Legislative
Assembly of Gold Coast, No. 45 of 1954. Government Printer (Published in Supplement
to Gazette No. 78 of 1954. Accra, Gold Coast
Greenfacts 2007. Scientific facts on forests: Level 1. Greenfacts Digest. Available at:
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/
MLF 1994. Forest and Wildlife Policy, Republic of Ghana, 24th November 1994. Ministry of
Lands and Forestry, Accra, Ghana
MLF 1996. Forestry Development Master Plan, 1996 – 2020. Ministry of Lands and Forestry,
Accra, Ghana
Owusu JGK. 1999. Policies and legislation concerning forests, forestry and wildlife.
Proceedings, Workshop for Media Personnel on Forestry and Wildlife Reporting. IRNRUST, 6-11 June 1999.
UNEP 2008. Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment. Division of Early Warning and
Assessment (DEWA). UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. pp182-187
UNCCD 2002. Ghana Environmental Protection Agency. National Action Programme to
Combat Drought and Desertification. Accra, Ghana
http://www.unccd.int/actionprogrammes/africa/national/2002/ghana-eng.pdf (Accessed
on January 8, 2008)
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REFORESTATION AND AFFORESTATION FOR
ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION IN BURKINA FASO:
LIMITS, BENEFITS AND SYNERGIES
F.B. Kalame1*, M. Idinoba1, J. Bayala2, J. Nkem1 and Y. Coulibaly1
1
CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia
Centre National de Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Burkina Faso
*Corresponding author : f.kalame@cgiar.org
2
Abstract
Afforestation and reforestation (AR) initiatives through large and small scale plantations by
government, private entities and communities have been put in place as a major adaptation
measure since the Sahelian drought of the 1970s. The depletion of forest and other natural
resources in Burkina Faso have been accelerated due to the impacts of recurrent droughts and
desertification coupled with human activities such as deforestation, causing environmental
degradation and sometimes leading to poor soil and reduced crop productivity, famine and
extreme poverty that increase the vulnerability of ecosystems and communities. These AR
activities have registered some successes and failures as well as some challenges. Many goods
and services have been provided by these AR activities that benefit the society directly or
indirectly. Unintentionally, these AR activities also increase existing carbon sinks even
though not meant for carbon sequestration and are eligible activities under the Clean
Development Mechanisms of the Climate Change Convention. With the mitigation and
adaptation debate coming up strongly within the Climate Change Convention, there is a need
to explore the potential of AR for adaptation and mitigation. This study therefore examines
the opportunities for and barriers to AR and the likely synergies and future perspective for
adaptation and mitigation in Burkina Faso.
Introduction
Views on afforestation and reforestation (AR) activities for decades have been and are still
enjoying great popularity in different ways in many households, communities, sectors,
governments, non-governmental organizations and development agencies as they are linked to
different environmental, economic and subsistence purposes. Properly designed, implemented
and managed, AR in Burkina Faso and many other countries has the potential to serve many
intended as well as unintended purposes that include poverty reduction and livelihood
improvements, forest-based adaptation to climate change, carbon sequestration, rehabilitation
and restoration of degraded lands, and the provision of raw materials for forest-based
industries and sectors. AR activities and their related products (fruits, fodder, improved soil
fertility, medicinal plants, firewood, construction wood) are used in Burkina Faso in various
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locations and ways to adapt and reduce vulnerability to impacts of climate variability and
change (Kalame et al. 2008a). Most of the AR activities in Burkina Faso have been and still
are a huge source of carbon sequestration which is a potential with a growing market worth
exploiting for the benefit of the community and sector involved, especially through both
voluntary and non-voluntary markets of the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) of the
Climate Change Convention.
Afforestation and reforestation activities in Burkina Faso are in most cases intended to
replenish the fast depleted and degraded capital and wealth of forest and savanna ecosystem
goods and services to meet their different uses. This reduction of quality and quantity of forest
resources due to the impacts of climatic hazards, notably recurrent droughts since the 1970s
(SP/CONEDD 2007) and desertification coupled with human activities such as deforestation,
is causing environmental degradation leading to poor soil, crop and forest productivity,
famine and extreme poverty that increase the vulnerability of ecosystems and users of forest
and tree resources (Kalame et al. 2008a). Under increasing conditions of climate variability
and change (e.g. more recurrent droughts, temperature peaks, wild forest fires, windstorms),
the growth and productivity of forest ecosystems in Burkina Faso that provide communities
with various goods and services will be badly affected with a likely southward shift of forest
ecosystems (Gonzalez 2001, SP/CONEDD 2007).
Considering, from a climate change perspective, the numerous purposes and stakeholders
involved in AR activities in Burkina Faso for many decades (Table 1), we sought to explore
pertinent questions in this paper: (i) When can AR activities be used for adaptation, mitigation
or both? (ii) How and when can AR activities increase adaptation and reduce vulnerability of
forest-savanna ecosystems and their users to the impacts of climate variability and change?
(ii) How can carbon sequestration through AR activities in Burkina Faso benefit communities
under the CDM? The objectives of this paper are therefore to (i) Investigate AR projects in
Burkina Faso since the Sahelian drought of the 1970s, and (ii) Analyze the potential of these
AR activities regarding carbon sequestration and adaptation of ecosystems and communities
to the impacts of climate change.
Materials and Methods
Analysis of major past and present AR projects in Burkina Faso since the Sahelian drought of
the 1970s was carried out using literature review, consultation of experts and field visits.
Government policy documents on AR, project reports and documents on AR projects in
Burkina Faso, empirical studies on vulnerability, adaptation and CDM including other
relevant case studies were analyzed. For further analysis, different resource persons and
experts both at local and national levels were consulted for specific issues in AR activities in
Burkina Faso. A better understanding of AR activities and its potential role in climate change
adaptation and carbon sequestration was further attained through personal observations and
discussions with knowledgeable resource persons in the communities during visits to several
sites in Sapouy, Bougnounou, Ouahigouya and Zinaré with past or present AR activities.
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Results
AR projects in Burkina Faso since 1970
Climate change, desertification and environmental degradation in the Sahel region are
strongly linked to drought. Most AR activities in Burkina Faso and the Sahel at large have for
the past four decades been put into place to combat drought, desertification and environmental
degradation (Table 1).
AR as an adaptation strategy
Adaptation represents ways of reducing vulnerability (Smith and Wandel 2006) through a
response to actual or expected climate stimuli or their effects, to moderate harm or to exploit
beneficial opportunities (IPCC 2001). Adaptation can be passive, reactive, or anticipatory as
well as spontaneous, economic or planned (Smith et al. 2000, Klein 2001), depending on the
timing, available resources and purpose of the adaptation. Adaptation can be implemented by
public actors such as government bodies at all levels and also private actors such as
individuals, households, communities, commercial companies and other actors, such as
NGOs. Most government AR programmes (Table 1) are anticipatory and planned adaptation
strategies (Table 2) with the aim to reduce the impacts of drought on natural resources and
communities in Burkina Faso. They are carefully planned with a long term perspective,
backed by policies. Many other AR schemes carried out in Burkina Faso as an adaptation
strategy by the government, individuals, communities, Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), private companies, donor agencies often involve different adaptation options at
different temporal scales (see current, medium and long term adaptation options in Table 2) to
reduce the impacts of climate hazards, be it reactive (fast and immediate response), economic
(income generation), autonomous (independent response), technological (management skills)
or planned (but not legally backed by government policies). Most of the AR activities carried
out by agencies other than the government are however in most cases, activities under the
broader government AR programme such as the ongoing ‘National Reforestation Programme’
that is being held every year with participants ranging from households, development
agencies, community and NGOs.
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Table 1: Some AR activities in Burkina Faso to fight drought (climate impact),
desertification and environmental degradation
AR Projects in Burkina Faso
Implementing Actors
National AR schemes by the Government
Prospect, harvest and distribute across the Sahel
National Forest Seed Centre (CNSF)
project (1984)
National programme to fight desertification (1986) Communities, civil society
National village forestry programme (1986, 1991)
Village communities
8,000 villages, 8,000 forests (1994-1997)
Village communities
National reforestation programme, (2003-2012)
Farmers, communities, civil society, donor
agencies, students, non-governmental
organizations
Small AR schemes by NGOs, Donor Agencies and Inter-governmental organizations
Integrated management project of the SabcéSOS Sahel and Agro Action Allemande
Boussouma region (1984-1998)
Small scale reforestation project in Arbolle (1988)
TC-Dialogue Foundation
Reforestation project in the Silia village, Bam
SOS Sahel, SOSSI-F, Band AID
Province (1989-1992)
Reforestation activities in Burkina Faso in Zoula,
Defi Belgique Afrique (DBA)
Réo, Gui, Latou, Toega, Kamedji, Kamsi, Villy,
Ramongo et Sinthiou (1992-2007)
Reforestation programme in 30 schools and
Eau, Agriculture et Sante en Milieu Tropical
villages in the Bazèga province (1996-1999)
(EAST)
Tree planting project Comoé, Yatenga and Kadiogo Green Cross Burkina Faso
provinces (1997-2002)
Green points of the Sahel, Burkina Faso (1998)
Sahel DEFIS
Reforestation projects in Didyr, Ouagadougou and
Nature Solidaire
Nayala (2000-2005)
Regional world environmental initiative and
Permanent Inter-States Committee for
desertification control in Sahelian Africa,
Desertification Control (CILSS)
IREMLCD, (2003-present)
Reforestation, tree nursery, and family reforestation Nouvelle Planéte
in villages (2005-2007)
Let’s re-green Burkina Faso, Fada, 2006
Union des Jeunes pour le Développement
FADA
Land and livelihood Séguénéga (2007-2012)
TreeAid
AR activities especially the “forestry zai and assisted natural regeneration” are used in two
major ways as an adaptation strategy to benefit the environment and population of Burkina
Faso (Table 2). Firstly, they provide environmental services to combat drought-induced
environmental degradation and desertification (SP/CONAGESE 2001, SP/CONEDD 2007).
Secondly, they replenish the depleting forest- and tree-based assets communities act upon
(e.g. non-timber forest products [NTFPs], construction poles, firewood etc) to increase their
adaptive capacity and to reduce their vulnerability to the impacts of climate hazards such as
recurrent droughts and flood events (SP/CONEDD 2007, Kalame et al. 2008a). Most of the
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adaptation options listed in Table 2 are activities that have been existing in Burkina Faso for
decades. To be considered as an adaptation strategy or option, AR activities in Burkina Faso
must be intended to improve the adaptation and resilience or reduce the vulnerability of an
ecosystem (e.g. forest, savannah or agroforestry landscape) or a human system (household,
community, sector, etc) to a particular climatic event such as drought, flood, bushfire, high
temperature, hot weather, etc. Most vulnerable communities to climatic hazards are mostly
interested in AR for income generation (EA as shown in Table 2) especially through the sales
of construction poles and firewood. Various NTFPs are used both for income generation (e.g.
shea butter and “soumbala” which is made of fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa) and
subsistence (e.g. baobab leaves, medicinal plants). Most of the tree species planted however
are fast growing and sometimes introduced such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis as
demonstrated in the ongoing national reforestation Programme in Burkina Faso (Figure 1).
Table 2: AR adaptation strategy with different steps and options that benefit the environment
and the population in response to different impacts of climatic events (recurrent
drought, extreme temperature, windstorms, flood events, bushfires)
Steps/options for
environment and
population benefit
Vulnerability to be
addressed
Current and midterm adaptation
options
Long-term
adaptation options
AR as an adaptation strategy
Provision of environmental services
Restocking depleted and degraded forestand tree-based resources
- increased aridity and degradation of soil
- reduced productivity of trees
- accelerated degradation of forests and
trees
- soil erosion on farmlands and around
water courses
- identify suitable and adaptable tree
species that are indigenous, fast growing
and multipurpose (TA)
- identify suitable land for planting (PA)
- take intensive care to prevent any
destruction by fire and animals (TA)
- take intensive care until the root systems
of trees are well established (TA)
- use forestry zai to capture water (TA)
-sand dune stabilization (PA, PA-WP, RA)
-soil stabilization, restoration and increase
fertility (PA, PA-NP)
-improved modification of microclimate
(PA, PA-NP)
- protection and reduced sedimentation of
water courses (PA)
- wilting and reduced productivity of
crops
- destruction of crops during flood events
- destruction of NTFPs by forest fires
- accelerated degradation of forests and
trees
- skilful harvesting of fast growing trees
like Eucalyptus to promote fast coppicing
(TA, EA)
- sale of construction poles for income
generation (EA)
- harvesting of forest fodder (EA, PANP)
- commercial harvesting for construction
poles (EA, RA, AA)
- commercial firewood harvesting to
complement low crop productivity and
other household needs (EA)
- harvesting of forest food to cope with
flood-induced crop destruction (RA, AA)
- income diversification through
commercial harvesting of NTFPs (EA)
- increased reliance on forest for fodder
during drought periods (EA)
- increased biodiversity and reliance on
forest for medicinal plants (AA, RA)
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
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Figure 1: Changes in percentage contribution of different tree species produced for planting
during 2002-2006 afforestation and reforestation campaigns in Burkina Faso (MECV
2006)
AR projects for mitigation
AR CDM projects are still very new in Burkina Faso and Africa at large with the Permanent
Secretariat of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development
(SP/CONEDD) being the Designated National Authority for CDM projects. Burkina Faso
defines a forest under AR CDM as having an area of 1 ha, a crown cover density of 30% and
a height of 5 m. At the moment, JICA’s Mitigation Measures is operating a project (still at
initial stage) on ‘participatory and sustainable forest management in the Province of Comoe’
in Burkina Faso that will run from June 2007 to May 2012. Major activities regarding AR
CDM projects in Burkina Faso at the moment focuses on project development, trying to
address issues of baselines, suitable areas for AR CDM projects, and meeting the various
conditions and steps to operationalize AR CDM projects both under the Kyoto Protocol and
the voluntary carbon market.
The low biomass stock of the extensive vegetation of sandhills, shrub steppes, savanna
grassland and wasteland found in the northern part of Burkina Faso, having a Sahelian climate
with an annual rainfall of about 600 mm, makes this a potential AR CDM area in Burkina
Faso under the Kyoto Protocol (JOFCA 2007). This area has an extra advantage of
‘additionality’ due to its high climatic, economic and technical barriers coupled with the
absence of any industrial AR. These areas in northern Burkina Faso include the administrative
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units of Sanmatenga, Namentenga, Soum, Seno, Yatenga, Bam, Yagha, Poni, Bazèga,
Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemdé, Comoé, Ganzougou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Kadiogo,
Kénédougou, Kossi, Kouritenga, Mouhoum, Nahouri, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passoré, Sanguié,
Sissili, Tapoa and Zoundwéogo (JOFCA 2007). The voluntary carbon market does not follow
the strict procedures of the Kyoto Protocol. The Forest Department of Burkina Faso has
therefore extended suitable forest, shrub and savanna areas as potential AR CDM areas, such
as ‘savanes arborées’, ‘savanes arbustives’, ‘steppes arborées’, ‘savanes herbeuses’, ‘steppes
arbustives’, and ‘steppes herbeuses’. Baselines will vary for different vegetation and
landscape types such as agricultural areas alongside natural areas, shrubby and grassy
vegetation, agroforestry areas, forest, open space with no or little vegetation, and inland
marshes.
Suitable species for AR CDM projects in Burkina Faso, according to the Forest Department,
include Acacia senegal, Acacia nilotica, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Faidherbia albida,
Vitellaria paradoxa and Azadirachta indica with Acacia senegal having the highest
preference because of the gum arabic it produces that has a high market value.
It is expected that any AR CDM project must contribute to the sustainable development of
Burkina Faso. Local communities should actively participate and benefit as well from any AR
CDM project in their area. These however raise many questions such as the nature and extent
of participation, the sharing of benefits from such projects and issues of land ownership and
usufruct rights.
Major limitations to AR CDM projects under the Kyoto Protocol include complexity of the
methodology, modalities and procedures stipulated in Decision 5 from CMP 1 with unclear
meaning of terminologies (such as leakage, carbon pool and additionality), limited project
scope, lack of technical skills and financial resources, temporal nature of AR credits and
perception of risk (IISD 2007). Voluntary carbon markets however, provide another
opportunity for AR CDM projects which is being explored at the moment in Burkina Faso.
Other limitations of AR in Burkina Faso have been discussed above under the section on AR
as an adaptation strategy.
Limitations to and challenges of AR
In situations of successful AR activities in Burkina Faso, especially at the household and
community levels, many benefits have been obtained. Many AR activities, however, have had
a very weak success rate both at the government and non-government levels due to various
reasons:
i. In general, very little is done at large scale or national level AR activities by the
government to protect planted seedlings against browsing, drought and other forms of
human and animal encroachment. A successful AR activity as an adaptation strategy
highly depends on successful regeneration (Kalame et al. 2008b) rather than the
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ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
quantity of tree seedlings planted, as the latter is often used to score political points by
the government and other parties involved.
Constant efforts are needed to protect young vulnerable trees to various climatic and
anthropogenic disturbances until their root systems are well established. When
disturbed, tree regeneration by root suckers is one of the most important reproductive
mechanisms that occur in the Sahel and Sudan zone in West Africa, as they occupy
more area for water and nutrient uptake (Bellefontaine 1997, Ky-Dembele et al.
2007). The work of Ky-Dembele et al. (2007) in the Nazinon forest of Burkina Faso
showed that most trees under disturbance may take 5 to 10 years to properly establish
their root systems for long term survival.
Non consideration of required species by the public during seedling cultivation
especially in roadside nurseries. About 93% of the seedlings planted (Figure 1) come
from private nurseries mainly along the road in urban centres while only 7% is
provided by the National Forestry Seed Centre (MECV 2006) because the cost of the
seeds is not affordable by farmers and private actors in the sector.
Lack of technical support by forestry staff to the population concerned. The
government lacks human, financial, material and logistical resources to support the
annual nation-wide reforestation campaign, let alone providing resources for future
tree protection and management after the campaign. The government partly blame
communities for their insufficient management effort to protect planted trees.
Limited lands for AR activities and limited AR due to insecure land tenure (Bertault
1992). Farmers are not sure to be the beneficiaries in the future because planted areas
belong to the whole community and not to individuals - the tragedy of common goods.
The more intense and frequent extreme climatic events of high rainfall variability
(both at spatial and temporal scales), with recurrent droughts, make tree regeneration
very difficult in some areas. The very long dry season (6-8 months) is a major
constraint in the absence of irrigation schemes.
Realization of economic adaptation in some areas by farmers and communities
through the sale of construction poles from their E. camaldulensis and A. indica
plantations is not always guaranteed due to lack of markets, which become a major
disincentive to some farmers to plant trees.
Farmers lack finances to buy tree seedlings for AR activities as most farmers in
Burkina Faso rely on assisted natural regeneration on their farmlands (Reij et al.
2005).
Trees need a long time to reach maturity and this is a disincentive for some people to
engage in AR. This can be solved however through techniques such as grafting. It has
also been shown that many local species can grow fast if they are protected. Some
people however, engage in AR because of their offspring, the future generation and
the overall protection of the environment.
The free grazing system causes the destruction of young trees by livestock especially
during the dry season when fodder supply is limited.
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Synergies between adaptation and mitigation using AR
More and more studies are increasingly recommending the need to take into consideration the
various synergies between adaptation and mitigation activities especially in the forestry sector
(Ravindranath 2007, Verchot et al.2007, Guariguata et al. 2008, Nkem et al. 2008). In this
study, synergy is considered to be elements or issues that are common or connected in one
way or the other to both adaptation and mitigation. There are many common elements and
characteristics of AR projects for adaptation and mitigation purposes that includes
i. AR in degraded lands which reduce vulnerability by providing environmental services
e.g. sand dune stabilization, soil restoration, water infiltration improvement,
microclimate modification in the case of adaptation while in mitigation, they are
suitable area for CDM under the Kyoto Protocol especially in northern parts of
Burkina Faso.
ii. The use of multipurpose, indigenous and fast growing trees in AR are commonly used
for adaptation purpose as well as being recommended for CDM project amongst
which are Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia nilotica, Acacia senegal and Azadirachta
indica.
iii. Livelihood benefits from AR will reduce the vulnerability of communities through
economic adaptation e.g. sales of firewood, fruits, and construction poles while CDM
projects will allow the extraction of firewood, crop cultivation, sales of AR credits and
gum Arabic.
iv. Sustainable forest management practices such as harvesting techniques (technological
adaptation), fire protection and participation of communities especially in the
management process.
Discussion
The world is inevitably moving towards a low carbon economy despite the political,
economic and scientific challenges to curb green house gas emissions. Some countries will be
winners while others will be losers in terms of exploring emerging opportunities such as the
carbon markets (e.g. past experiences with CDM projects), transfer of technology and
pursuing a development path that will increase the adaptive capacity of vulnerable
communities, sectors and ecosystems especially in Africa and Burkina Faso in particular.
Following about three decades of AR activities in Burkina Faso, a lot of experience has been
built (both positive and negative) which should be capitalized on, with the growing
importance of trees and forest in the climate change discourse.
Due to their daily encounter with extreme climatic conditions for decades, smallholder
farmers and communities in Burkina Faso have a very high level of environmental literacy
and innovative technologies (e.g. zai, half moon, seed selection and storage techniques). They
have a lot of experience in planting and managing trees under harsh climatic and
anthropogenic conditions either in woodlots, plantations, community forestry, forest
management for firewood production or conservation of protected areas. Through AR
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activities, many communities in Burkina Faso have seen the re-establishment of forest in their
environments with enormous gains in biodiversity especially medicinal plants and small
rodents that disappeared decades ago. On the other side, there are many areas where farmers
and communities have cleared extensive forest lands for cultivation of cash crops. In some
cases, selected tree species of subsistence and economical importance such as shea butter
(Vitellaria paradoxa), mango (Mangifera indica), baobab (Adansonia digitata) and néré trees
(Parkia biglobosa) are protected and left on farmlands. With all these practices, farmers have
a good understanding on where, when and how to carry out a long term successful AR project
that will serve as an important input to inform government policy and strategy on AR for
climate change adaptation and mitigation.
To improve the potentials of AR in Burkina Faso for adaptation and mitigation, the
government and other key donor agencies will however, need to
assess the impacts of past AR activities to the environment and livelihoods in Burkina
Faso in order to enhance AR as an adaptation strategy that is more resilient, lasting
and responsive to the needs of communities and ecosystems under a changing climate;
clearly link the relevance of past AR activities to present response strategies and
update policies with a clear climate change perspective.
In the case of AR for CDM projects, a successfully exploration of future opportunities to
develop and implement AR CDM projects in Burkina Faso will entail issues of
good governance through improved transparency and accountability especially on the
sales of carbon;
enabling trade environment for non voluntary carbon markets that will encourage the
private sectors to invest;
capable human resources and institutions to handle AR CDM projects that are often
viewed as complex to handle;
using research to develop techniques such as grafting and scientific data on the growth
of local species allowing the quantification of the biomass accumulated according to
the age of the plantations (allelometric equations); and
raising awareness on the potentials of AR CDM projects in Burkina Faso using
efficient communication mechanisms.
Conclusion
This paper explains how AR is useful in the ongoing efforts to help communities and
ecosystems to adapt to the impacts of climate change and at the same time to explore the
opportunities emerging from the carbon markets through carbon sequestration activities in the
Clean Development Mechanism. Almost all AR projects in Burkina Faso in the past decades
were more or less seen from an adaptation point of view. The government is more concerned
about the rehabilitation of degraded lands and the protection of the environment. More focus
has been laid by the government on reducing the vulnerability of ecosystems through the
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provision of environmental services to reduce the impacts of drought and stop the expanding
desert from the north. Communities are however, more concerned with the livelihood benefits
associated with AR which has led to the highly recommended use of multipurpose,
indigenous and fast growing trees in order to promote co-benefits in AR projects. Most of
these benefits are realized in the medium to long term at a time when the trees have grown to
maturity depending on the species.
Just like many other developing countries, Burkina Faso is still in the process of exploring the
carbon markets under the CDM schemes, thus there is a need to create the necessary
environment for the carbon market that promotes good governance, more involvement of the
private sector, and capacity building of institutions and human resources.
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FOREST GOODS VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE
IN WEST AFRICA: VOICES FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES
ON MEDICINAL PLANTS AND PRESCRIBED ACTIONS FOR
ADAPTATION
1
M. Idinoba, 1F.B. Kalame, 1Y. Coulibaly, 1J. Nkem, 2B. Gyampoh and 2S.
Lartey
1
2
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana
Abstract
In recent years, the debate about climate change and variability have shifted from the possible
negative consequences on ecosystem function, livelihoods and economies to a deliberation
about actions that could be taken to avert a complete disruption of ecosystem functions and
how to cope or adapt to potential negative impacts. Hitherto, climate change dialogues over
forest ecosystems have been largely restricted to conference rooms, expert contemplations
and media speculations with little involvement of forest dependent communities. Forests
remain a veritable source of livelihood: income, food, medicine, fodder and recreation
opportunities for the rural population that is often overlooked during deliberations about
finding adaptation strategies. Current concerns about the limited space for popular
participation by ostensibly the most vulnerable communities whose livelihoods are directly
linked to forest ecosystems increased the need to solicit this perspective. A case study was
carried out to highlight the perception of inhabitants of eight rural communities in Ghana and
six communities in Burkina Faso on the vulnerability of forest goods particularly medicinal
plant species (natural pharmaceutical products for the poor) to climate change and their inputs
on adaptation actions in the sector. The result shows a connection between climate change,
human pressures and species degradation.
Introduction
Forest ecosystems are a primary resource base for the provision of all medicinal plants,
including plants used for traditional medication in local communities and also harbor a huge
amount of known drugs in daily use (Colfer et al. 2006). Seters (1997) described the forest as
an important store house of medicinal plants. Over 80% of people whether in the rural or
urban areas consult traditional medical practitioners or depend on medicine from the forest
ecosystem for health problems (Cunningham 1993, SP/CONNED 2007)) and this figure is
expected to rise in West Africa with increasing high cost for health care. Medicine from the
forest is culturally preferred because it is seen as God’s given pharmaceutical company to the
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poor in which all that is demanded is an indigenous knowledge of identification and user right
which is sometimes complicated. This knowledge is passed on from one generation to
another. This role of the forest is one basis for many arguments for forest conservation and
management especially with global environmental changes (Seters 1997). Despite this, their
importance to rural livelihoods is frequently overlooked by policy makers because these
products are not traded through formal markets and in many instances are directly consumed
by household members (Falconer 1992).
The IPCC forecast of impacts of climate change in general points to the tenderness and
vulnerability of the forest ecosystem and increased diseases that are prevalent in Africa.
Some researchers have also pointed out that future climate change will have significant
consequences for the distribution, condition, shifts in species composition, erosion of
biodiversity, and productivity of forests (Aber et al. 2001). In addition, vector-borne diseases
such as malaria, meningitis and rift valley fever, will be controlled by the extent of
temperature, rainfall and humidity (Githeko and Ndegwa 2001, Van Lieshout et al. 2004).
This means that climate change may both increase the incidence of diseases and limit or erode
the availability of known species used for treating common ailments.
Policy, economic and physiological factors may also determine the vulnerability of medicinal
plant (Brown 1992). Many studies (Anyinam 1995, Bhattari 1997, Chivian and Sullivan 2002,
Rao et al. 2004, UNCBD 2007) have reported the threats to medicinal plants from habitant
destruction, over harvesting, increasing commercialization, and loss of indigenous
knowledge, as well as population increase, forest fires, shifting cultivation, over grazing and
impeding impacts from climate change. In addition to the above, the use and sale of medicinal
plants are intimately connected with the threats to their survival. Though these other factors
cannot be discounted, it is supposed that climate change impacts will further provoke changes
in supply. Yet, the base for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) which include medicinal
plants, food, on which the poor depend on for health and livelihood is neglected as policies
and strategies for their management and development are lacking (Kalame et al. 2008a). This
coupled with other shocks and stresses already in play, makes the poor more vulnerable to
potential impacts of climate change.
Potential impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems in the region
A recent ecological simulation by McClean et al. (2005), using climate models developed by
the UK Meteorological Office's Hadley Centre, compared the climate in 1975 to future
scenarios predicted for 2025, 2055 and 2085 coupled with three distinct computer models to
predict which plants would be affected by changing climate. They examined a total of 5,197
species of African plants and concluded that changes in climate conditions are likely to affect
between one-quarter and one-half of the species. Life zones in which nearly all these species
can live would either shrink or shift, often to higher altitudes as a result of anticipated changes
in Africa's climate. The work of Gonzalez (2001) also demonstrated that there is already a
gradual southward shift of vegetation in West Africa from Sahelian zones to Sudano-Guinean
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zones. Productive land which formerly provides subsistence needs has declined through the
process of desertification, defined by the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) as ‘land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas
resulting from several drivers that includes climate variations and human activities. Higher
temperatures will increase the rate of evapo-transpiration, thereby reducing soil moisture
availability for a given rainfall regime. Increases in rainfall may or may not be enough to
compensate for increases in surface temperature. Land degradation resulting from human
activities around forest communities may exacerbate species erosion under a variable and
changing climate.
Projections from the Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali National Communication Documents
indicate that by 2050, annual average temperatures could be 2ºC to 6ºC higher over Burkina
Faso, Ghana and Mali. Analysis of currently observed temperatures in these countries has
increased by 1ºC. One consequence of climate change in the region is an increase in extreme
weather events which can affect forest ecosystems by causing significant loss in tree and
animal species. Aside from such direct impacts, floods and storms can also alter water flows
on which trees depend, thereby hurting forest health. A changed climate also opens the way
for non-native, harmful species to invade disturbed ecosystems. Changes in temperature and
rainfall could favor outbreak of insect-pest infestations. The anticipated changes in the ranges
of tree species, in forest composition and in the size and occurrence of insect populations will
also affect the dynamics of forest communities. Certainly, regional droughts seem to have a
clear link with the frequency and intensity of fires (Hansen et al. 2001, Biringer 2003). The
implications of these potential climate change impacts on the forest will affect the provision
and quality of forest goods and services essential for livelihood and national development.
Materials and Methods
This study formed part of a regional study on the vulnerability of West African forests to
climate variability and change, which is conducted in three countries: from the coastal forest
zone of Ghana, through the Guinea-Sudan savannas of Burkina Faso to the dry Sahelian
woodlands of the northern borders of Mali. The case studies reported here were conducted in
eight rural communities (>20 villages) within two ecological zones, i.e. of high rainforest and
savanna zones of Ghana; and in four communities (>12 villages) within three ecological
zones of Guinea-Sudan savanna to southern Sahel zones in Burkina Faso (Figure 1). The
communities were purposefully selected based on historical evidence of high exploitation and
sales of forest-based products for medicinal and other purposes from the areas. Village level
meetings were held to apply participatory action research tools such as resources mapping and
problem tree analysis to solicit community perceptions on the impact of climate variability
and change on forest ecosystem goods and services (FEGS). In one major village in each of
the study sites, perceptions on changes in the demand and supply of FEGS, particularly their
seasonal cycle of flow and trends, were assessed. This was followed with focused group
discussions of some very knowledgeable local and research individuals who helped match
local names of trees to scientific names or their local uses. Through a stratified random
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sampling, interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires with 20 persons per
community in Burkina Faso and 10 persons per community in Ghana, giving a total of 160
interviewed respondents. Another set of interviews was conducted with local forest and
extension staff but this was not systematically structured since some areas do not have forest
and extension staff on the ground. In each of the communities special groups of actors like
herbal medicine practitioners and herb sellers were particularly targeted for interviews.
100
90
Persons(%)
80
70
Poverty
60
Distance
50
Contraints in Forest laws
40
Variability in rainfall
30
Population
20
10
0
Saaba
Loumbila Outendeni
Koukou
gnalalaye
Djomga
Community
Figure 1: Indicators for observed changes within the forest sectors by communities
Results and Discussion
Importance of forest medicinal plants to the population in West Africa
The importance of forest medicinal plants on the health sector and livelihood of rural people
was evident from primary data from the studied sites. The list of locally known and used
forest medicinal plants is inexhaustible (Table 1). As already reported by FAO (2004), over
2,000 forest plants are used in traditional medicine around West Africa. The indigenous
communities in the study area do know and understand the usefulness of plants and depend so
much on them wherever the local knowledge persists. The slogan destroy the forest and
destroy the poor is much viable in the region. The traditional application of medicinal plants
has high socio-economic value and importance in the studied communities. All (100%)
interviewees indicated they are aware that people do use medicinal plants as against 95% of
them agreed to have actually treated some ailments at one time using traditional knowledge of
medicinal plants. This is higher than the 85% reported by (SP/CONNED 2007) for Burkina
Faso, where people regularly use medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are used by the general
population at personal and household levels as well as by specialized traditional healers. The
importance of traditional medicine is highlighted by the number of traditional healers as
opposed to that of western-trained medical doctors in some communities, because almost
every family has someone who has a fair to good knowledge for identification and what
plants should be used for particular purposes. In Ghana, for example, the ratio of medical
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doctors to traditional healers is estimated to be 1:92. Traditional healers in these countries are
officially registered; about 3,360 healers are registered at the national level in Ghana, with
about 300 traditional healers registered in Burkina Faso (Zida and Kolongo 1991).
Medicinal plants and climate change: what are the people saying?
Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, the majority (77%) of respondents attributed changes in plant resources to
several years of droughts which many simply referred to as “changing weather or times”.
Though the people did not label it ‘climate change’ per se but they understood and recognized
that at some point in time, the weather is no longer what they used to know, rainfall has
decreased and according to them this is one of the reasons for changes in forest products
(Figure 1). There was a general belief that in the past ‘many ailments, almost every disease, or
children diseases’ are cured by medicinal plants. Now they are treated in combination with
modern medicine, especially when the plant species needed for such disease is difficult to
come by. The traditional medicine practitioners are recognized to provide primary health
services; they are believed to have the knowledge of medicinal plants which is gotten by
traditional heritage or by learning and these people are respected in their communities. The
use of medicinal plants by local communities is not due to the absence of modern heath centre
in any locality, but it is rather a habitual cultural practice on which locals place so much value
and confidence. Some of the local communities interviewed insisted that these days some
diseases cannot be cured traditionally as new diseases which they did not know, emerges and
interest in local knowledge declines.
The local communities attested that forest medicinal products like many other forest goods
are on the decline in Burkina Faso. On how they are able to judge and measure decreased
availability of FEGS, they affirmed that decrease in the availability is explained by the
difficulty and time spent looking for particular species. There is extinction of some species
which used to be available in the environment but no longer found around Djomga and
Gnalalaye villages in northern Burkina Faso, tree species such as the Adansonia digitata
(baobab), Diospyros mespiliformis and Anogeissus leiocarpus have completely “disappeared”
or are “disappearing”. The long time spent in looking for particular species have increased the
cost of treating the ailment by traditional medicine. This fact was highlighted by 93% of all
traditional medicine dealers interviewed in the different counties. Irregular production of
some plant species was also mentioned by local communities as indicator of change in the
availability of medicinal plants. Further probing on their perception on what could have led to
this changes; the local communities include impacts of past droughts, migrations, annual bush
fires, population pressure, expansion of agricultural fields and the over-exploitation of natural
resource in that order, as the major drivers. These clearly indicate the vulnerability of the
communities coupled with likely increases in diseases in the context of climate change and
the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems.
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This corroborates the findings of Kalame et al. (2008b) in the drought-prone central Sudanian
region in Burkina Faso, where many important trees used as medicinal plants are, or almost,
extinct due to poor / over harvesting coupled with unsuccessful tree regeneration hit by
impacts of recurrent drought. Frequent droughts in West Africa have reduced the distribution
of Bombax costatum in some countries, frequent fires are causing degradation of Vitellaria
paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa and Balanites aegytiaca stands in the Sahel, while over
exploitation have been reported for a wide range of products.
Shea butter nuts are over harvested in the Sahel region due to increasing population of
interested collectors and traders. Other conflicting use of forest species may reduce the
continual supply of medicinal species. In some countries, it may be the high demand for fuel
wood which sometimes is indiscriminately harvested due to limited knowledge of medicinal
species by the younger population who often are charged with collection of fuel wood for the
family.
Ghana
The status of some known tree species within the two ecological zones (high rainforest and
Guinea savanna) in Ghana in the last 40 years, and projection for the next 20 years (Table 1)
is indicated by the local communities to be on a faster degree of degradation now than it has
ever been. This state of decline is very much likely to intensify in the future with changes in
land use cover and climate change impacts. Drivers of the dynamics in species composition
and availability in the humid forest area are mainly human induced. Such human activities
include a spontaneous rise in the population of settler farmers who are themselves second and
third generation of the first generation of migrant farmers from the drier area of the country
and beyond, the high demand for land for cocoa plantations which is influenced by
international trade opportunities, increased mineral explorations and surface mining, slashand-burn farming methods, and illegal harvesting of natural resources through uncontrolled
felling of trees. In the savanna zone, human induced factors mentioned as main drivers are
high population numbers, migration of Fulani herdsmen engaged in over-grazing of available
fodder, slash-and-burn agriculture, bushfires and high livestock populations. Also the
intensity of the droughts of the 1970’s coupled with these drivers has made the regeneration
of new species slower and some became extinct as a result. Although the community in
Ghana perceived changes to be mainly as a result of human induced changes, they however
do not rule out the fact that climate variability and change may also have had an impact,
because respondents could easily enumerate the observable differences in weather conditions
between what they used to know and what it is currently, and the fact that species/herbs are
already scarce. What the local community can observe, scientists could empirically verify.
Van Dijk (1999) from studies in Cameroon noted that many known forest species are scarcer
than in the past for several reasons, with irregularity in production of number of (fruit
producing) species as main cause of change in their availability. This can be associated with
climate variability and change, conversion of forest land for agriculture, increase in demand
as a result of increasing population and increased logging activities.
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The situation of decrease attested by the communities will likely continue if action is not
taken to preserve the forest from adverse effects of global environmental changes. The
question then is what is the hope of the ordinary people in the region and pharmaceutical
companies who depend on these resources? The fact that local communities could easily
identify shortfall in availability of forest ecosystem goods and services that are known or used
by them does not only indicate elements of vulnerability of these goods but it also highlights
the urgent need to adapt forest ecosystems and adapt the community livelihoods to climate
change impacts.
Prescribed actions by the local communities
Burkina Faso
According to local communities, strategies to cope with observed changes in the availability
of medicinal plants have been ranked in two categories: (i) short-term unsustainable
strategies; and (ii) long-term sustainable strategies. Short-term actions being implemented by
local communities include decrease in the frequency of bush fires, multiplication of sacrifices/
prayers and the decrease in cutting trees for fuel wood. These strategies are partially
implemented at individual level based on personal conviction about environmental
degradation but need to be fully backed by government policies for them to be effective. As
long-term local actions (Figure 2), communities cited migrations of communities from
degraded land to favorable land, reforestation and the techniques of water and soil
conservation to rehabilitate degraded land. There is no guarantee however, that migration
itself is a sustainable action because it is a transfer of the problem from one place to another,
and it is usually at the root of social conflict when pressure on fertile agricultural lands and
declining forest resources increases. About 80% of the population were of the opinion that
reforestation may be a better option.
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Table 1: Some commonly used forest medicinal plants in West Africa
Botanical name
Alstonia boonei
Albizia adianthifolia
Alcornea cordifolia
Allanblackia floribunda
Afromomum spp
Combretum smeathmannii
Borassus aethiopum
Garcinia kola
Griffonia simplicifolia
Ficus exasperate
Hoslundia opposita
Part used1
Local name
(Ghana)
Ailments/conditions treated1
bark
Sinuro
-measles, intestinal,worms, asthma, fractures,
jaundice, lactogenic, wounds and cuts
-rheumatism
-swellings
-purgative / laxative, yaws
anthelmintic (expulsion of tapeworms)
-bronchial problems, leprosy, piles
-analgesic
diarrhoea/dysentery
-piles, fever, boils
-ulcer, boils, guinea worm sores
-asthma
-anthelmintic ,
-aphrodisiac
root bark / leaf
leaves
latex
bark
stem/Leaf
bark
bark
root
fruit,
fruit, root, bark
& stem
leafy stem/leaf
leaf
root
leaf and leaf sap
leaf and flowers
Pampena
Gyama
Sonkyi
Fam wisa
Kokrodosa
Maakube
Tweapea
Kagya
Nyankyerenee
Asifuaka
-aphrodisiac, kidney diseases
-cold
-antiseptic, colds, purgative/laxative, sore throat,
gonorrhoea, wounds and cuts
-convulsions, sore eyes /conjunctivitis, Mange,
jaundice, cholagogue (stimulating liver and bile
production), stomach pain (purgative), vertigo,
snakebite antidote and preventative
-ringworm and parasitic skin diseases
Status of species
*=poor; *** = good
Last 30 Now Next 20
years
years
**
**
***
***
**
***
**
**
***
**
***
***
**
***
***
***
***
***
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
***
***
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Botanical name
Lophira lanceolata
Mallotus oppositifolius
Monodora myristica
Morinda lucida
Newbouldia laevis
Part used1
Local name
(Ghana)
Ailments/conditions treated1
root
shoot
root/leaf
Sereso-Kaku
-asthma
-bronchial problems
-anaemia
leaf
root
roots
Anyanyanforow
a
Widiaba
Konkroma
Sesemasa
bark
leaf
Nauclea latifolia
bark
Sukisia
Paullinia pinnata
root and leaftips
Toantini
Picralima nitida
Piper guineesis
seed
Rauwolfia vomitaria
stems and roots
Kanwono
Esro wisa,
Ashanti pepper
Kakapenpen
Status of species
*=poor; *** = good
Last 30 Now Next 20
years
years
*
*
*
*
**
**
**
**
**
***
***
***
-stomach problems
-blood purifier
-chest pains, menstrual troubles
anthelmintic diarrhoea/dysentery , catarrh, syphilis
toothache (caries)
-impotence (with clay and red pepper), colic, catarrh,
earache, hepatitis, piles, purgative/laxative, sinusitis,
snuff/sneezing, styptic (arrest bleeding), wounds and
cuts, menstrual problems,
-amenorrhoea, dysemorrhoea, conjunctivitis, sore
eyes, heart disease, heartburn, palpitations (leaf ash
and salt), in difficult labour, to facilitate birth,
lactogenic, febrifuge
-anaemia, cough and whooping cough, measles,
menstrual troubles
-aphrodisiac, boil
**
**
**
**
*
**
-weaning
-convulsions, stomach, purgative, flatulence
***
***
***
**
**
**
-fever, piles, stomach problems, asthma, cancer,
measles
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Botanical name
Part used1
Local name
(Ghana)
root
1
Ailments/conditions treated1
Status of species
*=poor; *** = good
Last 30 Now Next 20
years
years
-aphrodisiac
Spathodea campanulata
Sterculia tragacantha
Strophanthus hispidis
Tamarindus indica
Voacanga africana
Xylopia aethiopica
bark
shoots
stem and root
seed extract
seed
Kokoanisuo
Sofo
Maatwa
Samia
Ofuruma
Hwentia
Zanthoxylem xanthoxyloides
bark
Kanto
-backache, bladder trouble/kidney diseases
-anthelmintic (expulsion of tapeworms)
-headache
-stomach problems
-general cases of cancer, toothache
-boils, anaemia, diarrhoea, purgative, kidney
diseases, bronchial problems, cancer, flatulence,
hepatitis
-stomach problems, cough, impotence, paralysis
**
**
***
**
***
**
**
**
***
**
**
***
Sources of information: Ayensu (1978), Abbiw (1990), Asante et al. (1992),
487
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
100
P e rs o n s (% )
80
60
40
20
0
Saaba
Loumbila
Outendeni
Koukouloungou
Gnalalaye
Djomga
Community
ASPP
Migration Reforestation New seed varieties
Soil water conservation tech
Figure 2: Long term adaptation practices to forest resource scarcity by communities
Ghana
The local communities in Ghana would like to have the government or a similar body to
regulate the sale of such herbs so that they can buy these herbs at controlled prices. Some
species are particularly found near water bodies and there must be a comprehensive
programme to protect riparian vegetation to help to prevent riparian herbs of medicinal quality
from becoming extinct. There should be greater protection of forests and sacred groves since
these are places they usually get their herbs. The activities of timber companies, in the opinion
of the herbal medicine practitioners, constitute a very serious threat to the availability of
herbs. They advocated that government should pay a closer attention to this by balancing the
need to harvest timber and the conservation of other forest resources. Their main argument is
that if the government pays more attention to the activities of herbal medicine practitioners
and recognise them as very important in health delivery, this group with knowledge of
medicinal plant species will have a voice to advocate that the destruction of their herbs be
discontinued. They would work in partnership with government to ensure the sources of their
livelihoods were protected by all stakeholders. In their opinion, this needed recognition and
promotion from the government seem to have eluded practitioners of traditional healing and
some are gradually losing interest in practicing herbal medicine. Development of the herbal
medicine industry in the country is not receiving good attention. They do not get support from
private investors, banks or other agencies to improve on what they are doing; rather there is
more emphasis on importation of herbal drugs from China to the detriment of the local
industry and practice. This creates disinterest in the local herbal industry and indirectly works
against deliberate attempts to either domesticate, regenerate or a plan to stop medicinal plants
from getting extinct.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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A possible pathway to the restoration of forest-based resources, especially under current high
deforestation and climate change variability as suggested by some respondents, is that the
village chiefs, district assemblies, government, forestry commission, etc. should help set aside
areas noted for trees, plants or herbs of medicinal value and prevent farmers, timber
companies and other developers from degrading those areas. This has become particularly
important as many developers are now moving into the rural areas and also timber companies
are now exploring the non-traditional or lesser known timber species which have usually
served as medicinal plants in the past years.
Species that are not currently cultivable but vulnerable should be domesticated; however, the
opinion of local communities was that they were not well resourced to embark on the planting
of such species on a large scale. They should be supported to cultivate the species that they
know are easy to cultivate. The universities and research institutes should also research into
the adaptation suitability of other trees which the herbal medicine practitioners do not yet
know if they are cultivable so that they can domesticate some when possible. It must be noted
that there is some suspicion when researchers come closer to these practitioners who are
usually not educated. They claim that the researchers come to learn from them, steal their
preparations and go out to register the products and claim ownership of such drugs or
treatments since they can read and write. It was also proposed that the government should
help to make a nationwide collection of some of these species that are getting extinct for
preservation so that practitioners can go to a particular point where they can get these herbs to
purchase when the need arises. This will cut down the time and cost of travelling around
looking for particular herbs for medicine.
Recommendation
The rural poor become especially vulnerable to the loss of essential goods such as medicinal
plants when natural and human systems are impacted by climate change. The foundation of
long-term good health of the population relies on the stability of ecological and physical
systems (McMichael et al. 2003). Therefore, the overall success of any intervention depends
on the level of involvement of the multiple forest stakeholders, including the local
communities. Necessary steps to be taken include:
Assessment and understanding of socio-economic and climate related vulnerabilities
of both the population and the health sector in West Africa.
Analysis and documentation of existing adaptation options in the indigenous health
sector in West Africa.
Documentation and integration of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants during
the planning and implementation of natural resources management.
Formulation and mainstreaming, amid uncertainties, of “no regret” proactive and
reactive adaptation strategies and policies on climate-induced health hazards into
development activities at different spatial and temporal scales.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Build a multi-stakeholder institutional platform and mechanism that focus on
achieving a realistic and synergic integration of traditional and modern medicine for
the overall benefit of national health care improvement.
Improve management of health-supporting systems such as water catchments, forest
and other agro-ecosystems.
Raising awareness on disease prevention through environmental education on the
benefits of a healthy living environment.
Valuation of the commercialization of medicinal plants through improved storage and
packaging.
Promotion of traditional rules, bye-laws and harvesting practices of medicinal plants
that ensure a sustainable supply.
Conservation of genetic resources of medicinal plants both in-situ and ex-situ through
herbariums, herbs gardens, agroforestry parklands, forest reserves and sacred groves.
Formulation of a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral and locally supported land use
planning and policies to avoid indiscriminate deforestation and degradation of natural
resources, including medicinal plants.
Encouraging artificial and assisted natural regeneration of medicinal plants in different
ecosystem landscapes.
Restoration of degraded lands using adapted multipurpose indigenous and introduced
tree species taking into consideration local tree preferences.
Conclusion
With climate change coupled with other anthropogenic activities, very important indigenous
forest species used in the past for healing have disappeared from the forest in some locations
and will continue to do so if actions are not taken to preserve these forest species from
adverse effects of global environmental changes. This study has given a clear indication that
the local people are concerned about the increasing loss of forest goods and services; in this
case medicinal plants. Natives and the traditional healers indicated that previously, they could
collect whatever species they needed for any particular ailment but now it is no longer the
case, and for some species, it may take between 2 to 3 months to find.
This paper is a call for collective sustainable adaptation actions in addition to what the
communities have prescribed, to slow down the negative impacts of global change on both the
health of the population and on ecosystems that provide medicinal plants.
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Aber J, Neilson RP, McNulty S, Lenihan JM, Bachelet D, Drapek RJ. 2001. Forest processes
and global environmental change: Predicting the effects of individual and multiple
stressors. BioScience 51: 745-751
Asante J, Lartey SD, Acquah EK, Glover C, Beeko S, Nketiah K, Ossom M, Lamptey. 1992.
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Anyinam C. 1995. Ecology and ethnomedicine: Exploring links between current
environmental crisis and indigenous medical practices. Social Science and Medicine
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Ayensu ES. 1978. Medicinal plants in West Africa. Reference Publications Inc, Michigan
Bhattari N. 1997. Biodiversity-people interface in Nepal. In: Bodeker G, Bhat KSS, Burley J,
Vantomme P. (eds). Medicinal plants for forest conservation and health care. FAO,
Rome. pp78-86
Biringer J. 2003. Forest ecosystems threatened by climate change: Promoting long term forest
resilience. In: Hansen LJ, Biringer JL, Hoffman JR. (eds). Buying time: A user's manual
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Germany, WWF. pp41-69
Brown K. 1992. Medicinal plants, indigenous medicine, and conservation of biodiversity in
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Chivian E, Sullivan S. 2002. Biodiversity and human health: In: Agiurre AA, Ostfeld RS,
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Cunningham AB. 1993. African medicinal plants: setting priorities at the interface between
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TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN
GHANA: UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATIC RISK AND
ADAPTATION MAZE
1
*S.L. Tekpetey, 1K-F. Mensah and 2M. Idinoba
1
Department of Wood Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
2
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
*Corresponding author:lartekp@yahoo.com
Abstract
Forest management in Ghana dates back to pre-colonial times. Forest management during this
era of democracy has experienced a number of interventions in response to new challenges.
For example, there are increasing livelihood challenges in forest areas in Ghana under the
intensity of climate change impacts in recent times. Different forms of adaptation to climatic
risk ranging from indigenous to acquired techniques are coming up in almost every sector of
the economy. These adaptive strategies are diverse and sometimes complex especially among
forest-dependent communities. In this study, attempts were made to trace the complexity of
climatic issues and adaptation trends in southern Ghana and linking the knowledge to the
resilience of current strategies employed for sustainable forest management in Ghana. It is
suggested that, among other things, a review and adjustment of the annual allowable cut in
Ghana would be a major step in responding to climate change which would in turn affect
certification and levies on logging and sustainable use of forest goods and services.
Introduction
Some 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ghana is derived from harvesting of
renewable natural resources in agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors and over 100,000
people are directly involved in the forestry sub-sector (Aryeetey and Dzanku 2008). Since the
1950s, more than 50% percent of the original forest area had been converted to agricultural
lands. Yet demand for forest goods and service has increased significantly over time as a
result of population growth. Following the reported alarming decline in the forest base in
Ghana and other African countries (FAO 2005) coupled with its concomitant impact on the
quest for improved livelihood, its sustainable use has been at the heart of discussions in recent
times.
In Ghana, for example, pre-independence strategies were aimed primarily at cocoa production
in southern Ghana (Kotey et al. 1998). Since that period the trend of forest management has
changed drastically in form and composition and varies in different ecological zones. The
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evolution of forest policies, strategies and conditions that characterized the phase of
administration of the forest estate in Ghana from 1870s to date have been graduated as the
Formal forestry period/consultative phase (1874-1939), the Timberization phase (1940 to
1953), the Diktat phase (1954 to early 1990) and currently the Collaborative phase (late 90s to
present) (Kotey et al.1998). At each stage, new strategies were devised to meet emerging
challenges and thus the challenges were addressed, though in most cases, incompletely.
Despite the existence and implementation of a legislative framework, destruction of Ghana’s
forest continues at an unsustainable rate. In most African countries, similar trends have been
recorded (ITTO 2005).
Current forest management strategies, backed by amended regulations like the Timber
Resource Management Regulation, were basically aimed at ensuring ‘social satisfaction’ to
different stakeholders in the timber industry. The perpetual flow of optimum benefits to all
stakeholders was seen as essential to this process; a characteristic of participatory forest
management. Despite these efforts, illegal logging, which may be an important indicator of
“social dissatisfaction” and/or perhaps greediness of the survival of pre-colonial
beneficiaries,, has resulted in the decline of the original forest base to about 11-14% (Poorter
et al. 2004).
Suffice to imply that efforts targeted at addressing the challenges have not completely
eradicated the problems. A further stress is envisaged as a result of climate change which will
further compound the situation in forest management. Climate change and envisaged surprises
will hit many forested communities in southern Ghana, and other African countries. The
impact on the quality and quantity of forest goods and services will be enormous if measures
are not taken to cope effectively with this situation since proper forest management has the
potential to reverse the climatic variability and its impacts.
As efforts are made to address the challenges to sustainable forest management, it is
acceptable to call for a review of current practices towards sustainable forest management in
Ghana. In the context of the climate change discussions, mitigating and adaptive strategies
need to be implemented that will ensure the survival of forest dependent communities and its
associated forest functions and services. This paper, aims to examine efforts towards
sustainable forest management in Ghana and analyze the resilience of current strategies
employed to some current and projected climatic stresses in order to predict the impacts for
the forest goods and services in Ghana.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Study area
The research was conducted in the tropical high forests of southern Ghana (Figure 1) which
cover about 7% of the Ghana land area (MLF 2004). Three Forest Service Divisions in two
ecological zones (moist semi-deciduous and moist evergreen forest types) in southern Ghana
were used for the study. Specifically, the study was conducted at Akim Oda, Assin Fosu and
Asankragua.
Stratified random sampling was used for the study. Desktop search and interviews were
conducted in the selected forest areas. Three district forest managers, seven technical officers
and eleven forest guards in the study areas where interviewed.
Results and Discussion
Knowledge of climate change in the forest districts
All personnel in the study areas, managers and technical officers, were well informed about
climate change with some local indicators like intensity of sunshine, irregularities in season
and erratic rainfall. However, the lack of empirical evidence shows almost no relevant
research with a major gap the design of location-specific and forest-dependent and acceptable
adaptation strategies with moderate financial demand - a maze in itself. These findings are
consistent with results from elsewhere in Africa (AIACC 2007). The difficulty in monitoring
even the current regulations and strategies put in place in forest reserves and off-reserved
land, is that the zones imply stress, which is a threat to effective implementation of any
strategies, no matter how innovative this could be. The threat to addressing climatic risk in
this area is whether it will be based on ‘expensive’ reliable data and information upon which
appropriate adaptation strategies can be developed in southern Ghana.
Figure 1: Location of the selected study areas in southern Ghana
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
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Current strategies adopted in sustainable forest management in Ghana
The personnel in the studied districts are seen as agents to ensure proper implementation of
forest policies and strategies either as Forest service, Timber industry or Wildlife service.
Ghana has introduced a new timber utilization contract system to improve efficiency,
transparency and accountability in forestry, particularly in forest production activities (MLF
2004). This is to ensure that sustainable timber yield and plan towards it is easily monitored
and strictly adhered to in Ghana. There are also manuals for production, management and
planning, which set out the obligations of logging contractors. The silvicultural system used
in natural forests is a polycyclic selection felling system using a cutting cycle of 40 years, a
national annual allowable cut of approximately 1.2 million m3 (Oteng-Amoako 2008). Recent
reports on world forests placed Ghana’s forest management in a good position. It is reported
that about 270,000 ha of natural production forest of the original 1.60 million ha Production
Forest Estate are considered to be managed sustainably; with an estimated 108,000 ha of the
Protection Forest Estate are so managed (ITTO 2005)
Aside the efforts in maintaining the natural forest estate, Ghana is establishing a sizeable
plantation estate of teak (Tectona grandis) on degraded forest lands (Oteng-Amoako and
Sarfo 2003). Vigorous teak plantations in logged forest land currently cover an estimated
124,000 ha (personal communication). As part of collaboration or participatory forest
management, fringe communities in the forest areas have been regarded as part of the
management of forest resources. Community participation in forestry is being facilitated
through community forest committees (CFCs) and there were some 100 CFCs (MLF 2004).
Climatic change/ stresses and sustainable forest management
The climatic debate is definitely geared towards one major conclusion: that average weather
conditions over the past decades are changing significantly in most regions of the world and
its impacts will be more severe in developing countries of the world (AIACC 2007, IPCC
2007). Considering the low level of literacy, high poverty rate, population dynamics, heavy
dependence on declining forest resources and the effort of government to move Ghana to a
middle Income status make tracing of climate change and impact extremely complex and
difficult. The situation further suggests that forest ecosystems will face new challenges with
great implications for the livelihoods of thousands of households and national economic
development. It is therefore important to promote technical and scientific information
exchanges on both the implications and applications of innovations in sustainable forest
management especially for adaptation to climate change without compromising forest
ecosystem resilience.
The services provided by forests may face interesting challenges; therefore the call for
developing and implementing immediate adaptation strategies by all. Forest goods and
services will be ‘scarce’ and probably more valuable, with the likelihood that people will pay
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more for such services even in tourism. Climatic change may also affect the regeneration
cycle of forest species which had been the basis for determining the annual allowable cut in
Ghana. In plantation forestry, as in the afforestation programme in the country, maturity and
species survival may also be significantly affected.
Adaptation maze in sustainable forest management
The complex mass of facts that influence adaptation processes has a great impact on how
sustainable Ghana’s dwindling forest will be managed in the next decade and beyond.
According to IPCC (2007) adaptation to climate change is a process by which strategies to
moderate, cope with and take advantage of the consequence of climate events are developed
and implemented. In many sectors of Ghana’s vulnerable economy, attempts that have been
made to estimate the impacts of climate change has been impressive but because of the
complexity of developing and properly implementing adaptation strategies, there is a
widening gap of adaptation deficiency in areas. The recent case studies in some African
countries confirm this (AIACC 2007). Adaptation strategy is a policy making process. This is
an area dominated by competing priorities and frequently by antagonistic groups. Adaptation
strategies are better implemented if they are location-specific and have some cultural and
geographical tones. Furthermore, it should include flexibility mechanisms to address the
climate “surprises’ that will almost certainly occur in the future. It must also account for the
new technologies and findings in the field of climate change.
Adaptation is a long, continuous and dynamic process which requires patience and succession
planning. It is a mixture of different “sectoral permutations”, i.e. sectoral measures, multisectoral measures and cross-sectoral measures. Which of these measures should be taken for
Ghana and at what level of administration in forest management? It is also about prioritization
with a wide array of stakeholders with different interests using different decision making tools
such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA), cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), multi-criteria analysis
(MCA), and expert judgment (UNFCCC 2005). The identified factors in adaptation strategies
are shown in Figure 2.
Conclusion
Efforts aimed at ensuring sustainable forest management in Ghana are remarkable although
plagued with unintended hiatus. Undoubtedly, Ghana has favourable conditions for the
achievement of sustainable forest management, such as well trained human resources,
including a strong Forestry Commission, and a long history of forest management.
Nevertheless, many challenges must be met. Climatic risk in sustainable forest management
aside illegal activities such as chainsaw lumber production and poaching that are thought to
be widespread. In the wake of the threats imposed by climatic change in Ghana, a number of
climatic related innovations are needed to respond effectively. District specific adaptation
strategies are needed along the generally accepted ones.
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Quantitative Data
Reliable Data
Qualitative Data
Climate Stresses
Qualified Human Capacity
Entry one
Entry two
FORCES OF
DEFORESTATION
Government Priorities
Indigenous Strategy
Community Demands
Acquired Coping Strategy
ststrategies
1. Sectoral
Climatic Surprises
2. Multi-sectoral
Reliable Forecasts
3. Cross-sectoral
AAS
Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the adaptation maze (AAS = Acceptable Adaptation
Strategies)
Recommendations
It is recommended that the annual allowable cut (AAC) be reviewed to incorporate an
estimate of the impacts of climate change. This will ensure that the annual volume increment
of wood in the productive area that can be removed annually without jeopardizing the future
productivity of the residual growing stock (the AAC) will reflect current and projected
climatic variability in Ghana’s response to climate change.
With the promotion in Ghana of the use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), particularly
bamboo and rattan, the use of resources of relatively shorter development period and carbon
sequestration ability are envisaged. These resources could be explored to reduce the pressure
on timber species in the natural forest and its attendant impact from changed climate
conditions in the tropics.
The adoption of a special rating of trees based on their climatic adaptation potential rather
than the current use of their biological rarity index (IUCN 2004) should be considered.
Better supervisory and monitoring of existing rules and regulations are needed. It is important
that this be based on sound financial and ample human resources to help achieve the strategies
towards sustainable forest management in Ghana.
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Acknowledgements
The technical and financial support of the Centre for International Forestry Research under
the Tropical Forest for Climate Change Adaptation programme is greatly acknowledged.
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Report AIACC. www.aiaccproject.org/publication_reports/Pub_Reports.html.
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FAO 2005. State of the World’s Forests 2005. FAO, Rome
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 2007. Climate change 2007: Synthesis
report summary for policymakers. www.ipcc.ch/p (accessed 23 September 2008)
ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) 2005. Annual review and assessment of
the world timber situation 2004. ITTO, Yokohama, Japan. www.itto.org (accessed 23
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2005)
Kotey ENA, Owusu FJ, Yeboah JGKY, Kojo R, Amanor S, Antwi KS. 1998. Falling into
place. Policy that works for forests and people series No. 4
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management of natural tropical forests. Reporting questionnaire for indicators at the
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Commission, Ministry of Lands and Forestry, Accra, Ghana
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Distribution, stem morphology, conservation, wood properties and uses. In: Brunner M,
Zuercher S. (eds). Proceedings International Conference on Research on Lesser Known
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processing, utilisation and marketing. In: Bhat KM, Nair K, Bhat KV, Muralidharan
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499
Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT: A STRATEGY FOR
SAFEGUARDING THE DRY NATURAL FORESTS IN THE
CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN BURKINA FASO
M.N. Médah1* and J.I. Boussim2
1
CIFOR, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2
University of Ouagadougou, Unit of Training and Research in Life sciences and the Earth,
Department of Vegetable Biology and Ecology, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
*Corresponding author: nmedah@hotmail.com
Abstract
Natural resources management in general and particularly from forests, constitute a key issue
of development policies in Sahelian countries. These countries tried to prevent the
catastrophic consequences of the exponential reduction of their forests. Since 1985 Burkina
Faso made a serious effort to develop a national policy for sustainable management of its dry
forests, with implementation through many projects. The local population participated in the
implementation of the forest management plan, and there were certainly positive aspects
recognized by all the actors. But after 15 years of community forest management within the
context of a negative climatic trend over the years, it was considered relevant to investigate
impacts of this management. A forest inventory and questionnaire surveys amongst the
villages allowed measuring the effect of ecological and socio-economic impacts in protected
forests of Bougnounou. An improvement of population incomes through the harvesting of
wood and non-timber forests products (NTFPs) is one of the main results which support
sustainable forest management efforts. Forest management activities by direct seeding and
planting with local species best adapted to human disturbance and the present climate
conditions have allowed to preserve forests and increase vegetation cover, flora and fauna.
This community organisation for local forest management is enhancing the creation of local
groups. Recommendations were made to overcome some difficulties encountered and mainly
to integrate actions of adaptive management in order to control the effects of climate change
and variability. These actions have to be considered in the forest management plan for the
next rotation.
Introduction
Like other Sahelian countries, Burkina Faso is subject to an increased dependence on
traditional energy sources, primarily fuel wood, which constitute 90% of the total energy
consumption of the country (Kabore 2005). This need for fuel wood increases more and more
because of population growth and the strong concentration of the population in the large
urban centres. This situation coupled with the great droughts of the seventies (CILSS 2004,
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Kabore 2005) were the reason for the focus on natural forest management in Burkina Faso.
The great droughts and the desertification of the seventies caused the huge migration of
people from the north to the more fertile land of the south with associated increased
anthropogenic pressure on the forest resources. The negative effects of bush fires, the land
grabs and the increasing demand for fuel caused the Burkina Faso government and its
development partners to develop since the eighties a forest management program to fight
against the degradation of the natural ecosystems (PAFN 1993).
The dual objective of the forest management program was to integrate the ecological and
socio-economic aspects of natural forests which before was under the exclusive management
of the forest administration. The management of natural forests falls under the national forest
policy in Burkina Faso and its basis was to give local communities a sense of responsibility
(MECV 2003). The management of many forests throughout Burkina Faso was set up. Very
few studies have been done on the impacts of this system of forest management. This
situation raised some questions about the impacts and the sustainable management of such
forests in the context of climate change scenarios.
Promotion of sustainable forest management (SFM) requires the reconciliation and
combination of the environment and development, and to adopt a multiple vision of the forest
functions (Zida M 2004). A study of the classification and dynamics of the natural woody
vegetation of Maro forest showed an improvement of stand density and recolonisation of
cleared areas (Zida D and Ouadba 1998). Similar results were obtained by Zare et al. (1998)
in the province of Bazèga and Savadogo (2007) when studying the dynamics of Sudanian
Savanna-Woodland Ecosystem in response to disturbances. This study contributes to the
evaluation of the impacts of community forest management of the CAF (forest management
area) of Bougnounou in order to identify measures of adaptation to climate change.
The specific objectives for this paper are to
evaluate the impacts of community forest management on the dynamics of woody
vegetation of the CAF of Bougnounou;
evaluate the impact on community livelihoods;
identify the criteria and indicators for adaptive forest management.
Materials and Methods
The site retained for the data-gathering is the CAF of Bougnounou in the Ziro province. The
CAF forest covers 24,093 ha, is subdivided into 11 forest management units (FMUs or UAFs)
and managed over a 15-year harvesting cycle (rotation), i.e. an UAF was subdivided into 15
annual firewood harvesting blocks.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Inventory of the woody plants of the protected area
Two of the 15 FMUs were randomly selected for the inventory: UAF 5 and UAF 6. In each
selected FMU, 5 of the potential 15 harvesting blocks were randomly selected, i.e. blocks 1,
5, 6, 7 and 11 (Figure 1). Within each selected block, transect lines were systematically
located 400 m apart, and circular plots were sampled at points 400 m apart along each line.
Each plot covered 1,250 m2, i.e. with radius of about 20 m. On each plot each woody stem
with a minimum stem circumference of 10 cm at 1.3 m height from the ground (suitable for
harvesting), was recorded by species, circumference and height. In addition, the following
data were recorded (using ordinary tapes):
the number of sprouts, the height of cut, the height of dominant sprout and the health
condition, for the individuals which had been cut.
vegetation and soil type.
location of each sampled plot, using a GPS.
Figure 1: Schematic sampling design within one selected UAF. The shaded annual harvesting
blocks were selected for sampling. Two or more parallel transect lines were
systematically located 400 m apart within each selected block. Circular plots of 20 m
radius were sampled every 400 m along each line.
Investigations of the populations surrounding the forest
Two types of questionnaires were used: a random selection of 16 Forest Management Groups
(GGFs or associations); and 34 people from members of the GGF and particularly those that
harvest the available resources, living around the managed forests. Data were collected
through MARP methods (ISS, focus groups).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Data processing
The collected data were analysed using Excel and SPSS 15.0. The importance values (IV) of
the different species were calculated as IV = (RF+RD)/2 where
RF = Relative frequency = number of plots (frequency) in which the species was
present in a FMU, expressed as percentage of the sum of all frequencies of all species
in the FMU;
RD = Relative density = number of stems of a species in a FMU, expressed as a
percentage of all stems of all species in the FMU
The structure of the woody stems was expressed as histograms (stem density per hectare for
stem height and diameter classes for the two FMUs. Variables such as stem density and index
of diversity of the stands were calculated.
Results
Stem density and species composition of the vegetation
The types of vegetation currently present in the area are woodland, tree savanna, shrubby
savanna and some dense areas of riparian and gallery forest.
Mean stem density for the study area was 120.8 stems/ha but ranged between 108.4 and 153.1
stems/ha for UAF 5 compared to a much wider range between 76.0 and 173.3 stems/ha for
UAF 6 (Table 1). A total of 46 woody species were recorded with 38 species in UAF 5 and 41
species in UAF 6 (Table 1). Two plots had no trees. The species diversity ranged between
2.99 and 7.76 (Table 2), which represents a good diversity of the woody flora of the CAF of
Bougnounou.
The top 10 woody species (represented by 11 species), based on their importance values,
show that eight of the overall top 10 species are also among the top 10 in each of UAF 5 and
6, but their relative position vary between the two UAFs. This suggests that even though the
two UAFs generally have the same composition of woody species, the relative importance of
the different species show much variation between the two areas.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Table 1: Species richness and stem density for the selected harvesting blocks in the selected
two forest management units (FMUs or UAFs) of the forests in the CAF of
Bougnounou
UAF
5
6
Total
Harvesting
block
1
5
6
7
11
1
5
6
7
11
Number of
plots
6
4
6
7
9
8
6
5
6
6
63
Number of
species
22
17
19
21
21
20
13
14
19
27
46
Number of
stems
83
73
82
134
122
110
57
62
98
130
951
Total plot area
(ha)
0.750
0.500
0.750
0.875
1.125
1.000
0.750
0.625
0.750
0.750
7.875
Block
stems/ha
110.7
146.0
109.3
153.1
108.4
110.0
76.0
99.2
130.7
173.3
120.8
Table 2: Index of diversity of the vegetation of the CAF of Bougnounou
UAF
5
6
Harvesting
block
1
5
6
7
11
1
5
6
7
11
Shannon Index (H')
3,99
3,99
3,60
7,76
3,75
3,85
2,98
2,99
2,99
4,02
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Table 3: The top 10 woody species, overall and per each of UAF 5 and 6 (see shaded IVs),
based on the calculated importance values (IV) based on the mean of Relative frequency
(RF) and Relative density (RD) of all 46 woody species recorded in the CAF of
Bougnounou.
Species
Detarium microcarpa
Anogeissus leiocarpus
Vitellaria paradoxa
Combretum micrantum
Combretum molle
Combretum glutinosum
Acacia dudgeonii
Crossopteryx febrifuga
Burkea africana
Terminalia macroptera
Acacia macrostachya
Terminalia avicenioides
Maytenus senegalensis
Gardenia erubescens
Strychnos spinosa
Piliostigma thonninghii
RF
9.5
4.5
8.1
6.3
9.0
8.6
4.1
2.3
5.4
2.3
4.5
3.6
2.7
3.6
2.3
0.9
Overall
RD
14.2
9.1
8.7
9.1
10.3
8.7
2.0
1.6
4.5
2.2
3.2
5.3
2.4
3.4
1.2
0.6
IV
11.8
6.8
8.4
7.7
9.7
8.7
3.0
1.9
4.9
2.2
3.9
4.4
2.6
3.5
1.7
0.8
RF
7.0
11.4
10.1
7.0
4.4
1.3
5.7
4.4
1.9
2.5
2.5
0.6
2.5
1.3
3.2
3.2
UAF 5
RD
10.9
16.8
9.0
8.1
2.8
1.5
5.0
7.0
0.7
5.7
1.5
0.7
2.6
0.4
2.0
3.9
IV
9.0
14.1
9.5
7.5
3.6
1.4
5.4
5.7
1.3
4.1
2.0
0.6
2.6
0.9
2.6
3.6
RF
8.4
7.4
9.0
6.6
7.1
5.5
4.7
3.2
4.0
2.4
3.7
2.4
2.6
2.6
2.6
1.8
UAF 6
RD
12.6
12.8
8.8
8.6
6.7
5.3
3.5
4.2
2.6
3.9
2.4
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.6
2.2
IV
10.5
10.1
8.9
7.6
6.9
5.4
4.1
3.7
3.3
3.1
3.1
2.7
2.6
2.3
2.1
2.0
Horizontal and vertical stand structure of the vegetation
The horizontal stand structure is represented by the stem diameter class distribution, which is
very similar for the two UAFs (Figure 2). There is a relatively high stem density in stems <10
cm diameter at breast height (DBH), which suggests a good recruitment of the stems in
relation to the relatively low level of stems >10 cm DBH.
Vertical stand structure represented here by the stem height class distribution (Figure 3),
shows a different pattern between the two UAFs. UAF 5 shows the highest stem density for
stems <3.5 m high, and a decreasing stem density in subsequently taller classes. UAF 6 has
the highest stem density in stems 3.5 to 7.0 m high. Both areas show a low stem density for
trees >7 m height, with more such trees in UAF 6.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
Figure 2: Stem density by stem diameter classes in the two forest management units (FMUs
or UAFs)
Figure 3: Stem density by stem height classes in the two forest management units (FMUs or
UAFs).
Forest harvesting and vulnerability
The products exploited in the forest are fire wood, charcoal, bush meat, medicine and other
non-timber forest products (NTFPs), mainly leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and honey.
Satisfying the population needs through sustainable harvesting of forest products is part of the
objectives of community forest management. It is important to note that the whole population
in the study area uses fire wood as their main source of energy, and it is also sold for
additional revenue. The needs for services and wood working are also associated with
additional income. The various uses of NTFPs (Figure 4), as harvested from the forests by
local members of the forest management associations (GGF), constitute a source of
vulnerability. Firewood, the NTFPs and pastures are the important forest products and need to
be incorporated into the management of the forests.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Number of GGF
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Nature of products
No
yes
Figure 4: Forest products harvested by the local population from the forests
Other vulnerability factors influencing the ecosystems include the following: Frequent bush
fires are not always controlled in spite of the practice of fire management by the local
populations. Their fire impacts are visible in all the types of vegetation through destruction of
plant litter and debris, fruit and seed. Population growth, the extensive agricultural practices
and livestock breeding are at the base of the strong demand for products from the forests. This
situation is shown by the frequent conflicts and the illegal occupation of the protected forests.
Incomes resulting from community management
Income from the community management of the protected forests primarily come from
firewood, charcoal and other NTFPs. Only firewood is organised with a functional
distribution chain. Harvesting firewood provides income to the communities, the State and the
wholesale and retail traders in the urban areas.
Firewood production over the first harvesting cycle of the management plan shows a general
increasing trend but with inter-annual variation (Figure 5). This production curve represents
the firewood that is transported to Ouagadougou and excludes that part that is consumed
locally. The income from the sale of firewood is shared between the Forest Management
Associations (GGFs) groups (Working capital [FDR] and Returned from the Logger), the
State (forest tax for allowable cut) and the forest (Funds of Forest Installation [FAF]).
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Quantity (m3 or Stere)
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
y = 891.77x + 12448
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Years
Production
Curve of tendency
Linear (Production)
Figure 5: Quantity of firewood produced and marketed for the city of Ouagadougou during
the first harvesting cycle of the management plan
Number of GGF
In general, the evaluation of different states of the forest, before (Figure 6) and after (Figure
7) the implementation of the management plan by the GGFs, shows an improvement of the
measured variables. The evaluation (excellent, good and weak) in general go from excellent to
good.
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Parameters
Excellent
Good
Bad
Figure 6: Evaluation of the state of the forest before implementation of forest management
through the 16 GGFs
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Number of GGF
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Diversity of
flora
Fauna
Excellent
Density of States of soil
trees
Parameters
Good
anthropic
pressure
Local
management
Bad
Figure 7: Evaluation of the current state of the forest after the implementation of forest
management through the 16 GGFs
Discussion
State of vulnerability of the forest ecosystems
The vulnerability of the forest ecosystems is summarised with various pressures on them,
either by the local populations or by climatic factors (temperature and rainfall). The human
and animal pressures accentuate the impact of overexploitation of the vegetation resources on
desertification (National Action Plan of Adaptation to the Climate changes [NAPA] of
Burkina Faso [MECV 2007]). Bush fires, the wasteful cutting of firewood (for 84% of the
population), deforestation of natural vegetation for farming, overgrazing by livestock cause a
decrease in the natural vegetation resources. The level of the various pressures has increased
in the forest formations of Bougnounou.
This situation constitutes a threat to the protected forests because of the land area is becoming
too small and of too low quality because of overuse and of the slash-and-burn agriculture by
the local populations. The described pressures increased as a result of the variations and
changes in the climate as observed through the decreasing rainfall (Figure 7), a rise of the
temperature and consequently an increase in the evapotranspiration. The rainfall patterns
show a shortening of the wet season, a different temporal distribution of the rain, and more
frequent floods and periods of drought.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Height of water (mm)
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
1400
1200
1000
800
600
y = -8.9765x + 950.14
400
200
0
Years
Rainfall (mm)
Curve of tendency
Figure 7: Annual rainfall in the Sapouy area during the period 1992 to 2007
Ecological aspects of the community management of the protected forests
In Burkina Faso, the implementation of the policy for the management of the natural forests
marks the start of the setting up of participatory projects with the local population since 1985.
Today the managed forests constitute the primary source of firewood for the rural and
specially the urban populations.
The results of the forest inventory 15 years after implementation of controlled harvesting
through the GGF community management of the forests show the current ecological condition
of the forests. The horizontal structure of the vegetation, as shown by the stem diameter class
distribution for the woody species, shows a high density of stems <10 cm DBH compared to
those >10 cm DBH. The managed forests show a good regeneration capacity and stocking to
provide a good basis for sustainable resource management. This result of good regeneration,
synonymous with enrichment and a perpetuation with the forest vegetation, is demonstrated
by the inverse J-shaped stem diameter curve (Kabore 1995). Similar results were obtained by
Zida (1998) for the Maro classified forest (CNRST 1998). The high density of stems with a
low DBH was also observed by Sawadogo (2007) for the majority of the woody species in the
UAF of the CAF of Nazinon after the first 20 years of controlled harvesting.
The vertical structure of the vegetation, as shown by the stem height class distribution for the
woody species, shows a similar high prevalence of stems in the class of stems <3.5 m high in
UAF 5, and a prevalence of stems in the class 3.5-7 m high in UAF 6. This also demonstrates
a good regeneration capacity with a better forest recovery in UAF 6.
The average density of the woody plants is 120 stems/ha stems with 10 cm or larger
circumference at 1.3 m. This density was influenced by the clearings and abandoned fields.
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Sustainable Forest Management in Africa
Rehabilitation of degraded and cleared forests
The surveyed resource users and the GGFs noted the improvements in the vegetation and the
value of reforestation through direct seeding, rational harvesting practices and protective
actions. But difficulties exist in terms of the various current pressures on the forests, and
especially the need to improve aspects of the current community management system. The
immediate causes of the degradation of the vegetation are the farming techniques based on
clearing, the bush fires, the system of livestock management which requires the stripping and
severe cutting of trees, abusive destruction of trees, and climatic disturbances (Guinko 1984).
These elements causing the vulnerability of the vegetation sources need to be controlled to
ensure sustainable management of the protected forests of this zone. Suitable (monitoring)
measurements at local, regional and national level must be developed and implemented to
address the sources of vulnerability, particularly in relation to the perceived climatic changes
and variability. In Burkina Faso, climatic variability is a reality and generates many risks with
severe consequences (Simonsson 2005, MECV 2007). Members of the GGFs have adopted
methods to address adaptation through their activities of planting and seeding with adapted
species to face the effects of climate change.
Socio-economic impacts of community management of the protected forests
The implementation of community management of natural forests in Burkina Faso is
generally positively appreciated especially due to the remarkable impacts at the socioeconomic level. The people experience direct benefits individually and collectively which
justify their appreciation.
The production of firewood and charcoal provide substantial income to the population that
enable them to obtain agricultural equipment and to improve their living conditions
(DREDCO 2003). The production of the firewood marketed by the CAF of Bougnounou gets
on average FCFA41,118,169 per annum (about US$78,245 based on US$1=FCFA525.5,
November 2008) of which only 9% return directly to the State as taxes. Honey and other
NTFPs are similarly marketed but that small business is not organised and experience
problems of capitalization. Other wood and medicinal/therapeutic species are preserved in
these forests.
The reduction of the conflicts between the farmers, the livestock herders and users of NTFPs
will have to be actively addressed in the management of the forest areas. The forests
constitute the primary source of pasture for all seasons and are the reason for the high
concentration of the cattle, as in the majority of the managed zones of the south and southwest of Burkina Faso.
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Conclusion
The setting up of natural protected or classified forests, practised in Burkina Faso since 1985
provides a basis and tools for sustainable management of the forests by local populations.
They create jobs and generate income which improves the livelihood of rural people, i.e. an
effective means of fighting poverty in rural areas. In the managed CAF forest area of
Bougnounou, after the first 15 years cycle which ended in 2007, there were assets to preserve
or improve in order to allow sustainable forest management, i.e. the global objective of forest
governance. The assets to be preserved include the organisation of the population in
functional forest management groups, the integration of forest management into the rural
activities, improvement of the vegetation condition through education, and the adoption of
forest management as a way of life of the population.
All of these activities proceed in the context of climatic change and variability, and are
necessary to account for through better adaptive management of the forest ecosystems. As
mentioned earlier, the high temperatures, the decreasing rainfall, the uncontrolled bush fires,
and the extensive agriculture are sources of negative ecological impacts on the natural forests.
The adopted attitudes of the people towards adaptation to the impacts of climate change
include the choice of adapted species for sowing and reforestation and the integrated
management of livestock and forestry. The implemented participatory community forest
management through forest management groups is one of the solutions in the fight against
desertification in relation to the population growth pressures and climate change. This
requires the implementation of adjustments in the harvesting and use of the ecological
systems in response to the threats and impacts of climate change. Although the forest
ecosystems have an autonomous system of adaptation, their importance for the society leads
us to influence this adaptation (David and Robert 2003).
Acknowledgement
We would like to express our gratitude to all the people who, in one way or another, provided
valuable support. We are particularly thankful to:
Prof Sita GUINKO and Prof Issaka Joseph BOUSSIM of the University of
Ouagadougou.
TroFCCA project and the whole staff, particularly Dr. Johnson NKEM, Dr. Monica
IDINOBA, Fobissie Blese KALAME, Yacouba Noel COULIBALY, for financial
support and collaboration.
The Coordinator of the CIFOR/BRAO, Daniel TIVEAU who did not cease
encouraging us to continue these studies.
Dr. Patrice SAVADOGO for his support in the data processing.
The forest organizers and agents for their valuable support in the field.
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Zare A, Belem M, Ouadba JM, Pallo FJF. 1998. Diversité biologique végétale dans une zone
fortement anthropisée: Cas de la province du Bazèga (Burkina Faso). Actes du
séminaire international tenu du 16 au 20 novembre 1998 sur l’aménagement intégré des
forêts naturelles des zones tropicales sèches de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. pp 199-208.
Zida D, Ouadba JM (1998) Dynamique de la végétation ligneuse naturelle dans une zone
forestière en aménagement. Cas de la forêt classée de Maro. Actes du séminaire
international tenu du 16 au 20 novembre 1998 sur l’aménagement intégré des forêts
naturelles des zones tropicales sèches de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. pp209-220
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d’évaluation environnementale pour leur mise en œuvre dans le contexte du Burkina
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513
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CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
IN THE CONGO BASIN FORESTS: PERCEPTIONS AND
ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
F. Ngana*1, M. Idinoba2, M.Y. Bele2 and J.Nkem2
1
Laboratoire de Climatologie, de Cartographie et des Etudes Géographiques (LACCEG),
Université de Bangui, Bangui, Republique de Afrique Centrale
2
CIFOR, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
*Correspondence author: nganaf@yahoo.fr
Abstract
The drying up of some watercourses, the shift in forest cover, the reduction in wildlife
populations and soil fertility are all manifestations of ecosystem vulnerability caused by
climate change in the Congo Basin. This coupled with the projected increase of annual rate of
deforestation in the Congo Basin from 0.5% to 1% and a shift in forest cover from 46% to
27% will slow down the availability of goods and services derived from the forest ecosystem.
This may further reinforce the already existing conflicts among various stakeholders who rely
or depend on forest resources for their livelihoods. This paper examines the local community
perception of the reduction of forest resources with climate change in addition to other human
pressures and their coping strategies. It shows that climate change is an added stress to
already existing cultural damage, break out of conflicts over forest resources, food insecurity
and health, and impoverishment of local communities. The paper further demonstrates that
coping strategies vary according to how different communities perceive climate change. It
further highlights the urgent need to take into account local communities’ perception of
climate change and their coping strategies in any development plan and climate change
adaptation policy in the Congo Basin forests.
Introduction
The scientific explanations advanced by intellectuals on climate change integrate less of
cultural considerations of local communities. The requirements of modern life which contrast
with cultural values worry farmers and lead them to provide other explanations to climate
change and adapt to it according to their available opportunities (Barbaut 1987).
The Congo Basin geographically includes the Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo (RC), southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea, Rwanda and Burundi (Figure 1). This is the second largest tropical moist forest area
in the world after the Amazon Basin in terms of its importance to the climate balance of the
earth. The Congo Basin constitutes a vital space where about 20 million people benefit from it
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for their livelihoods (Yalibanda 1999). These people rely entirely or to some extend on the
forests for their livelihoods (Table 1). Increasing population growth and high demand for
forest resources coupled with the effects of climate change put the livelihood of local
communities at risk (Bastin 1996).
This study was initiated within the framework of highlighting socio-cultural data of the
Congo Basin forest communities which are likely to change vis-à-vis their fragile
environment (Kalck 1992). These data will be used in the formulation and the implementation
of adaptation strategies to climate change which will probably become extensive in the future.
The goal of this paper is to analyse the real and potential effects of climate change on local
communities in the Congo Basin. It examines perceptions and adaptation strategies of these
communities with regard to the reduction of forest resources that are caused or can be caused
by climate changes. Their adaptation strategies pertaining to these modifications can vary
according to the perception they have of climate change. The development plans and the
policies to fight against climate changes must take into account the perception and the coping
strategies of forest communities of the Congo Basin (Notre Monde 1978).
Table 1: Basic facts on the Congo Basin forests
Item
Plant species
Number
20,000
Reptile species
Amphibian species
Bird species
Mammal species
Human population
Swampy forests
Humid forests
Timber annual allowable harvest
Countries
400
336
1300
100
100 million inhabitants
20 million ha
204 million ha
12 million m3/year
DR Congo, Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, CAR,
Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda and Burundi.
Source: Doumenge et al. 2003
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Figure1: The location of the Congo Basin within central Africa.
Perception of climate change by local communities:
The perception of climate change by local communities in the Congo Basin forests is
important in scientific debates. “Biological diversity” was at the centre of the discussion of
the “Earth summit” of Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In 2002, in Johannesburg, the attention of
scientists was drawn on “cultural diversity” with regard to the issues related the management
of the environment. It is therefore very important to review the culture of people, especially
Congo Basin forest communities when we reflect on climate change. Forest communities
have their own explanations to the problems which relate to them even if they are not
harmonized with what science accepts (Leclerc 1999). They all know that the time, the
climate and the resources of their environment have been subject to many changes. Their
perception is harmonized with their socio-cultural habit. For some, it is a divine curse, for
others, it is the abandonment of the culture of the ancestors following modernism which is the
origin of climate change (Caldecott 1988).
Climate change: A curse by the gods
In local communities in CAR for example, climate change is considered a curse from the
gods. In most communities all natural resources such as water and the forest are cosmogenic
and religious. The spirits of the waters and the forest are intermediaries between the gods and
the people (Ngana 2004). For water needs, the habitat is generally set up near a water source
and a sacred forest. They believe that it is the god of water who provides water to the
population and ensures that it is potable and permanent.
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Each clan ensures the “sacredness” of these spaces included in its sphere of influence by
erecting altars. The habitat, the space for gathering and hunting has a spring arranged and
made sacred so that this god can continuously provide drinking water and goods from the
forests. On these altars sacrifices made using eggs, pastoral goods, pieces of meat and a white
chicken. Children can only go to these springs if they are accompanied by adults. The aquatic
animals of the spring are hardly fished. Throughout the track that leads to it, sacrifices are
made on altars, announcing to users that they are in a sacred area. The god of water, the forest
and the spirits (mamiwatas) never leave any person unpunished who soils this place of
worship. The belief in these spirits is very widespread according to the notion people have of
their environment (Roulon-Doko 1996).
Distance from the spirit of the ancestors following the abandonment of customs
Burial rites around resources are not practiced any more as in the past to preserve the spirit of
the ancestors in the Congo Basin. Today the villages have a modern and common cemetery.
However, in the past, the deaths were buried behind houses and the chiefs in front to make it
possible for passers-by to venerate them. These are the practices which maintained the spirit
of the ancestors (Vergiat 1981a). Forest resources were not subject to any problems since the
Dead were helping the Living by providing food and water all year round. The problems of
villages were solved according to mythical processes. Water and plants garnered early in the
morning and late at night were used to prepare sacrifices for the ancestors and drugs for the
sick.
Pourtier (2001) had pointed out that “the statute of the ground and these resources rather
belongs to the spiritual sphere than the juridico-economic sphere”. These resources therefore
deserve respect, such as the assignment of sacred forests, places of worship or initiatory
forest. A precondition ritual was obligatory before the harvesting of the resources, whether it
was for hunting, fishing and collecting caterpillars. The ritual makes it possible to request the
mercy and the blessing of the divinity. For local communities in the Congo Basin, climate
change and its consequences are perceived as consequential of the deconsecration of the
forest, the manifestation of the anger of the gods on local communities because of their
transgression of mythico-religious norms and the purification rituals seem to be the provisions
to attenuate this anger (Vergiat 1981b).
The perception of atmospheric manifestations
Atmospheric manifestations such as lightning, wind, rain receive a geo-cultural explanation.
Traditional meteorology is used to figure out the daily weather in order not to be surprised in
the course of the day. These facts known in the Congo Basin are evidence of the existence of
a local knowledge in climatology. Lightning is a supernatural phenomenon that some people
use to kill and to be avenged. In the Congo Basin, communities possess knowledge at the
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meteorological level thanks to certain climate facts and manifestations. The base of this
knowledge is the daily real life weather observable in the clouds, the songs of certain birds
and the position of certain plants and their fruits. In the socio-cultural habits of some
communities, there are practices that can prevent or cause precipitation. It is from the rain that
rural activities are organized and that the calendar for the harvesting of Non-Timber Forest
Products (NTFPs) are also worked out or established. By regarding climate changes as a
divine curse, any effort of adaptation is likely to be a waste of time and effort. However, the
populations do not remain indifferent vis-à-vis this situation (CARPE 2001).
Impacts of the vulnerability of forest ecosystems on local communities
The forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin underwent a real modification in recent years.
More than 50% of the forest is located outside of protected areas including 80% in Cameroon,
with many under logging concessions. In addition, nearly 14% of the forests were converted
into arable lands (Pnue and Omm 1990a). The protected surfaces cover only 6% of the forest
(Wilkie 2001). The clearing of the forest over the next 50 years will cause the reduction of
41% of the current forest cover because of slash-and-burn agriculture, logging, the opening of
roads, urbanization and the increase in the population (Kiken 2007).
There is therefore a great vulnerability of forest ecosystems and there will be consequences
for the livelihood of local communities of the Congo Basin. The loss of forest cover causes a
reduction in the fertility of soils and a big decline in agricultural production. The harvesting of
NTFPs is facing unprecedented problems and the resulting food insecurity is a recent
challenge in the forest community. Climate change, population growth and poverty are at the
base of the overexploitation of forest products such as consumable plants (Nguimalet 2008).
The degradation and deforestation of forest ecosystems constitute a loss for the
pharmacopoeia, one of the virtues of the Congo Basin. Local communities become therefore
vulnerable to new outbreaks of some little known diseases. Since the Congo Basin forests
represent an embodiment of a whole civilization (past and present), its reduction is inevitably
accompanied by a cultural vacuum that the current world cannot fill. The impoverishment of
local communities is a subject of concern with regard to climate change (Martin and Pernet
1987).
Conflicts in the use of forest resources
Climate change causes an increasing scarcity of forest resources. This scarcity creates
conflicts in the use of natural resources between actors in the Congo Basin. Conflicts between
farmers and livestock grazers have become typical today. The world now witnesses new
forms of conflicts. The case of the conflict between the peulhs’ stockbreeders and the
Pygmies in Béa-Panzi in the 1990s in the region of Sangha-Mbaéré in the south of the CAR is
one of the many examples that exist on the subject. Also, there is an increasing shift of
isohyets towards the south by several hundred km (Pourtier 2001). This shift of isohyets
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results in the reduction of rainy periods in the Sudano-Sahelian region (Vennetier 1984). With
regard to the rainfall deficit in this area, pastoral resources (water and grazing) become
progressively rare (Falconer 1990).
To adapt to this situation, livestock grazers tend to move more and more into forest areas
already occupied by some communities such as the Pygmies and logging companies. In the
east of the CAR, livestock grazers have problems in their descent into the forest of
Bangassou. Foresters estimate that the presence of cattle in this forest presents perverse
effects for the fauna and tourism. The forest that is transformed into savanna and through
clearings attracts livestock owners. This situation was the reason for the organization of a
round table talk in May 2008 in Bangui by the International Foundation for the Management
of Fauna (IFMF) and the National Federation of Central African Stockbreeders (NFCAS)).
The scarcity of resources generates conflicts between humans and wildlife. When the forest is
no more able to feed them, wild animals revert to finding food in farmed areas. Monkeys are
the biggest destroyers of corn and groundnut fields. The wild pigs attack cassava farms for
their tubers. Birds cause the destruction of some grains such as rice, millet, sorghum, corn and
sprouts. This competition is strong when some wild animals directly attack humans (boa,
elephant) according to a local study in CAR and a study in progress. The existence and the
safety of families living in the forests are threatened and that can lead to a negative response
by humans and a massacre of elephant, buffalo, wild boars which are regarded as harmful for
crops.
The recent introduction of pastoral activities in forest areas because of the insufficiency of
resources in savanna areas caused by climate change is a source of tension between the local
communities and the aliens. The report of the Congolese observatory of human rights
indicated a negative assessment of the legal consequences of climate change on marginalized
local communities.
Risks of food insecurity and health
The advantages of the Congo Basin forests are not solely limited to the climate balance of the
earth. This forest is a source of food for local communities (Tisserand 1961). It is a natural
resource pool and provides medicinal plants for the populations living in the area. Climate
change causes the barrenness of soils. Soils are appropriate to a given climate and vegetation
(Ndjendole 2001). When a modification occurs on the vegetation for example, the balance of
the unit is modified (Boulvert 1986).
The forest is a source of drugs for the people living in the area (Piri-Dejean 1997, Tchatat
1999). Deforestation in the Congo Basin and the floods which result from it favor the
proliferation of mosquitoes and the emergence of epidemiologic diseases. Local communities
are confronted with health problems (Ogden 1990). The fragile forest ecosystems affect the
availability of medicinal plants that people rely on for treatment when they are ill. The forest
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does not adequately meet this need anymore; they are therefore obliged to move towards
modern healthcare centers to be taken care of by aid organizations. During dry and rainy
seasons, local communities are confronted by drinking water problems. These problems are
truly crucial, for it is difficult to find drinking water in some places (Bouvarel 1983). The
scarcity of drinking water is due to the reduction of ground water. Frequent floods during
rainy seasons also lead to the scarcity of drinking water. These floods can slow down or stop
human movements from 3 to 4 months depending on the area. The proliferation of tsetse flies
in CAR is the cause of the sleeping sickness which prevails in some resistant pockets in the
Congo Basin. The tendency of the shift in humidity contributes to the new outbreak of some
infectious diseases such as meningitis and tuberculosis (CARPE 2001).
Impoverishment of local communities
Many inhabitants in the Congo Basin are not able to satisfy their basic needs. The interaction
between local communities, the environment, the development and the consumption of natural
resources then becomes an issue of survival. There are close connections between the
concepts of basic needs and the environment. In the Congo Basin, many people are poor and
the environmental degradation which is often due the absence of adequate ways of
development (FAO 1992) hinders many efforts of development. Local communities are
therefore constrained to destroy forest resources because they are poor and do not have other
means to feed, to lodge and to meet their needs in energy. “The degradation of the natural
environment” is part of the serious problems of development for which it would be necessary
to find solutions (Koko and Runge 2004).
Disturbance of the water cycle is not only of chemical consequence. The deforestation and the
erosion of soils amplify the frequency and the amplitude of floods. Climate modifications
introduced by the changes in the composition of the atmosphere induce not only deforestation
and tornadoes, but also a slow rise in the level of rivers. With regard to this natural disaster,
awareness must be raised and strategies implemented to fight global warming and the
emission of carbon dioxide. Thus, the necessity to preserve the environment by concrete
actions must remain at the forefront of any national development plan. Rural communities are
unaware of the dangers related to development, particularly the consumption without control
and reserve of natural resources by causing serious environmental imbalances, the
disappearance of a number of animal and plant species (FAO 2007).
Cultural damages of climate change
By changing their habitat, forest populations change culture. The Pygmies in the Congo Basin
forests are an example of a strong interbreeding when they move towards large villages. The
deforestation witnessed today is due to the collective loss of cultural identity to the benefit of
modernization (Ngana 2004). Since the safeguarding of the forest is accompanied by the
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safeguarding of the culture of marginalized populations, the absence of one will impede the
existence of the other. The risks of the disappearance of a culture and the destruction of the
forest are inevitable. “From one point to another, one period to another, social attitudes, ways
of speaking and codes changes. Cultural realities do not represent any more the same face”
(Claval 1995). “An ethnic group which disappears is a culture that goes away” (UNESCO
2002). The disappearance of a culture is the loss of a community’s identity. The protection of
biological diversity is therefore a vital strategy of safeguarding the culture. However, due to
climate change, the forest protecting the Pygmies is shifting every year (Bahuchet 1978).
“All the authors agree on these premises that is, the possibility of comparing the communities
which we would call today primitive with Western civilization” (Lévi-Strauss 1996, p365).
The reduction in the vegetation cover in the face of urbanization, slash-and-burn agriculture,
logging and mining and climate change undermine the culture of those who live there (Pnud
2007).
The situation experienced by local communities in the Congo Basin forests is similar to that
of the Indians with the destruction of the forest in the State of California in the USA. It was
also the case for the Iks people in the north-east of Uganda who were driven out of their
ancestral hunting territory for the creation of the national park. These communities were
obliged to confine themselves in the infertile mountains which separate Uganda from Sudan
and Kenya. But incapable to maintain their farming culture, these formerly happy and
prosperous hunters divided themselves into some small communities in less than three
generations. The Iks children were fighting for food off their parents’ mouth who in turn
drove them out of the family nest for the lack of food. They became indifferent to old people,
sick people and the disabled die (Turnbull 1987). That is why the Congo Basin forests in
Africa are today considered as one of the most vulnerable areas to the effects of climate
change.
Adaptation strategies to climate change
Adaptation strategies of local communities to climate change are closely related to the
perception they have of this phenomenon. Their capacity to adapt is limited and needs to be
reinforced. At the agricultural level, in the energy field and issues of health, they are able to
adapt to difficult moments experienced in their region (Pnue and Omm 1990b). Deforestation
in the Congo Basin goes hand in hand with the cultural vulnerability specific to local
communities. The Pygmies for example have the culture of gathering and collecting
foodstuffs. The forest is their resource pool. With deforestation, gathering activities are
reduced. They must adapt to the culture of production, i.e. to practice agriculture and animal
husbandry. The reinforcement of their capacity goes through the semi-intensive system such
as the arboriculture which has mitigation effects on the reduction of the forest cover and the
mobility of populations. The practice of agricultural activities by the new actors like the
Pygmies and Peulhs has mixed results: increase in the agricultural production which makes it
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possible to ensure food safety, but accelerating the destruction of the forest because of
agriculture.
Adaptation strategies with regard to food insecurity
Farmers have improved on their productivity, proceed to innovating and ingenious techniques
without the participation of agricultural agents. At the level of cassava production, instead of
directly inserting the cutting in the ground, farmers took the initiative to make a hillock before
planting. For them, this method will have the capacity to retain water around the stems of the
cassava and to accelerate its growth (Geny et al. 1992). This strategy had positive effects,
because it made it possible for the plant to develop well by producing beautiful leaves and
tubers of reasonable size and volume (between 0.5 and 1 m).
Everywhere in Africa and in the rest of the world, farmers adapt to the hostility or to natural
constraints that limit the implementation of their development activities. The adaptation to
climate change is not a fact particular to local communities of the Congo Basin forests. In the
tablelands of Bandiagara in Mali for example, the Dogon people took refuge in the 6th
century, in a hostile natural environment. Their sphere was characterized by sandy soils,
lateritic, a dry climate and without water. In spite of that, they succeeded in developing
agriculture, by bringing soils from the outside, by storing an important quantity of manure for
agriculture, by retaining water in small dams and by practicing intensive horticulture. This
strategy enabled the Dogon people to be more productive than the farmers of the Niger Delta
(Brunel 2004).
The diversification of crop types seems to be the strategy to minimize risks. In order to be
sheltered from climate vulnerabilities the African farmer prefers to minimize the risk rather
than to maximize outputs (Brunel 2004). His strategy is to farm several fields which allow
him, whatever the unforeseen climate risks, to guarantee his food (Wickens 1991). The
outputs are weak, but diversity ensures a minimum loss of resources (Brunel 2004). It is with
monoculture that farmers become more vulnerable to climate disturbances and the risks
incurred by an identical harvest. The diversification of crop types and small socio-economic
activities such as the sale of honey wax and alcoholic drink by women, ensure the food
security in the Congo Basin forests. The breeding of small ruminants (goats, poultry) is
expanding vis-à-vis the scarcity of bush meat (Bois 1967).
Adaptation strategies in response to the depletion of energy sources
The increasing scarcity of wood fuels obliges local communities to seek alternative sources of
energy. The roots and the stems of the grass of Laos represent alternatives following the crisis
of wood fuels in the Congo Basin. This plant is starting to colonize old forest spaces. In
addition, other fuels substitutes are: fibers from palm nuts, residues of harvests, shelled ears
of corn, the bark of coconut and some tree species (Wilkie 2001). The responsibility for the
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collection of these substitutes falls on women. With regard to the shortage of the wood fuels,
it is the woman who invents and suffers at the same time from the consequences resulting
from the use of these substitute sources of energy. They have always proven to be resourceful;
an example is the tested fuels of substitution in response to the shortage of wood fuels. In
large villages, the shortage of wood fuels is very striking. To save energy and to avoid the
wastage of wood, the adopted strategy consists in using improved hearths manufactured from
recovered metal materials (Raponda-Walker and Sillans 1961). For example, in some West
Africa countries, cow dung is used as sources of energy with all the health consequences
affecting households.
Reinforcement of the adaptation capacity of local communities
The vulnerability of forest resources is accompanied by some development actions to the
benefit of populations affected by the effects of climate change. Governments in all the
countries of the sub region made provisions to provide the population with drinking water
through the opening of bore holes. Bore holes along to the fields provide for drinking water in
large villages. Religious organizations have strongly contributed to the popularization of bore
holes in most of the villages. Moreover, modern equipment provided for springs secured
water for the villagers. But the transport of water remains an issue for women. They are
obliged to care water from bore holes to water for their cassava and wild tubers (Barthe and
Hancock 2005).
For any development program to succeed, it is inevitable to consider the perceptions of the
people who will benefit from the program (Figure 2). The success of the project depends on it,
since the difference between old perceptions and current perceptions of atmospheric
manifestations and its effects on the ecosystems is great. This is why creating awareness will
make it possible for communities to adhere to what actors of development will propose to
them. The opening of bore holes is a success story in spite of the strength of some customs. It
is now indisputable the idea of moving towards the domestication of NTFPs. Gnetum
africanum (Koko) can be farmed in order to avoid its final destruction under the pressure
which this plant is subjected to today. The trees with caterpillars can be domesticated and
farmed in the vicinity of villages and cities. The popularization of mushroom plantations is on
the increase and a guaranteed source for food security (FAO 1981).
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Old perception of water
sources (dominated)
Old
practice
(dominated)
Current perception of
water sources (dominated)
Current
practice
(dominated)
Current dominant
perception (modernity)
Action project
on resources
Development
program
Current
dominant
program
Figure 2: Relations between perception and development programs
Conclusion
Global warming is a contemporary reality which results from physical and anthropological
factors. Its consequences affect local communities as well as forest ecosystems. In the context
of the intensity of natural disasters, the survival of local populations is a matter of concern.
Adaptation and prevention strategies are insufficient and a challenge to the international
community. In the Congo Basin forests, the upheavals related to climate change upset the way
of life of local communities (FAO 1978). Marginalized and minority social groups are finding
it difficult to adapt and to find a balance. Constraints of a natural nature bring about
adaptation strategies which are a matter of survival instinct specific to each living organism.
These strategies lie within the scope of the research to satisfy food and medical needs when
forest ecosystems become vulnerable. The strength of the tradition which is materialized by a
religious and mythical perception of resources and climate change is at the base of
incomprehension between actors fighting against climate change. The characterization of
local communities will make it possible to identify those who adapt better compared to those
who suffer more from the effects of climate change.
Information, education and communication (IEC) is a tool for the reinforcement of the
adaptation capacity of local communities. Technical and institutional support is essential
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using warning messages to help the population to be awakened, to avoid being overwhelmed
by natural disasters. The support of partners should allow for the structuring and organization
of communities into groups or associations. They will therefore constitute a force to better
adapt to the unforeseen risks impose to them by climate change. Through a decentralization
policy, the State could grant financial support to local communities (Gaza 1994). These
communities must be able to set up reliable development projects in their neighbourhood and
to have access to these funds. They can be projects on the domestication of edible plants and
the modernization of garnering activities such as the cultivation of mushrooms. In connection
with taking into account socio-cultural realities, Diallo (1998) stressed that local knowledge
has an importance as regards development, and that local communities have varied knowledge
which would be necessary to integrate into adaptation strategies to climate change.
Acknowledgement
Our sincere thanks to CIFOR who initiated this study on the effects of climate change on local
communities in the Congo Basin forests, and to the University of Bangui for the time that it
granted to do this work.
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FORESTRY, CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CAMEROON
M.Y. Bele*, C. Jum, J. Nkem and M. Idinoba
CIFOR, Yaoundé, Cameroon
*Corresponding author: b.youssoufa@cgiar.org
Abstract
Climate change effects on tropical forest ecosystems are predicted to include variations in the
availability of timber and non-timber forest products and reduction in water and water
resources. Such effects could amplify the existing pressure on food security urging expansion
of current agricultural lands at the expense of forest, biodiversity loss and socioeconomic
stresses. However, forestry activities play crucial roles in reducing the vulnerability of both
natural and social systems and therefore provide the opportunities for formulating adaptation
strategies. In Cameroon as in many other tropical countries, forest ecosystem services provide
security portfolios for over 80% of the predominantly rural communities, and are thus, highly
crucial for poverty reduction and national development. The Global Forest Outlook of 2007
indicated that Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo are among the leading
countries in deforestation globally. Furthermore, forest receives very little attention in
national planning and policies in either of these countries. This paper emphasizes that in
Cameroon, climate change is an added stress to already threatened habitats, ecosystems and
species, and is likely to trigger species migration and habitat reduction. In addition to a
number of climate sensitive diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoea, the paper
also points out that future climate variability in Cameroon will also interact with other stresses
and vulnerabilities such as HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases. The review highlights the
point that climate change impacts and adaptation strategies in Cameroon cannot be isolated
from current environmental problems and other socioeconomic challenges. Thus, adaptation
would need to be integrated into national development programmes. The implementation of
adaptation strategies should follow sector-based responses with a review of the existing
environmental legislations and their implications on strategies for poverty reduction strategy
and adaptation to climate change.
Introduction
The vulnerability of developing countries, particularly those of Sub Saharan Africa, coupled
with their inability to cope with present and projected climate change scenarios have been
stressed in several global assessment reports (e.g. MEA 2005, Stern 2006, IPCC 2007a).
Some of the implications include the inability to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,
ensuring environmental sustainability and also promoting gender equality and empowering
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women. The nature of the exposure of these countries to climate change and their limited
adaptive capacity determines the severity of climate impacts where poverty, food security and
human adaptive capacity to climate change are intricately linked with developmental
challenges (Nkem et al. 2007). As a conservative estimate, over half of the world’s population
continues to live on less than US$2 dollars a day, with a billion on US$1 or less (WRI 2005).
This in fact has the potential of affecting outcomes where planning is not appropriately
integrated. Large numbers of rural poor people depend on forest resources for their
livelihoods. According to many global reports (e.g. WCFSD 1999, World Bank 2001, 2004,
WRI 2005), 350 million people are estimated to “depend almost entirely for their subsistence
and survival needs on forests” and that over 1.6 billion living in extreme poverty continues to
depend to varying degrees on forests for their livelihoods. As an ecosystem providing
livelihood opportunities for such a large number of people worldwide living in extreme
poverty, forests are therefore an indispensable asset in designing poverty reduction strategies
and contributing to the realization of some of the other global targets in developing countries.
This is particularly true for tropical forests ecosystems which harbour about 410 million
people (including 60 million indigenous people) living in, or at the fringes of, these forest
ecosystems and who depend on forests resources for their subsistence (Wiersum et al. 2005).
In this framework, community-based planning around shared natural resources is one way that
provides an integrated approach to addressing the different aspects of the development
challenge (Huq 2007).
Considering the vulnerability of forests to climate change and given their vital role in the
household livelihood and food security in tropical developing countries especially in Sub
Saharan Africa, climate change and climate variability measures have to be taken seriously
and for adaptation strategies need to be integrated into project development planning both in
the private and public sectors (Nkem et al. 2007). In addition, adaptation strategies defined by
the UNFCC to address climate change in tropical forestry acknowledges the use of forestry
activities to reduce vulnerability and variability of both natural and social systems.
Like most countries of the Congo basin, Cameroon’s forest ecosystem services provide
security portfolios for over 80% of the forest dwellers contributing to poverty alleviation and
national development. However, the FAO Global Forest Outlook of 2007 (FAO 2007)
highlights increasing deforestation in the region in spite of overall global reduction, with
Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading in deforestation. Incidentally, the
importance of forests is overlooked in national development processes such as policy
dialogues on climate change and poverty reduction strategies. Therefore, the challenge is to
increase both public and policy awareness of the role of forests, and to develop livelihood
adaptation strategies on a framework of forest goods and services. This in fact should not
jeopardize in any case the integrity of such forests to future climate impacts, in order to ensure
the continuity in the provisioning of forest ecosystem goods and services that contribute to
food security and poverty alleviation.
This aim of this paper was to contribute to the understanding of the role of forests in reducing
poverty and in adaptation to climate change using the case of Cameroon forest sector. This
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was done by reviewing major forest documents and policy of Cameroon, and through
interviews with forestry officials.
Cameroon forest sector
State of the resource
Cameroon is a country blessed with abundant natural resources, especially with its dense
rainforests in the south that covers more than 40% of the national territory (Letouzey 1985).
Cameroon’s total forest area is 23 million ha representing 51.9% of the total area (Oyono
2004). It is the third largest in Africa after that of Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Gabon. Relative to area, Cameroon’s forests are among the top five species-rich in Africa and
are home to five globally important centres of plant and bird diversity (GFW 2003). Timber
production is about 3 million m3 per year. Since 1980, timber production has increased by
35% (GFW 2003). As the country's oil reserves dry up, timber exports are projected to
constitute an increasing share of foreign exchange revenue in coming years. With only 80,000
ha, forest plantations play a marginal role on the forestry sector.
Cameroon’s network of protected areas covers presently 15.2% (7.2 million ha) of national
territory. In the 1994 forestry law, Cameroon has committed itself to putting 30% of its land
area under protection. With this proportion, Cameroon will stand as a country with the highest
proportions of protected areas in the world. However, agricultural encroachment, poaching
and illegal logging threaten all these areas.
As Cameroon forms part of the Congo Basin, which plays a global role in carbon
sequestration and climate regulation, slowing down deforestation (~1%) is extremely
important. In this light, Cameroon established in its Initial National Communication to the
UNFCCC a detailed program for reinforcing national capacity, transfer of appropriate
technology and putting in place mechanisms for compensation and substitution. However,
currently this still remains theoretical.
Contribution of Cameroon forests to poverty reduction
The contribution towards poverty reduction, expected from forests, falls in line with avenues
2 (diversification of the economy to reinforce growth) and 3 (strengthening the private sector
as the locomotive of economic growth) of the poverty reduction strategy paper of Cameroon
which ended in mid-2008. In fact, it entails finding ways and means of improving the living
standards of rural populations by taking into account the contribution of forest resources and
the services that the forest offers. In this context, Cameroon’s forests play an important
economic role at the local and national level. The opening line of the 1995 Forest Policy
document of Cameroon notes that “the forests of Cameroon represent one of the country’s
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greatest riches.” Cameroon’s forest sector is the third largest source of foreign exchange for
the State, after agricultural exports and oil, and accounts for more than 10% of GDP and 28.2
% of non-petroleum exports. It provides between 45,000 and 70,000 jobs (FAO 2003a,
Amariei 2005).
Overall, national stock of commercial timber is estimated at 310 million m3 representing a
standing value of about 25,000 billion CFA francs (approximately US$70 billion) (EssamaNssah and Gockowski 2000). The average productivity of the typical Cameroon production
forest is about 260 m3/ha of standing timber, of which 32 m3 are composed of the 75 or so
commercially exploited species with 21 m3 exceeding the minimum exploitable diameter
(CIRAD-Forêt 1997, cited in Amariei 2005). According to the national zoning plan,
6,025,000 ha are planned as production forests and it is estimated that an average of 415,000
ha of concessions were legally opened for logging from 1994 to 1996 (Coté 1993, MINEF
1996, Eba’a Atyi 1998).
Cameroon ranks among the world's top five tropical log exporter producing and exporting
countries with a roundwood production of about 3 million m3, and roundwood exports of
575,000 m3 in 2000. Other wood-based export articles are sawnwood, with an export
production of 540,000 m3 in 2000, while the export production of wood-based panels reached
75,000 m3 in the same year (FAO 2003a, Amariei 2005). Wood harvested for fuel is four
times more than industrial roundwood (GFW 2003). Traditional fuels, including firewood and
charcoal, account for roughly 80% of all energy consumption (FAO 2003b). At this rate, fuel
wood supplies will become increasingly less sustainable as global warming intensifies, further
jeopardizing the well-being of many already poor communities. To overcome the situation
therefore, the Government and the communities should apply adaptation strategies that focus
on developing small fuel wood plantations and improving charcoal production practices.
Government fiscal revenues collected from the forest sector constitute a means of converting
Cameroon’s forest patrimony into development for the common good. The economic
importance attached to the sector by the Government of Cameroon is indicated by a Policy
Framework Paper, which states: “The government expects this sector to contribute to growth
and macroeconomic balance. In 2000/2001, Government revenue from direct taxes levied
from the forestry sector summed up to 33 million US$” (World Bank/WWF Alliance 2002).
Total penalties collected between 2001 and 2004 amount to about CFA 916,000,000 (~US$
2,036,000). In addition there are billions in outstanding penalties not yet collected (EssamaNssah and Gockowski 2000, ODI 2002, Amariei 2005). However, maintaining these revenue
streams requires sustainable management practices, which encounter a host of difficult
technical issues, the most important one being the illegality in the forest sector. According to
the World Bank/WWF Alliance (2002), it is estimated that the Cameroon Government is
losing between 5 and 10 million US$/year in revenue from the felling tax alone due to illegal
activities (World Bank 2003).
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State of poverty and poverty reduction strategy
While it had one of the strongest economies of Sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1980’s,
Cameroon is today considered to be off track for meeting most of the Millennium
Development Goals such as poverty reduction despite the mass of wealth accruing from the
forest. Poverty occurring primarily in rural areas remains widespread, with 40.2% of the
population living under the poverty threshold of US$1/day (The MDG Progress Report 2003).
Women and children are particularly hard-hit: 52% of the people in poor households are
women and half of the members of poor households are under 15 years of age. In order to
combat poverty, in 2003, Cameroon adopted a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy in
conjunction with the World Bank. The Government of Cameroon’s (GoC) Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP 2003) recognizes that “poverty is at the centre of environmental
problems in Cameroon; the root cause and consequence of environmental degradation” and
suggests that improving management capacity in the environmental sector will be needed in
order to achieve more sustainable management of natural resources. In order to improve its
contribution to rural development and economic growth, the government committed itself in
its Forest-Environment Sector Programme (FESP) to a series of environment and fiscal policy
and legislative reforms, particularly in the forestry sector. This programme was a blue-print
GoC’s strategy for poverty reduction outlined in the national poverty reduction strategy and
specified in the rural development strategy paper (DSDSR = Document de stratégie de
développement du secteur rural). The FESP is aiming at the sustainable management of the
natural resources to improve the living conditions of the people and conserve biodiversity.
With this approach, it follows the logic of the plan of implementation of the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD, United Nations 2002), which concludes that
“sustainable forest management of both natural and planted forests and for timber and nontimber products is essential to achieve sustainable development and is a critical means to
eradicate poverty”.
Climate change and forests in Cameroon
Climate change projection scenarios
The first National Communication (NC) in 2001 suggests that the GHG emission in the
atmosphere in Cameroon is 43 million tonnes equivalent carbon dioxide. The main gazes
emitted are CO2 (55.9%), CH4 (25.3%) and N2O (18.8%), with agriculture activities and land
use changes accounting for the majority of emissions.
Climate change impacts in Cameroon by the year 2050 are expected to be significant with
increases in the mean annual temperature by approximately 1.8°C leading to a total increase
of almost 5°C, a net decrease of 559 mm rainfall and a sea level rise of 50 cm (UNEP 2000).
The impacts on humans will be certain and in places drastic. Current regional impacts are
indicating a drying trend with extreme water resource scarcity in the northern region and
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rainfall variability in the southern region (Hassan 2006, Molua and Lambi 2007). Drought is
projected to increase forest fires by 10-50% (with largest increases in the northern region and
savannah zones). Increased rainfall intensity in some areas in southern Cameroon would
exacerbate soil erosion problems and pollution of streams.
Cropping, horticulture, livestock and forests will be vulnerable to changes in the incidence of
existing pests, parasites and pathogens, and invasion by new varieties for which there are no
local biological controls (Dukes and Mooney 1999, Cheal and Coman 2003). The likelihood
for such pests, parasites and pathogens to spread southwards increases with climate warming.
Impacts on the forest ecosystem and on humans
The impacts of climate change are likely to affect all forest landscapes (Easterling et al.
2004). Indeed, the predicted change in climate variables will place severe pressure on the
ability of forests to adapt to these and to survive. With rising temperatures, changes in water
availability and expected double levels of carbon dioxide, it is expected that forests will
change at two levels: physiology and metabolism; and ecosystem functioning. These changes
will impact the availability and quality of both forest goods and services (Meer et al. 2001).
Wildlife populations that are already stressed by over hunting and other environmental
pressures may succumb to extinction with the additional pressure of droughts, floods or
increased storm strikes. Increased forest degradation and deforestation will further exacerbate
climate change impact on wildlife. The most vulnerable terrestrial wildlife populations have a
diet of nectar, fruit or seeds; nest, roost or forage on large old trees; require a closed canopy
forest; have special microclimate requirements and/or live in a habitat in which vegetation has
a slow recovery rate. Small populations with these traits are at greatest risk, particularly when
they exist in small isolated habitat fragments (UNEP 2000). Sea level rise will further increase
pressure on the forests due to loss of coastal agricultural lands by salinization, loss of coastal
forests (e.g. mangroves and low lying tropical forests) due to inundation and increasing storm
events, and migration or loss of wildlife species from altered habitats (FAO 1994, UNEP
2000).
Human settlements will be affected tremendously by forest destruction, mass landslides,
blown down trees and tree crops, and water and soil related problems. Those common impacts
and effects on the community include: (1) decline in water supplies and in some cases water
shortages due to damage caused by top water intakes; (2) flooding of rivers and valleys (this
may restrict access within and into some communities); (3) transportation and deposition of
debris into villages and towns leading to the blocking of drainage systems; (4) loss of
livestock and crops; (5) loss of life and property; and (6) loss and damage of infrastructure
leading to the food supply dislocation.
Additionally, already weakened by other deadly diseases such as HIV-AIDS, climate change
will constitute an additional burden of disease in Cameroon as in many other tropical
developing countries. Climate variability and change cause death and disease through natural
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disasters, such as heat waves, floods and droughts. In addition, many important diseases are
highly sensitive to changing temperatures and precipitation. These include common vectorborne diseases such as malaria and dengue; as well as other major killers such as malnutrition
and diarrhea (IPCC 2007b). However, much of this health risk can be avoidable through
appropriate health programs and interventions. Concerted action to strengthen key features of
health systems, and to promote healthy development choices, can enhance public health as
well as reduce vulnerability to future climate change.
Sustainable forest management: mitigation and adaptation
The conservation and sustainable management of forests can enhance ecosystem resilience
and therefore improve the ability of ecosystems to provide critical services in the face of
increasing climatic pressures. Forests are of great importance in securing good quality and
supply of water, protecting against natural disasters, and improving the livelihoods of people
living in or near forests. However, these goods and services are typically not valued and
traded by the market, which in many instances leads to poor decisions with unsustainable
effects on forests and forestry.
Mitigation
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC 2007) estimates that about 65% of
the total mitigation potential in the forest sector is located in the tropics and about 50% of this
total could be achieved by reducing deforestation. In other words, because tropical forests
have the greatest potential for carbon uptake and storage, the most cost-effective way of
reducing carbon concentrations in the atmosphere is to reduce deforestation of tropical forests
and allow for forest cover expansion. Although the action of Cameroon’s Government is still
very timid in this regard, three sectors can however be identified where mitigation can play a
key role: policies and programs that enhance CO2 removal through afforestation and
reforestation; initiatives that support the use of biomass for energy; and actions to reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions from land use change predominantly deforestation and forest
degradation.
Adaptation
Forests play key roles in supporting national economic activities and providing livelihood
portfolios for many in developing countries. They are at the frontline for climate change
adaptation in Africa (Easterling et al. 2004). However, there are substantial limits and barriers
to this adaptation, including environmental, economic, informational, social, attitudinal and
behavioral barriers that are not fully understood. In addition, there are significant knowledge
gaps for adaptation as well as impediments to flows of knowledge and information relevant to
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adaptation decisions (Adger et al. 2007). In addition to the limited ability of natural systems
to adapt, the ability of Cameroon forest ecosystems to adapt to climate change is severely
limited by the overexploitation, illegal practices, effects of urbanization, barriers to migration
paths, and fragmentation, all of which have already critically stressed ecosystems independent
of climate change itself. Moreover, the creation of financial incentives for reducing emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation under the UN Framework Convention for Climate
Change still remains very theoretical. The primary obstacle at both the international and
national level remains a lack of capital. Current estimates of how much capital would be
required to effectively reduce deforestation rates are also unknown. At the national level, land
and forest tenure issues present a challenge to the creation of such incentives since the state is
the sole proprietor of all forests and forest land in Cameroon. Indigenous and local
communities only have user rights.
Therefore, existing standing forests should be managed in a way to ensure they continue to
provide goods and services to society into the future. In addition, it is essential to develop
forest management strategies for future forests, that is, forests that will be suited to the new
climate and to changed biophysical conditions. As the Non-legally Binding Instrument on All
Types of Forests highlights, governance is a crucial component of successful sustainable
forest management as is law enforcement. Though regulation can be a highly effective means
to combat deforestation and promote the use of sustainable forest management, lack of
capacity in monitoring and lack of resources for law enforcement are inhibiting factors in
many developing countries, including Cameroon.
Conclusion
Forests have tremendous potential to serve as a tool in combating climate change, protecting
people and livelihoods, and creating a foundation for more sustainable economic and social
development. However, climate change is expected to exacerbate serious environmental,
economic and social pressures. Therefore, adaptation would need to be integrated into
national development programmes. The implementation of adaptation strategies should follow
sector-based responses with a review of the existing environmental legislation and their
implications on strategies for poverty reduction and adaptation to climate change.
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