The challenge of deforestation in tropical Africa: reflections on its principal causes, consequences and solutions

Economic development is dependant on factors including capital, labour force and natural resources. Forests are natural resources which, if properly managed, can provide habitats for animal and plant species, pasture for livestock, wood for shelter, timber and fuelwood, land for agriculture and can have a favourable effect on weather and climatic patterns. Nevertheless, deforestation has been a widespread phenomenon in tropical Africa, with an annual forest clearance of between 1·3–3·7 million ha. This paper reviews the pattern of deforestation in tropical Africa by examining its causes and consequences, as well as assessing the prospects for the attempts being made to control it. It identifies forest clearance for subsistence farming as the principal determinant of deforestation, but does not consider the ignorance of small-scale farmers as the underlying cause. Given the deteriorating agricultural production, the paper argues that the principal issue is not how to stop forest depletion, but how to manage forest resources to enable the community meets its objectives on an effective, fair and efficient basis. An approach which releases part of the rural population from the land or provides an alternative form of a secure livelihood is an example of the sustainable strategies for managing forests. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.