Forestry in Africa
Senior 3 · Geography
Forestry in Africa
Lesson 3 of 4
35 min
Let's begin
Compare the two satellite images below. Both show the same corner of north-western Rwanda, south of the Virunga volcanoes and east of Lake Kivu. In July 1986, a large dark-green block of natural forest, Gishwati, stands out on the hills. By December 2001 most of it has gone, replaced by pasture, small farms and tea estates. Gishwati is one small example of a continent-wide problem: across Africa, forests are being cut faster than they grow back. Why does this happen, what does it cost, and how can it be stopped?
Definition
Over-exploitation of forests: cutting trees and taking forest products faster than the forest can regrow. Deforestation: the permanent clearing of forest so that the land is used for something else, such as farms, towns or mines. Forest degradation: damage that thins a forest and lowers its quality without clearing it completely. Net forest loss: the forest area lost minus the forest area gained by planting and natural regrowth.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) measures the world's forests every five years. Its 2020 assessment found that Africa had the largest annual rate of net forest loss of any continent in 2010–2020, and that the rate had been rising for thirty years (Figure 3).
| Cause | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Expansion of farming | Forest is cleared for food crops, cash crops and pasture as population grows | Cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana; pasture and tea at Gishwati |
| Fuelwood and charcoal | Most households cook with wood or charcoal, and cities consume huge amounts of charcoal | Charcoal for Kinshasa; in Rwanda 76% of households cooked mainly with firewood in 2022 |
| Commercial and illegal logging | Valuable trees are removed, and logging roads open the forest to settlers | The Congo Basin and coastal West Africa |
| Population growth and settlement | More people need land, homes and building poles | Highland forests of East Africa |
| Mining and road building | Forest is cleared for pits, spoil heaps, roads and camps | Gold and coltan mining in eastern DR Congo |
| Bush fires | Fires lit to clear land or for hunting spread into woodland | Savanna woodland across the Sahel and miombo |
| Overgrazing | Livestock eat seedlings, so the forest cannot regenerate | Dry woodlands of the Sahel |
| Poverty and weak law enforcement | People depend on the forest for income; laws are not enforced | Illegal charcoal burning in many protected forests |
Definition
Fuelwood: wood burnt directly for cooking and heating. Charcoal: wood partly burnt in a kiln without much air; it is lighter to carry and burns hotter, but making it wastes much of the wood's energy. Biodiversity: the variety of living things in an area. Desertification: the spread of desert-like conditions into dry lands, caused by climate and human misuse.
| Measure | How it works | Rwandan or African example |
|---|---|---|
| Afforestation and reforestation | Plant trees on bare land and replant cleared forest | Rwanda's national tree-planting seasons: about 25 million trees planted in 2020–21 (Ministry of Environment) |
| Agroforestry | Grow trees on farms, giving wood without clearing forest | Grevillea and fruit trees on Rwandan farm boundaries |
| Protected areas and laws | Gazette forests as parks and reserves; punish illegal cutting | Gishwati–Mukura National Park, created by Law N° 45 of 2015 |
| Alternative energy | Reduce demand for wood with gas, biogas, electricity and improved cookstoves | LPG and improved cookstoves in Rwandan towns |
| Controlled harvesting | Selective felling, quotas, felling cycles and logging permits | Concession rules in Gabon and Cameroon |
| Community forestry and education | Give local people a share of the benefits and teach the value of forests | Community forests in Cameroon; environment clubs in schools |
| Fire control and better farming | Fire breaks, fewer bush fires, higher yields on existing farmland | Fire breaks in plantations; radical terraces in Rwanda |
Definition
Afforestation: planting trees where there was no forest before. Reforestation: replanting trees where forest has been cut. Agroforestry: growing trees together with crops or livestock on the same land. Improved cookstove: a stove that burns wood or charcoal more efficiently, so less fuel is needed for the same cooking.
Worked example
Worked example 1: reading Figure 3. By how many hectares per year did Africa's net forest loss increase between 1990–2000 and 2010–2020, and by what percentage?
Worked example
Worked example 2: wood for cooking. The 2022 census counted 3,312,743 private households in Rwanda, and 76% cooked mainly with firewood (NISR). About how many households is that?
Warning
Afforestation is not the same as reforestation. Planting a woodlot on a bare hillside that has never been forest is afforestation; replanting a cleared forest is reforestation. Also, a young plantation does not replace the biodiversity of an old natural forest, so protecting what remains comes first.
Tip
Draw the chain for exam answers: trees cut → bare soil → rain washes soil away → rivers silt up and springs dry → farms and dams suffer. One clear chain with an example scores better than a list of single words.
DW News: what is causing deforestation in Africa, with charcoal making in DR Congo and a reforestation success in Tanzania. List the causes shown, then the solutions.
Practice
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
