West Africa Insight

Monthly News on Democratic Governance, Gender, Peace and Security

Vol 1 No 7 July 2010

January 2010

A Publication of the Centre for Democracy and Development with Support from Rockefeller Foundation
 Table of Contents
The Double Damage: Gender and
Deforestation in West Africa
Oil ExplorationEndangers Nigeria’s
Niger Delta Wetlands
West African forests: An Overview 6
Forest Depletion in Ghana leads to
the Loss of Medicinal Herbs
Sources
Monthly News and Current Affairs 10
ECOWAS Policy Framework and West
African Forests
Beyond Trees
Editorial Team
Editor in Chief
- Jibrin Ibrahim
Editor
- Okon Akiba
Associate Editor
- Okechukwu Ibeanu
Project Officer
- Daniel Nengak Gondyi
Project Officer (Technical)
- Terfa Hemen
Researchers
Uchenna Idoko
Seno Ngene
Fola Koledewo
The Rockefeller Foundation is
not responsible for views
expressed in this publication
Editorial
Deforestation
It was thought to be a novel, path-breaking intervention when the United
3
Nations declared in the late 1980s that the sustainability of “Our Common Future”
ultimately must be predicated on a radical transformation toward development
4 practice “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
the future generations to meet their own needs.” But centuries before this public
call, the Aboriginal people and First Nations of Canada (Mohawks, Inuit, Métis)
were already warning us through their culture of environmental stewardship that
“we do not inherit the land from our fathers, we borrow it from our children.”
Indeed, across world indigenous cultures, this philosophy of inter-generational
7 responsibility and accounting is common.
This edition of West Africa Insight attempts to capture the extents to which
9 governments in the region are conforming or departing from recent injunctions to
restrain the predatory proclivities of elite cadres and curb the destructive trend in
the consumption of the earth's resources. The focus is on the health of our forest
environment. We find that deforestation thrives and is continuing a-pace, with
devastating consequences for a sustainable future; and that illegal logging for
11
underground export trade serves the interests of the region's money makers. The
search for fossil fuels, more productive grazing land for livestock, large scale
12
agricultural plantations for production of commercial crops are additional reasons
why forests are fast shrinking and species interactions in ecosystems
compromised. Deforestation reflects the logic of economic consumption that is
fundamentally based on short-sighted goals.
Scientific reports confirm that the continuing erosion of forests in West Africa
is mounting pressures on biodiversity West African biodiversity serves as the
ecological habitat or sanctuary for 40 percent of Africa's mammals and roughly
2000 endemic species of plants. Roughly speaking, only 16 percent of the region's
forests is currently identified and technically cordoned off for protection; and
merely two percent of this endangered physical environment is marked for
biodiversity conservation. West Africa's forest environment is severely ill, though
little is being forcefully said about its fast deteriorating condition in the media
within the region and abroad. Governments in the region are not seriously
pursuing remedies or providing new enforcement mechanisms to save the forest
ecosystem.
Deforestation does more than destroy trees and biodiversity. It disarticulates
and disorientates local human communities whose livelihoods are precariously
hinged on predictable and guaranteed access to the resources in their immediate
surroundings. Internal displacement, aggravated poverty, emotional sense of
uncertainty, and rural-urban migration are a few of the severe consequent human
costs. In this circumstance, family units are split and the cultural integrity and
social heritage of communities face extinction.
Contributors to this volume have elaborated these problems in their appropriate
national, cultural, and political contexts. I am persuaded that issues raised and
addressed by them will most likely advance the debates on the need for
alternative methods of human development and environmental recovery. To gain
full flavor of the quality of argumentations and solutions proffered, the reader is
advised to follow the stories in the sequence that they are presented.
Okon Akiba

2
The Double Damage: Gender and
Deforestation in West Africa
E nvironmental resources are
often the only resources
available to poverty stricken women
in the tropics. The fertile soil that
women are able to cultivate and
what grows naturally are some of
the resources available to them. On
a larger scale these resources are
the basis for the economic
development of the agricultural
nations of West Africa. Forests are
the basis for sustainable and
predictable progress and
development.
In a number of West African
countries, the forests were until A wood retailer in Mali. (Photo: PREDAS)
recently providing as much as 85% http://www.hedon.info/BP56:WomenAndHouseholdEnergyIn
of locally produced animal protein Sahelian Countries
(this includes bush meats and snails)
Saharan Africa than in Asia and Latin the relationship to, and the uses and
which women trade for their other
America and the Caribbean. Africa's methods of management of, natural
needs. They may also harvest round
forest and woodland of 1,339 million resources among women and men.
wood, sell fuel wood, collect fruits
hectares, constitutes about 20 per cent Some have emphasized the
and nuts, grow mush rooms, sell
of the worlds total. Over 90% of West contribution of food collection by
palm wine, manufacture baskets,
Africa's original forest has been lost; only women to feed the household,
make mobile cages as handcraft, all
a small part of what remains qualifies as while others have shown forests as
from palm trees, as well as raising
frontier forest. Deforestation is the result being a major source of income for
livestock that graze within the forest
of an economy which thinks of the short women. The focus on gendered
environment. Forests are of critical
term solution. The search for fossil fuels, uses of forest resources has helped
importance to the economy of rural
more productive grazing lands for to highlight the differentiated
women in these countries and vital
livestock, and land to grow crops in order access of men and women to
to their well being. This dependency
to serve the needs of the money makers natural resources. Women who rely
on the forest decreases as one
are a few of the reasons why forests are on natural resources will be
moves to other habitats as a result
destroyed. It has environmental adversely affected by their
of deforestation, which in turn
consequences, which impinge directly on degradation as it will undermine
grossly reduces the quality of
the lives of poor rural women; their women's ability to perform their
livelihoods.
workloads are increased as they travel roles, and may increase the amount
In many parts of West Africa,
further to seek fodder, water and fuel, of time and energy women must
tropical forests are disappearing at a
hence they have less time for income invest to perform them. For
much faster rate than many
generation activities to improve their example, in some cases the
governments and their agencies are
standards of living, to invest in natural clearance of communal forests for
willing to admit. While some may
living or to invest in natural resources agricultural production or
argue that this is not peculiar to the
management. commercial forestry has reduced
region, findings indicate that the
The debate about gender and forestry the access of women to forest
problem is more endemic in sub-
has, above all, emphasized differences in products and resulted in the need to

3
 commute longer distances for both
subsistence and cash products.
“Many destructive activities against
the environment disproportionately
affect women, because most
women in the world, and especially
in the developing world, are very
dependent on primary natural
resources: land, forests, waters,"
says Wangari Maathai of Kenya.
And she convincingly argues
further that "Men can trek and go
looking for greener pastures in
other areas in other countries ... but
for women, they're usually left on
site to face the consequences, so
when there is deforestation, when
there is drought, when there is crop
failure, it is the women and children
who are the most adversely
affected."
Due to lush and abundant natural
resources, Ghana has been severely
exploited. In ten years (1990 to
2000), Ghana lost 16% of its forest
cover to logging. Women are at risk
particularly because they simply are
d i s c r i m i n a te d a ga i n st a n d l a c k strategies to improve women's
recognition. Ama Ntowaa, a 56- year- old participation in forestry projects.
widow who supports six Most forestry institutions in
children as on a West African countries are
small cocoa male-dominated.
f a r m i n There has however
Western b e e n s o m e
Ghana, laid criticisms of the
down in way in which
front of a attempts to
bulldozer to institutionalize
stop a logging women's participation
company that was have led to the tendency
intent on hauling away to apply standardized gender
her trees, even though her Area Chi frameworks.
ef made a deal with the companies Government policy on forests
should emphasize the need for rural
without consulting her. She did lose
women education on how to
about a third of her land before she could practice afforestation and agro-
stop them, all for the profit of the logging forestry in order to improve and
company and the unscrupulous chief. maintain their farmland including
Another important debate concerns lack soil fertility, which could be
of participation by women in the design promoted via seminars and
extension training.
and implementation of forestry projects.
There is a dearth of appropriate Idoko, Uchenna

Oil Exploration Endangers Nigeria’s

Niger Delta Wetlands
T he discovery of oil in
commercial quantity in
Nigeria's Niger Delta Wetlands
(from 1956 onward) led the
accumulation of large financial
resources, with growing national
income and swollen foreign
reserves that encouraged a boom in
the construction industry. But the
negative impacts of oil exploration
grossly outweigh all concrete and
perceptible benefits accruing to
ordinary Nigerians. The mangrove
forest of the Niger-Delta, which
extends from Ondo State (South-
West) through Rivers State (South- Mangrove Forest in the Niger Delta http://www.boingboing.net/entbig.jpg

4
South) to Cross River State (South-
East), is severely compromised and
endangered environment. It covers
about 70,000km2 of wetlands (the
largest in Africa and the third largest
in the world), making up about 7.5%
of Nigeria's total land mass and
home to about 20 million. This land
mass has been the focus of constant
exploration for oil by many
international oil companies.
The activities of oil
corporations operating in the
area have led to oil spillage and
gas flaring so far the twin-evils
of oil exploration in the country.
Reports show that there have
been no less than 6,817 spills
between 1976 and 2000. This
simply means that at least one
spill per day occurred over the
period of 25 years. Moreover, an
estimated 1.5 million tons of oil
has spilled into the Niger-Delta
ecosystem over the past 50
years. As a result, the aquatic and
the terrestrial habitats are in
danger of extinction. The entire
marine, brackish and riverine
organisms together with the
flora and fauna species found
therein face massive destruction
following regular oil spills.
Numerous species of fishes,
shrimps, and crab fish are being
wasted in great proportions due
to onshore spillage. When spills
occur onshore, or get to the seas
from offshore spills, oil
companies respond by using
chemical dispersants and
sometimes just simply set the
floating crude oil on fire.
Deforestation is another
negative product of oil
exploitation. Rapid mangrove
level, the mangrove forest is
deforestation is projected to
eliminate 5 15% of species by 2020. currently not under any known
Deforestation has also exposed the fo r m o f p r o t e c t i o n , a n d
land mass to erosion and leaching. strategies of biological resource
Other effects include low (quantity conservation are not well
and quality) of agricultural produce developed. The Federal
and flooding. Oil exploration in the Government of Nigeria should
Niger Delta wetlands has done more set up agencies to be responsible
t h a n re n d e r t h e i n h a b i ta nt s fo r t h e fo r m u l a t i o n a n d
implementation of
marginalized and destitute. It has
environmental conservation and
made poverty and hunger a common
recovery of the mangrove forest.
cultural experience. An estimated
Lastly, most ofthe time, oil
70% of the population lives in severe
companies have failed to
poverty defined in terms of
report spillages, and
limited disposable
when they do, the
income, lack of
s c a l e o f
healthcare and
damages to
d e c r e p i t
t h e
educational
environment
facilities.
is frequently
Many do not
suppressed.
have access to
In this regard,
s a fe d r i n k i n g
government
water, and this is a
must show more
big source of illnesses.
concern about oil clean-
Live expectancy in the Niger
up methods. Oil companies
Delta is among the lowest in the
must be compelled to
country. Meanwhile, flaring wrecks
demonstrate more transparency
immeasurable havoc on the health of
in their production activities,
the people. Oil rigs emit toxic gases
particularly in regard to spillage,
into the atmosphere and toxic gases
and their clean-up methods
are also released into the air
must not compromise the Niger
whenever these corporations set
Delta eco-system.
spilled (onshore) oil on fire in their bid
-Koledowo, Fola.
to “clean up.”
Concerning prescriptions to
reverse these adverse trends,
perhaps we can begin by encouraging
a return to traditional methods of
resource conservation methods
practiced by the indigenes of the
Niger Delta in pre-colonial times,
which included selective harvest and
seasonal restriction on the harvest of
the mangrove resources. On another
5
 West African Forests: An Overview

“In the 15 minutes or so you will

take to read this report, around 4
km² of the world's forests will be lost
because of deforestation. Another
90 or so forest-dependent people
will no longer be able to rely on
forests and woodlands to provide
key sources of livelihood, like they
have for generations because those
resources are no longer there. And
another 75,000 tons of carbon will
be released into the atmosphere
because of deforestation” (2009
Annual Report: Program on Forests
Sponsored by the World Bank)

The above is a preface to the Lumbering Camp-http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6457

2009 Annual Report of the
Program on Forests, a multi-
donor partnership for forest
conservation hosted by the
World Bank to pursue the shared
goal of enhancing
environmental protection. The
program also seeks through
forest conservation to reduce
poverty and ensure sustainable
development among
communities in the region.
The Guinean Forests is one of
the largest in the world,
stretching eastward into Sierra
Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire,
Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and
Cameroon. The Gulf of Guinea
(which is part of Equatorial
Guinea) and São Tomé and
Príncipe also host rich and
diverse forest lands that provide
a wide range of wood and non
wood products. But due to
many factors, such as drought, illegal
logging and bush-meat hunting the
forests and their resources are fast
depleting with dire consequences.
With varying degrees of success,
quite a few countries in the region are
attempting to stem this trend. For
example, a legally-binding voluntary
partnership agreement is already in
place to ensure that all timber
entering European markets from
Ghana are officially certified. The
arrangement is bound to undercut
illegal logging, by forcing or
committing Ghana to develop a
transparent system for collecting
taxes on the sales of timber. In turn,
the EU is required to develop and
enforce border control measures
aimed at preventing unlicensed
Ghanaian wood from entering its
markets. Currently, more than half of
Ghana's yearly £200 million timber
harvest is sold to Europe, but
World Bank studies estimate that
up to 60 percent of logging in the
country is illegal.
The first forestry act for
Nigeria was passed by the British
colonial authorities in 1937, and
it delineated specific areas in
which licensed firms were
permitted to exploit timber. But
legislation has proved ineffective
over time. According to Philip
Asiodu, President of the Nigeria
C o n s e r vat i o n Fo u n d at i o n ,
relevant institutions and the
bureaucracy in the country are
too corrupt, unable, or unwilling
to implement conservation
policies that are clearly spelled
out in the books. The depletion
of forest cover has been
especially severe in central and
northern Nigeria, opening the

6
5
 door to soil erosion and
desertification. It is reported
that about 350,000 hectares of
land in the country are lost to
desertification annually.
Sierra Leone is estimated to
have lost an average of 19,300
hectares of forest per year,
between 1990 and 2000.
Senegal suffers a similar trend; the 1960 had risen to about 11.9
country had over 250 trees per million in 2006.
hectare during the colonial era,
compared to a mere 20 trees per Nengak, Daniel
hectare as reported in 1995.
Drought and a steep rise in populated
are largely responsible for these
troubling outcomes. Senegal's
population of 3 million people in

Forest depletion in Ghana leads to

the Loss of Medicinal Herbs
T raditional medicine is
c u r re n t l y re c e i v i n g a
renewed attention among circles of
scientific researches in health.
Worldwide, about 50,000 known
species of plants are used in
traditional and modern medical
p ra c t i c e . I n t h e d e v e l o p e d
countries, traditional,
complimentary and alternative
medicines are becoming more
p o p u l a r. F o r e x a m p l e , t h e
percentage of the population that
has used such medicines at least
once is 48 percent in Australia, 31
percent in Belgium, 70 percent in
Canada, 49 percent in France and 42
percent in the United States of
America. In tropical Africa, more
than 4,000 plant species are used for
medicinal purposes, and 50, 000
tons of medicinal plants are
consumed annually in the region.
Interest in medicinal plants is
becoming more and more
recognized in health care delivery, Illegal logging in Ghana www.calfeedesign.com/Ghana2008.htm
particularly in developing countries
because they are affordable, readily that have been in use even in pre- ensuring good health. It is
accepted by consumers and locally historic times; they are said to be estimated that 80 percent of the
available. indispensable for human health and people worldwide depend on
Many healthcare provide a significant number of traditional medicine to meet
practitioners are now beginning remedies required for promoting and their primary health care needs.
to recognize the value of plants But an ominous cloud hangs

7 7
6
 their importance, they are ten years.
in the horizon. An
nonetheless threatened The role of medicinal plants
estimated 4,000 to
by extinction. in traditional health care
10,000 species
Medicinal plants delivery in Ghana cannot be
of medicinal
a r e overemphasized. More than
plants in
increasingly 250 indigenous trees and plants
the world
threatened that have been analyzed as
f a c e
by various possessing healing properties
potential
environment h av e b e e n s c i e n t i f i c a l l y
l o c a l ,
al, socio- catalogued and reserved for
national,
economic and further research in scientific
regional or
institutional research centers across the
g l o b a l
problems in that country. However, the very
extinction, with
country. At the same time, foundation upon which the
subsequent serious
traditional and indigenous medicinal plant species and the
consequences for local
knowledge about these plants is traditional health care system is
livelihoods and national
weakening and in some cases, threatened by deforestation.
economies. It is estimated that
vanishing altogether. It is estimated According to FAO, the rate of
95% of designated Medicinal
that 117 species of medicinal plants deforestation has increased by
and Aromatic Plants (MAPS) in
are threatened by extinction in Ghana 50% over the last ten years. The
developing countries are
alone. The Food and Agriculture current area of intact forest is
disappearing.
O rga n i zat i o n ( FAO ) h a s a l s o now estimated to be between
In Ghana, for example,
estimated that the rate of 10.9 percent and 11.8 percent
despite the significant increase
deforestation in Ghana has also of the original cover; and 6.9
in the use of medicinal plants
increased by 50 percent over the last percent of the country's total
and the growing appreciation of
land is forest. Deforestation is
doing more than change the
quality of the nation's habitats.
It is creating bare spaces in
which disease-carrying insects
breed and spread malaria, river
blindness and other
devastating illnesses.
Significantly also, since the
majority of the rural poor in
Ghana depend on traditional
medicine for their health care
needs, the high rate of
d e fo re sta t i o n i s h av e a
detrimental effect on the
overall status of general human
Transportation of timber in Ghana http://www.greenfudge.org health in that country.

-Ngene, Seno.

8
 Sources
The Double Damage: Gender and Deforestation in West Africa

http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/publications/ogunlade/pakistan%20journal.pdf
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN06339904
Http://laazotenegra.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/top-3-myths-about-women-climate-change-its-a-great-
big-bad09/
Http://www.afrol.com/features/10278

Oil Exploration Endangers Nigeria's Niger Delta Wetlands

http://rrh.deakin.edu.au
Http://www.nddconline.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_the_Niger_Delta
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/494/
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-16037180.html
http://www.newswatchngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1157&Itemid=26
http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/nigeria%27s-oil-boom-boosts-african-banking-growth-
2010070652318.html

West African Forests: An Overview

Http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3952:the-need-to-
check-deforestation-in-west-africa&catid=117:news&Itemid=349
http://www.cepf.net/Documents/final.guineanforests.upperguineanforest.ep.pdf
http://www.profor.info/profor/sites/profor.info/files/publication/2009-PROFOR-progressreport-part1.pdf
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/west_africa/Pages/default.aspx#indepth
Http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=37198

Forest Depletion in Ghana leads to the Loss of Medicinal Herbs

http:www.grin.com//impact of deforestation on medicinal plants in Ghana

ECOWAS Policy Framework and West African Forests

www.nants.org/.../ECOWAS%20Forestry%20Policy%20Paper%20_Final_%20REV%20Jun.pdf
Www.unep.org/roa/docs/pdf/DialogueForests-BiodivSummary.pdf

West African Forests: An Overview

http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3952:the-need-to-
check-deforestation-in-west-africa&catid=117:news&Itemid=349
http://www.cepf.net/Documents/final.guineanforests.upperguineanforest.ep.pdf
http://www.profor.info/profor/sites/profor.info/files/publication/2009-PROFOR-progressreport-part1.pdf
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/west_africa/Pages/default.aspx#indepth
http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=37198
Cover page Picture
Www.hedon.info

9
 Monthly News and Current Affairs
A new law on gender parity in
electoral lists was approved by a large
majority in Senegal's National
Assembly. The law has been
welcomed by women from diverse
walks of life. According to Fatou Kiné
Diop, president of the non-
governmental organization
Senegalese Council for Women
(COSEF in French), "We must now
support and educate communities so
they can take ownership of the new
law. We also call on the head of state
to promulgate it, but especially civil
society which now has important
work to do in terms of monitoring."
Http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?i
dnews=51739
On June 25 Canada hosted the G8
Summit in Huntsville. Algeria, South
Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi,
Nigeria and Senegal were the seven
African countries invited to the
summit of the group of the most
industrialized states on the planet.
Canada decided to focus discussions
on two out of the eight "Millennium
Goals" adopted in 2005 in order to
fight poverty in the world, including
those related to maternal, newborn
and child health. Sadly, of the
additional $50 billion that the G8
promised to provide each year before
2010 at the 2005 summit in
Gleneagles, Scotland, 18 billion
dollars are still yet to be released to
Africa.
Http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/20
10/07/05/the-g8-countries -must-
10
catch-up-on-their-commitments-
towards-africa/
The Business Forum of the Group of Eight
developing countries, (D-8) said on July
11th that it would organize trade missions
to member countries in order to further
strengthen business relationship among
businessmen in the member countries.
The forum also resolved to collaborate
with central banks and ministries of
economic development of the eight
member countries to fashion and
implement strategies to enhance
economic development and prosperity. A
Vice President of the Nigerian Chambers
of Commerce, Industry, Mines and
Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. David Iweta,
was elected as chairman of the Business
Forum of the D8 at the just concluded
meeting of the group in Abuja.
Http://www.apanews.net/spip.php?arti
cle128131
The United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) has reminded the international
community and the international donor
communities about the need for
assistance and more funds to counter
the flooding that affected West Africa in
the previous years. The OCHA said six
months after it launched the $550
million regional appeal, only one third of
it has been financed.
In response to this, the UN Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has
earmarked nearly $20 million over
the past three months for Niger, the
Central African Republic (CAR) and
Chad. However, most of those funds
went to Niger, which has over 7
million hungry people and is faced
with a serious food, nutrition and
pastoral crisis. In Niger, the global
acute malnutrition rate in the
country has reached nearly 17 per
cent for children under the age of
five. This is far above the 15 per cent
warning threshold and the 12.3 per
cent rate estimated last year.
Http://www.apanews.net/spip.php
?article128239
The president of The Gambia,
Yahya Jammeh yesterday began
the annual 'Dialogue with the
People Tour' for 2010. The tour is
a constitutional requirement and
dates back to colonial times. It
takes the president to all the seven
administrative regions of the
country and avails him the
opportunity to meet and discuss
issues of national importance with
local people. He also gets first
hand information on issues
regarding the country's
development, visit ongoing
projects and inaugurate the
completed ones. Presidential
election in Gambia is due in 2011,
and so this tour may appear as a
sort of kick-off for election.
Http://allafrica.com/stories/2010
07140041.html
9
ECOWAS Policy Framework and
West African Forests
L ike most regions of the
world, forests in West Africa
face depletion largely due to rural
demands for energy, wildlife, and
medicinal herbs. Importantly too,
in conflict zones, large swards of
forest are depleted and their
products are sold for acquisition of
arms. Forests across the region
account for 17% of the total land
mass. The vegetation varies from
the dense rain forests and semi
deciduous forests of the coastal belt
to the savannah type forests, finally
giving way to the sub-Sahel
savannah of the northern regions of
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
About 72 million hectares or
14% of the region is covered by
forests and woodlands. Guinea
Bissau with about 60% of land
under forests is the most forested
country in the region while Niger
with 1% is the least forested. It is
estimated that about 1.2 million
hectares of forests are lost annually,
with Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast
contributing an immense 62% of
this loss. The dry-land forests are
depleted at an annual average of
0.7%, while that of the humid zone
stands at 2.0%. The loss of bio-
diversity, increase in erosion rates,
reduction of water quality and
quantity, loss of livelihood have all
been identified as the negative
impacts of deforestation in the
region.
It is with this background that
a policy framework has been put
in place by ECOWAS to curtail
the continuing trend of forest
loss. The policy framework is
drawn from both international
conventions and local laws of
governments across the region to
help proffer a solution to the
problem. It also takes into cognizance
the specific forest characteristics. The
overall goal of the document is to
provide guidelines that would
enhance the sustainability of both
flora and fauna within these forests,
and also to create room for the
restoration of degraded forests.
In general the document proposes
the need to harness the potential of
forests to improve food security, and a
reduction in poverty based on the
plethora use of forests, the appropriate
commercialisation of forests as means of
integrating them into the region's
economic development, the need to
contribute to environmental protection is
also prominent in the policy. The
document also advocates the use of the
private sector in the management of
forests: the relevant companies are
expected to provide specialized
professional knowledge, including
periodic impact assessment, extension
services and monitoring and evaluation
of the forests.
Also, the policy package looks to the
future: to promote agriculture in the
degraded woodlands, protect rich bio-
diversity, and astute management
towards the overall socio-economic
development of the region. There are
plans to initiate local processing from
larger agricultural plantations for food
exports. Drought and desertification
control through soil and water
co n s e r vat i o n , refo re stat i o n a n d
development of natural forests and
woodlands, animal grazing and forests
An Oil spill site in the Niger Delta
fire control are prominent in
proposals made to protect the Sahel
forest region.
The policy also offers a variety of
implementation strategies such as
the harmonisation of forest and
fiscal policies, forest resource
assessment, sustainable
management of forests and their
b i o - d i v e r s i t y, c o m b a t i n g
desertification and soil degradation,
integration of forestry and land use
planning with watershed
management, forest industry and
trade, forest research training and
extension, mechanism for financing
forestry and regional cooperation
and partnerships.
These policies, programs and
strategies notwithstanding, the
onus still fall not just on
governments but also on the people
and their communities to curtail
exploitative activities that hugely
compromise the eco-systems in the
region.
-Hemen, Terfa
11
Beyond Trees

“If asked to define a forest, most of us will straightaway think of trees. While it is true that trees dominate---a
forest is in fact a community of not just plants and animals, but of micro-organisms as well.” (World Wide Fund
for Nature)

A typical Rain forest in Ivory Coast www.nationaalherbarium.nl

F rom the above, it is clear that

forest lands are home to
trees, as well as provide the
habitat for other diverse smaller
biological organisms; they house
over two-thirds of the known
terrestrial species.
Nevertheless we have tended to
acknowledge the value of forests
largely because we exploit trees
largely for commercial purposes.
Timber extracted from the
forests is used for construction
and paper production. The
annual value of world trade in
timber products is estimated to
b e ro u g h l y $ 1 2 0 b i l l i o n .
Charcoal deriving from wood is
among the leading sources of
energy especially for domestic
use in the developing world.
Beyond trees, we find rich array
of flora that add a distinct
aesthetic value to the forest
Centre for Democracy and Development,4 Kikuyu Close, Off Nairobi Street, Wuse II Abuja.
Website:www.westafricainsight.org
ecosystem. Different species of
animal live and co-exist with plants
and tree to enrich biodiversity.
In addition, most forest communities
depend on the forest for their
subsistence; they farm the fringes of
the forest and take fuel-wood,
vegetables and edible fruits from it.
In those locations where tourism is
encouraged, the locals gain seasonal
employment by serving as the guides
to tourists and as laborers in the
logging industrial combines. The
bush-meat industry is reportedly the
highest employer of labor in the
forests; for instance, it provides
employment for hunters. But the
bush-meat culture is threatening the
survival of a diverse range of
mammals, a problem that has
recently captured the attention of a
few international organizations such
as the United Nations the UN has
warned of an impending “bush-meat
Email:cddabv@cddwestafrica.org Tel:+234(0)9 6716454
crisis” in many parts of the world.
Uncontrolled and unauthorized
killing of mammals for food, it
warns, will most likely
undermine the food security of
forest communities, survival of
the species hunted and the
balance of the forest eco-system.
Overall, most conservationists
agree that the future
sustainability of our forests lies in
a balanced protection policy for
trees as well as broadly based,
comprehensive program for the
rejuvenation of biodiversity and
the entire forest ecosystem.
Also, governments must be
bound by the ethics of forest
conservation in part because
forests support different human
livelihoods in the region.
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