Deforestation is a serious threat

With 520 million hectares of forest, Africa ranks second among the world's continents with this fast-disappearing resource.

In a report produced for the 21st Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) regional conference for Africa, held from 21-25 February in Cameroon, the UN agency says: "Deforestation is the most serious threat in most African countries." It estimates that the continent lost 10.5 percent of its forest between 1980 and 1995. The annual rate of deforestation between 1990 and 1995 was 0.7 percent for Africa, the FAO said, over twice the
world average of 0.3 percent.

The reason for this deterioration has been civil wars, rapid conversion of forests into agricultural land, overgrazing, fires, overlogging and excessive felling of trees for firewood and charcoal production.

FAO says sub-Saharan Africa has high annual population growth rates, large rural populations, increasing urbanisation and low per capita incomes. "These factors combine with others to exert destructive pressures on forests to supply fuel wood, poles, food, at unsustainable rates," the FAO says.

FAO estimates that 90 percent of total energy consumption comes from wood and that this dependence is likely to increase because of low incomes and poverty in rural Africa.