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THE WEALTH OF THE DRY FOREST: How African Dry Forests can Contribute to the Millennium Development Goals
By Lisa Petheram, Bruce Campbell, Daniel Tiveau and Crispen Marunda
African dry forests are found in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and cover approximately 43% of the continent. They are inhabited by nearly 236 million people; many of these the poorest in the world. Although greatest attention has previously been directed towards tropical humid forests and their biodiversity, the importance of dry forests for rural livelihoods is increasingly recognized. A number of recent studies indicate that dry forests can play a critical role in helping mitigate effects of extreme poverty in SSA – yet in many countries their contribution is ignored in terms of national development policies and forest management. This, and the increasing poverty in these regions point to the need to focus much more attention on dry forests than in the past. In doing this we need to explore some important questions, such as: what type of livelihood contributions can dry forests provide and who do they benefit? How can these contributions be maximised to help alleviate poverty? And can dry forests help address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?
Contributions of dry forests
Dry forests in SSA are known to provide a range of indirect and direct benefits, from ecosystem services to timber and nontimber products (NTFPs). Ecosystem services from the forests include maintenance of soil fertility, watershed functions, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestration. Timber products include woodfuel, sawn and round timber; and major NTFPs are medicinal plants, fruits, leaves, game meat, fungi foods, beeswax and honey. In Mozambique, for example, 80% of the population use wildlife meat and fish as their principal source of animal protein (Saastamoinen 2003). And in Burkina Faso, more than 80% of the population relies on traditional medical treatments for common illnesses (Wittig et al . 2005). Many of these forests products (timber and non-timber) also provide cash income for the rural population. In the North Western Province of Zambia, the local honey and beeswax industry is the second largest employer after the government (Mickels-Kokwe 2006). Finally, dry forest areas are important for supporting agriculture, livestock, wildlife and tourism.
It appears that the poorest households are the most dependent on dry forests. In Zimbabwe wild resources provide up to 20% of cash income for poor households compared to 5% for better-off households. Another study in eastern Tanzania's dry miombo forests found that rural households derived more than 50% of their cash income from sale of forest products such as charcoal, honey, wild fruits and fuelwood, while peri-urban households derived almost 70% of their cash income from the woodlands (CHAPOSA, 2002).
A degree of access to ‘freely' available resources for subsistence and income often offers the only survival option for many poorer households in these regions. Some studies show how dry forests could play a crucial role in mitigating poverty for households impacted by HIV/AIDS (e.g. Kengni et al 2004). It has been found for example, that many children from HIV/AIDS affected households rely heavily on dry forests for collecting foods for themselves and their remaining family members. In other cases, forest-based home industries provide a good income for home-bound single parents or grandparents looking after children.
The role of dry forests in alleviating poverty
While claims that SSA dry forests are the panacea to achieving the MDGs may be over-zealous, it is clear that dry forests play a major role in supporting millions of people, especially those in extreme poverty. It seems vital that this role of dry forests is acknowledged in all SSA countries and included in their poverty reduction strategies. Major improvements in forest management, institutional support and policy designed specifically for these areas should be taken into account. Sound management and support for dry forests would ensure that poor people can continue using dry forests for their livelihood needs - and especially as safety nets in response to shocks and pressures such as impacts of HIV/AIDS and drought (Anderson et al. 2004). Afforded proper attention, dry forests can allow some families to lift themselves out of poverty, for example through development of sustainable enterprises such as honey (Mickels-Kokwe, 2006). The increased use of dry forests for products and services can also enhance their value, creating incentives for good forestry stewardship by people and ultimately better conservation strategies.
Continued degradation of dry forests and worsening poverty levels in SSA, would mean many people are likely to fall further into poverty traps. Sustainable management and improvement of the contributions of dry forests will be a difficult and complex task, requiring an integrated and multi-sectoral approach with different yet complementary activities at multiple levels. It will be necessary to continuously refer to tenure, rights and access issues as these have a significant bearing on the accrual of benefits from dry forests. We need to ensure that macro-economic conditions are improved for the protection of safety nets. And we need to work towards removing ineffective national- and district-level regulations related to woodlands and grazing areas, and empowering local leaders (Campbell et al 2002). Addressing these and other issues will help prevent further forest degradation and alleviate poverty.
Endnote
Many of the facts presented in this article can be found in: Agra, F. (2006) Livelihoods from forests: facts and figures, Center for International Forestry Research (to be published)
References
Anderson, A., Bryceson, D., Campbell, B. et al . (2004) Chance, change and choice in Africa's drylands: A new perspective on policy priorities in the drylands of Africa. CIFOR Policy Brief. CIFOR, Bogor.
Campbell, B., Jeffrey, S. Kozanayi, W. Luckert, M., Mutamba,M. and Zindi, C. (2002) Household Livelihoods in Semi- Arid Regions: Options and Constraints.Bogor, Indonesia:Center for International Forestry Research. (http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/Household.pdf)
CHAPOSA (2002) Charcoal Potential in Southern Africa, Final project report, Stockholm Environment Institute. 304pp. (http://www.sei.se/chaposa/documents/final_report/CHAPOSA%2520project%2520final%2520report_BW.pdf)
Kengni, E., Mbofung, C.M.F., Tchouanguep, M.F. and Tchoundjeu, Z. (2004). The nutritional role of indigenous foods inmitigating the HIV/AIDS crisis in West and Central Africa. International Forestry Review 6 (2): 149-160.
Mickels-Kokwe, G. (2006) Small-scale woodland based enterprises with outstanding economic potential: The case of honey in Zambia. Sida/CIFOR Report, CIFOR, Bogor.
Saastamoinen, O. (2003). Forests and Poverty Reduction: The First UNEP/University of Joensuu Symposium on Challenges to Sustainable Development University of Joensuu May 12, 2003. http://www.joensuu.fi/unep/pages/sym_saastamoinen.htm
Shackleton, S. (2006) Forests as safety nets for mitigating the impacts of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. CIFOR Policy Brief. CIFOR, Bogor.
Wittig, R. and Hahn-Hadjali,K (2001). The importance of NTFPs for local people in Burkina Faso. ETFRN NEWS 32: NTFPs (http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/newsletter/nl32_oip2.html)
For more information, please contact Bruce Campbell (Bruce.campbell@cdu.edu.au).
Lisa Petheram & Bruce Campbell
School for Environmental Research
Charles Darwin University
Darwin, NT 0909 Australia
Phone: +61 8 89467792
Email: L.Petheram: lipetheram@yahoo.com
Daniel Tiveau.
Center for International Forestry Research
06 BP 9478
Ouagadougou
06
Burkina Faso, Africa
Email: d.tiveau@cgiar.org
Dr. Crispen Marunda
Center for International Forestry Research - Zambia
Africa Dry Forests Programme
c/o Forestry Nursery, Elm Road, Woodlands
Lusaka, Zambia, Africa
Email: c.marunda@cgiar.org