The Dry Forests and Woodlands of Africa

Managing for Products and Services

Emmanuel N. Chidumayo, Davison J. Gumbo, Emmanuel N. Chidumayo, Davison J. Gumbo

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781136531378
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Ecology
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The dry forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa are major ecosystems, with a broad range of strong economic and cultural incentives for keeping them intact. However, few people are aware of their importance, compared to tropical rainforests, despite them being home to more than half of the continent's population.

This unique book brings together scientific knowledge on this topic from East, West, and Southern Africa and describes the relationships between forests, woodlands, people and their livelihoods. Dry forest is defined as vegetation dominated by woody plants, primarily trees, the canopy of which covers more than 10 per cent of the ground surface, occurring in climates with a dry season of three months or more. This broad definition - wider than those used by many authors - incorporates vegetation types commonly termed woodland, shrubland, thicket, savanna, wooded grassland, as well as dry forest in its strict sense. The book provides a comparative analysis of management experiences from the different geographic regions, emphasizing the need to balance the utilization of dry forests and woodland products between current and future human needs.

Further, the book explores the techniques and strategies that can be deployed to improve the management of African dry forests and woodlands for the benefit of all, but more importantly, the communities that live off these vegetation formations. Thus, the book lays a foundation for improving the management of dry forests and woodlands for the wide range of products and services they provide.

1

Dry Forests and Woodlands in Sub-Saharan Africa: Context and Challenges

Emmanuel Chidumayo and Crispen Marunda

Defining Dry Forests and Woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa

Dry forest and woodland are vegetation types dominated by woody plants, primarily trees, the canopy of which covers more than 10 per cent of the ground surface, occurring in climates with a dry season of three months or more. Dry forests in Africa occupy an area between rainforests in the Congo basin and open woodlands of western and southern Africa. Woodlands in Africa are diverse vegetation formations that include woodland proper, bushland, thicket and, in some cases, wooded grassland. The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in sub-Saharan Africa has implemented a dry forest programme since 1996 but with a narrower focus on southern Africa. The programme, although called dry forest, includes both dry forest proper and woodlands as defined above. Currently CIFOR’s dry forest programme is coordinated by regional offices in Burkina Faso for the West African Region and Zambia for the Southern African Region, and includes all countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have dry forests and woodlands. These vegetation types in sub-Saharan Africa are found in 31 countries in western, eastern and southern Africa and are the dominant vegetation in 63 per cent of these countries. They cover approximately 17.3 million km²and are inhabited by nearly 505 million people (2003 estimate).

Socio-Economic Context of Dry Forests and Woodlands in Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa entered the 21st century as the poorest, most indebted, marginalized and technologically backward continent in the world. Life expectancies, per capita revenues and expenditures on health are the lowest in the world, while the proportion of the population dependent on traditional energy sources (firewood, charcoal and organic wastes) is among the highest. Various other indices of human well-being (Table 1.1) testify to this predicament that sub-Saharan Africa faces in the new century.

Table 1.1 Some indices of human well-being in sub-Saharan African countries with a significant cover of dry forests

Index of human well-being	Average	Range
Population living below poverty line (%)	53	35–80
Life expectancy from birth (years)	57	31–58
Budget revenue (US$ per capita)	126	21–1462
Health expenditure (US$ per capita)	22	4–127
Population with access to essential drugs (%)	57	25–87
Agricultural labour (% of total labour force)	69	32–92
Traditional energy use (% of total energy use)	79	25–98

Source: Based on NationMaster.com (2004)

In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa the majority of the people live in rural areas where the main livelihood source is subsistence crop and/or livestock production. The major zone of crop agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is in the dry forests and woodlands; much of which is rain-fed and is therefore vulnerable to climate variability. The climate of the dry forest and woodland regions is characterized by frequent droughts and occasional floods that frequently cause crop failure. During such times the coping strategies of local people invariably involve gathering of wild foods in the forest. But the reliance on dry forests and woodlands is not only a safety net, important as this may be; these vegetation formations also play a significant role in supporting local industries. Most important, is the diverse range of forest products, including fruits, fish and bush meat, edible insects, beeswax and honey, and traditional medicines, that are indispensible to the lives of communities living in dry forest and woodland zones. Most of these non-wood forest products are produced, traded and consumed outside the formal cash economy and therefore are not adequately captured in national economic statistics.

Importance of Dry Forests and Woodlands to Ecosystem Services, Livelihoods and National Economies

Dry forests and woodlands in sub-Saharan Africa are rich in biodiversity that is important for the supply of ecosystem services, such as regulation of water flows, water quality, climate and protection of land from soil erosion. For example, woodlands in sub-Saharan Africa are of crucial importance to water resources management because all the major river basins in sub-Saharan Africa are either located or have most of their headwaters in the woodlands. Therefore they play a crucial role in sustaining river flows and water supplies. The conservation of these woodlands in watersheds is therefore crucial for maintaining the supply of water for irrigation, sanitation, industry, hydropower and human consumption. People also derive numerous products and services from ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain and this book focuses on a limited number of these products and services.

Non-Wood Forest Products

Poverty in Africa is rife; almost 60 per cent of rural Africans live on less than US$1 a day (Kaimowitz, 2003). In many of the continent’s rural areas, poverty appears entrenched and intractable with few opportunities for relief, especially in the context of the huge and devastating impacts of HIV/AIDS (Bryceson and Fonseca, 2006; Shackleton, 2006; Wiegers et al, 2006). The importance of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) for livelihood security, in particular for food security and alleviating dietary deficiencies, and for assisting households to cope with, if not escape, poverty is widely acknowledged in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, these products have been shown to be important for women and children, both extremely vulnerable groups. The use of NWFPs by urban, in addition to rural households, has also been pointed out, and is likely to grow with the increasing urbanization of Africa’s population (UNEP, 2002). In many ways, urban demand helps to create sustainable markets for NWFPs, contributing to their potential as a means for rural people and traders to earn a cash income. Furthermore, NWFPs play a significant role in mitigating some of the devastating impacts of HIV/AIDS. Both plant and insect wild foods are highly nutritious and could assist in meeting some of the nutritional requirements of people living with HIV/AIDS. The demand for traditional medicines has also risen as a result of the AIDS pandemic, with potentially negative outcomes for forest and medicinal plant stocks. Many NWFPs have significant links to culture and identity and contribute to building social capital. Despite this, and the fact that many millions of poor people benefit daily from NWFPs, their crucial importance for livelihood security and significant economic contribution, primarily in the informal sector, is generally poorly recognized and appreciated and sometimes even ignored in terms of national policy and forest management (Bird and Dickson, 2005; Petheram et al, 2006). Such neglect may undermine the potential of these products to deliver benefits in the future, erode vital safety nets and exacerbate the already persistent poverty endemic to Africa.

Woodfuel

Firewood and charcoal use, especially in urban areas, has socio-economic benefits. The charcoal business employs a large portion of the population along the chain from the producer in rural areas to the consumer in urban areas. Charcoal production contributes significantly, in some cases 60–80 per cent, to rural household income and is therefore important in poverty reduction. Sustainable dry forest and woodland management is thus key to the maintenance of forest-based income generation in rural areas. In some cases, income from charcoal sales is used to buy agricultural inputs and in this way, dry forests and woodlands subsidize agricultural production and therefore contribute to household food security. Income from woodfuel sales cushion rural households against loss of agricultural incomes when producer prices of agricultural crops decline due to economic and other structural adjustment policies. Similarly when people lose jobs, such as in mining and other industries, they find charcoal production an attractive means of income generation.

Timber and Wood Products

Timber and wood products, such as poles, from indigenous trees in African dry forests and woodlands are used locally to meet basic needs and to generate income. Timber products constitute the base for small-scale industries in many communities, including those centred on woodcrafts, canoe making and the manufacturing of a variety of household tools and utensils. These industries enable communities to generate social and economic benefits. Apart from the direct involvement of communities in the timber business, sustainable forest management creates possibilities for the timber industry to share benefits from the logging operations with local communities. Many countries in dry forest and woodland regions of Africa have adopted measures for benefit sharing between local communities and those conducting logging operations, be they the private sector or the state. The establishment of industries to produce wood products in the rural areas is often accompanied with infrastructure development (hospitals, schools, roads, etc.) and the roads increase accessibility to remote rural areas.

Livestock and Wildlife

Rangelands, including those in the woodlands, occupy about 90 per cent of the agricultural land in Africa and sustain the livelihoods of 25 million people. Livestock production systems in the subsistence economy are usually geared to the production of multiple products, including meat, milk, blood, hides and skins, dung for fuel, transportation, flexible household capital reserves and risk management, while commercial ranching systems are generally geared more narrowly towards meat production (Mearns, 1996). The livelihoods of millions of people in Africa are therefore dependent on livestock (Shackleton et al, 2001, 2005; Dovie et al, 2006). Animal draught power and nutrient cycling through manure compensate for lack of access to modern inputs, such as tractors and fertilizers.

Livestock production makes a significant contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) although its importance in the economy varies among African woodland regions. Livestock are expected to play an important role in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by 2015.

In southern and eastern Africa wildlife management is an important complement to livestock keeping on rangelands. Income from game viewing and/or trophy hunting on private ranches and state game management areas can exceed the income from livestock, and a combination of both provides higher income than livestock or wildlife alone (Kiss, 1990). Although large game animals are now rare in western Africa, smaller game animals, such as duikers, grasscutters and giant rats contribute substantially to local meat supply (Caspary, 1999). Lindsey et al (2007) estimated that sub-Saharan Africa receives about US$201 million per year from trophy hunting, making trophy hunting an important driver of conservation. In spite of the conflicting reports about benefits from community-based wildlife management schemes, this natural resources management approach has the potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and local economic development, especially in woodland areas with a high diversity of wildlife species.

Plantations and Woodlots

Plantations and woodlots generate revenue and foreign exchange for national governments. At the local level, they provide jobs offering economic opportunities for rural residents (Whiteman and Lebedys, 2006). In addition, there may be opportunities for local residents to use the residues and by-products left behind after trees have been harvested for woodfuel or timber. Indirect benefits may include government reinvestment of the revenue generated from plantations into education, medicine and infrastructure development in local communities (Morrison and Bass, 1992).

Managing Dry Forests and Woodlands in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Concerns

With the ever-growing pressure on dry forest and woodland resources to meet human development needs and livelihood demands, these vegetation forms are increasingly being utilized unsustainably in Africa. Often, the high levels of poverty and growing political pressure force governments in Africa to encourage overexploitation and conversion of dry forests and woodlands to other seemingly more profitable land uses at the expense of the environmental and ecological services that they provide.

The issues addressed in this book concern the role and potential of dry forests and woodlands as sources of products and services, and how these can sustainably be harnessed to alleviate poverty and support livelihoods and socioeconomic development. Much of the global focus in African forests has been on tropical rainforests; as a consequence of this bias, dry forests and woodlands have received little attention in terms of research, investment and policy development. This book is an attempt to get dry forests and woodlands back on the agenda of national, regional and global debates. However, while recognizing the value and potential of African dry forests and woodlands to livelihoods and national economic development, the book raises a number of concerns about sustainable utilization of these areas. In particular, it discusses the threats posed by resource tenure, governance, international conservation and trade policies. The book highlights the knowledge gap that exists about the inherent ability and capacity of dry forests and woodlands to regenerate, especially in the face of climate change and land-use extension and intensification. The key question is whether there ar...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword by Dr Coert J Geldenhuys
• Preface
• Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1. Dry Forests and Woodlands in Sub-Saharan Africa: Context and Challenges
• 2. Distribution and Characteristics of African Dry Forests and Woodlands
• 3. Biodiversity of Plants
• 4. Contribution of Non-wood Forest Products to Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation
• 5. Non-wood Forest Products: Description, Use and Management
• 6. Timber and Wood Products
• 7. Woodfuel
• 8. Livestock and Wildlife
• 9. Plantations and Woodlots in Africa’s Dry Forests and Woodlands
• 10. Environmental Services from the Dry Forests and Woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa
• 11. Managing Dry Forests and Woodlands for Products and Services: A Prognostic Synthesis
• Index