African forests face further degradation unless new measures taken, UN warns

Unless Africa adopts new measures to protect the environment, its forests will continue to deteriorate rapidly, resulting in a depletion of both wood and non-wood products, according to a United Nations report released today.

“In the absence of fundamental changes, the forestry situation in Africa will be marked by continued high losses of forest cover, deterioration in the state of the environment, and depletion of non-wood forest products in general and medicinal plants in particular,” says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, entitled “Forestry Outlook Study for Africa” (FOSA).

The report forecasts that through 2020, Africa will experience continued loss in forest cover, while progress in sustainable forest management will be slow. With illegal logging likely to remain a major problem, Africa will not be in a position to produce wood competitively – a precarious situation given that wood will continue to be the main source of energy. An increased urban demand for charcoal is also expected to result in further degradation of forests.

Presented by FAO at the sixteenth session of the agency’s Committee on Forestry this week in Rome, the report outlines measures necessary to bring about significant improvement to this environmental degradation. It provides a 20-year perspective and long-term planning framework for the development of the forestry sector for the continent. FOSA also includes sub-regional reports for North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa.

“Poverty alleviation and environmental protection will remain the most important priorities over the next two decades,” the report states, outlining priorities and strategies for enhancing the contribution of forestry to the economic, social and environmental interests of Africa.

The report says empowering key stakeholders through policy and institutional changes is critical, including revitalizing the public sector, making markets work for poor people, enhancing the efficiency of the informal sector through legal and institutional frameworks, and better access to information.