| European Tropical Forest Research Network |
Discussion summary: Climate change
| By Jörn Laxen, for the moderators team |
Climate change: Local climate change and irrigated forests:
Somewhat disappointingly it can be noted that this week's main topic on climate change issues did not attract participants to discuss future climate change in Africa. Why is this? Is the subject not of interest for scientists in either Africa or Europe as far as it concerns Africa or does nobody claim to know enough about it to respond? Instead most participants have preferred to discuss the current problems without looking too far into the future. Still, it can be considered fairly certain today, that this issue will be of importance for the future of drylands in Africa. Below is a summary of two responses that touch on the subject to some extent.
In semi-arid and arid zones of the world, lack of fresh water will become a crucial problem for poor countries. In some cases especially in the vicinity of cities projects could be proposed on irrigated forest stands on very dry lands, with the re-use of domestic waste water from the relatively unindustrialized cities. It would be vital to estimate sufficient water supplies over the next years and final capacity of the waste treatment plant, growth and transpiration rhythms, water and nutrient balances and their physiological interactions, along with forest management and soil modifications, growth and water consumption of (adult) trees at different times of the year and overall water consumption per hectare.
Africa has a favourable climatic condition for the establishment of plantations. The low opportunity cost of land and the availability of labour at low wage in many parts of Africa makes the establishment of plantations economically feasible. In conclusion, plantations in Africa have high potential to supply woody biomass, reduce the pressure on natural forests and deforestation, can assist in rehabilitating degraded lands and generate income. Unfortunately, this viable option is underutilised in Africa.