Africa

Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation: The Republic of The Gambia
October 1998, Ghana - Accra
By Jato S. Sillah
Department of Forestry - Banjul

Introduction

The world have over the years seen the interconnected life-sustaining system threatened through the combination of natural phenomena such as drought and ill-advised resource exploitation practices aggravated by rapid population increase and a fast pace of urbanization. The vegetation of most countries are under the pressure of economic and social development. The valuable natural resources of the world are being constantly sacrificed for the satisfaction of human comfort for the time, while ignoring the connected future consequences. The whole process is being further threaten by the unwillingness of some countries to assist others.

The Governments should be committed to create integrated and holistic institutional frameworks for the pursuit of sound and sustainable environmental management. The environmental problems and issues now confronting the world are the outcome of the interplay of a number of factors and combinations of factors over an extended period of time

Let us look at the definition of the two processes in common term.

Deforestation
in simple terms, can be the gradual reduction of the stocking of the vegetation cover resulting from human activities.

Forest Degradation
means reduction or loss of the biological and economic productivity and complexity of forests and woodlands resulting from land use or combination of processes arising from human activities.

One should then understand forest degradation as the transforming of forest and woodland ecologies into savanna and finally to crop lands. With further continuation of deforestation, the savanna and crop lands are turned into infertile denuded areas; - Desertification -.

Underlying causes of deforestation and Forest degradation

These includes

• inappropriate policies and regulations
• law enforcement
• poverty
• bushfires
• land conversion to agriculture and settlement
• through wood cultivation - legal or illegal
• awareness level
• decision making - lack of community involvement
• mining activities
• overgrazing
• natural
• drought
• landslides
• earthquakes

Inappropriate policies and regulations

It is mainly the failure of most countries to formulate periodically up to date policies and regulations, with the clear view of the nature of the forestry problems as well as the role that forest have to play in the national development. This calls for the understanding and the recognition of the economic, social and the physical factors that affect forest and forestry development as well as the absolute and relative area of forests, population density and the type of land-use in place.

In the past forest policies and regulations in most countries of the world have traditionally been vague and weak. This situation may have resulted from the fact that forest and forest products were abundant while the population growth and development and their rational impact on forest resources were not adequately understood.

With to days high population and scarce forest resources, it is incumbent on all governments to define, and rigorously implement, new policy objectives and regulations that will halt or even reverse the current trends of forest deterioration and help to arrest the process of deforestation that seems to accompany it, especially in the developing world. This will only be possible if forest policies and regulations place emphasis on the immediate needs and wishes of the people.

It is generally admitted that forests play a vital role in the socio-economic development. Usually, the limited attention that the forest sector received in terms of political and financial support do not match with this importance. To maximize the effects of the policies and regulations, it is likewise important to coordinate it with other sectors which influence or are influenced by forestry.

Law Enforcement

It would be rather useless to formulate adequate policies and regulations when they are not enforced or the means and ways of enforcement are in place.

In recognition of the need to protect the forest resources against illegal and non-sustainable exploitation and the need to rationally manage them, the regulations should provide guidelines to prevent malicious activities and as well as provide punitive aspects as a deterrent against the commitment of deliberate and habitual offenses.

While regulations should also recognize that partnership building between governments, communities and individuals for collaborative management of forests may be the answer to the forestry problems facing most developing countries today, it is also a necessity to cater for the monitoring and the means of doing it.

Poverty

"It is very expensive to be poor" is one of the most important phrase addressing the capacity of developing countries and even individuals to invest in the proper management of their forests or do away with irrational exploitation of the forest resources.

Developing countries can hardly meet the financial, material and personnel requirements of sustainable forest management. In most cases as well, there is little political motivation of resource commitment to the sector. It is rather unfortunate that the best part of the world’s forest is found in such countries.

The rich countries on their part has the resources and technology in excess. There should be an international will and commitment of these countries to work together with the poor countries and mobilize the means lacking. It is common knowledge that effects of environmental destruction does not know the political boarders (pollution, bushfires).

Though poverty is often the result of degraded environmental conditions, but continues forest degradation by millions of poor people is the only way to the struggle for their immediate survival. As an example, 30 - 40% of the world’s population obtain energy from fuelwood. Forest management can contribute significantly in poverty alleviation through assisting the needy (financial, material and know-how) to manage all renewable resources which can generate short and medium term revenues.

Bushfires

Fire can only kindle in the presence of oxygen that our life depends on, while producing carbon dioxide that to a limit could be detrimental to existence on earth. To prosper, fires need fuel which otherwise should replenish the soil and provide habitat for the micro- and macro-organisms.

Wild bushfire regimes are among the most pervasive human influences on forest ecosystems, with major implications for forest ecosystem productivity, composition and functions. In most tropical and sub-tropical regions, fire is used with discrimination on farm preparations. Bushfires greatly modify the forest environment through degradation, transformation and fragmentation of forest ecosystems; often resulting in reduce species richness and density, erosion of genetic diversity and ultimately to the extinction of locally adapted population and species.

Bushfires are in almost all cases caused by careless actions of humans. To prevent this actions, public education and awareness campaigns for attitudinal change are among the most important tools.

Conversion to agriculture and settlement

Forest destruction to meet the agricultural productive land requirement of the steadily growing population is perhaps the most important deforestation threat in the developing countries.

The growing population pressure for food and space is pushing some of the remaining specialized and sensitive flora and fauna of poor countries to local extinction. These countries rely more on extensive farming method through shifting cultivation with very short fallow periods. The short duration of the fallow never allows trees to thrive again or if they do, they are removed at seedling stage. The land subsequently is with time left to be barren.

Exploitation of forest resources - legal or illegal

The exploitation of the worlds forest resources to meet the basic needs of it’s population for minor and major products through concessions, industries, small traders and community or even families is also a major contributing factor to forest degradation and destruction.

More serious in some tropical countries is the trading of virgin land to concessions for foreign exchange. In some Sahelien countries, wood products like fuelwood is already getting too expensive for the urban poor. The situation is forcing more and more people to illegally exploit forests for wood vending.

To address the unsustainable exploitation of the renewable forest resources, the local people living in or adjacent to the forests are to be supported in their struggle for food and should be well informed. They have to be also fully involved in all activities from planning to implementation stage.

Awareness level

To acquire the active participation and commitment of communities and individuals the awareness level of the local population concerning conservation and rational utilization of forest resources most be augmented. With the low literacy rate of developing countries, most of the people are not fully aware of the effects or connected effects of deforestation and forest degradation.

Women and youths in particular of the poor countries must be sensitized to make them feel interested and participate in the sustainable management of forest resources. For long-term effective sense of responsibility of the population for the rational use of the natural resources, the learning institutions has to incorporate environmental education in the school curriculums.

Decision making - lack of community involvement

Over the years, forests in the world experienced significant negative changes as a result of the increased population pressure on it both for domestic and commercial purposes. Due to the limited resources available to it, governments of most countries in particular the developing world has not been able to sufficiently ensure the protection and rational utilization of this important natural resources base which has so far been the single most important source of domestic energy.

Unlike the past, governments must start involving the population and communities in decision making, in designing and implementing programs. In order to facilitate better coordinated actions, the best tool for sustainable forest management should be "the bottom-up approach". In simple terms, the people should be mandated to work out their preference of resource management, and institutions (Government, NGOs) would provide the technical assistance.

The provisions for the institutionalization of community and private forestry should bring about the protection, development and rational utilization need of the forest resources by both governments and the local population. The promotion and development of private and community forestry should therefore receive a higher consideration. By so doing the communities should be allowed to own forest areas situated in their customary holdings and be allowed to benefit from the products in a way that will contribute to their development as well as to the broader social and economic development of their nations. Community ownership and management of forests will unleash a large volume of community labor for the purpose of forest management, for the benefit of the communities themselves, and ensure a progressive development of the forests through it’s large scale protection.

Mining activities

All types of mining (Sand and minerals) erodes the original vegetation cover, only to be naturally succeeded by pioneers which in most case might not be the right or the desired colony.

Overgrazing

In countries with high population of grazing animals, the carrying capacity of the forests is always overstrengthened. Through the over grazing of the forests, the regeneration is either browsed or tramped by the animals. The frequented grazing paths are also outlets for erosion.

IMPACTS OF DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources:

Non-depletable

SUN
AIR
WIND

Depletable

Renewable resources
-WATER
-SOIL
-VEGETATION
-ANIMALS
-MINERALS

Non-renewable resources
-FOSSIL FUEL ) Non-renewable resources

IMPACT ON FORESTS AND RANGELANDS

Overview

- one third earth surface is forest
- 43% located in developing tropical countries
- 740.000 ha are dryland forests (about 480 occur in Africa)
- World deforestation rate - 16.9 million ha per year

Deforestation processes

- deforestation especially through exploitation
- land clearing for agriculture, settlement, etc.
- fuelwood collection
- mining activities
- forest and range fires
- overgrazing

Example of Deforestation Rates for Tropical woodlands 1976-80 (million ha. per year)

Africa 2.3
Asia o.2
Latin America 1.3

Total 3.8

Specific (examples)

Brazil - in Brazilian legal Amazon 150,000 ha cleared in 1978,
- 22,000 ha cleared per year from 1978 - 1988

Senegal - 60,000 ha cleared annually for agriculture alone

Burk. Faso - 50,000 ha cleared annually for agriculture

Zimbabwe - 70,000 ha annually for tobacco farming
- 75-100,000 ha cleared for tobacco curing

Related issues

- fuelwood loss (for 30 - 40 % of the world population)
- habitat loss
- loss of nonwood forest produce (food, medicinal plants, etc.)
- biodiversity loss

IMPACT ON WATER RESOURCES

Processes

- irrigation
- extraction from deep aquifers
- farming (land clearing, poor cultivation)
- fertilizer and agro-chemical applications
- drought

Effects

- erosion
- contamination by chemicals
- depletion of fresh water
- salinization and acidification
- eutrophication
- siltation
- turgidity increase
- shortage of water for domestic use

Some Specific Examples

India - Maharashtra State, 2000 wells dried and 23,000 villages without adequate water due to daily extraction of 50,000 litters of water for sugar production

Jordan - Dhuleil, Zarka river basin
- solid content increased from 300 mg to 340 mg/l (1960 - 86)
- nitrate content increased from 110 mg to 150 mg/l
- salinity increased from 320 mg to 2800 mg/l

The Gambia - saline water front intrusion up river for 250 Km at peak dry season

IMPACT ON SOILS

Processes

- Agricultural Practices
- slash and burn, poor irrigation, poor cultivation
- use of agro-chemicals
- mono cropping (e.g. groundnut cultivation)

(FAO: 250 mil. ha irrigated today, 1 - 1.5 mil. ha become unprod. annually)

- Climatic
- droughts
- heavy downpours (causing land slides, etc.)
- Construction
- land clearing
- dams/roads/settlements etc.

Chemical degradation ( mainly from agriculture and industrial activities)

- salinization, (Pakistan 5 - 9 mil. ha.; India 15 mil. ha; USA 4 mil. ha)
- acidification (e.g. acid sulphate soils)

Physical Degradation (human/agricultural, climatic)

- compaction, crusting, loosening (erosion), water logging etc.

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