Deforestation in Africa

With widespread deforestation and the influence it has on the climate, deforestation is becoming a significant concern in Africa. Conservation organizations have increased public knowledge and interest in this topic, as well as comprehending the impact it has on society. Efforts to mitigate them have also been attempted, with various steps taken by state agencies as well as community outreach organizations.

Deforestation in Africa and its consequences have received little study, and the problem has gotten little attention from international conservation agencies and the international society, despite the fact that African ecosystems cover vast regions. For instance, the Congo River is 4,467 km long, and its ecosystem depends upon by various people and the Lake Victoria which is depended upon by 30 million people. The biosystems in Africa supports various biodiversity and is home to a sign of the wild population.

In this paper, I will discuss the effects deforestation in Africa as well as trends that have influenced the deforestation. This would tackle the impacts deforestation trends has had in Africa as well as reviewing the need for conservation of the environment in the areas stated.

Deforestation trends in Africa

It is estimated that forest in Africa covered a land mass of 3,620,000 km before agriculture was started in Africa. Before colonization, Africans mutually coexisted with the environment with conservation concerns engrained in the culture. Farming was mainly small scale, and where it existed, mass destruction of the forests and bushes was not seen. In any case, attempts to conserve the environment were great during this period.

Agricultural clearing and habitat alteration took center stage soon after the independence as people turned to agriculture as a source of livelihood. Clearing of the forests was done in, and deforestation is taken into action to provide space for the growing of plants and human inhabitation. This was brought about by the fact that at the time, the population in African was rapidly growing due to advances made in the health department with the introduction of western medicine and the reduction of mortality rate among infants. The result of this was the population explosion and the need to create space for settlement.

An estimated value of the space under forests currently in Africa stands at 1,490,000 that is 55% of the total land area up from the initial 74% in the early 20th century. Thus, one can conclude that Africa has lost its forest greatly in a small period. An in-depth analysis shows that the central and west Africa have been the major casualties of these with them losing a lot of its forest to the inhabitation by humans as well as for agriculture.

The central and West African regions had the great forest that occupied the region as compared to the other regions of the continent. The East African region had little forest cover, but it’s surprising that a lot of deforestation as also happened in this part. Most of the forests in this area have been turned into grazing fields for pastoralist over the years as well as for agricultural purposes which are taking shape. A significant amount of this forests has been downgraded as a result of logging which is taking place in this region that is greatly reducing the forest cover.

Barnes (1990) developed a model in which one can predict the extent of which forest will remain in the future. In his model, he used the absolute area that is cleared per year to determine the area of which will remain bare and without forests in the years to come. The model predicts that by the year 2040, West Africa would have lost 70% of its forest area to human inhabitation as well as agriculture. In the same year, the East Africa region would have remained with 5% of its forest cover. The central Africa region would retain most of its forest cover though it would lose extensively its forest but not as significant as the other areas.

The model takes into account the efforts made to contain this in reforestation efforts. Surprisingly, efforts for reforestation in the continent only resulted in an area of 1, 346 km of forest being planted between 1981 and 1986 and about 13310km of forest cleared between that points also. The disparities pointed out between measures to curb deforestation, and the deforestation is great and thus the process of deforestation an afforestation cannot be matched. In Uganda for instance, the amount trees replanted would only meet 5% of the total fuel consumption in the country.

Forested area in West Africa has greatly reduced which has made companies that produce timber to turn to the central Africa for timber and wood production. Such as making the tropical forest of central Africa to a target also and consumption of its forested targeted by many players. However, planners should learn a lot from the West Africa region and as search consult when taking down the trees. The West African region provides invaluable lessons for this region concerning to how the forest should be cleared and also measures that can be taken to conserve the forest at the same time while harvesting it properly.

It is clear that with increasing population growth, there would be the increase in demand for forests to meet human needs such as providing fuel and in providing space for human inhabitation. The most important tool to predict deforestation in Africa is the amount of forest remaining and the population growth rate of the region. The above would determine the extent as to which African countries would lose the forest area to the population needs.

Deforestation also has an impact on aquatic systems. Logging takes place in aquatic places leading to the destruction of lives in the water and also the erosion of soil. Statistics also show that timber is transported in rivers and thus creates access to areas that have always been deemed inaccessible. Studies have shown a great link between logging of trees and human settlement alongside that were deemed inhabitable to human being beings.

Conservancy efforts and protection of forest

Africa’s forest is under immense pressure to provide for its population needs leading to adverse deforestation. Regardless of this pressure, the governments and other agenesis have taken an effort to conserve the forest, and their efforts should not be taken for granted. Protection of forests is key in curbing climate change that is usually detrimental to human survival as well as key in conserving animals that are often left vulnerable and orphaned by the clearing of their natural habitat.

As a tradition of conservancy methods, forests have always been gazetted as national parks and conservancy agencies where the area is said to be illegal for economic human activities such as farming and logging but can be used to promote tourism. The method has provided results in the past and is thus an effective tool that can be used in conserving the parks.

The governments also in the region have embarked on campaigns aimed at increasing total area under forest cover. Through this campaigns, the citizens are made aware of the impact that deforestation has on their daily way of life and their future. They are encouraged to practice better farming and alternative ways of fuel use.

Impacts of deforestation

Deforestation leads to siltation and sedimentation in rivers and lakes. Siltation is often as a result of total loss soil cover in areas around the rivers. Clearing of bushes and forests always leaves the ground bare and vulnerable to erosion with the soil ending up in waterways. Siltation in most cases causes the death of fish and other aquatic animals that live in the forest.

Deforestation has also been credited with the change in biota and in rivers and water catchment areas that exist in water catchment areas. Studies have shown the extent to which micro invertebrates can change with change resulting from siltation and sedimentation. Such changes are hard to predict, and thus it is paramount to engage in conservancy measures of the forests. Changes in micro invertebrate and vegetation would often result in alteration of food availability for fish and other living organisms that are found in the rivers and lakes.

Reference

Cline-Cole, R. A., Main, H. A. C., & Nichol, J. E. (1990). On fuelwood consumption, population dynamics and deforestation in Africa. World Development, 18(4), 513-527.

Semazzi, F. H., & Song, Y. (2001). A GCM study of climate change induced by deforestation in Africa. Climate Research, 17(2), 169-182.

Rudel, T. K. (2017). The Dynamics of Deforestation in the Wet and Dry Tropics: A Comparison with Policy Implications. Forests, 8(4), 108.

Leblois, A., Damette, O., & Wolfersberger, J. (2017). What has Driven Deforestation in Developing Countries Since the 2000s? Evidence from New Remote-Sensing Data. World Development, 92, 82-102.

Attached images

Pvanb. “A Map of Deforestation in Africa Using R.” Ecostudies, 27 Feb. 2010, pvanb.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/a-map-of-deforestation-in-africa-using-r-2/.