| European Tropical Forest Research Network |
This scientific synthesis document is the result of more than two years of thematic networking activities among forest scientists on the issue of rehabilitation of degraded lands in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative aims at demonstrating the added value of scientific output that can be achieved through enhanced collaboration and information sharing among scientists working in different countries and environments.
Under the umbrella of the Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa (FORNESSA) and with financial resources provided by the European Commission through the Global Forest Information Service - GFIS Africa Project, a group of African scientists compiled case studies of land rehabilitation from all major ecological regions in Western- Eastern and Southern Africa covering “dry”, “humid” and “sub-humid” forests and woodlands. The results of these case studies served to formulate general lessons learned for the rehabilitation of degraded forests lands. The authors concluded the synthesis work with recommendations for policy formulation, management practices, research and training to guide future rehabilitation efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The development process of the synthesis document went through a number of stages involving the identification of lead scientists, preparation of background papers, organisation of meetings and e-discussions and the final production of the synthesis document. In total, three meetings were held, two in Finland at the Field Station of the University of Helsinki and one in Ghana at the Forest Research Institute Ghana (FORIG). In view of the overlapping objectives of both the GFIS Africa synthesis and the initiative on Trees, Agroforestry and Climate Change in Dryland Africa (TACCDA) coordinated by the European Tropical Forest Research Network (ETFRN) and the Viiki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI), efforts and resources were pooled to jointly organise the e-discussions and a final validation workshop. During the one-month e-discussions participants from all over the world involved in land management, extension, training and education had the opportunity to review the case studies and exchange ideas and experiences. In the final validation workshop the results of the case studies and lessons learned from both the GFIS Africa and TACCDA initiatives were discussed providing the input to the sections on lessons learned and recommendations.
Overall, the synthesis work was guided by the Steering Committee of the GFIS Africa Project and coordinated through the FORNESSA Secretariat led by Dr. Atse M. Yapi; and the IUFRO-SPDC Coordinator, Dr. Michael Kleine , as the manager of the GFIS Africa Project.
The present document will soon be available in print. It will contain the results of the scientific synthesis including all case studies and a CD ROM with the documents produced by the TACCDA initiative.
Whole report: "Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons Learned from Selected Case Studies" pdf, (1.7 Mb)
Individual case studies :