1 | P a g e THEINTERNATIONALUNIONFORCONSERVATION OFNATUREANDNATURALRESOURCES
EASTERNANDSOUTHERNAFRICAREGIONALOFFICE
EasternandSouthern
AfricaForestand
Woodlands
SituationalAnalysis
Marta Monjane 11/1/2009 The document reviews, within the scope of Eastern and Southern Africa Region: (i) The current status of the forest sector; (ii) the status and trends of forests and woodlands; (ii) the direct and underlying drivers of changes and; (ii) explores the major challenges and opportunities for adding value to a more sustainable use and management of forests and woodlands aiming at contributing to the conservation of the biological diversity and species and improved forest services and functions for the benefit of human well‐being. 2 | P a g e Acronyms ACCID ACFW Africa‐wide Civil Society Climate Change initiative for Policy dialogues Africa Commission for Forests and Wildlife AFF ALRMP AU CEMIRIDE CIFOR COMESA CPF DMCH DMCN ECA ESAP ESARO FAO FRA GFP GPFLR ICRAF IGAD IUCN MA MDGs NEPAD NGO’s REDD RRI SADC SFM THS UNDP UNEP WRI WWF Africa Forest Forum Kenyan Arid Lands Resource Management Project African Union Centre for Minority Rights and Development Center for International Forest Research Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Collaborative Partnership on Forests Drought Monitoring Centre Harare Drought Monitoring Centre Nairobi Economic Commission for Africa Eastern and Southern Africa Programme Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office Forest and Agriculture Organization Forest Resources Assessment Global Fire Partnership Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration The International Centre for Research in Agro‐forestry The Intergovernmental Authority on Development International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Millennium Development Goals New Partnerships for Africa Development Non‐Governmental Organizations Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Rights and Resources Institute Southern Africa Development Community Sustainable Forest Management Tropical High Forests United Nations Development Programme United Nations Environmental Programme World Resources Institute World Wild Fund 2 | P a g e 3 | P a g e Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 4 I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 7 II. OVERVIEW OF THE FOREST SECTOR ..................................................................................................... 8 II.1. Forest Institutions .............................................................................................................................. 8 II.2 Forest Polices & Tenure ...................................................................................................................... 9 II. 3 FOREST AND WOODLANDS RESOURCE BASE ................................................................................... 11 II. 3. 1 Forest and Woodland Biomes .................................................................................................. 13 II.3.2 Forests, Woodlands & Livelihoods ............................................................................................. 17 III. FOREST AND WOODLANDS TRENDS/CHANGES ..................................................................................... 20 IV. DRIVERS OF CHANGE ............................................................................................................................. 23 IV.1 Land conversion leading to Habitat change and degradation ......................................................... 23 IV.2 Climate Change and extreme weather events ................................................................................ 25 IV. 3 Over‐exploitation of natural resources........................................................................................... 26 IV.4 Demographics, Gender, Globalization, Security and conflict .......................................................... 27 V. CHALLENGES ........................................................................................................................................... 28 V.1Forest and Environment on Global Agenda....................................................................................... 28 V.2 Forest Policies and Economics .......................................................................................................... 29 V.4 Forest data and information for decision making ............................................................................ 30 V.5 Forest Tenure .................................................................................................................................... 30 V.6 Land Grabs and Biofuels ................................................................................................................... 31 VI. OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................................................................................................... 32 VI.1 Emerging biodiversity conservation paradigms .............................................................................. 32 VI.2 Emerging development paradigms .................................................................................................. 32 VI.3 Regional Approaches to Forest and Environmental Conservation .................................................. 33 VI.4 IUCN in the Region and the Forest Conservation Program ............................................................. 35 VII. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 36 3 | P a g e 4 | P a g e ExecutiveSummary
Forest and woodlands are critical for the well‐being of people and the provision of a broad range of products, services and functions. In the region they contribute immensely to economic and social development through formal and informal trade in timber and non‐timber forest products; to environmental services through their safety net, spiritual and aesthetic value and, protection to water sources and storage of considerable amounts of carbon. Eastern and Southern Africa forests and woodlands cover an extension estimated at 1,275.6 million hectares. Most of the landscape is dominated by woodlands (957.6 million hectare) and the remaining 318.954 million hectares are categorized as forests, accounting for 25.5% of the region surface and 5.7% of the global forest cover. Biodiversity hotspots of forest significance include the Eastern Coastal forests, the Eastern Arc Mountain Forests and, Maputoland‐Tongoland–Albany. The main forests and woodland biomes in the region include the Tropical and subtropical dry Forests; the Mountain Forests and woodlands; the Eastern coastal forests that extend and; the Dry Savannah woodlands the most extensive biome in the region The institutions/departments responsible for the forest sector at national levels are hosted in a variety of Ministries including Natural resources, Tourism, environmental affairs and Agriculture and rural development. The forest departments have decentralized province and district representatives with varying degrees of autonomy, including recognized community groups, but ultimately the latter operates under the legal ruling of the Government policies. Recent trends towards globalization and democratization have lead to reformulation and updated the forest and other related policies from mid 1990’s and this include Environmental Strategies ad polices, forest strategies and polices and laws, Forest National plans and complementary regulatory instruments such as fire management, forest law enforcement and forest decentralization regulations. The new forest legal framework is broadly introducing civil society more fully into the governance of resources and provide for the involvement of people who live within or adjacent to natural forests. The new provisions for the involvement of citizens vary widely in the region from a total lack of provision in Zimbabwe and Botswana, to ambivalent provision in Zambia and Kenya, to generous provision in Lesotho, Namibia, Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. Forest tenure/ownership, rights and governance is an issue of contentious discussed in various reviews. However, four main categories are broadly considered namely the Public‐administered by Government; the Public‐ reserved for community and indigenous people; the private –community & indigenous and; private‐individual & companies. Most of the region’s 590.5 million people live in rural areas where the vast majority interact with forests and woodlands daily both as nomads or sedentary farmers and depends direct or indirectly on forests and woodlands for food, fuel wood, building materials medicines, oils, gums, resins and fodder. It is estimated that forests generate at least 20% of the disposable income of landless and poor families, while 85% of the wood removed from forests and woodlands is burned as fuel by both rural and urban residents. 4 | P a g e 5 | P a g e The mean forest and woodland per capita is estimated at 0.62 hectar. Wood fuel removal in the region accounted for 243.793 million cubic meters in 2005 and the wood removal for industrial processing at 40,626 million, in the same period. Other uses that go unaccounted for include medicinal plants, animal protein, protection of water sources and the real value of trade and non‐tradable products in the national economies. Production and multi ‐purpose functions dominate the allocation and use of forest and woodlands in the region, while the protective and social services represent only 11% of the forest resource base. The extent of resources, the biological diversity, the productive and protective functions as well as socio‐
economic functions trends are in decline in the region, being amongst the most severe in the world. The Forest deforestation rate in the region is estimated at 1.7 million hectare per year, while the woodlands is around 2.1 million hectares per year. The carbon stock is declining slightly over the years, with an indication of 15.9 tons per ha in 1990 to 14.8 in 2000 and 14.4 in 2005. The area for biodiversity conservation either as primary forest or designated protected areas is in decline and estimated at ‐0.75% per year. The extension of forest designated for protective functions has decreased by ‐0.25%, while an increase of 1.22% a year occurred on forest plantations for protective functions. The employment in the sector has registered an increase of 3.44% and the forest property both private and for social services has decreased by ‐0.48% and ‐
0.04% every year, respectively. The area affected by fire in the region is estimated 483 thousand hectare representing 0.8% of the total forest area. Globally the direct drivers of changes encompass Habitat change and degradation; Climate change and extreme weather events; Over‐exploitation of natural resources and; Invasive species. Underlying drivers include Population growth and demography, gender, Global politics Agenda, security and conflict. The impact of these threats is compounded since the changes caused by one may increase the impacts of others. This complex interaction of factors is becoming an important challenge to address as the individual threats themselves. When these global drivers be direct or underlying, intersect with local drivers such as demand for land pushing the farmland frontiers into forests; Economics; insecure tenure leading to unsustainable practices and over‐exploitation of resources; weak and uncoordinated legal frameworks amongst various sectors of the economy and; uneven distribution of rich forest and woodlands between local people and private investors, they introduce new challenges that require innovative responses. The key challenges for SMF and Woodlands include more broadly the developments and the articulation of environment and biodiversity conservation in the global agenda; the global development paradigms and; the recent evolving phenomena of large land acquisitions due to insecurities in food availability and, agriculture and biofuels rising prices. Specifically for the region, the challenges remain in realms of weak and dysfunctional national and regional policies and institutions; limited law enforcement; Forest tenure and governance; the economics of the forest and woodlands and its disarticulation in the broader national and regional development agenda e.g. poverty alleviation, rural development and infrastructure development. 5 | P a g e 6 | P a g e REDD as new mechanism to mitigate Climate Change through sustainable Forest Management, also brings a wealth of challenges for the region and elsewhere, stemming from Institutional arrangements; strategy and policy formulation both at regional, sub‐regional and national levels; awareness and knowledge of socio‐economic implications; participation; access and benefit sharing; governance arrangements, mechanisms for designing baselines and monitoring reduced emissions; the national structures to host and manage the markets as well as; how to make REDD benefit the poor. In face of the challenges alluded above, key opportunities include the recent reforms on the legal framework in most countries in the region; the environmental agenda of regional bodies such as AU, SADC, EAC, IGAD, and COMESA, the pan‐African dialogue platforms such as ACCID, AFF, and ACFW; the framework strategy and programme of IUCN ESARO, the Forest Conservation program and; the on‐going Climate Change REDD Plus negotiations and regional and national development strategies. At global level, the new environmental and development paradigms such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the Ecosystem approach and the Millennium Development Goals have been adopted and accepted by many countries as a framework to link biodiversity conservation and socio‐economic development goals. PotentialareasofengagementforIUCNForestprogrammeintheregion
may include strengthening the Institutional and legal framework
capacities at regional and national levels, through linkages of IUCN
global and the regional programmes and other regional dialogue
platforms;leverageForestlawEnforcementandGovernancebuildingon
on‐going initiatives by EAC and SADC and COMESA; pursue forest and
woodland accounting and valuation systems building on similar
initiativesinKenya,SouthAfrica,SwazilandandBotswanaandthrough
engagement with existing trans‐boundary water regional bodies;
promote participatory methods for data collection in view of deriving
therealvalueofforestandwoodlandsresourcestolivelihoodsandlocal
economiesaimingatmainstreamingtheinformalsectorintotheformal
sector of the economy; promote resource‐base small‐ medium
enterprisesaimingatimprovingthemarketsharebylocalproducers,of
the value chain of the resources trade; continuous working in areas of
decentralizationandsecurerightsandtenureofforestsandwoodlands
to local communities; promote private sector environmentally sound
practices and partnerships with local communities as well as; engage
with relevant sectors of the economy such as agriculture & rural
development, tourism, water, mining and transport as key sectors that
sector
development.
intersect
with
the
forest
6 | P a g e 7 | P a g e I.INTRODUCTION
The present document provides an overview of the situation analysis of Forests and Woodlands in Eastern & Southern Africa. It intends to build the foundations for a forest strategic planning process and to guide the development of a relevant and effective IUCN Regional Forest Programme in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO) that adds value in addressing the major forest challenges and needs in the region. The situational analysis is drafted in the context of IUCN growing understanding of the dynamics, complexities and links between biodiversity conservation and sustainable development and, the IUCN East and Southern Africa Value proposition. Conservation of species and/or enhancing ecosystem functions & services to contribute to economic development and institutional strengthening
Figure 1: ESARO's Value Proposition ‐ What we do Engaging in economic development and institutional strengthening to contribute to species conservation and enhancing ecosystem functions and services
This document draws upon secondary data and contains no original research. Most of the information and data contained in the report was obtained from the following publications and reports: Forest Resources Assessment, FAO 2005; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, WRI 2005; IUCN Global Situational Analysis, 2007; Regional Situational Analysis for Southern Africa, 2007; Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation International; Eco‐regions of the World, WWF; Africa Environment Outlook; the State of Environment in Southern Africa; and; Forest Tenure in Eastern and Southern Africa, RRI 2007 and, many more. The document reviews, within the scope of Eastern and Southern Africa Region: (i) The current status of the Forest Sector; (ii) the status and trends of forests and woodlands; (ii) the direct and underlying drivers of changes and; (ii) explores the major challenges and opportunities for adding value to a more sustainable use and management of forests and woodlands aiming at contributing to the conservation of the biological diversity and species and improved forest services and functions for the benefit of human well‐being. 7 | P a g e 8 | P a g e II.
OVERVIEWOFTHEFORESTSECTOR
II.1.ForestInstitutions
Across the region, the institutions/departments responsible for administering the forest sector at the national level are hosted in diverse Ministries including Natural resources, Tourism, Environmental Affairs or Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Most countries in the region have decentralized province and district levels representatives with varying degrees of autonomy, including recognized community groups, but ultimately the latter operate under the legal ruling of the Government policies. In Tanzania for example the Forestry and Beekeeping Division (FBD) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) is responsible for administering the forest sector at the national level. The Ministry has devolved significant management and protection responsibilities to local governments, as a means of empowering local authorities to exercise a high degree of autonomy in managing forest resources. The Department of Forestry Operations (DFO) is responsible for enforcing timber‐harvesting regulations. In Zambia the Forestry Department lies within the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) and is in charge of policy formulation and coordination. Principal Extension Officers manage activities at the provincial and district levels and have the responsibility for issuing production licenses, collecting revenues and to deal directly with communities and implement the policies of the department at grassroots level. In South Africa, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) has been reorganized and refocused to address its national role with regard to State forests, forest and woodland resources on communal and private land as well as community Forestry. A National Forestry Advisory Council, provides advice directly to the Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry. In Mozambique the forestry authority is the National Directorate of Forests and Land (DNTF) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The department operates at province and district level through the Provincial Department of Agriculture. In Malawi, the Forestry Department is hosted within the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs and in contrast with many African countries, Malawi has chosen to include energy and forestry functions within a single ministry, which offers great potential for a concerted approach to wood energy issues of both supply and demand. Considerable efforts went into the formation of Village Natural Resource Management Committees. In Lesotho, the Government is in a process of arranging for the proper transfer of management of the existing forest reserves to the local communities. At the district level, forestry programmes are the responsibility of District Forestry Officers (DFO’s). In Ethiopia the forest sector is the responsibility of the Forestry and Wildlife Conservation and Development Team within the Ministry of Agriculture. At the regional level, the regional Bureau of Agriculture is responsible for management and administration of forests. In the Oromiya region, an independent and autonomous organization (Rural Land and Natural Resources Administration Authority), established in 2002, is responsible for the forest sector. In Uganda the Institutions in charge of Forests are: (i) National Forestry Authority (NFA) in charge of the Central Forest Reserves; (ii). The 8 | P a g e 9 | P a g e Uganda Wildlife Authority ( UWA) responsible managing Parks and Wildlife Reserves and; (iii) Districts Forest services ( DFS) in charge of Local Forest Reserves management. II.2ForestPolices&Tenure
Recent trends towards globalization and democratization have led many States in the region to make legal and policy adjustments, particularly in the way they handle water, flora and fauna resources. In this context from mid late 1990’s most countries have reformulated and updated the forest and other related policies. The forest administration and management in the region is governed by this recent legal framework generally including Environmental Strategies ad polices, forest strategies, policies and laws, Forest National plans and complementary regulatory instruments such as fire management, forest law enforcement and forest decentralization regulations (annex 1 provides the legal framework for forests and woodlands in the region by country). The new forest legal framework is broadly introducing civil society more fully into the governance of resources (Alden Wily, 2000a) and provide for the involvement of people who live within or adjacent to natural forests in determining the future of the forest. However, new provisions for the involvement of citizens in the future of forests in eastern and southern Africa vary widely: from a total lack of provision in Zimbabwe and Botswana, to ambivalent provision in Zambia and Kenya, to generous provision in Lesotho, Namibia, Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. Ethiopia and Eritrea emphasize community‐based tenure reforms while in Ethiopia, State, Regional, and Private Forests are Box 1: Uganda Land & Forest Tenure recognized and the government Uganda provides for different forms of land tenure including encourages the partnership between customary ownership of land. In Uganda forests referred to as private sector and local communities in “private” are on land under both private and customary ownership, the development and management of as the National Forest Plan (2002) distinguishes between forests owned individually or institutionally under freehold and leasehold forests. tenure (“private forests”), and those owned communally under customary tenure (“customary forests”). Uganda is implementing a Some countries like Uganda and “Sawlog Production Grant Scheme” to encourage the private sector Mozambique, have given legal to establish and manage forest plantations, where private forests recognition to customary tenure regimes have been established in Central Forest Reserves under 50 year licenses. The forest belongs to the private owner but the land and the rights that arise from these, and remains vested in government. other countries like South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe are considering comparable proposals. One of the more radical results is an increase in the status of communal property rights in national law, with communal landholding modified into registrable "common private property" (Alden Wily, 2000b). An entirely new class of landownership, "common holding", is beginning to appear. Kenya has largely remained committed to individual ownership, while Djibouti has maintained private land ownership policies since independence (ECA, 2004). Sudan has forests under private and public ownership (FAO, 2005), and is one of the few countries which include dry woodlands in their forest statistics. Mainland Tanzania has the most developed community forest jurisdiction in the region ‐ in policy, law and practice. The new Tanzania law clearly sets out the local powers and responsibilities of Forest Management Committees, the instruments with which they may enforce the management regimes they devise and the mechanisms for making forest managers accountable, not just to national interests but 9 | P a g e 10 | P a g e to their own constituents ‐ ordinary citizens in the local area. It appears that one of the reasons for the rapid advance of community‐based forest management in Tanzania is this foundation in which the local community is precisely identified, endowed with a socio‐institutional form supported in law and given powers to manage itself and the resources within its local sphere or mandated into its care. Box 2: Tanzania Land & Forest tenure Tanzania offers good lessons, as the Forest Act (2002) used the Land Act (1999) and the Village Land Act (1999) as the basis for creating various forms of community involvement (Akida and Blomley, 2007). The Tanzania Forest Act (2002) provides for local communities or individuals to jointly manage Central and Local Government Forest Reserves through Joint Forest Management agreements, and to have their own Village Forest Reserves (VFRs, Box 1), which are managed by Forest Management Committees (Akida and Blomley, 2007). In this respect, the Tanzania forest law draws extensively on the considerable powers already vested in elected village governments, including the right to promulgate by‐laws which are binding on all persons seeking to enter or use the community‐managed forests, not just on members of the community (Alden Wily, 2000c). The draft Forest Bill introduces these village by‐laws as an instrument of management by communities, to be used even when communities manage government‐owned reserves. Lesotho with more recent laws extending governance to the grassroots (1996) has the beginnings of a comparable foundation on which to develop local forest management powers. The forest laws of other States in the region reflect the absence of this foundation. Some have sought to overcome the lack by creating new institutions in their new or proposed forest laws ‐ Forest Associations in Kenya, Management Authorities in Namibia, Joint Forest Management Committees in Zambia, Village Natural Resource Management Committees in Malawi and Local Resource Management Councils in Mozambique. South African forest law looks tentatively to Communal Property Associations or trusts. All of these institutions are insufficiently defined in the laws and are unlikely to acquire significant powers to enforce management decisions. Various papers discuss the forest tenure/ownership and rights in East and southern Africa, arguing a mismatch between the statistical data and de facto ownership (see Edmund Barrow, J. Kamugisha‐
Ruhombe, Isilda Nhantumbo, Rene Oyono, and Moumini Savadogo, RRI and IUCN, 2008). Nevertheless four main categories are considered namely the Public‐administered by Government; the Public‐ reserved for community and indigenous people; the private –community & indigenous and; private‐
individual & companies. According to these sources, 38% of forest is public or administered by the government in Southern Africa, compared to more than 96% in Eastern Africa sub‐region. The area reserved for community or indigenous groups is estimated at 57% of forest land in Southern Africa and 1.2% in Eastern Africa countries, as table 2 below illustrates ( for details by country refer to annex 2). Table 1: Who Owns Eastern and Southern Africa's forests Forest Type (Million's of Ha) Public ‐ Administered by Government Public ‐ Reserved for community & Indigenous use Private ‐ community & Indigenous people Private ‐ Individual & companies Eastern Africa1 127.39 (96.8%) 1.624 (1.2%) 0 2.621 (2.0%) Southern Africa2 76.231 (36.0%) 121.308 (57.3%) 3.594 (1.7%) 10.427 (4.9%) Source: RRI/IUCN, (2008) Sources: Nhantumbo 2007, Oyono 2007, Savadogo 2007, Kamugisha‐Ruhombe 2007, FOSA 2003 1
2
Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland 10 | P a g e 11 | P a g e II.3FORESTANDWOODLANDSRESOURCEBASE
Eastern and Southern Africa forests and woodlands are endowed with considerable diversity of flora and fauna and are highly diverse ecologically, from the arid and semi‐arid lands to a mix of tropical high forests and savanna woodlands. Covering an extension estimated at 1,275,6 million hectares, most of the landscape is dominated by woodlands (957.6 million hectare) and the remaining 318.954 million hectares are categorized as forests (Figure 2). Forests in the region represent 25.5% of the region surface and 5.7% of the global forest cover (derived from RRI, 2001 and FRA, 2005). Biodiversity hotspots of forest significance include the Eastern Coastal forests, the Eastern Arc Mountain Forests and, Maputoland‐Tongoland–Albany (BOX 3). 11 | P a g e Figure 2: Eastern and Southern Africa Land Cover Map
12 | P a g e Biodiversity Hotspots Eastern Coastal F orests Hotspot Though tiny and fragmented, th e forest remnants that make up the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa contain remarkable levels of biodiversity. The 40,000 cultivated varieties of African violet, which form th e basis of a US$100 million global houseplant trade, are all derived from a handful of species found in the coastal Tanzanian and Kenyan forests. This hotspot is also home to a variety of primate species including three endemic and highly threatened monkey species and two end emic species of bushbabies. The Tana River, which runs through Central Kenya is home to two critically threaten ed and endemic primates, the Tana River red colobus and the Tana River mangabey. Agricultural expansion continues to be th e biggest threat facing the Coastal Forests of East Africa. Due to poor soil quality and an increasing population trend, subsistence agriculture as well as commercial farming continues to consume more and more of th e r egion's natural habitat. The Eastern Arc Mo untain Hotspot The mountains of the Eastern Afro montane are scattered along the eastern edge of
Africa, from Saudi Arabia in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. Though geo graphically
disparate, th e mo untains comprising this hotspot have remarkably similar flora. The
Albertine Rift harbors more end emic mammals, birds, and amphibians than any other
region in Africa. The geological turmoil that created th e moun tains of this hotspot has
also yielded some of th e world's most extraordinary lakes. Due to these large lakes, a
vast amount of freshwater fish diversity can be found in the Eastern Afromontane
region, which is home to 617 endemic fish species. As in many tropical areas, the main
threat to this region is the expansion of agriculture, especially large crop plantations for
crops like bananas, beans, and tea. An oth er relatively new thr eat, which coincides with
the increasing population, is the growing bushmeat market. This is especially problematic in the Albertine Rift. Map utolan d‐To ngoland –Alb any Hotspot The Maputaland‐Pondoland‐Albany Hotspot lies along the east coast of southern Africa, extending from extreme southern Mozambique wher e it adjusts on the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Hotspot, through eastern Swaziland to South Africa in the south. The r egion is floristically, climatologically and geologically complex. Ther e are at
least three clear foci of high endemism and high diversity in the area, the names of
which have been amalgamated as the name of this hotspot: Maputaland (Tongaland) in the north, Pondoland further south, and Albany in the southwest. Th e hotspot’s
vegetation is comprised mainly of forests, thickets, bushveld and grasslands. The area
also has a remarkable succulent flora, principally in the Albany region. One type of forest (Licuáti forest), three typ es of thicket, six types of bushveld, and five typ es of
grassland are restricted to th e ho tspot. BOX 3: Biodiversity hotspots of Forest significance
12 | P a g e 13 | P a g e II.3.1ForestandWoodlandBiomes
The main forests and woodland biomes in the region include the Tropical and subtropical dry Forests almost covering large parts of Madagascar and Angola, and small portions of Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique; the Mountain Forests and woodlands in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda and central Madagascar; the Eastern coastal forests that extend from the Coast of Somalia, span through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique and; the Dry Savannah woodlands the most extensive biome covering large parts of Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Western Madagascar, Lesotho, Swaziland and small coastal areas of Kenya and Somalia (figure 3). Mountain Forest Dry Savannah Moist Savannah‐ Coastal Forest Tropical forest rain Figure 3: Forest and Woodland Biomes
II.3.1.1MountainForestsandWoodlandsBiome
The Mountain biome spans over 43,200 hectare and coincides with Eastern Arc Mountain biodiversity hotspot scattered along the eastern edge of Africa, from Saudi Arabia in the north to Zimbabwe in the south. Though geographically disparate, the mountains comprising this hotspot have remarkably similar flora. The Biome comprises the Ethiopian highlands, the Southern Rift Mountain Woodlands, the Albertine rift Mountain Woodlands, and the Eastern Africa Arc Mountain woodlands. Ethiopian Highlands, covering an extension of 27,050 hectare, are formed with the remains of volcanoes in northeastern Africa comprising tall peaks, rich valleys, and hot deserts. This diverse environment houses an impressive array of plant and animal species that are specially adapted to life in a very sunny, relatively dry climate and endemic species. Ethiopia's highlands are amongst the most densely 13 | P a g e 14 | P a g e populated agricultural areas in Africa. Much of the eco‐region was converted to tea plantations and other agricultural uses some time ago. For the most part, what remains of these forests has been protected since the 1920s The Southern Rift Mountain are situated in the heart of the Great Rift Valley, a deep depression in the Earth that's 4,000 miles (6,400 km) long, at its southern end lie numerous mountains and a patchwork of grasslands and forests called Southern Rift Mountain Woodlands ‐ home to many endemic plants and animals. Many peaks in this ecoregion are upto 3,000 meters high, covered with thick vegetation. These habitats, combined with the high degree of isolation, support a rich array of endemic species, including some that are restricted to single mountains. The Albertine Rift Mountain Forest is an area of exceptional faunal and floral endemism. These afromountain forests also support many endangered species such as the Mountain gorillas and Eastern Lowland gorillas, which are among the most charismatic flagship species in Africa, and an effective target for much of the current conservation investment in the area. The mountain chain comprising the Albertine Rift straddles the borders of 5 different nations: Democratic Republic of Congo (over 70% of the Ecoregion), Uganda (20%), Rwanda (6%), Burundi (3%) and Tanzania (1%). The Albertine Rift has been identified by all key international conservation NGOs as a top priority area for biodiversity conservation in Africa It is an area of exceptional faunal and moderate floral endemism. Bwindi Forest in Uganda supports an estimated 1000 plant species; eight of these are tree species only found locally. The Eastern Arc Mountains consists of a complex of ranges and peaks that are among the oldest in Africa, as are the forest communities of the region. This eco‐region has experienced relatively moist conditions for a very long time because of its close proximity to the Indian Ocean, even as periodic drying trends affected much of Africa. As is true with most mountainous regions in Africa, this forest system is isolated from other similar areas by great expanses of lowland habitats. Isolation has produced a high level of endemism with many local species of plants and animals restricted to single mountain ranges. Altitude, age, soils, rainfall, and distance from the coast all contribute to the unique environment. II.3.1.2DrySavannahBiome
The biome comprises Miombo woodlands, the Horn of Africa Acacia savanna, the Eastern Africa Savana, and Mopane woodlands and is the most extensive forest and woodland vegetation in the region covering nearly 3,750,000 hectare. Miombo Global ecoregion is made up of 3 terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Miombo woodlands; Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands; and Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands. Covering much of central and southern Africa, the ecoregion is dominated by the Central African Plateau with some portions characterized by flat or rolling hills with local areas of higher relief. Important in terms of species richness, species found here are typical of Miombo woodlands, and in the southwest, Baikiaea woodlands. I tis estimated that miombo holds nearly 334 tree species in spite of its dominant characteristic of uniformity on floristic composition with the predominance of Brachystegia genera and the associated genera of Julbernardia and or Isobelina. 14 | P a g e 15 | P a g e There is a high diversity of large mammals, including populations that make up the well‐known East African savanna mammal fauna. In addition, some areas support relatively undisturbed natural communities of these plants and animals. Over 20,000 hartebeest have been recorded in the Selous game reserve. Miombo trees grow interdependently with a tree‐root fungus that increases their mineral uptake from the soil. Acacia Savannah comprises mainly bush land and thicket, with a gradation to semi‐desert grasslands and shrub lands in the driest places. These woodlands and nearby grasslands and desert support many endemic dryland plants. The East Africa Acacia Savannah comprises dramatic savanna and grassland complexes and is among the most distinctive in the world, with globally outstanding concentrations and diversity of large land mammals. The largely intact rangelands of East African Acacia Savannas support one of the world's most spectacular migrations of large mammals. The region experiences a dramatic cycle of seasons with periods of drought alternating with monsoon months. The Zambezian Mopane region is made up mostly of flat and undulating river valleys and arid woodlands. The pace of life here is affected by seasonal changes in rainfall, with most of the rains falling between November and April each year. This ecoregion embraces several of southern Africa’s major rivers, occupying the bulk of the Zambezi, Luangwa, Shire, and Limpopo river valleys. Throughout the Zambezian and Mopane Woodlands, the mopane tree dominates the landscape. Depending on rainfall and soil quality, it can be short and shrubby in some areas and rise up to more than 80 feet (25 m) high in others. Interspersed with mopane trees are occasional thorny acacia trees or huge baobab trees. Associated species include Sclerocarya birrea, o Combretum sp., a Terminalia sericea, o Strychnos sp. Mopane worms, which are eaten by local people, munch on the trees’ butterfly‐shaped, glossy green leaves, while elephants knock the trees down and rip them apart to feed on their bark and leaves. Herds of blue wildebeest migrate throughout the region, as well as medium‐sized antelopes, sleek cheetahs, birds known as oxpeckers perch. This biodiversity is protected in a number of national parks and reserves such as Kruger National Park in South Africa, Chobe National Park in Botswana, and the Luangwa National Parks in Zambia. II.3.1.3EastAfricanCoastalForests
The East African Coastal Forests are comprised of the Northern and Southern Zanzibar‐Inhambane coastal forest mosaics. It stretches from Southern Somalia through Kenya and Tanzania, to Southern Mozambique, and is characterized by tropical dry forests within a mosaic of savannas, grassland habitats and wetlands areas. The forests are found just inland from the coast with outliers occurring along rivers and several locations where it grades into sub‐mountain forests at the foothills of mountain ranges. Areas between the forests have different characteristics depending on the 15 | P a g e 16 | P a g e country in question; in Kenya it is mainly farmland, in Tanzania and Mozambique it is generally savanna woodland/thicket with farmed areas increasing. The area also includes the larger offshore islands of Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia and the Bazaruto Archipelago, as well as the smaller isles in the Indian Ocean close to the coast. As the East African Coastal Forests have long been isolated from other regions of tropical moist forests by expanses of drier savannas and grasslands, it has an exceptionally high level of plant endemism that has recently led to part of it being classified as the Swahili Centre of endemism. Elsewhere within the region (Somalia and Mozambique), studies at a few sites have also noted the occurrence of endemic trees, but overall the number of endemic species is thought to be greatly underestimated due to civil strife that has prevented further exploration. African mangroves support relatively low species diversity. However, the East African mangroves support the greatest flora and fauna diversity of African mangroves, as well as provide critical habitat for maintaining nearby coral reefs and populations of fish and birds. The Rufiji River that runs through Tanzania creates an enormous delta containing the largest mangrove forests in the eco‐region. And the islands of the Bazaruto are called the "crown jewels" of the Western Indian Ocean for the many beautiful areas including mangrove and sea grass systems. The mangrove ecosystem along the eastern coast of Africa contains trees that are specially adapted for life in saltwater. Many migratory bird populations rely on the delta and wetlands as stopover and wintering habitat. II.3.1.4TropicalrainForestsBiomes
These biomes biological diversity and protection and social‐economic functions face growing common threats. These include expanding agriculture, shifting cultivation, fires, and overgrazing as well as continuing clearance and degradation of the forest habitat. Steadily growing human population, demanding more land and other finite resources, continues to pose a significant threat to the forest and woodland ecosystems and the associated activities constitute a potential threat. Areas surrounding large, urban centers have already been cleared for farming, ranching, and charcoal production. The hunting of bush meat is a growing problem and, hunting for rhino horn and elephant ivory has negatively impacted the population of both species. Many of the wildlife animals are threatened by illegal hunting and predators such as wild dogs are killed by farmers and ranchers who view them as pests. Ranching is a threat to native wildlife in other ways as well as it displaces native ungulates and fences to keep cattle in also impede the movements of migratory animals such as elephants and wildebeest. Yet another growing threat to these resources in the region is the invasion of alien plant species, which cover up to 20 percent of the land area in some places. Mangroves specifically are being lost through conversion to rice farms, salt pans, aquaculture, and urbanization. They also ultimately receive all untreated wastes discharged upstream, as well as oil and industrial pollution, silt, and pesticides. Annex 2 summarizes the key features of the forest and woodland eco‐regions. 16 | P a g e 17 | P a g e II.3.2Forests,Woodlands&Livelihoods
Forest and woodlands are critical for the well‐being of people and the provision of a broad range of products, services and functions. In the region they contribute immensely to economic and social development through formal and informal trade in timber and non‐timber forest products; to environmental services through their safety net, spiritual and aesthetic value and, protection to water sources and storage of considerable amounts of carbon. In East and Southern Africa, most of the region’s 590.5 million people live in rural areas accounting for an average of 58% of the total population ranging from 29% in Reunion to more than 80% in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda, and an average population density of 120 per square kilometer. The mean forest and woodland per capita is 0.62 hectar. The vast majority of rural people interact with forests and woodlands daily both as nomads or sedentary farmers and depends direct or Figure 4: Urban and Rural Population in East and
Southern Africa (*000)
indirectly on forests and woodlands for food, fuel wood, building materials medicines, oils, gums, resins and fodder. It is estimated that forests generate at least 20% of the disposable income of landless and poor families, while 85% of the wood removed from forests and woodlands is burned as fuel by both rural and urban residents. Most population in urban areas in the region also play an important role in defining the consumption patterns of the forest and woodland resources by being part of the market chain generally as retailers for medicinal plants, charcoal, firewood, poles, woodcrafts, etc. Anders et al (2003) indicates that charcoal contributes to respectively 75, 100 and 70% of cash income derived by some communities in and around large urban centers of Dar –es‐ Salaam, Lusaka and Maputo, respectively. Although commercial timber exploitation is limited in East and Southern African countries when compared to other regions in central and West Africa, all forest and woodland particularly, are important in terms of the natural resources they provide to local communities and for their economies. Wood fuel removal in the region has been estimated at 243.793 million cubic meters in 2005 and the wood removal for industrial processing at 40,626 million, in 2005 (derived from FRA, 2005). 17 | P a g e 18 | P a g e Figure 5: Volume of Wood fuel harvesting in 2005 (derived from FRA, 2005) In Kenya for example, historical data indicates that some 2.9 million people (more than one tenth of the population of the country) live within 5 km of natural forests. The value of forest resources to these communities has been estimated at US$94 million per year, comprising fuel wood, grazing, pole wood and timber (Emerton 1993). Fuel wood and charcoal supply the majority of the sub‐region's energy, meeting 96 per cent of energy needs in Uganda and 75 per cent in Kenya (FAO 2001a). Non‐wood forest products are also used extensively in the sub‐region. In Uganda, for example the combined value of medicines, bamboo shoots, wild foods, shea butter, oil, honey, gum arabic, curios, and weaving materials has been estimated at about US$40 million per year (Emerton and Muramira 1999). The potential of medicinal plants in Eastern Africa is widely acknowledged and they are used by Maasai, Kipsigis, Turkana, and other tribes. The Maasai have a well established pharmacopoeia for treating livestock diseases. The use of more than 60 species or subspecies of plants for ethnoveterinary purposes has been documented among the Olkonerei Maasai. These plants have been shown to act on a wide range of pathogens as well as regulating fertility, inflammation, and digestive disorders in livestock (Ole Lengisugi & Mziray 1996). Several of these species are now being documented and researched for potential commercial application, including the introduced tree species, Azadirachta indica which is being researched for anti‐
malarial properties by the Kenya Medical Research Institute's Traditional Medicine and Drugs Research Centre, Nairobi. In Uganda, the National Chemotherapeutics Research Laboratory, in Kampala, is conducting research on many indigenous plant species (Cunningham 1997). Weaving using wood products and wood carving are important traditional crafts that contribute substantially to household incomes and local economies in Eastern Africa. It has been estimated that there are 60 000 woodcarvers in Kenya alone, with each carver generating an additional five jobs in harvesting of the wood, and sanding and polishing of 18 | P a g e 19 | P a g e the finished carvings. The annual value of exported carvings has mushroomed from around US$60 000 in the 1950s to US$20 million today (Cunningham 2001). In Southern Africa, forest products are a valuable source of export earnings and revenue throughout the sub‐region, and the communities living in forest or woodland areas are highly dependent on forest products for meeting everyday food and energy needs. For example, in 1998, South Africa's exports of forest products totaled US$837 million, mainly from wood pulp and paper most of which was produced in plantation forests. Zimbabwe's exports were US$42 million, mainly from sawn wood (FAO 2001a). About 66 per cent of Mozambique's population live in rural areas and depend on wood for cooking and for heating of water for domestic use, space heating and drying of foodstuffs. The charcoal industry generates about US$30 million annually, and is the sole source of income for about 60 000 people (Kalumiana 1998). Important non‐wood forest products include honey, beeswax, bamboo, reeds, mushrooms, caterpillars, fodder, wild edible plants and fruits, leaves and bark for weaving, and resins. The medicinal plant trade is extensive and profitable in Southern Africa with approximately 3 000 species (10 per cent) of Southern African plants used medicinally and around 350 species commonly and widely used (van Wyk, Van Oudtshoorn & Gericke 1997). Other species harvested from the wild contribute as much as 40 per cent to household incomes (Cavendish 1999) or between US$200‐1000 per year (Shackleton, Shackleton & Cousins 2000). 19 | P a g e 20 | P a g e III.FORESTANDWOODLANDSTRENDS/CHANGES
Production and multi ‐purpose functions dominate the allocation and use of Forest and woodlands in the region, while the protective and social services represent only 11% of the forest resource base. The extent of resources, the biological diversity, the productive and protective functions as well as socio‐
economic functions trends are in decline in the region, being amongst the most severe in the world, FAO (2005). Figure 6: Forest Functions The Global Forest Resource Assessment (FAO, 2005) notes that deforestation is continuing at an ‘alarming rate’ and that old‐growth forest is decreasing by 6 million hectares per year, with highest loss of forest areas including Africa (FAO, 2005). The deforestation rate in the period 2000‐2005 in the region was estimated at 1.7 million hectare per year, representing 0.64% of the total forests that are degraded or converted to other land uses every year and, an increase of 0.04 percent compared to the period from 1990 to 2000. The woodlands deforestation rate is around ‐0.52% representing 2.1 million hectares per year. 20 | P a g e 21 | P a g e Figure 7: Trends of Forest areas 1990‐2005 The estimated growing stock of forests in the region is estimated at 10,015 million m3 per year representing an average of 44m3/ha which does not represent a big variation (‐0.4%) when compared to previous periods. Similarly the average above growing biomass at 2.9 tons/ha, has not expressed any major changes in the period 2000 to 2005 compared to previous 1990‐2000 period. The carbon stock of forests is estimated at 73 tons per hectare, from which 63.5 is derived from living biomass, 7.5 in dead wood and the remaining 2.1 in carbon litter. The carbon stock is declining slightly over the years, with an indication of 15.9 tons per ha in 1990 to 14.8 in 2000 and 14.4 in 2005 (FRA, 2005) . The area for biodiversity conservation either as primary forest or designated protected areas is in decline and estimated at ‐0.75% per year. No significant changes were reported for the area for productive forest plantations (increase by 0.4%) while the commercial growing stock has decreased by 0.31% a year. The total wood removal has increased by 1.89% a year representing 10 067 thousand m3/year while data is available for other non‐timber forest products. The extension of forest designated primarily for protective functions has decreased by 0.25%, while an increase of 1.22% a year occurred on forest plantations for protective functions. Data on the value of both wood and non‐wood removals from the forests and woodlands is not available. The employment in the sector has registered an increase of 3.44% from 2000 to 2005 and the forest property both private and for social services has decreased by 0.48% and 0.04% every year, respectively. The area affected by fire in the region is estimated 483 thousand hectare representing 0.8% of the total forest area. 21 | P a g e 22 | P a g e Table 2: Trends of Forests and woodlands in Eastern and Southern Africa Thematic Trends in FRA 2005 variables or derivatives element Data 1990–
2005 1990– availability Annual 2005 Unit change Annual rate change
(%) Area of forest Extent of Area of other wooded land forest resources Growing stock of forests Carbon stock per hectare in forest biomass Area of primary forest High ‐
‐4 263 1 000 ha 0.64 Medium ‐
‐2 193 1 000 ha 0.52 High ‐
‐275 0.41 million m High 0.01 0.1 tonnes/ha Medium ‐
‐270 0.68 1 000 ha 0.27 182 1 000 ha Biological Area of forest designated primarily for conservation of Medium diversity biological diversity Total forest area excluding area of productive forest Medium plantations Area of forest affected by fire ‐
Forest health and Area of forest affected by insects, disease and other ‐ vitality disturbances ‐
‐3 361 1 000 ha 0.75 ‐ ‐ 1 000 ha ‐ ‐ 1 000 ha Medium ‐
‐911 0.64 1 000 ha Medium 0.41 42 1 000 ha Medium ‐
‐22 0.39 million m High 1.89 10 767 1 000 m
‐
‐ Medium ‐
‐52 0.25 1 000 ha Medium 1.22 26 1 000 ha Value of total wood removals ‐
‐ ‐ million US$ Value of total NWFP removals ‐
‐ ‐ million US$ Low 3.44 12 1 000 pers. yrs High ‐
‐49 0.48 1 000 ha Medium ‐
‐0.2 0.04 1 000 ha Area of forest designated primarily for production Productive Area of productive forest plantations functions of forest Commercial growing stock resources Total wood removals Total NWFP removals Protective Area of forest designated primarily for protection functions of forest resources Area of protective forest plantations Socio‐
Total employment economic functions Area of forest under private ownership Area of forest designated primarily for social services High (reporting countries represent 75–100% of total forest area)
Positive change (greater than 0.50%)
Medium (reporting countries represent 50–75% of total forest area)
No major change (between ‐0.50 and 0.50%) Low (reporting countries represent 25–50% of total forest area)
Negative change (less than ‐0.50%)
Insufficient data to determine trend
22 | P a g e 3
3
Source (FRA, 2005) 3
‐ tonnes 23 | P a g e IV.DRIVERSOFCHANGE
Globally , direct drivers of changes encompass Habitat change and degradation; Climate change and extreme weather events; Over‐exploitation of natural resources and; Invasive species. Underlying drivers include Population growth and demography, gender, Global politics Agenda, security and conflict. The relative importance of each varies across regions and forest ecosystems, but habitat change and degradation remains, by far, the most important threat. However, the impact of this well known suite of threats is compounded since the changes caused by one of these threats may increase the impacts of others. This complex interaction of factors that adversely affect biodiversity is becoming an important challenge to address as the individual threats themselves (IUCN Global Situational Analysis, 2007). When these global drivers be direct or underlying, intersect with local drivers such as demand for land pushing the farmland frontiers into forests; Economics; insecure tenure leading to unsustainable practices and over‐exploitation of resources; weak and uncoordinated legal frameworks amongst various sectors of the economy and; uneven distribution of rich forest and woodlands between local people and private investors, they introduce new challenges that require innovative responses. This analysis will examine the issues within a framework of global drivers of change as they intersect with local drivers of changes of forest and woodlands in the region. IV.1LandconversionleadingtoHabitatchangeanddegradation
Habitat change and degradation continues to be a major cause of biodiversity loss but, increasingly, habitat changes are becoming more tightly bound to other direct drivers, namely climate change, extreme events (floods and droughts) and invasive species. More than 1.1 billion people, most of them agriculture‐dependent, now live within the world’s 25 biodiversity “hotspots,” areas described by Conservation International as the most threatened species‐
rich regions on earth (Cincotta and Engelman, 2000, Myers et al., 2002). Agriculture fragments the landscape, breaking formerly‐contiguous wild species populations into smaller units that are more vulnerable to extirpation. Farmers generally have sought to eliminate wild species from their cultivated lands in order to reduce the negative effects of pests, predators, and weeds, while also indirectly threatening beneficial wild species like pollinators. Some introduced agricultural crops, livestock, trees and fish have become invasive, spreading beyond their planned range and displacing native species (Mooney et al., 2005; Mathews and Brand, 2004). Across Eastern and Southern Africa, habitat change is largely driven by anthropogenic factors resulting both from competing uses of the land; deficient regulatory and enforcement instruments; ambivalent forest tenure and; limited acknowledgment of the forest values and services to the economy and peoples livelihoods. The main human‐induced habitat change in the region include low input agriculture and practices and the subsequent encroachment into forest and woodland areas; pastoralist practices; indiscriminate exploitation of timber, fire wood and non timber forest resources, bush fires and others. 23 | P a g e 24 | P a g e Box 4: Examples of Anthropogenic factors influencing Habitat Change
The forests of Sudan for example are, threatened by rapid deforestation. In 1901, they were estimated at 40% of the total area, 34‐36% in 1958, decreased to 19% in 1990 (FAO) and 13.7% (Gorashi, 2001). The major drivers of deforestation include unregulated cutting for timber and fuelwood, clearing for agriculture, overgrazing, burning and civil wars (ibid). About 40% of Ethiopia's land area was originally covered with Tropical High Forests(THFs), of mainly coniferous and broad‐leaved types and another 26% consisted of the savanna woodlands. At the beginning of the 1950s, THFs were reduced to 16% of the total land area (EFAP, 1994). In the 1980s the estimated land areas covered by forests was 3.65% (IUCN, 1990). At present this resource has dwindled to a 2.6% or less. The main causes of loss of forest cover include agricultural expansion, overgrazing and indiscriminate felling for wood fuel and construction. About 75% of the Kenyan population of over 29 million is dependent on agriculture for food and income. Agriculture contributes 26% to GDP and 60% to foreign exchange earnings. However, only about 30% of the total land area of Kenya is agriculturally productive. The other 70% is semi‐arid or arid, characterized by low, unreliable and poorly distributed rainfall. These areas are used for pastoral farming. Livestock contributes about 26% of the total national agricultural production (Anon, 1991, Wass, 2000). The country’s forests are concentrated in the moist central highlands where the human population and agricultural production are also concentrated, posing a serious threat to the resources. Eritreia Acacia woodlands which occupy a quarter of the country, with river line forests fringing river systems of the Gash/Mereb, Setit and Barka in the lowlands, face the greatest threat as they occupy fertile, well‐watered and level sites suitable for commercial agricultural development. Due to civil war, forests in Somalia are highly threatened. The forests are threatened by agriculture and the use of wood for fuel. Although Djibouti is a highly urbanized country with rural population accounting for only 25% of the total, land use is extensive with nomadic pastoralism dominating. Cattle population of nearly 1 million in such small country has led to adverse impact on forest cover (FOSA, 2000). Desertification, water pollution and the rapid loss of wildlife are problems associated with deforestation. Although Uganda is considered forest rich, one key problem facing its forests and forestry sector is the rapid decline in forest cover. According to FAO (2000), Uganda’s forest loss has been estimated at 50,000ha per year while GoU, (2000) estimated the annual loss to range between 70,000 ‐ 200,000ha per year. These figures reflect annual deforestation rates of 0.10% ‐ 3.15%. In Tanzania the unreserved areas are under heavy pressure, being converted to other land uses such as agriculture, wildlife protection, grazing, land settlement and industrial activities. Deforestation is estimated at 91,276 ha per annum (FBD, 200a), caused mainly by unsustainable agricultural practices, livestock grazing and wild fire among others. The picture in other parts of the region is similar. In Southern Africa there has been an annual loss of about 1.7% of forest land attributed to unsustainable harvesting practices including expansion of agricultural land and use of fire for land clearing as well as the change in forest classification. However, new plantations have increased the land coverage from 1% in 2003 to 1.6% in 2005, FAO (2005). 24 | P a g e 25 | P a g e IV.2ClimateChangeandextremeweatherevents
Forests have four major roles in climate change: they currently contribute about one‐sixth of global carbon emissions when cleared, overused or degraded; they react sensitively to a changing climate; when managed sustainably, they produce wood fuels as a benign alternative to fossil fuels; and finally, they have the potential to absorb about one‐tenth of global carbon emissions projected for the first half of this century into their biomass, soils and products and store them ‐ in principle in perpetuity. Despite Africa’s fast‐growing human population and the associated impacts on natural resources, it is one of the least studied continents in terms of ecosystem dynamics and climate variability (Hély et al., 2006). However, climate change is already having an impact on the dynamics of African biomes and its rich biodiversity (Erasmus et al., 2002). Vast forest disappearance due to climate change‐induced die‐
back and land use change would substantially affect species composition and global geochemical cycling, particularly the carbon cycle (Malcolm et al., 2002). Climate change has the potential to alter migratory routes and timings of species that use both seasonal wetlands and track seasonal changes in vegetation, which may also increase conflicts with humans, particularly in areas where rainfall is low (Thirgood et al., 2004). Biome sensitivity assessments in Africa show that deciduous and semi‐deciduous closed canopy forests may be very sensitive to small decreases in the amount of precipitation that plants receive during the growing season, illustrating that deciduous forests may be more sensitive than grasslands or savannahs to reduced precipitation (Hély et al., 2006). In the savannahs of Zambia, research shows that climate change substantially affects growth in certain tree species. Chidumayo (2005) showed that dry tropical trees suffer severe water stress at the beginning of the growing season and that a warmer climate may accelerate the depletion of deep‐soil water that tree species depend on for survival. Ecosystems that are comprised of uniform herbaceous cover, such as in savannah plant communities, show the highest sensitivity to precipitation fluctuations when compared with plant communities of a mix of herbaceous, shrub and tree species that support a higher diversity of species (Vanacker et al., 2005). Invasive species and other species with high fertility and dispersal capabilities have been shown to be highly adaptive to variable climatic conditions (Malcolm et al., 2002). Due to its climate sensitive native fauna, East Africa may be particularly vulnerable to exotic and invasive species colonization. Ultimately Climate Change has the potential to undermine millennia of traditional custodianship of natural resources, frustrate any prospect of sustainable natural resource uses, put the livelihoods of billions of people at risk, and will impact on water availability, food security and consequently the biodiversity. In late 2006, a UK Government report on the economics of climate change concluded that action to stop climate change makes good economic sense and specifically highlights forest conservation as a highly cost‐effective way to slow climate change (IUCN, Global Situational Analysis, 2007). 25 | P a g e 26 | P a g e Associated with climate change is an increased incidence of extreme weather events that lead to massive local suffering for people and increased environmental impacts. Droughts and floods related to ENSO have had major human and economic and environmental costs in east and southern Africa (The ENSO floods in 1998 in east Africa and; the Floods in Mozambique in 2000 and in Kenya in 1997‐1998). Wetlands, Lowlands and floodplains due to their combination of several natural resources, such as fisheries and fertile alluvial soils, often are sites of dense rural settlements as well as urban settlements, such as many coastal areas of eastern and southern Africa. IV.3Over‐exploitationofnaturalresources
Over‐exploitation of natural resources is a characteristic in the region and people are rapidly overstretching the available natural resources. Unsustainable levels of exploitation to fulfill food and livelihood needs by an expanding human population clearly have significant consequences for the survival of many species and subsequently for longer term food security that in turn impact on forest and woodland resources. Wood fuels are by far the most used products from forest and woodlands. The harvesting figures indicate an increase from 1990 to 2005 from 243.3 million m3 to 313.9 million m3 of in the region. Figure 8a: Harvesting trends of Wood for industrial processing and Woodfuels 1990‐2005 Figure 8b: Trends of Forest and Woodland Areas 1990‐
2005 Timber is another key resource that is subject to unsustainable use, especially in poor countries and in increasing demand. In the region wood for industrial processing increased from 33.3 million m3 in 1990 to 40.6 million m3 in 2005, (FRA, 2005). 26 | P a g e 27 | P a g e IV.4Demographics,Gender,Globalization,Securityandconflict
Underlying drivers of change include Population Growth, Demography, Gender, Globalization and global politics, security and conflict, all of which are interconnected and have compounded impacts on status and trends of ecosystems including forest and woodlands. As in many of the least developed countries, rapid population growth continues to be a feature in the region, where a significant proportion of people depend heavily on subsistence agriculture and the use of natural resources for their livelihoods. The population growth in the region is estimated at 2.3% varying from 1% in South Africa to 3% in countries such as Uganda and Madagascar. Although the annual growth is declining (from 2.5% in 2000 to a projected 2.1% between 2010 and 2010, the increase in absolute numbers implies further pressure on its Figure 9: Population Growth Eastern and Southern Africa (mainland)
resources. Population pressure can lead to rapid migration such as the mass movement of refugees from human conflict or sustained migration for economic reasons. This in turn can increase pressures on the environment and lead to permanent changes in land use. Population growth is not uniformly distributed and includes a significant migration from rural to urban centers in all regions, although in the region is projected that the majority of its population will largely remain rural in the next decade and beyond. Many countries show a strong link between population, gender equity, the roles and rights of women and the state of the environment. Changes in gender balance as a result of selective migration, war or disease may put additional pressure on women and can aggravate conditions of poverty, with further impact on forests and natural resources as a whole. Women’s empowerment, beyond the benefit of enhanced decision‐making and their improved access to resources, has a cumulative effect of improved environmental management and protection and poverty alleviation for communities. The enhancement of global interconnectedness enabled by recent advances in telecommunications and globally‐integrated supply chains is leading to increased consumption of natural resources and associated impacts on biodiversity, as is the case of timber trade between African countries and emerging economies like China. These factors also shape and constrain international approaches to forest and biodiversity conservation. Today’s international political agenda is largely focused on peace and security issues. In eastern Africa, Sudan remains an area of concern, particularly in the Darfur region while Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda remain perched on the line between peace and hostilities. 2005 was an important year for the international environmental agenda and Climate Change also re‐
emerged as a major geopolitical issue. 27 | P a g e 28 | P a g e Security includes predictable access to natural resources and living in a controllable environment that is protected against extreme natural events and human‐made disasters. Security is undermined when ecosystem services are degraded. For example, a decline in provisioning services can affect supplies of food, energy, and other goods, enhancing the likelihood of conflict over declining resources; declining regulating services can influence the frequency and magnitude of floods, droughts, landslides and other natural disasters. When cultural services such as important ceremonial or spiritual attributes of ecosystems are lost, the social relations in a community may be weakened, thereby contributing to insecurity. The insecurity caused by armed conflict is a conservation issue because it leads to deforestation, mass movements of people (including into protected areas), and a cascade of conflicts between refugees and resident peoples, often with environmental complications. V.CHALLENGES
V.1ForestandEnvironmentonGlobalAgenda
Environmental priorities that focus on climate change, GMOs and conservation of mega‐fauna at the expense of environmental problems more immediately relevant to human well‐being (e.g. local and indoor air pollution, fresh water supply and sanitation, soil fertility) do not work to promote Forest and biodiversity’s role in sustainable development and poverty reduction. Spending by aid agencies on biodiversity and natural resource management has been stagnant in recent years. This is often attributed (by the aid agencies themselves) to a lack of interest in environmental investments on the part of developing country governments. As in the case of international biodiversity finance, one fundamental problem is the relatively weak economic case for investing in conservation as a contribution to poverty reduction. Some prominent economists argue that environmental management has a relatively small role to play in poverty reduction (see for example, the findings of the Copenhagen Consensus). Environmental interventions with long lead times (e.g., mitigation of climate change) or indirect links to human well‐being (e.g., conservation of endangered habitat) are least obvious, in terms of benefits to the poor. Such actions may be beneficial in the long‐run but if they impose heavy upfront costs they are likely to compare poorly with investments that deliver more immediate improvements in human health and life expectancy (e.g. control of communicable disease). The environmental agenda in development is not helped by the weak articulation of environmental priorities in the UN MDGs and Millennium Project (e.g., MDG7 on environmental sustainability and the ‘quick wins’ identified by Sachs, (2005). MDG Target 9, in particular, is poorly defined and virtually impossible to measure. REDD as new mechanism to mitigate climate Change through sustainable Forest Management, also brings a wealth of challenges for the region and elsewhere, stemming from strategy and policy formulation both at regional, sub‐regional and national levels; awareness and knowledge of socio‐
economic implications; participation; access and benefit sharing; governance arrangements, mechanisms for designing baselines and monitoring reduced emissions; the national structures to host and manage the markets as well as; how to make REDD benefit the poor. 28 | P a g e 29 | P a g e V.2ForestPoliciesandEconomics
African countries are party to various policy instruments at global, regional, sub‐regional and national levels. However, compliance and implementation and enforcement with these instruments of environmental management and policy are, in many instances, ineffective. In one hand, this can be due to unarticulated sector polices, inaction on the part of authorities, unsustainable policies, and poor implementation of existing policies or insufficient human and financial resources to give effect to policies and; in many instances because economic forces are pressurizing governments and communities into unsustainable practices for short‐term profits. Policy failures can contribute to increased human vulnerability to environmental change. Table 3: Examples of Policy barriers B. Natural
resources
Examples of Policy barriers/failures
B1. Land
resources


Absence of planning and management systems
Little community involvement in information gathering
B2. Combating
deforestation


Inadequate information base on status of resources and rates of deforestation
Inadequate valuation of forest resources
B3. Combating
desertification and
drought



Low capacity for drought preparedness and drought relief schemes
Absence of comprehensive anti-desertification programmes integrated into national development
plans and national environmental planning
Inadequate popular participation and environmental education focusing on desertification control and
management of effects of drought
B4. Sustainable
development for
mountainous areas

B5. Sustainable
agriculture and
rural development





Africa's agriculture still remains low-input/low-yield, and is therefore unsustainable
Limited opportunities for non-farm employment
Limited incentives to promote land conservation
Inadequate attention given to indigenous knowledge in agriculture
Both plant and animal genetic resources are poorly inventoried or documented
B6. Conservation
and biodiversity

Biodiversity resources poorly inventoried
29 | P a g e Lack of database or information systems to facilitate integrated management and environmental
assessment of mountain ecosystems
30 | P a g e The contribution of the forestry sector to the national economies is one of the important dimensions of sustainable forest management. Both forests and woodlands play vital roles in supporting national economies and local communities through harvesting of resources, provision of habitats and services derived from the ecosystem. Since the majority of these resources and services have not been quantified in monetary terms, they are often undervalued and threatened by overexploitation. Governments are losing revenues due to the undervaluation of the resources and lack of uniformity or harmonization of pricing system and price structure also exacerbate the loss for some countries. Eastern & Southern Africa is exporting to Asia, Europe and elsewhere favoring the employment opportunities and value addition to those countries in detriment of the region In addition the countries do not approach the markets and trade as a block and economic integration in the forestry sector is not happening as yet. It is increasingly clear that CBNRM raise expectations as far as securing rights over resources, but also and more importantly provide a source of livelihood improvement. As such there is need to determine the value of the forest resources in CBNRM areas in order to determine more objectively the opportunity cost of conservation. The contribution of CB forest management towards carbon sequestration and other services (ecotourism, beekeeping, reduction of fires, etc) are also not considered as yet in compensating communities for sustainable management of those resources. Coupled with above, sustainable management of forest resources requires a range of incentives. V.4Forestdataandinformationfordecisionmaking
Good management practices require data to monitor the performance of the forest ecosystem. The reality in the region is lack of scientific evidence on the role of forests and woodlands in maintaining the dynamics of forest ecosystems, habitats and species as well as the biodiversity in a landscape context while serving the needs of the local population and the role on economies. This is exacerbated by the already divergent and somewhat conflicting interests of different segments of the society especially in regards to the supply of ecosystems services as opposed to extraction of forestry products for commercial and subsistence purposes; expansion of agriculture and other developments; local versus national interests including the opportunity cost of protecting forests and woodlands amongst others. V.5ForestTenure
Generally the state in Africa has retained control of high value forests and made it difficult (permits, detailed management plans) for communities to market high value timber. Authorities use various means to continue exerting control over decentralized forest management, including restrictions on use of certain resources through use of permits, retaining the ability to revoke agreements and; placing perverse incentives (taxes, permits) for rural people to engage with the market.This in part relates to income flows from timber concessions going to the state, and partly to a lack of willingness to decentralize such forest lands to either co‐management or community ownership regimes. The alliance formed by the State and the private sector around natural resource is an illustration of a ‘State focused on rent appropriation’ to the detriment of the local communities. Although the policy rhetoric contemplates recognition of customary rights, negotiation, and fair compensation for compulsory acquisition, the reality is that the state use powers of imminent domain, public interest to undermine such provisions. Restricting access encourages forest degradation, exacerbates demands for tree products, and drives unsustainable forest harvesting. The denial of access 30 | P a g e 31 | P a g e to resources by local communities, while issuing permits for outsiders to harvest them will be challenged through unsustainable use of resources, irrespective of existing legal restrictions (Campbell et al 2000). V.6LandGrabsandBiofuels
International land deals are emerging as a global phenomenon, including cases in the eastern and southern region of Africa. This is an issue of concern because land is so central to identity livelihoods largely derived from natural resources in the region and, food security. For people in recipient countries, this new context creates risks and opportunities. Increased investment may bring macro‐level benefits (such as GDP growth and improved government revenues), and may create opportunities for economic development and livelihood improvement in rural areas. A report focusing on sub‐Saharan Africa (IIED, FAO and IFAD) discusses key trends and drivers in land acquisitions, since 2004 in five sub‐saharan African countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan) and qualitative case studies in Mozambique and Tanzania. The report looks at large‐scale land acquisitions, broadly defined as acquisitions (whether purchases, leases or other) of land areas over 1,000 ha. The report states that as governments or markets make land available to prospecting investors, large‐
scale land acquisitions may result in local people losing access to the resources on which they depend for their livelihoods and food security. In many cases land is already being used or claimed – yet existing land uses and claims go unrecognized because land users are marginalized from formal land rights and access to the law and institutions. It also indicates several factors that seem to underpin these land acquisitions. These include food security concerns, particularly in investor countries as food supply problems and uncertainties are created by constraints in agricultural production due to limited availability of water and arable land; by bottlenecks in storage and distribution; and by the expansion of biofuel production, an important competing forest, land and crop use. In addition key factors driving new patterns of land investment include global demand for biofuels and other non‐food agricultural commodities; expectations of rising rates of return in agriculture and land values and; policy measures in home and host countries. With regard to biofuels, government consumption targets and financial incentives have been a key driving force. Given the projections of diminishing supplies of non‐renewable, biofuels are likely to remain and increase as an option in the longer‐term, unless policies shift in response to concerns about the impacts of biofuel expansion on food security and environment. 31 | P a g e 32 | P a g e VI.OPPORTUNITIES
VI.1Emergingbiodiversityconservationparadigms
The release of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, 2005) marked a turning point in conservation in popularizing the concept of ecosystem services and providing a new focus that both conservation and development communities could embrace. One concept upon which most seem to agree is that biodiversity conservation in today’s world must include consideration of the social and economic needs of people, for which the Ecosystem Approach of the CBD provides definitive guidance and has led to other conservation planning and implementation tools at the landscape level. The success accorded to forest landscape restoration, integrated water resource management, and integrated coastal zone management approaches is based on the positive outcomes for both people and biodiversity. The private sector has its Equator Principles, which have had some success in providing standards of behavior for the profit‐making entities that have impacts on the environment. The incorporation of the Precautionary Principle in some national legislation has also been a step in the right direction. Some believe that mobilizing new science in support of biodiversity can reverse the negative trends and that a comprehensive approach to landscape‐level conservation is preferable to the ‘ecological fortress’ model. Sustainable Forest management can also contribute to poverty reduction by increasing income (e.g., soil conservation for improved crop yields), reducing vulnerability to extreme events (e.g., protection of natural barriers for flood control), or building social capital (e.g., participatory forest management leading to increased influence of the poor in political processes). But this must be coupled with recognition in policy that nature makes essential contributions to livelihoods. VI.2Emergingdevelopmentparadigms
For most governments, the MDGs continue to be the organizing framework and poverty reduction remains central to the development discourse at the international and national levels. One of the significant development‐related outcomes of the 2005 World Summit is the call for a new round of national poverty reduction plans or comprehensive national development strategies to achieve the MDGs. Mainstreaming environmental sustainability in these plans by drawing on existing sector and sustainable development strategies as well as work programmes under the international environmental conventions remains a key challenge and an opportunity. The strong messages of the MA, especially the role of ecosystem services in ensuring human well‐being and achievement of the MDGs, were understood by many government agencies. A handful of donors have made commitments to increase funding for environmental sustainability as a means of achieving the MDGs. The Multilateral Development Banks are all currently examining ways to support the MDG implementation process, but some appear to be reverting, focusing on large‐scale infrastructure investments and downplaying the “soft side of development” with its social and environmental safeguards. While most new aid has been used to fund debt relief, spending on development projects and programmes is likely to increase in the next few years (extract from IUCN global situational analysis, 2007). 32 | P a g e 33 | P a g e BOX 5: Carbon Financial Mechanisms Following 1997 Kyoto Protocol that came into force in 2005, as an accepted mechanism for regulating Annex 1 countries in reducing carbon emissions for the first period of commitment (2008‐2012), REDD and later REDD plus are in top of the agenda, a significant opportunity for the region whose land cover is mostly woodlands and high rates of deforestation. Current negotiations emphasize reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest services. The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) of the WB assists developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), with two main objectives: building capacity for REDD in developing countries and; testing a program of performance‐based incentive payments in some pilot countries. UN‐REDD Program (FAO, UNDP and UNEP) to transfer resources to significantly reduce global emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, with two components: (i) assisting developing countries prepare and implement national REDD strategies and mechanisms; (ii) supporting the development of normative solutions and standardized approaches based on sound science for a REDD instrument linked with the UNFCCC. The emerging consensus include: (i) REDD should be applied in a phased approach (a Readiness stage; an implementation stage; and a full implementation stage with both market and fund based financing; (ii) adequate financing for REDD is essential, including for the Readiness phase; (iii) considerations should also be given to conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhanced carbon stocks (although it is still unclear what this means in practice); (iv) REDD should be based on national priorities. REDD Plus is an opportunity to improve positive incentives for forest conservation and SFM generally, and support for forest governance reform processes. It can also contribute to the sustainable development of developing countries and the rural communities that live there, through: (i) paying communities directly for reduced deforestation (PES); (ii) increased efforts to reduce illegal logging; (iii) improving land tenure security for forest‐dwelling peoples; (iv) higher taxes on large‐scale land clearance; (v) supporting community forestry; (vi) agricultural intensification in favourable areas to relieve pressure on remaining forest lands; (vii) strategic planning of road improvements to avoid unplanned logging or agricultural expansion; (viii) strengthening forest fire prevention programs. VI.3 Regional and National Approaches to Forest and Environmental
Conservation
Despite the glaring lack of information in support of good forest management, there are efforts to manage African forests sustainably, especially those under formal administration. Sustainable forest management (SFM) is a long‐term objective for Africa, and is written into most national and regional development plans and strategies. The most important steps are in the realm of policy and institutional changes, both within the forest sector, in other sectors, and the economy as a whole. Of particular importance are the following: (i) Decentralization and devolution of administration and increased emphasis on community participation in forest management; (ii) Changes in forest administration especially through the establishment of more autonomous boards, authorities and commissions; (iii) Increased role for the private sector in forestry production and processing;; (iv) Increasing role of civil society – especially national and international NGOs ‐ in influencing forest resource management, particularly through their advocacy 33 | P a g e 34 | P a g e role and also through direct involvement in forestry initiatives in supporting community participation; (v) growing awareness and concern about the local and regional roles of forests and trees in fields like poverty alleviation, climate change, energy supply, water availability, and biodiversity conservation and; (vi) concerns also about global changes, especially stemming from demands that forests, also in Africa, shall provide global public goods and services, and environmental protection in particular, as reflected in various international arrangements including treaties and conventions. Regional and pan‐African institutions such as AU, SADC, EAC, IGAD and COMESA, have already embraced environment and specific regional forest strategies and programs. Platforms for dialogue and voice out environmental issues as a block in the global agenda have been established such as the Africa‐wide Civil Society Climate Change initiative for Policy dialogues (ACCID) and the Africa Forest Forum (AFF). Engagment with this and other relevant bodies constitute a great opportunity for influencing and mainstreaming at regional and pan‐African scale, the forest agenda. In September 2006, the EAC held the First East Africa Consultative Forum on Forests in Arusha, Tanzania, recognizing that poor forest governance has cost East Africa in terms of reduced goods and services, lost taxes and royalties, and the erosion of livelihoods the forum recommended the launching of a regional FLEG process to implement the 2003 Yaoundé declaration on improving forest law enforcement and governance. An international support group was formed to sustain the momentum for change, and efforts began to link related initiatives on the continent in support of an Africa‐wide FLEG process. SADC has a full developed Forest protocol, is in process of developing a regional forest strategy and Regional Environment Mainstreaming Strategy and a regional meeting on REDD is under preparation. IGAD, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, has a strong agenda on climate change and natural disaster management as well as on programmes and projects to achieve regional food security and sustainable development of natural resources and environment protection. In 1989, twenty four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa established a Drought Monitoring Centre with its headquarters in Nairobi (the DMCN) and a sub centre in Harare (Drought Monitoring Centre Harare – DMCH) in response to the devastating weather related disasters. In October 2008 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and (IGAD) in partnership with the Kenyan Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP) and the Centre for Minority Rights and Development (CEMIRIDE), facilitated a tour of IGAD parliamentarians and journalists to the drylands of Kenya, to learn about the challenges and successes in conservation and sustainable livelihood development. The tour prompted the drafting of a policy note and recommendations on marketing chains and value additions of semi‐arid products; promoting sub‐regional policies for managing trans‐
boundary resources in arid and semi‐arid areas and; recommended that an IGAD‐wide Inter‐
governmental committee on trans‐boundary environmental issues be created. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agenda focus on is adoption of a comprehensive trade liberation measures such as the complete elimination of tariff and non‐tariff barriers to trade and elimination of customs duties through the free movement of capital, labor, goods and the right of establishment and other provisions. This certainly constitutes a unique opportunity to regulate illegal trade of forest and woodlands products inside and outside the region; to mainstream 34 | P a g e 35 | P a g e Forest Law Enforcement and Governance; increase employment in the sector, introduce forest and woodland sustainable management incentives and; value addition to forest and woodland products. VI.4IUCNintheRegionandtheForestConservationProgram
The Eastern and Southern Africa Programme (ESAP) undertakes a series of core actions with a view to realizing its overall intersessional results in relation to the IUCN Core Programme Area ‐Conserving Biodiversity‐ and four thematic programme areas namely Changing the climate forecast; Naturally energizing the future; Managing ecosystems for human well‐being and; Greening the world economy. ESARO looks at achieving these through integration of a number of strategies including building partnerships across boundaries; integrated, holistic and learning‐oriented perspectives; and; Identifying and utilizing opportunities for scaling up. This framework provides a good ground for working with a diversity of actors and sectors, and pursuing equitable partnerships; Drawing on multiple disciplines to work together to apply integrated and holistic approaches in a learning oriented manner; Ensuring that the benefits realized through our actions are sustainable and; scale up benefits both horizontal and vertically (A strategy for Programme Strengthening and Growth, 2009. unpublished). Within ESARO a number of forest related programmes provide opportunities to leverage and support the identification of strategic and pressing issues related to the forests and woodlands in the region. Examples of programmes include the Livelihoods and Landscapes, Mangroves for the Future, the Growing Forest partnerships and others, that work across themes such as linking sustainable management forest ecosystems and livelihoods specifically improved income; secure tenure rights over forest resources; improved forest governance through strengthening capacity of local community institutions; improved access to markets of forest based products; foster private‐community partnerships and, draw upon lessons to influence relevant policies conducive to a better sustainable management of forests. The documentation and dissemination to key stakeholders, of the many lessons that are being learnt from implementation of these programmes provide a good platform for informed adoption of new methodologies, tools and approaches, identify the root causes of unsustainable forest management and decline of the resources, improve the legal framework and strengthening capacities of forest and woodland stakeholders. The IUCN Forest Conservation Programme has a long experience in influencing the global agenda and a network of partners that a regional forest programme can build upon. FCP supports the formation of locally driven and sustainable outcomes that will improve forest management and build on public concern for protecting, managing and restoring forests to deliver real benefits for people and biodiversity. This approach enables the Forest Conservation Programme to tackle the root causes of the world’s most pressing issues, including poverty, biodiversity lose and climate change and draws upon optimal scenarios for improving livelihoods and reversing land degradation that can be incorporated into national laws and policies. The Forest Conservation Programme has build strategic alliances and partnerships with others in these fields, namely with WWF‐International , Forest Trends, The Nature Conservancy, World Bank, UNEP, FAO, ICRAF and CIFOR. The FCP has also formed Partnerships aiming at making international and national policies relevant at local levels. These include the following: the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR); Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF); Global Fire Partnership (GFP); Rights and Resources Institute (extract from IUCN FCP Programme). 35 | P a g e 36 | P a g e VII.Conclusions
The region is largely covered by woodlands but also considerable areas of forests of importance for livelihoods, protective and social functions such as water regulation, tourism and to national economies. Direct causes and threats to forest decline in extent, biodiversity conservation, protection and social services are largely derived from the agriculture sector in the form of conversion to small‐scale permanent agriculture followed by large‐scale permanent agriculture and to a less extent due to the intensification and expansion of shifting cultivation. These threats are compounded by the high dependency in the region on wood fuel energy both in rural and urban areas and, recent developments on land acquisitions for agriculture and bio fuels that pose a potential threat to further encroachment into forest lands, exacerbation of food insecurity and conflicts derived from insecure land tenure. Other related threats include the rather widely limited understanding impacts of climate change and implications on on‐going development strategies; inadequate structured forest institutions at regional, national and local levels; unarticulated polices within the sector and with other sectors of the economy and the lack of momentum in seizing private sector opportunities. The key challenges for sustainable management of forests and woodlands include lack of evidence‐base of the importance of woodland resources on livelihoods and economies of the countries; ambivalent and limited enforcement of policies in relation to land and forest tenure; limited and unreliable data on resource base, production and trade limiting decision‐making and opportunities to mainstream the sector in the wider regional and national development agendas ; the lack of evidence on the opportunity cost of woodlands and forests compared to other land uses; the unaccounted value of forest and woodland regulatory and protection services e.g. water and tourism; limited acknowledgment of trans‐
boundary cascade effects of mismanagement of forest and woodlands coupled with limited capacity to influence global environmental agenda, as result of the limited underestimation of the advantages to approaching regional concerns as a block . In view of the challenges above, with few exceptions, most national forest institutions require additional capacity to further reform themselves and proactively promote and develop new strategies and policies to respond to the complex dynamics of this times including adaptation and mitigation to climate change, the environmental services markets and trends in energy markets. The sector also requires urgent cross‐
sector and integrated policy and development responses to negative impacts emanated from outside the sector. To succeed, forest and woodlands strategies must bring livelihoods to the fore. The regional bodies provide important platforms to strengthen national institutions and approaches to sustainable forest and woodlands management, but interchangeably require strong national institutions to adequately perform their functions. In addition means to reduce dependency and turn the regional blocks financially sustainable are required in view of internalizing processes and proactively drive the regional agendas. In conclusion, potential areas of engagement for IUCN Forest programme in the region may include strengthening the Institutional and legal framework capacities at regional and national levels, through linkages of IUCN global and the regional programmes and other regional platforms such as AFF; leverage Forest law enforcement and Governance building on on‐going initiatives by EAC and SADC and COMESA; pursue forest and woodland accounting and valuation systems building on similar initiatives in Kenya, South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana and through engagement with existing trans‐boundary water regional bodies; promote participatory methods for data collection in view of deriving the real value of 36 | P a g e 37 | P a g e forest and woodlands resources to livelihoods and local economies aiming at mainstreaming the informal sector into the formal sector of the economy; promote resource‐base small‐ medium enterprises aiming at improving the market share by local producers, of the value chain of the resources trade; continuous working in areas of decentralization and secure rights and tenure of forests and woodlands to local communities as well as; promote private sector environmentally sound practices and partnerships with local communities; engage with relevant sectors of the economy such as agriculture & rural development, tourism, water, mining and transport as key sectors that intersect with the forest sector development. 37 | P a g e 38 | P a g e Annex 1: Legal framework for forests and woodlands in the region). Country Legal Framework Angola Short‐term Forestry Action Plan (1994); The policy document (1994); National Forestry Action Plan () Botswana Forest Act ‐ Regulation & Protection of Forests and Forest Produce (1968); Wildlife Conservation and National Parks (Amendment) Act.1993; Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act (amended by Act 60 of 1992 and 16 of 1993); Natural Resources Protection (Model) By‐laws, 1992; Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Amendment Act(1993); Tribal Land (Establishment of Land Tribunals) Order( 1995); Tribal land (Establishment of land Tribunals) (Amendment) Order( 1996) Lesotho Government’s Strategy Paper on Decentralization and Local Government Reforms and the implementation of the privatization policy; forest policy and the National Forestry Programme Madagascar National Forestry Action Programme (1996); Madagascar's Forest Law (1997) Malawi Forest Policy (1996), Forestry Act 1997; National Decentralization Policy (1998); forestry strategy(); National forest programme (2001) Mozambique Environmental Law(1997); Forest and Wildlife Act (No. 10/1999); Forest & Wildlife Law Regulations of 2002 (12/02) and, the Land Law (nº 19/97); Forest Law enforcement (2005); PRSP 2005‐2009 Namibia Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Amendment Act, 2003; Forest Policy, 1998, Environmental Management Act, No 7 of 2007; Forest Act, 2001 (Act No. 12 of 2001); Nature Conservation Amendment Act , No 5 of 1996 South Africa White Paper, Sustainable forestry development in South Africa (1996); National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP developed in 1997; National forestry programme (2004); National Environmental Plan; National Environmental Management Act();National Veld and Forest Fire Act, ( 1998); Guidelines for environmental conservation management in commercial forests (1995) Swaziland Private Forests Act, no. 3 of 1951, Forests Preservation Act, no. 14 of 1910, Private Forests act 1961. Zambia Zambia Forestry Action Plan; Provincial Forestry Action Plan (PFAP) 1995; National Forest Policy (1998); Forests Act (October, 1999) Zimbabwe Forest Act (1996) and Communal Land Forest Produce Act (1987) Uganda Forestry Policy 2001; Forest Plan 2002; Forestry and tree Planting Act 2000 39 | P a g e Country Tanzania Legal Framework National Policies for Forestry and Beekeeping (1998); Forest Act (2002); Forest management plans for national and local authority, community, village and private forests; participatory forest management such as joint management agreements and by‐laws; Forest Resources Management and Conservation Act 10/96; National Environment Management National Land Use Planning Commission Act (1984ent Act 19/83; the Wildlife Conservation Act (1974); Kenya Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMC) 1999; Forest Act 2005: Community Participation; Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) 2001‐2004; Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (2003 – 2008); Forest Policy (2007) Eritrea ‐ Somalia Forest Act, (revised 1992). Sudan Forest Act of 1989 provides the conditions under which agroforestry may be practised. Ethiopia Ethiopian Forestry Action Programme (EFAP) 1994; Djibouti ‐ 39 | P a g e 40 | P a g e Annex 2: Features of Forest and Woodlands Eco‐regions Ethiopian Highlands (27,050 ha) The Southern Rift Mountain Woodlands ( 3,350 ha) Location Northeastern Africa, covering sections of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan Conservation status: critical/ Endangered Critical/
Southeastern Africa in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda Critical/
The Eastern Africa Arc Mountain woodlands (2,400 ha) Central Tanzania, extending into Kenya Critical/
Endangered Miombo woodlands (1,932,000 ha ) Central and Southern Africa ‐ Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Vulnerable
Threats:
There are at least 30 bird species, 20 mammals, 13 amphibians, and many plants that can be found only in this region. The highlands also contain a unique mixture of Palearctic and Afrotropical species. Conversion to agriculture, firewood collection, wild fires, and invasion by alien species are all real threats. ‐
Expanding agriculture, shifting cultivation, fires, and overgrazing are major threats to the biological diversity of these ecosystems. Among vertebrates the amphibians with 32 strict endemics spread across 12 genera, and a further seven near endemics, have the highest number of range‐
restricted species Continuing clearance and degradation of the forest habitat
Many locally endemic species of plants and animals are restricted to single mountain ranges. Northeast Tanzania alone have some 50 endemic tree species. Over 2000 plant species in 800 genera; at least 800 of these species are believed endemic to this ecoregion. The forests are the centers of global endemism for the African violet (Saintpaulia) and Busy Lizzies (Impatiens), and Msambo tree (Allanblackia stuhlmanni) and also home to mammal species, including the endemic Abbot's duiker (Cephalophus spadix), Angolan black‐
and‐white colobus (Colobus angolensis), forest‐dwelling populations of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), and Harvey's duiker (Cephalophus harveyi). Large mammals, including giraffes, elands, rhinos, and the largest population of African elephants (Loxodonta africana). Among the reptiles are endemics such as the Zaire centipede‐eater (Aparallactus moeruensis), Platysaurus maculates, Dalophia; luluae, carved worm ‐
Endangered The Albertine rift Mountain Woodland (10,400 ha) 40 | P a g e Species:
Endangered Future population growth and associated activities are a potential threat. Areas surrounding large, urban centers have been cleared for farming, ranching, and charcoal production. African Blackwood trees are heavily harvested to make musical instruments such as clarinets and piano keys, as well as for 41 | P a g e Eco‐regions Location Conservation status: Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe Species:
Threats:
lizard (Monopeltis scalper), and the Katanga beaked snake (Rhinotyphlops kibarae). traditional and tourist‐trade carvings. The hunting of bush meat is a growing problem in this eco‐region, and hunting for rhino horn and elephant ivory has negatively impacted the population of both species. Bird species such as the black‐faced waxbill (Estrilda erythronotos), Miombo rock‐thrush (Monticola angolensis), and the Miombo pied barbet (Tricholaema frontata) are also found here. An estimated 8,500 plant species grow in the Central woodlands, about half of which are endemic. Rich in reptiles, the region has 46 endemic species. The Horn of Africa Acacia Savannah (105,300 ha) . Parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan vulnerable
Several endemic species are found in the more mesic habitats found along the Jubba and Shabelle, the only permanent rivers in the area. ‐
The East Africa Acacia Savannah ( 57,200 ha) Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, Vulnerable
As the drought approaches, great numbers of grazing wildebeests and zebras migrate north in search of food. Then, when the rains return, the animals alternate between 2 habitats: the Serengeti and Mara Plains. Predators follow
The tsetse fly, which carries sleeping sickness, was once present in the region, but its eradication has now made human settlement possible. Zambezian and Mopane woodlands (47,330,000 ha ) Southeastern Africa: South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia, and Malawi most significant wildlife populations in Africa occur in eco‐region. Elephants, rhinos, hippopotamuses, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, kudus, lions, leopards, cheetahs, and spotted hyenas Steadily growing human population, demanding more land and other finite resources, continues to pose a significant threat to the ecosystem. Rampant poaching, cutting of trees, and clearing of land for cultivation. Many of the animals in this region are threatened by illegal hunting. and predators such as wild dogs are killed by farmers and ranchers who view them as pests. Ranching is a threat to native wildlife in other ways as well as it displaces native ungulates and fences to keep cattle in also impede the movements of migratory animals such as elephants and wildebeest. Yet another growing threat to this region is the invasion of alien plant species, which cover up to 20 percent of the land area in some places. East African Coastal Forest Mosaic Geographic Location: East Africa: Kenya, Critical/Endangered
The 40,000 cultivated varieties of the African violet, which form the basis of a US$100 million/year house plant trade globally, are all derived from just 3 species 41 | P a g e 42 | P a g e Eco‐regions (11,200,000 ha) Location Somalia, Tanzania, Mozambique Conservation status: Mangroves Eastern African Coast, along Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and the western coast of Madagascar 42 | P a g e Critical/Endangered
Species:
found in coastal Tanzanian and Kenyan forests. Also found here are 11 species of wild coffee, 8 of which are endemic. The East African Coastal Forests host more than 633 bird species 11 of which are endemic. Among them are the Clarke's weaver (Ploceus golandi), Sokoke scops owl (Otus ireneae), Pemba sunbird (Nectarina pemba), Fischer's tauraco (Tauraco fishceri), and the Tana. River cisticola (Cisticola restrictus). The forests also have their share of mammals including the Pemba Island flying fox (Pteropus comorensis), Sokoke dog mongoose (Bdeogale omnivora), Zanzibar red colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii), Tana mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus), and the Zanj elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi). This ecoregion is home to a variety of primate species including 3 endemic and highly threatened monkey species and 2 endemic species of bushbabies. In addition to the many fish and invertebrates that find refuge, breeding grounds, and nurseries in mangroves, other local residents include Mangrove kingfisher (Halycyon senegaloides), Dugong (Dugong dugon), and migrants such as Greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii), and Grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola). Also found are five species of sea turtles: Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), and Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata). Threats:
Mangroves in the region area being lost through conversion to rice farms, salt pans, aquaculture, and urbanization. They also ultimately receive all untreated wastes discharged upstream, as well as oil and industrial pollution, silt, and pesticides 43 | P a g e Annex 3: Forest Ownership by Country in East and Southern Africa Area in million hectares (Percentage of country total)
Country Public ‐ Administered by Government
Who Owns Who Owns + 5
% in Country
Public ‐ Reserved for Community and Indigenous Groups
% Change
Who Owns
Who Owns + 5
% in Country
% Change
Southern Africa Angola ‐ 5.043
9
‐
‐ 47.957
81
‐
Botswana ‐ 8.9
75
‐
‐ 3.008
25
‐
Lesotho ‐ 0.0074
92.5
‐
‐ 0.0006
7.5
‐
Madagascar ‐ 8.731
68
‐
‐ 4.04
31
‐
Malawi ‐ 1.007
30
‐
‐ 2.395
70
‐
Mozambique ‐ 33.6
61
‐
‐ 11.7
21
‐
Namibia ‐ 2.727
36
‐
‐ 4.309
56
‐
South Africa ‐ 2.393
26
‐
‐ 3.682
40
‐
Swaziland ‐ 0.395
73
‐
‐ 0
0
‐
Zambia ‐ 11.165
26
‐
‐ 31.289
74
‐
Zimbabwe ‐ 2.263
13
‐
‐ 12.927
87
‐
Total Southern Africa ‐ 76.2314
38
‐
‐ 121.3076
55
‐
Uganda 1,217,700 1,088,000
30
‐10.6
0 0
Tanzania 37,173,000 35,186,500
100
‐5.3
75,000 70,500
0
‐6
Kenya 3,504,000 3,438,000
90
‐1.9
0 0
Eritrea 1,576,000 1554000
100
‐1.4
0 0
Eastern Africa
43 | P a g e 44 | P a g e Country Area in million hectares (Percentage of country total)
Somalia 7,515,000 7,131,000
100
‐5.1
0 0
Sudan 68,863,000 65,992,000
98
‐4.2
1,628,000
1,553,558
Ethiopia 13,705,000 13,000,000
100
‐5.1
0 0
Djibouti ‐ ‐
‐
‐ ‐
133,553,700 127,389,500
1,703,000
1,624,058
Total ‐ Eastern Africa 2
‐4.6
‐
Source: derived from: Governments are Devolving Responsibility for Forest Management in Africa, but are Rural People Able to Take on Their Rights? 2008 sourced from FRA, 2005
44 | P a g e 45 | P a g e Annex 4: Regional Institutions and donors (TO BE FINALIZED)
Key areas of work relevant to Forest
Africa Forest Forum 1.Information generation, sharing and uptake. 2. Good forest governance and law enforcement. 3. Effects of, and mitigation and adaptation to, climate change. 4. Forest‐water relations and management. 5. Strengthening Africa in international and regional dialogues on forestry and related areas. 6. Rehabilitation of public forest plantations. 7. The potential for collaboration between African and Swedish forest institutions. FAO The ongoing, FAO led process to develop Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Land and Other Natural Resources, and the Framework and Guidelines for Land Policies in Africa being developed under the leadership of the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank. UNDP Energy: support East Africa Community to foster legal arrangements and policies that can ensure that energy services are delivered to the broader population; Support countries in the region develop the capacity to access international sources of funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation – through arrangements like the Clean Development Mechanism; Support strengthening Africa’s voice at the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Change Conference; support establishing markets for environmental services so as to make tangible the values of these ecosystem; UNDP‐UNEP Poverty‐Environment Initiative has been supporting eight countries in Africa in designing poverty reduction strategies and budgets that fully incorporate environmental protection and climate change; addressing increasing threats from climate change. With a $92 million grant financed by the Government of Japan, the organization is currently assisting 21 countries in Africa on devising and implementing adaptation strategies. At the national level, UNDP is helping countries to develop what is known as National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs) to build climate change threats and opportunities into development. Through “Community‐Based Adaptation”, UNDP is also working with the Global Environment Facility and UN Volunteers to directly help the least equipped communities to develop climate‐resilient strategies for the management of land, water and biodiversity. WWF Support CBNRM Projects in Miombo woodlands; africa & Madagascar‐ "meeting the challenge; Albertine Rift Mountain Forests Ecoregion Programme 45 | P a g e 46 | P a g e References(TOBEFINALIZED)
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