CHAPTER 2 Africa’s Renewable Natural Resources€¦ · and a discussion on adaptation to climate...

C H A P T E R 2

Africa’s Renewable Natural Resources

In line with the classification of naturalresources presented in Chapter One, thischapter focuses on Africa’s renewablenatural resources, chiefly, water, forestryand land resources. A majority of Africanswill remain heavily dependent on theseresources for their livelihoods in theforeseeable future. The chapter provides anoverview of the stock, production patterns,current status of each resource. This initialpresentation is followed by a deeperanalysis of the management of the resourcesand a discussion on adaptation to climatechange in Africa. Each resource is presentedseparately to enhance clarity, but it is worthnoting that there are very close linkagesbetween these resources, since poormanagement and exploitation of oneresource is highly likely to affect the others.

Water Resources

Water constitutes a key component of Africa’snatural resource endowments, but it isbecoming increasingly scarce in the con-tinent. Indeed, one of the current challengesfacing Africa is how to comprehensively takestock of its water resources and use themoptimally to sustain an acceptable standardof living in the continent. Available statisticsreveal that nine African countries already face“water scarcity” on a national scale (less than1,000 m3 of water per person annually), eightcountries face “water stress” (less than 1,700m3), while at least another six countries arelikely to join this list in the coming decades.More than 300 million people in Africa still

lack access to safe water and adequatesanitation. The majority of these people arein sub-Saharan Africa, where only 51 percentof the population has access to safe waterand 45 percent to sanitation.1

By 2025, almost 50 percent of Africanswill be living in an area of water scarcity orwater stress. Five African countries —Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Somalia andSouth Africa — are expected to face waterscarcity within the next 10 years.2 In SouthAfrica, the demand for water is expected toincrease by 50 percent in the next 30 years.This projected demand for water resourcesis unlikely to be met without considerableinvestments in the water sector. Because oflow rainfall, North Africa is most affected bywater scarcity. However, sub-Saharan Africawill also become increasingly affected.There is already considerable nationalcompetition for water for agriculture andpower generation in Africa’s major riverbasins, particularly in the Nile River Basin.3

Water plays a vital role in improving thesocioeconomic circumstances of manyAfrican countries. Although several eco-nomic instruments are being deployed toaddress the water crisis, the success of these efforts will depend heavily on theavailability of sustainable water resources.Meanwhile, successful economic develop-

1 WMO & UNESCO (1988); Bzioui (2005); OECD& AFDB (2007)

2 WRI (2005)3 WRI (2005); Bzioui (2005); DFID (2003)

(C) AfricanBank 2007 Ch2 11/10/07 12:11 Page 12

ment efforts are needed to ensure thesustainable flow of funds for waterresources development. This interdepen-dence between water availability anddevelopment is exemplified by the linkbetween water and poverty. Because ofpoverty, access to adequate water andsanitation is low in Africa; in turn, thisinadequate access to safe water andsanitation has led to a high incidence ofcommunicable diseases that reduces vitalityand economic productivity in the continent.This in turn exacerbates poverty.4

Inadequate access to water and sanitationis thus both a cause and a consequence ofpoverty. Similarly, inadequate water resour-ces can become a constraint to improvedagricultural development and food security.It is noteworthy that, even with its currentpoor performance, agriculture is the largestuser of water in Africa, accounting for almost90 percent of total water use on the contin-ent. However, only 27 percent of cultivableland on the continent is currently cultivated.This ranges from 40 percent of suitable landcultivated in North Africa, the Gulf of Guinea,and the Indian Ocean Islands, to only 19percent in the Sudano-Sahelian Region. Thisis believed to be attributable to the relativelylow investment in water resource develop-ment in Africa. Thus, there is considerablescope for improved agricultural productionand food security through investment inagricultural water use.5

From this premise, it is clear that waterand socioeconomic development are mutu-ally dependent on each other. They can be

nodes in a vicious cycle that puts societies ina downward spiral of poor economicdevelopment and poor access to safe andadequate water supply and sanitation.Alternatively, they can be nodes in a virtuouscycle, reinforcing each other in an auto-catalytic way, and leading to an upwardspiral in which improved socioeconomicdevelopment produces resources needed forimproved development of water resources,which in turn buttress and stimulate furthersocioeconomic development. The cycle thatprevails will depend on policy options andpolitical choices, which facilitate or impedethe level of investments in domestic watersupply and agricultural water use.

Stock of Water Resources in Africa

At first glance, Africa seems to be endowedwith abundant water resources given its bigrivers, large lakes, vast wetlands, andwidespread groundwater. The continent has17 major rivers with catchment areas that aregreater than 100,000 km2; and more than 160lakes with surface areas exceeding 27 km2.Most of the lakes are located around theequatorial region and the sub-humid EastAfrican Highlands within the Rift Valley. Thewater resource potential of the continent isshown in Table 2.1. Box 2.1 illustrates thepotential for water transfer.

Irrespective of spatial and temporalclimate variability, the overall image at thecontinental level is that Africa has abundantrainfall and relatively low levels of waterwithdrawal for the three key sectors, namelyagriculture, domestic, and industry. Waterresource availability in Africa at the regionallevel is shown in Table 2.2. Regions aredefined as follows:

Africa’s Renewable Natural Resources 13

4 WMO & UNESCO (1988); OECD & AFDB (2007)5 FAO AQUASTAT (2005)


14 African Development Report 2007

Table 2.1: Stock of Water Resources by Country

Country Average Annual Groundwater Surface Water Overlap *

Groundwater Recharge Available

per Capita

(km3) (m3/yr) (km3) (km3)

Algeria 1.7 54 13 1Angola 72.0 5,591 182 70Benin 1.8 295 10 2Botswana 1.7 1,048 2 1Burkina Faso 9.5 796 8 5Burundi 2.1 314 4 2Cameroon 100.0 6,629 268 95Central African Republic 56.0 15,490 141 56Chad 11.5 1,503 14 10Congo 198.0 67,268 222 198Congo, DRC 421.0 8,150 899 420Côte d’Ivoire 37.7 2,550 74 35Egypt 1.3 19 1 0Equatorial Guinea 10.0 22,092 25 9Eritrea No data No data No data No dataEthiopia 44.0 703 110 40Gabon 62.0 50,566 162 60Gambia 0.5 383 3 1Ghana 26.3 1,301 29 25Guinea 38.0 5,114 226 38Guinea-Bissau 14.0 11,541 12 10Kenya 3.0 100 17 0Lesotho 0.5 232 5 1Liberia 60.0 19,023 200 60Madagascar 55.0 3,450 332 50Malawi 1.4 128 16 1Mali 20.0 1,780 50 10Mauritania 0.3 112 0 0Morocco 9.0 317 22 3Mozambique 17.0 864 97 15Namibia 2.1 1,217 4 0Niger 2.5 233 1 0Nigeria 87.0 780 214 80Rwanda 3.6 466 5 4Senegal 7.6 802 24 5Sierra Leone 50.0 10,300 150 40Somalia 3.3 327 6 3South Africa 4.8 119 43 3


North Africa — Algeria, Egypt, Libya,Morocco and Tunisia;Sudano-Sahelian — Burkina Faso,Cape Verde, Chad, Gambia, Djibouti,Eritrea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal,Somalia, and Sudan;

Gulf of Guinea — Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau,Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo;Central Africa — Angola, Cameroon,Central African Republic, Congo,


Table 2.1: (continued)

Country Average Annual Groundwater Surface Water Overlap *

Groundwater Recharge available

per Capita

(km3) (m3/yr) (km3) (km3)

Sudan 7.0 237 28 5Tanzania 30.0 895 80 28Togo 5.7 1,231 11 5Tunisia 4.2 433 3 0Uganda 29.0 1,332 39 29Zambia 47.1 5,137 80 47Zimbabwe 5.0 428 13 4

* The part common for both groundwater and surface water resources.

Source: World Resource Institute (2005), Earth Trends: The Environmental Information Portal

Box 2.1: Water Transfer in Africa

Although irrigation schemes are quite common in Africa and have been practiced for a long period, watertransfers as such (from one location to another) are still very rare. Moreover, this practice is mostly done onan intra-country scale, as is the case in Morocco (about 2.7 km3 / year between river basins) and in Libya,where fossil groundwater resources are transferred from south to north through the Great Manmade RiverProject. The only real example involving countries is the transfer of 2.2 km3 / year from the Malibamatso Riverin Lesotho to the Vall River in South Africa, within the framework of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Inreturn, Lesotho receives assistance, including electricity, for its own consumption.

However, many potential large-scale projects to develop such transfers have been discussed andstudied, including in Algeria (from south to north); Kenya (resources from Lake Victoria to the drier zones);Botswana (between the Shashe and Notwane rivers); and, Lake Chad (securing water flows towards the lakefrom the Niger Basin in Nigeria, or from the Congo Basin).

Source: FAO (2005): AQUASTAT Information System on Water and Agriculture


Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tomeand Democratic Republic of Congo;Eastern Africa — Burundi, Ethiopia,Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda;Islands — Comoros, Madagascar,Mauritius and Seychelles; andSouthern Africa — Botswana, Lesotho,Malawi, Namibia, South Africa,Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

This overview shows that approximately 86percent of water resources withdrawal isused for agriculture, 10 percent for domesticpurposes (municipalities and communitywater supply), and about 4 percent for

industrial use. Average annual rainfall inAfrica is about 678 mm per year, albeit withhigh spatial and temporal variability. First,temporal variability of rainfall is typically 40percent around the mean — much higherthan in temperate zones. Second, the spatialdistribution of rainfall is highly varied amonghumid, sub-humid, semi-arid, and aridzones. The highest rainfall occurs in theIsland countries, the central Africancountries, and the Gulf of Guinea, with anannual average of approximately 1300–1700mm/year. In contrast, the lowest rainfalloccurs in the northern African countries,where the average annual rainfall is only


Table 2.2: Stock of Water Resources by Region

Regional Rainfall Internal Renewable Annual Withdrawals

Resources (IRR) (2004) (2004) *Sub-

1000x km3/yr mm/yr km3/yr % of Per km3/yr % of m3/ % of Region

km2 Africa inhab. m3 Africa inhab. IRR

North Africa 5753 550 96 49 1 325 93.9 43.7 616 189Sudano- 8591 2671 311 160 4 1418 54.9 25.7 486 35

SahelianGulf of 2106 2874 1356 952 24 4853 12.4 5.8 63 1.3

GuineaCentral 5329 7593 1425 1876 48 19845 2 0.9 21 0.1

AfricaEastern 2916 2666 920 281 7 1521 14.2 6.6 77 5

AfricaSouthern 4739 3110 659 270 7 2518 21.7 10.0 202 8

AfricaIslands 591 895 1510 341 9 17042 15.7 7.3 786 4.6

Africa 30,025 20,359 678 3,930 100 4527 214.8 100 247 5.5

* Main sectors: Agriculture (86% of Annual Withdrawals); Domestic (10%) and Industry (4%).

Source: FAO, AQUASTAT (2005)


96 mm. More importantly, the rainfallamounts for each of the countries of thecontinent — also within the countries — areas varied as the vegetation and thelandscape, giving rise to humid, sub-humid,semi-arid, and arid zones.6

The amount of surface and ground waterflows generated from rainfall within the sub-regions is low. Annual renewable waterresources (ARWR) refers to the sum of allrun-off generated within a country, plus anyinflows into the country, minus outflowscommitted to neighbouring countries. Onlya certain proportion of the ARWR is actuallyavailable for utilization in the country,depending on the practical situation and theeconomic storage facilities, includingreservoirs and aquifers. The low values ofthe internal renewable resources show thatthere is considerable room for improvementin the capture and utilization of rainwater.More importantly, this situation is partlyresponsible for the recurrent droughts inlarge parts of the continent.

Furthermore, a marked difference hasbeen observed in annual withdrawals bet-ween sub-regions and countries (Table 2.3),but in general the withdrawals are low inrelation to both the rainfall and the internalrenewable resources. A distinct feature isthat the annual withdrawals account for 189percent of internal renewable resources inNorth Africa (reflecting the use of wateroriginating from outside this sub-region —primarily from the Nile Basin). This isstrongly influenced by Egypt, which accou-nts for 73 percent of withdrawals in NorthAfrica, while Nigeria accounts for 65 percent

in the Gulf of Guinea. For Africa as a whole,the amount of water withdrawn for the threemajor uses amounts to only 5.5 percent ofinternal renewable resources. This is lessthan 6 percent of world withdrawals,reflecting the low level of development anduse of water resources on the continent.7

Dependence on ground water has alsobeen acknowledged on the continent. This isespecially important in the northern Africancountries — Libya, Tunisia, Algeria andMorocco — and also in southern Africancountries like Botswana, Namibia, andZimbabwe. Thus, although groundwateronly accounts for about 15 percent of thecontinent’s total renewable water resourcesand for only 9 percent in southern Africa, itsuse is relatively significant. As a rule,groundwater resources tend to occur insmall sedimentary aquifers along majorrivers and in coastal deltas and plains.Limited groundwater resources, generallysufficient for local water supply, can also befound in the widely occurring crystalline(basement) rocks.8

While some areas have abundant watersupply, others suffer from water scarcity. Forexample, northern Africa and southern Africa receive (only) about 9 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of the continent’srainfall. In contrast, the Congo River water-shed in the central humid zone, home to 10percent of Africa’s population, receives over35 percent of the annual total. In southernAfrica, the Lake Malawi basin, southernTanzania, and northern Madagascar havebecome wetter in the last 30 years. This is in


6 FAO AQUASTAT (2005); FAO (1995)

7 Ibid.8 Bzioui (2005); DFID (2003)



Table 2.3: Water Withdrawal by Country

Country Actual Total Water Water Sectoral Withdrawals

Resources Withdrawal Withdrawal (%)

per capita per Capita

(m3 per person) (million m3) (m3 per person) Agriculture Industry Domestic

Algeria 443 6,074 201 65 13 22Angola 13,070 343 28 61 16 22Benin 3,585 250 40 74 11 15Botswana 8,022 140 81 43 19 38Burkina Faso 933 780 66 88 0 11Burundi 509 234 37 82 1 17Cameroon 17,520 985 65 74 8 18Central African

Republic 36,912 22 6 4 19 77Chad 4,857 234 30 80 1 19Congo 217,915 39 11 10 30 59Congo, Democratic

Republic No data 356 7 31 16 52Côte d’Ivoire 4,794 931 59 65 12 23Egypt 794 68,653 1,013 78 14 8Equatorial Guinea 51,282 106 232 1 16 83Eritrea 1,466 304 82 95 1 4Ethiopia 1,519 2,648 40 93 6 1Gabon 121,392 128 102 40 11 48Gambia 5,472 32 24 67 11 22Ghana 2,489 520 27 48 15 37Guinea 26,218 1,517 187 90 2 8Guinea-Bissau 20,156 110 81 91 1 9Kenya 932 1,576 52 64 6 30Lesotho 1,678 54 30 19 41 40Liberia 66,533 107 36 56 15 28Libya 106 4,800 919 89 3 8Madagascar 18,862 14,970 937 96 2 3Malawi 1,401 1,005 88 81 5 15Mali 7,458 6,930 582 99 0 1Mauritania 3,826 1,698 642 88 3 9Morocco 934 12,758 438 90 2 8Mozambique 11,266 635 36 87 2 11Namibia 8,921 268 142 63 5 33Niger 2,710 2,187 204 95 1 4Nigeria 2,252 8,004 70 69 10 21Rwanda 613 76 10 39 14 48Senegal 3,811 1,591 169 90 4 6


contrast with the situation in Mozambique,southeast Angola, and western Zambia,which have become significantly drier overthe same period. The extremes in variabilityhave been greater in Tunisia, Algeria, the NileBasin, and in the extreme south of thecontinent. Finally, variability of rainfall is alsoexperienced in the Sahel as testified byrecurrent floods and droughts.9

It is evident in many ways that theAfrican continent has an exceptionaldisadvantage with regard to water resources.A comparison of annual average preci-pitation in Africa with the rest of the worldshows that Africa’s level is comparable withthat of Europe and North America. However,the higher evaporation losses in the Africancontinent result in a substantially lowerpercentage of precipitation contributing torenewable water resources, thus settingAfrica apart from other continents. Africa’s

total runoff, reflected in its useable andrenewable water resources, is thus very low.In addition to the limiting nature of waterresources, the temporal and spatial variabil-ity of precipitation — owing to the stronginfluence of the Inter-Tropical ConvergenceZone (ITCZ) on the climate in Africa — has strong implications for managementstrategies (discussed later in the chapter).This variability is exacerbated by unpredic-tability and considerable yearly variations.The unavoidable expression of this isendemic drought and occasional severefloods.

In terms of overall water availability percapita of renewable water resources, thecountries with the least available freshwaterper person (see Table 2.3) are Burundi (538.3m3) and Kenya (947 m3). Conversely, themost water-abundant areas per capita are,not unexpectedly, the equatorial high rainfallareas of the Democratic Republic of Congo(259,547 m3), Gabon (126,789 m3) and


9 DFID (2003)

Table 2.3: (continued)

Sierra Leone 30,960 380 86 93 2 5Somalia 1,309 3,298 378 100 0 0South Africa 1,106 15,306 348 73 10 17Sudan 1,879 37,314 1,187 97 1 3Tanzania, United

Republic 2,416 1,996 57 93 1 6Togo 2,930 166 36 47 8 45Tunisia 459 2,726 285 82 2 16Uganda 2,472 295 13 39 15 45Zambia 9,630 1,737 167 76 8 16Zimbabwe 1,547 2,612 207 86 5 10

Source: World Resource Institute (2005), Earth Trends: The Environmental Information Portal


Liberia (70,348 m3). These trends indicatethat only a few African countries — mainly inNorthern Africa — are currently physicallywater scarce, that is, countries that havedeveloped all their water reserves. Themajority of the countries experienceeconomic water scarcity, which means thatthey have abundant or at least sufficientwater resources, but lack the resources andmeans to develop them.10 By 2025 it isprojected that more than 25 countries inAfrica will experience water scarcity or waterstress. Thus, the need for more investmentsin water resource development remains ascritical as ever. This involves investing inreservoirs and storage structures to capturemore runoff, building diversion structures,improving water quality and strengtheningdialogue to increase cooperation in waterresource management, both at the local andinternational levels.

Forestry

Forest ecosystems play multiple roles atglobal as well as local levels, and provide arange of important economic, social, andenvironmental goods and services. This inturn affects the wellbeing of poor ruralcommunities, local and national economies,as well as global environmental health.11

The literature is replete with overwhelmingevidence of the significance of forests forhuman existence. In fact, forests (Box 2.2)can be regarded as nature’s bountiful andversatile renewable resource. They are anintegral part of the environment in which welive, and have been direct providers of

shelter and food for people and theirlivestock, and of water, medicinal plants,building materials and fuel. Forests can helpreduce food insecurity, alleviate poverty,improve the sustainability of agriculturalproduction and enhance the environment inwhich many impoverished rural people inthe developing world live.

Forests and woodlands also regulate theenvironment indirectly by slowing soilerosion, fertilizing soils, controlling andstoring run-off water, and regulating itsrelease into rivers and lakes. Globally andlocally, forests help regulate the climate andprotect coastlines. Furthermore, forests andwoodlands sustain many cultural, spiritualand religious values and also play animportant role in the socio-economicdevelopment of industrial countries.

Expectations of benefits from the world’sforest resources are high, but forests areaffected by human activities, in particular byprocesses such as slash-and-burn cultiva-


10 Kamara & Hilmy (2004)11 Sengupta and Maginnis (2005)

Box 2.2: Definition of the Forestry Sector

There is no commonly agreed definition of theforestry sector. Ideally, the definition of thesector should encompass all economic activitiesrelating to the production of goods and servicesfrom forests. These include commercialactivities that are dependent on the productionof wood fibre (that is, production of industrialroundwood, wood fuel and charcoal; sawnwoodand wood based panels; pulp and paper; andwooden furniture). They also include activitiessuch as the commercial production andprocessing of non-wood forest products and thesubsistence use of forest products.

Source: FAO (2007), Forest Finance


tion, air pollution, pests and agricultural andurban expansion. With the recent emphasison sustainable development, the use offorests and woodlands has come undergreater scrutiny with a view to preserving ahealthy resource base and sustaining socialand economic benefits. The acknowledg-ment of competing interests in reaping thebenefits of forest and woodland resourceshas, among other aspects, led to moreholistic thinking and approaches towardsachieving sustainable forest management.

Forestry Production and Stock in Africa

Forests cover about 30 percent of theworld’s surface (approximately 3.87 billionhectares), of which 95 percent is naturalforest and 5 percent, planted forests.Tropical and subtropical forests (andwoodlands) comprise about 56 percent,while the remaining 44 percent is temperateand boreal forest. Over time, global forestcover is estimated to have been reduced byat least 20 percent, and perhaps by as muchas 50 percent.12

Total forest cover in Africa in 2000 wasestimated to be close to 650 million hectares,representing 17 percent of global forestcover, and about 22 percent of Africa’s landarea. At the same time, about 43 percent ofAfrica’s land mass was estimated to beextreme desert and only 21 percentestimated to be suitable for cultivation.African forests can be broadly classified intothe following nine categories: (i) tropicalrain forests; (ii) moist forests; (iii) tropicaldry forests; (iv) tropical shrubs (includingmangroves); (v) tropical mountain forests;

(vi) subtropical humid forests; (vii) sub-tropical dry forests; (viii) subtropicalmountain forests; and (ix) plantations.13

It is difficult to provide accurateestimates of these different forest covers, ascountry data is either fragmented orunreliable.14 The special category, man-groves, is particularly important becausemangroves provide coastal stabilization indeltas and along coastlines. It is estimatedthat mangrove forests (black, white, andred) alone cover 3,390,107 ha in Africa.15

The following sub-sections present a moredetailed analysis of the forest cover invarious sub-regions.

In North Africa, because of the prevailingarid and semi arid conditions, forests andwoodlands are not a regular occurrence,except along the western Mediterraneancoast. Some mangrove forest patches canalso be found along the Red Sea coastline.The total forest and woodland area in thissub-region is estimated at 68 million hectares,and constitutes 8 percent of the total landarea and about 10 percent of Africa’s forests.In addition, wood patches are commonlyfound in mountain range areas, and trees arealso cultivated as windbreaks or hedgerowsaround farms, and along roads and canals,constituting additional forest-like resourcesin the region. All wooded areas, although notincluded in the forest area figures, areimportant for forest products, grazing, andcontrol of desertification through soilstabilization and regulation of hydrologicalsystems. With respect to revenue generation,


12 World Bank (2000)

13 FAO (2001a); UNEP (1999)14 UNEP (2007)15 Ibid.


there is no significant commercial timberproduction — practiced or planned — in thesub-region, although small forest plantationsdo exist. According to existing studies, localpeople use over two-thirds of forest plantsfor food, medicinal purposes, construction,energy, and livestock rearing, while about 35percent of plants are known to havemultipurpose uses.16

The climatic conditions in the EastAfrica sub-region, contrary to the NorthAfrica sub-region, support a wide variety offorests and woodlands. These range fromdense tropical forests in the humid andmountainous regions of Uganda, Burundi,and Rwanda, to the dry savannas of the hornof Africa. This sub-region is also home toabundant mangrove and coastal forests thatare of particular importance to the liveli-hood of people. Because of the isolatedlocations and the high density, the man-groves and the Mountain Forest of EastAfrica harbour large numbers of animals andplants and have been identified as one ofthe 25 internationally recognized hotspots ofbiodiversity. The Mountain Forests inTanzania, for instance, harbour at least 30percent to 40 percent of Tanzania’s plantspecies. Approximately 13 percent of thetotal land area of eastern Africa is coveredby forests and woodlands, which constituteabout 5 percent of the total African forestcover. However, the percentage of forestsand woodlands ranges from 30 percent inKenya to less than 1 percent in Djibouti.Fuelwood and charcoal supply the majorityof the sub-region’s energy — meeting 96

percent of energy needs in Uganda and 75percent in Kenya.17

Non-wood forest products are also usedextensively in eastern Africa. The potential ofmedicinal plants in eastern Africa has beenwidely acknowledged, and the plants grownin forests are used by the Maasai, Kipsigis,Turkana, and many other tribes. The Maasai,for example, have a well-established pharma-copoeia for treating livestock diseases. Theuse of more than 60 species or subspecies ofplants for ethno-veterinary purposes has alsobeen documented among the OlkonereiMaasai.18 Despite the fact that commercialtimber exploitation is limited in the sub-region, the forests and woodlands areimportant because of the natural resourcesthey provide to local communities.

The total forest and woodland area insouthern Africa amounts to about 32.7percent of the sub-regions total area andconstitutes 34 percent of all of Africa’sforests.19 Angola has the highest forest coverwith 56 percent of the land area underforests, whereas Lesotho has the lowest withless than 1 percent. Forest products providea ready source of revenue throughout thesub-region, and the communities living inforest or woodland areas depend heavily onforest products to meet their everyday foodand energy needs. Forests and woodlandsare important to local communities, mainlyas a source of domestic fuel — either woodor charcoal. For example, about 80 percentof Mozambique’s population live in ruralareas and depend on wood for cooking,


16 AOAD (1998); Hegazy (1999); FAO (1999)

17 FAO (2001b); Wass (1995)18 FAO (2001b)19 FAO (2001b)


space heating, heating water for domesticuse, and drying foodstuffs.20

The charcoal industry generates aboutUSD30 million annually and is the solesource of income for about 60,000 people.21

Important non-wood forest products includehoney, beeswax, bamboo, reeds, mush-rooms, caterpillars, fodder, wild edible plantsand fruits, leaves and bark for weaving, andresins. The medicinal plant trade is extensiveand profitable in southern Africa, with about3,000 species (10 percent) of southernAfrican plants used medicinally and around350 species commonly and widely used.Other species harvested from the wildcontribute as much as 40 percent tohousehold incomes or typically betweenUSD 200 to USD 1000 per household year.22

Central Africa’s high and reliable rainfallsupports extensive forest cover throughoutthe sub-region, with the exception of thenorthern parts of Cameroon, Chad, and theCentral African Republic. Forests andwoodlands cover about 45 percent of theland area of this sub-region and constitute 37percent of Africa’s total forest cover. Mostcountries in this sub-region are therefore wellendowed with forests. Gabon has thegreatest cover (85 percent) and Cameroon,the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),and Equatorial Guinea all have over 50percent. The only exception is Chad, which,because of its northerly location and aridenvironment, has only 10 percent forestcover. This total forest network is the second

largest contiguous area of tropical forest inthe world and thus plays a very importantrole in atmospheric carbon sequestration andmitigation of potential climate change. Infact, DRC alone accounts for 134 million haof forest area, and qualifies as the country inthe world with the 7th largest forest area;behind only the Russian Federation, Brazil,Canada, United States, China and Australia;and ahead of such countries as Indonesia andIndia.23

Other benefits of the forests includeextremely high levels of biodiversity, whichhave enormous untapped potential for agri-cultural, pharmaceutical, and nutritionalapplications. Commercial logging is import-ant to the economy of most of the countriesin this region because it secures substantialamounts of foreign exchange. Cameroon, forexample, is among Africa’s leading producersand exporters of sawn timber and tropicallogs, and ranks fifth in the world. In 2001,Equatorial Guinea exported USD 62 millionof wood-based panels, representing 14percent of its GDP. The forest ecosystems inthis sub-region furthermore provide habitatto several communities that depend on theforest for their livelihoods and offer greatopportunities for tourism.24

The West Africa sub-region is char-acterized by a marked gradation of climate,reflected in the zones of vegetation cover.There are about 72 million hectares offorests, representing 12 percent of the sub-region’s land area and 11 percent of Africa’stotal forest cover. Commercial timberproduction is an extensive and lucrative


20 UNEP (2007)21 Kalumiana (1998)22 Cavendish (1999); Shackleton, Shackleton and

Cousins (2000)

23 FAO (2006); FAO (2001b)24 FAO (2001b); World Bank (2001)


occupation, which contributes significantproportions of income and foreignexchange to the economies in the sub-region. Forest and woodland products arealso extremely important to local commun-ities, which depend on forest and savannahresources for their energy needs, most ofwhich are met by wood. In 2000, over 175million m3 of wood were used in West Africafor fuelwood and charcoal production.Other forest resources heavily used by localcommunities include wildlife (bushmeat),medicinal plants, wood and rattan forconstruction, furniture and crafts, honey,nuts and fruits, and animal fodder, gums,dyes, teas, spices, and aromatics.25

Overall, 21 percent to 22 percent of theAfrican continent is covered with forests,ranging from open savannahs to closedtropical rainforests. Forests provide manygoods and services that benefit localcommunities and national economies; andthey also provide international biologicaland environmental benefits. Commercialforest products include timber for theconstruction and paper industries, but moreimportantly, forest resources provide localcommunities with food, construction mater-ials, grazing areas for livestock, cultural andmedicinal products, sites for religiouspractices and leisure activities, and fuel forcooking, heating, and lighting. Forests alsoprotect and stabilize the soil, recycle nutri-ents to maintain soil quality and regulatewater quality and flow. They are vast sinksfor atmospheric carbon dioxide and thusplay a critical role in mitigating globalclimate change, the impacts of which are

predicted to be most severe for Africancountries and other developing nations. Byprotecting soils and regulating temperatures,rainfall, and hydrological systems, forestsprovide basic support systems foragriculture and industry, and, consequently,for the economies of African nations.

Long-Term Trends in Forestry Pattern inAfrica

Tracking long-term trends in forest coverinvolves compiling and analyzing largequantities of data that are not alwaysconsistent or comparable. The task is furthercomplicated by different definitions of whatconstitutes “forest” (see Box 2.1). Forests maybe defined in terms of administrative categor-ies, land use, or land cover. The nature, extent(dimension), and bio-ecological character-istics of forest areas also change, because ofboth human and natural causes.26 Asimplified overview of key forest changedynamics is presented below in Figure 2.1.

The model has only two classes: forestsand all other land. A reduction in forest areamay occur through one of two processes:Deforestation, by far the most important,implies that forests are cleared by people —who convert the land to other uses such asagriculture or infrastructure — or is destroyedby natural disasters. Forest resources degen-erate when they are not capable of regen-erating naturally and no efforts are made toreplant trees. In contrast, an increase in forestarea may occur through afforestation(planting of trees on degraded forest land), orthrough natural expansion of forests throughbush fallow.


25 FAO (2001a); FAO (2001b) 26 FAO (2007)


The Food and Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations (FAO), in collaborationwith the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) and the United NationsEconomic Commission for Europe (UNECE),produces an assessment of the world’s forestsevery 5–10 years. Table 2.4 presents theresults of such an assessment. The data isbroadly categorized into northern Africa,eastern and southern Africa, and western and central Africa based on recent assess-ments.

Based on the figures and assessments, theFAO (2006) concludes that the situation at theglobal level has remained relatively stableover the last 10–15 years. However, as out-lined in Table 2.4, the trend in Africa is of par-ticular concern, as there appears to have beenvery limited progress towards sustainableforest management, as measured (indirectly)through the selected key parameters. Thereare some indications that the net loss of forestareas has slowed down and that areasdesignated for conservation of biologicaldiversity have increased slightly. Neverthe-less, the continued rapid loss of total forest

area (4 million ha annually) is disconcerting.Deforestation, forest degradation, and

the associated loss of forest products andenvironmental services are serious chal-lenges facing African countries. The size ofnatural forests and woodlands in Africa hasbeen drastically reduced over the lastcentury, especially since independence, ascountries have struggled to improve theireconomies through the exploitation ofnatural resources. The most intensive pres-sures stem from deforestation for commer-cial timber sales; clearance for agriculturaland urban developments; and over-harvesting of wood for fuel, medicinalproducts, and construction materials. Largepatches in the remaining forests have alsobeen degraded as a result of clear felling,fires, selective harvesting and encroachment— factors that are not always evident whenestimating total forest areas as a roundnumber.

A study of forest cover and quality inEthiopia showed that, between 1971 and1997, up to 70 percent of forest cover wascleared or severely degraded by human


Figure 2.1: Forest Change Dynamics

Source: FAO (2006), Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005

FOREST

ReforestationNaturalregeneration

OTHER LAND

Deforestation; Natural disasters

Afforestation; Natural expansion

Forest change dynamics



Table 2.4: Forest Areas, Key Parameters and Trends in Forest Resources in Africa

Key Parameter / Northern Africa Eastern and Western and African Trends for

Trend Southern Africa Central Africa Continent Africa

1990–2005

(annual)

Total forest area, 131,048 ha 226,534 ha 277,829 ha 663355,,441122 hhaa ––by sub-region (3.3% of global) (5.7% of global) (7.0% of global) ((1166 %% ooff gglloobbaall)) 44,,226633,,000000 hhaa

Forest cover in % 8.6% of land area 27.8% of land 44.1% of land 2211..44 %% ooff llaanndd nn..aa..of land area in region area in region area in region aarreeaa iinn AAffrriiccaa

Primary forest 13,919 ha 12,241 ha (5.7%) 11,510 ha 3377,,666699 hhaa –– 227700,,000000 hhaaarea 2005 (native (11.9 % of (11.6 %) ((88..77%% ooff gglloobbaallspecies dominant) total forest) ffoorreesstt aarreeaa))

Area reserved for 13,036 ha (9.5% 20,158 ha 41,390 ha 7744,,558855 hhaa ((1166..44 118822,,000000 hhaa ((++))conservation of region’s forest) (10.4%) (35%) %% ooff ffoorreesstt aarreeaa))

Threatened tree 5 in average per 21 in average 34 in average 2211 iinn aavveerr.. ppeerr nn..aa..species country in region per country per country ccoouunnttrryy iinn AAffrriiccaa

Annual average 6176 ha (29.3% 483 ha (0.8% 519 ha (1.1% 77117777 hhaa ((55..55%% nn..aa..area of forest of forest area of forest area of forest area ooff ffoorreesstt aarreeaaaffected by fire in region) in region) in region) iinn AAffrriiccaa))

Area reserved for 44,185 ha (35% 44,051 ha 52,796 ha 113388,,003322 hhaa ((3300%% –– 991111,,000000 hhaaproduction of region forest) (19%) (45%) ooff ffoorreesstt aarreeaa))

Productive 6,033 ha (5.1% 2,792 ha 1,939 ha 1100,,776644 hhaa ((22..55%% 4422,,000000 hhaa ((++))plantations (area) of region’s forest) (1.3%) (1.9%) ooff ffoorreesstt aarreeaa))

Wood removals Ind. roundwood Ind. roundwood Ind. roundwood TToottaall rreemmooww..:: 1100,,776677,,000000 mm33

8 km3; fuelwood 34km3;fuelwood 36km3;fuelwood 667700 kkmm33 ((2222%%173 km3 (96%) 151 km3 (82%) 267 km3 (88%) ooff gglloobbaall))**

Value of wood 44559944 mm.. UUSS $$ nn..aa..

Value of non woodforest products 889977 mmiilllliioonn UUSSDD nn..aa..

Number of people 887700,,000000 ((++2255%% 1122,,000000 ((++))employed (2000) ssiinnccee 11999900))

Public ownership 98.2% 95.1% 99.7% 9977..66%% ((gglloobbaall nn..aa..to forest area aavveerr.. iiss 8844..44%%))

* For industrial roundwood, 4% of global removals, but for fuelwood 49%

Source: FAO (2006), Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005


activity.27 The impact of degradation alsoincludes loss of biodiversity, radicallyincreased rates of soil erosion, reduction inwater quality, increased risk of flooding insurrounding areas, and loss of livelihoodsfor local communities. Other analyses alsodescribe similar situations of forest degra-dation in Nigeria, where the country lostabout 55.7 percent of its primary forestbetween 2000 and 2005. Logging, subsis-tence agriculture, and collection of fuel-wood are cited as leading causes of forestclearing in this West African country.28

The major forestry issue in East Africa isthe conversion of natural forest to alternativeland-use, predominantly cultivation andgrazing, although urban encroachment isalso a contributing factor.29 Between 1990and 2000, East Africa lost 9 percent of its totalforest and woodland cover. The highest ratesof deforestation observed were in Burundi (9percent per year), Rwanda (4 percent peryear), and Uganda (2 percent per year).30

Clearance of forest and woodlands foragricultural use — to feed the growingpopulation — is perhaps the single mostimportant cause of deforestation in this area.

Southern Africa has one of the fastestgrowing populations in the world and facesthe challenge of having to increase its foodsupply by about 3 percent per year. This hasinvariably led to increased agriculturalintensity in the sub-region. Fuelwoodharvesting and tree cutting for charcoal pro-duction are other main sources of pressure

that have led to significant deforestation inthis sub region.31

The main problem in Central Africa islarge-scale deforestation. Indeed, thegreatest threat to forests in the sub-region iscommercial logging and the unsustainableharvesting practices of many companies.The highest annual rates of deforestationrecorded are in Cameroon (0.9 percent),Chad and Equatorial Guinea (0.6 percenteach), while insignificant rates are recordedin Gabon and Sao Tome & Principe.32

With the ever-increasing population ofmost African countries, there is risingdemand for forest resource products,especially firewood, charcoal, and round-wood. This has led to a drastic reduction inforest cover in the continent. For example,firewood and charcoal production and con-sumption rose from 250 to 502 million m3

(annually) during the 1970–1994 period.33

Land

Land is one of the most critical resources inAfrica and the basis of survival for a majorityof its population. Land resources aregenerally referred to as terrestrial featuresthat exist above mean sea level. Theyinclude landforms such as plains, valleys,plateaus, mountains, deltas and peninsulas,islands and basins; soils; and plants andanimals. In terms of value, land resourcesalso include mineral and fossil fuel deposits,natural and farmed timber, crops, animalsand fish.34 Land cover is the physical,


27 EIS News (1999)28 FAO (2001b)29 According to the FAO (2001b)30 Ibid.

31 Chenje (2000)32 FAO (2001b)33 FAO (1997)34 Hamblin (1998)


chemical, ecological or biological categori-zation of the terrestrial surface, for example,grassland, forest, or concrete. Land usepertains to the arrangements, activities andinputs people undertake in a certain landcover type to produce, change, or maintainit, for example, raising cattle, recreation, orurban living. Land use concerns theproducts and/or benefits obtained from theuse of land as well as the land managementactions (activities) carried out by humans toproduce these products and benefits.35 It isimportant to note that a specific land useoften corresponds to a single land cover, forexample, pastoralism to unimproved grass-land. However, a given land cover class maysupport several distinct land uses forexample, a forest may be used simultan-eously for hunting, timbering, shiftingcultivation, fuelwood collection, recreation,wildlife preservation, and watershed andsoil protection. In contrast, various land uses(for example. as carried out within a givenfarm system) may involve the maintenanceof several distinct covers, such as cultivatedland (fields), woodlots, grassland, and built-up areas. A significant change in land use(such as a land use “conversion”) is likely tocause a change in land cover, but land covermay change even if the land use remainsunaltered.36

With a total land area of more than3,025.8 million hectares (ha), Africa is thesecond largest continent in the world, afterAsia, and its landmass is more than threetimes that of the United States of America.Sudan is the largest of Africa’s 53 countries,

covering 250.39 million hectares. Seychellesis the smallest, covering only 45,600 hec-tares. The African continent stretches nearly8,100 km from north to south and about7,600 km from east to west. The Africanlandscape is a rich and dynamic mosaic ofresources, which include forests andwoodlands, arable land, mountains, deserts,coastal lands, and freshwater systems.37

Figure 2.2 shows Africa’s eco-regions whileFigure 2.3 presents the continent’s climaticzones.

Wetlands cover about one percent of thecontinent’s total surface area and are foundin virtually all countries. Some of the moreprominent wetlands include the CongoSwamps, the Chad Basin, the OkavangoDelta, the Bangweulu swamps, the flood-plains and deltas of the Niger and ZambeziRivers, and the Greater St. Lucia Parkwetlands in South Africa. Wetlands arecritical in terms of biodiversity, but they alsosupport many communities, providing adiversity of livelihood activities. For exam-ple, in Tanzania’s Rufiji Delta, a study cover-ing 720,000 ha found that crop productionhas a gross market value of USD 3.8 millionper year, and natural resources have aneconomic direct use value of USD10.3million per year.38

A significant amount of the precipitationin Africa originates from the mountainranges that thus function as the headwatersof most of the large African rivers and alsodeliver the resources for drinking water,hydroelectricity and irrigation of crops forthe population.


35 WRI (2002–2004); FAO (2000); UNEP (2006)36 Ibid.

37 UNEP (2006)38 Ibid.


A total of 1,274 million hectares in Africaare extreme deserts, the Sahara Desert innorthern Africa — the largest desert in theworld — covers 906.5 million hectares. TheKgalagadi Desert in southern Africa, whichcovers about 26 million hectares, is about thesize of France, and together with Namibia’sSkeleton Coast, is the world’s largest body of

sand. These desert ecosystems supportdistinctive plants and animals that haveadapted to the harsh environment.39

Africa has priceless land resources,which provide environmental goods andservices from local to global levels. Land is a


Figure 2.2: Africa’s Eco-Regions

Source: UNEP (2006), Forests and woodlands in Africa (Encyclopedia of Earth)

39 Ibid.


critical factor in natural and human-managed production systems, and influen-ces the level of natural capital, and socialand economic development. Access to landand to the resources it offers is at the core ofenhancing opportunities and choices,particularly for people whose livelihooddepends directly on it. In Uganda, for

example, land constitutes about 50 to 60percent of the asset endowment of thepoorest households.40 Land and its value areclosely related to the environment, with thesustainability of one being a product of theother. However, the value of land resources


40 World Bank (2003)

Figure 2.3: Africa’s Climatic Zones

Source: UNEP (2006), Forests and woodlands in Africa (Encyclopedia of Earth)


cannot only be measured in monetary oreco-biological terms; it also includes valuesrelated to culture, aesthetics, heritage andbequest.

In summary, land in Africa is used formany activities, including agriculture andforestry; mining and oil extraction; tourismand recreation; urban expansion and infra-structure development (such as transporta-tion). It also acts as a sink for domestic andindustrial waste. It is critical in the cradle-to-grave cycle of both living and non-livingthings, providing habitats and other ecolog-ical goods and services, and sustaininginvestment and human livelihoods. Thereare many aspects to consider and challengesto be overcome, but Africa’s significant landresources are crucial for sustainabledevelopment, and hence for the achieve-ment of all the targets under the eightMDGs. For example, increasing agriculturalproduction — the dominant economicactivity in most parts of the continent — isthe key to addressing extreme poverty andhunger.

Sub-Regional CharacteristicsThere are three main land use categories innorthern Africa: cultivated land, forests, andrangelands. Agricultural land constitutesabout 28.8 percent (or 233,590 hectares) oftotal land. It is estimated that about 18.7percent of arable land is currently cultivated,although the extent of cultivated areasranges from 2.6 percent in Egypt to 77.4percent in Morocco. Rangelands currentlyoccupy about 13.5 percent of total land area(mostly in Algeria and Sudan) although, overthe past 50 years, half of these have beenreclaimed for cultivation. However, more

than 57 percent of the total northern Africanland is threatened by desertification.41

Eastern Africa is characterized byintensive farming practices and a large ruralpopulation practicing subsistence-orientedagriculture, more than 70 percent by someestimates.42 The total area of eastern Africais 2,665,000 square kilometres, with 78.090million hectares (or 29.3 percent of totalarea) of potential arable land. However,actual arable land is 26.221 million hectares(or 33.6 percent of potential arable land).Uganda has the highest proportion ofpotentially arable land (14.169 millionhectares), whereas in Rwanda, all arableland is in use and the increasing populationand need for food crops is pushing farmersto cultivate marginal areas — to such anextent that actual arable land stands at 156.8percent of potential arable land. More than30 percent of the East African land area iscovered by permanent pasture, hence thedominant land use is livestock grazing. Aswell, about 73 percent of the total area ischaracterized by desert and dryland condi-tions, significant proportions of which are inSomalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea.43

The total land area in southern Africa is693,000 million hectares, of which about 20percent is arable land. Arable land anddomesticated land is used for agriculture,forestry, wetlands and wildlife conservation,and human settlements. Crop production isthe dominant land use, contributing to about34 percent of GDP. Livestock farming is


41 FAO AQUASTAT (2005); UNEP (2006); AOAD(1998)

42 WHO/UNICEF (2000)43 UNEP (2006)


another common form of land use, but it hasbeen constrained in periods due to droughtand diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease,cattle-lung disease, and anthrax. The propor-tion of the population of southern Africaemployed in agriculture was estimated at 71percent in 1970, 64 percent in 1980, and 60percent in 1990. Proportions by countryvaried from 87 percent in Malawi to 14percent in South Africa. Agriculture insouthern Africa is also characterized by theemployment of a migrant labour force, whichengages in seasonal subsistence farming.Major threats to land use in the sub-regionrelate to land tenure arrangements (weakindividual property rights) and associatedequity issues. In addition, soil erosion (about15 percent of land is considered degraded) isa significant threat to agricultural produc-tivity.44

In Central Africa, land resources andland use is sensitive to climatic and vege-tation characteristics, with forestry andplantation agriculture largely found in thehumid zones. The region’s total area standsat 536.6 million hectares. DRC has the largesttotal land cover at 234.5 million hectares,while Sao Tome and Principe has thesmallest land area at 96,000 hectares. Large-scale agricultural development has beenlimited by national market failures andinternational trade barriers. Shifting cultiva-tion has been the traditional means ofcoping with variability, but this practice hasbeen on the downtrend and is no longersustainable in large areas because there aremuch larger populations that now requireland. Land degradation (including erosion

and soil compaction) is a major threat to thesustainable use of land resources in the sub-region. Armed conflict is also a threat to thesustainable management and use of landresources in Central Africa.45

The total land area in western Africa is605.54 million hectares, of which 72.789million hectares is arable land and 183.46million, permanent pasture. However, about70 percent of the sub-region (coveringmainly the Sahel zone) is semi-arid to desert.Land cover and land use in the sub-regionare largely determined by climate and adramatic gradation is seen from south tonorth in rainfall and vegetation cover.Cultivation is thus limited and the dominantagricultural activity is livestock rearing. Forexample, cultivation accounts for just 4 percent of the land area in Mali and Niger,and for less than 1 percent in Mauritania. In contrast, permanent pasture accounts for25 percent of the land area in Mali andnearly 40 percent in Mauritania. Togo andNigeria have the largest percentage of landunder cultivation (42 percent and 33 percent, respectively), followed by CôteD’Ivoire and Ghana (23 percent each).Climate variability is greatest in the Sahel(Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and northernSenegal) where drought is common andoften severe.46

The four island countries of the western Indian Ocean, with a coastline of 11,646 kilometres, have a total land area of59.2 million hectares, 99 percent of which isMadagascar, the fourth largest island countryin the world. The percentage of land used


44 UNEP (2006); Chenje (2000)

45 UNEP (2006)46 Ibid.


for agriculture in these island countries is 53percent, with Madagascar and the Seychellesdominating.47

Characteristics of African AgriculturalLand Use

The economies of most African countrieslargely depend on land-based activities suchas agriculture, mining, and tourism.Agriculture is perhaps one of the mostchallenging factors that influence the patternof land use dynamics in Africa. It contributesabout 40 percent of regional GDP andemploys more than 60 percent of the labourforce. In many countries, these percentagesare considerably higher, generally ineastern, western and central Africa. Theofficial estimates of the contribution ofagriculture to the formal economy and toemployment in many African countries,although substantial, does not even fullytake into account the significant contributionof small-scale cultivation and livestockproduction to livelihoods. This is especiallyrelevant for areas where pastoralism ispracticed (most commonly in the more aridareas of northern, eastern and southernAfrica).48

Agriculture in Africa can be classified as bimodal — divided into smallholder and large-scale/estate agriculture. Theunderdeveloped nature of smallholderagriculture has largely been shaped byeconomic policies (economies of scalefactor), which are disadvantageous to small-holders but promote larger farmers, whostand a better chance of securing credit

facilities to support their agriculturalpractices. Agriculture in Africa is predomin-antly rain-fed (except in northern Africancountries and the western Indian OceanIsland states, where irrigation potential hasbeen well developed). Furthermore, most ofthe countries experience large inter-annualand intra-annual variations in rainfall, withfrequent extremes of flooding or drought.This translates into vulnerability for cropfailure and economic insecurity.49

Ownership and Land Access in Africa

Over the last decade, land reform policiesaround the world have, with a fewexceptions, such as in Zimbabwe, revolvedaround variations of market based landreform. This trend fits with broader shifts inglobal economic policies, following the endof the Cold War, that have seen a reducedrole for the state, liberalization of markets,and privatization of state enterprises andassets.50

Access to land, the ability to exchange itwith others and to use it effectively is veryimportant for poverty reduction, economicgrowth, and private sector investment. Suchaccess also empowers the poor and ensuresgood governance. Access to land varieswidely across different parts of the Africancontinent, owing to differences in colonialties, customary laws, rule of law, andcountries’ historical antecedents. Typically inAfrica, land can either be purchased orinherited, and this, to a great extent,determines patterns of land accessibility andownership. Land tenure is profoundly


47 Ibid.48 UNEP (2006); ECA (2004)

49 ECA (2004); (UNEP (2002); UNEP (2006)50 ILRI (2007); Moyo (2000); ECA (2004)


political, and it continues to be a criticalfactor in the development of African politicsand economies. Land tenure, in particularownership and access rights, has beenwidely recognized to have important bear-ings on effective, efficient, and sustainablemanagement and production regimes.51 Thetypology of land tenure thus varies fromcountry to country, but, overall, includesfreehold tenure, state leasehold, andcommunity-based tenure (legally recognizedindigenous tenure and community-based),often in combination, as seen in Kenya,Uganda, and Rwanda. Regardless of the typeof tenure that is prevalent, there are anumber of challenges: In countries such asUganda, Somalia, Kenya, and Rwanda,compulsory and systematic tenure conver-sion to individual ownership has not broughtsignificant benefits to smallholder farmers. InEthiopia, tenure insecurity is described asone of the major problems associated withthe existing land system (see Box 2.3). InKenya, where formal titles to land are heldby many farmers, the lack of any significantrelationship between land title and cropyield is perhaps explained by the limited useof land titles in obtaining formal credits.52

One of the key issues related to land tenure in Africa is the degree to which the tenure arrangement encourages ordiscourages sustainable farm practices andinvestment in land. It is generally believedthat a more secure tenure system providesthe necessary incentives for farmers to bettermanage their land and invest in landimprovement. Analysis of data on farmers’

opinions on the current land tenure systemand perceptions of tenure security showssome relationship with engagement in long-term land improvement practices. Variousinformal methods employed by farmers inland transfers include mortgage, renting,sharecropping, sales, gift, contracts,exchange of plots, and inheritance. Thedominant practices are sharecropping of land (44 percent), sale of land (31 percent),and renting of land (16 percent).53

From these assessments, one can concludethat although the existing rural land policy inmuch of Africa has limited the developmentof formal rural land markets, farmerscontinue to be involved in informal landtransactions mainly for economic reasons.

The major features of the existing landtenure system, such as declining farm size,tenure insecurity, and subsistence farmingpractices, have been identified as some of thecauses of the often poor performance of theagricultural sector. The land tenure system isalso cited by many as the major impedimentto the adoption of sustainable and long-termland improvement and management prac-tices. As a result, the land tenure issue hasattracted widespread attention and debateamong policymakers, government and non-government actors, the private sector, thedonor community, researchers, and the publicat large. The land tenure problem remains achallenge that needs to be addressed through comprehensive and thorough research andanalysis.54

High population densities and grazingrights have led to frequent conflicts over


51 ILRI (2007)52 ECA (2004); ILRI (2007)

53 Ibid.54 EEA/EEPRI (2002)


land and land-based resources in mostAfrica countries. Examples of outright landand land resource-related wars include theconflicts in Rwanda and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. International organiza-tions such as the United NationsCommission on Human Rights (UNCHR)continue to support local civil society effortsto mediate in land disputes. Several localand international organizations have also

published case studies on land problems.Despite these activities, civil society groupshave seldom formed formal networks onland issues, and hence the impact ongovernment thinking, including develop-ment of land laws, has not beenmaximized.55

Good political, economic, and corporategovernance is of primary importance toensure that Africa’s land resource wealthserves as an engine for sustainable socio-economic development rather than a sourceof inter and intra-state conflict and under-development.

Management of RenewableNatural Resources

The preceding chapters presented water,forestry and land as some of Africa’s basicnatural resources. Each of these resources isfundamental to Africa’s commercial andsubsistence related activities. Yet, theanalysis clearly reveals that the resources arefragile and susceptible to degradation.Consequently, proper management of theresources and of the wealth they generate iscrucial for the future development of Africa.Basic natural resource managementconcepts (Chapter 1) stipulate that anintegrated effort is required to ensureefficient resource use and prevent adverseenvironmental impacts. In other words, aholistic approach is needed because of themultiple inter-linkages between naturalresources. A multidisciplinary integratedapproach is also called for, as recognized bythe AfDB and by other stakeholders (Box.2.4).


55 ILRI (2007)

Box 2.3: Land Issues in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, lack of adequate access to, andcontrol over, land by peasants is said to beamong the principal factors exacerbating ruralpoverty and food insecurity and conflicts. Thehistory of forced land redistributions over thelast thirty years remains a major cause ofperceived tenure insecurity in the Ethiopianhighlands. Various land policies in the countryhave also marginalized pastoralists in the semi-arid lowland areas. However, there is anincreasing clamour for reduction in state controlover land use and for transferring more landrights to land users in the regional states. Therehave been modest policy and legal reforms atboth regional and federal levels. Efforts havebeen made to increase farmers’ confidence thatthey will reap the fruit of their labour andinvestment (IRLI, 2007).

Furthermore, Howard and Smith (2006)noted that women are disadvantaged byunequal gender relations in land allocation inEthiopia. Their work indicate that in ruralEthiopia, as elsewhere, in addition to the formal,de jure, land access mechanisms prescribed bythe state, informal means of access to landabound. These include intra-family transfers andland transactions, land access throughcommunity membership, and resettlement andsquatter settlement.


Management of Africa’s WaterResources

As mentioned in previous sections, aconsiderable number of countries in Africaexperience water scarcity or water stress. Thisis attributable to a number of factors, rangingfrom basic natural and climatic conditions toabsence of proper water resources utilizationand administration (at the local, national, andregional levels). The demand for water,which, in many cases, exceeds supply, hasalready led to unsustainable practices andincreasing competition for water resourcesbetween sectors, communities, and nations.Africa’s progress towards sustainable develop-ment and the achievement of the MDGs

crucially depends on amending unsustainablepractices and prioritizing the management ofwater resources for industrial, domestic, andagricultural uses. Some of the Initiativesimplemented to date are presented below.

Basin Level Initiatives: In conformity with theglobal approach to water resources manage-ment, Africa manages its scarce waterresources through various partnership arran-gements among riparian countries in thecontinent’s major river basins, and amonglocal communities within the basins andcatchments. Eight of the continents ninelargest international basins have basinauthorities that have been ratified by the


Box 2.4: AfDB Sector Policies and Guidelines for Renewable Natural Resources

Since its inception, the AfDB has developed a number of sector policies and guidelines, which have guidedits investments in natural resource sub-sectors. The mainstreaming of sustainable natural resourcemanagement has been closely linked to the Bank’s environmental and social sustainability concerns, whichdate as far back as the late 1980s. The Bank’s natural resource management concerns are largely reflectedin its environmental policies and operations guidelines, and there is no single policy that encompasses allnatural resources, but the guidelines on fisheries, forestry, and land management are nevertheless closelylinked to the Bank’s agricultural sector strategy, under which operations related to these sub-sectors areundertaken.

The Bank’s NRM activities — especially those related to water resources, extractive industries, andenvironmental management — have increased significantly in recent years. As a result, the Bank has revisedand updated its policies and strategies to accommodate emerging initiatives and partnerships; andincreased activity levels, investments, new initiatives, and engagements in partnerships with other donorsand stakeholders. Bank Group operations in the renewable resources area currently face three keychallenges: (i) how to sustain the productivity of the natural resource base; (ii) how to halt practices that“mine” the resource base beyond its regenerative capacity; and (iii) how to support interventions thatincrease productivity per unit of resource used. Concerns about sustaining the productivity of the naturalresource base have led the Bank to focus on land use and land management issues and on the use ofcommon pool resources. In this context, the Bank promotes rigorous analyses at all stages of the projectcycle to detect potential and actual ecological effects of investments and determine how best to avoid orminimize degradation or depletion.

Sources: AfDB Annual Report (2005); (2006)


states sharing the river basin. The CongoRiver basin, which is also the largest, occu-pying about 12.5 percent of the continent’sarea, is the only basin that does not have abasin organization.56 The continent’s majorriver basin organizations and the areas of thecontinent they occupy are:

• The Nile Basin Initiative (10.3percent), created in 1999 (Box 2.5);

• the Lake Chad Basin Commission (7.8percent), created in 1964;

• the Niger Basin Authority (7.5percent), created in 1980;

• the Zambezi Watercourse Commission(4.5 percent), created in 2004;

• the Orange Commission — SenguRiver (3.0 percent), created in 2000;

• the Organization for the Developmentof Senegal River (1.6 percent), createdin 1972;

• Limpopo Basin Commission (1.3percent), created in 2002; and

• the Volta River Basin (1.3 percent),created in 2004.

In spite of the formal steps taken to createthese organizations, most of them have beenbeset by bureaucratic inefficiencies andfinancial and capacity constraints. As such,the majority of them have not been able tooperate as envisaged and results have fallenshort of expectations. In addition, theorganizations have not been able to keep upwith emerging science-based water manage-ment innovations and thus lack key tech-niques for water allocation, development, anddistribution. According to the Fourth World

Water Forum57, the various initiatives aimedat establishing and strengthening water basinorganizations (WBOs) face a considerableshortage of human and financial resourceswith respect to the various initiatives aimed atestablishing and strengthening water basinorganizations (WBOs). In essence, only theSouth African and the Senegal RiverDevelopment Organizations (OMVS) have aresource base that will allow them to performtheir duties. This notwithstanding, thecollective approach to water resourcesmanagement could, if further supported anddeveloped, reduce waste and ensureefficiency in water resources allocation andutilization in Africa. Furthermore, despite thefact that numerous water resources in Africaare shared among countries, issues relating towater rights and to ownership of internationalwaters remain largely unresolved, resulting innational interests prevailing over sharedinterests.58

Integrated Water Resource Management

(IWRM): The IWRM framework for planningand managing water resources has also beenembraced in Africa and in various manage-ment initiatives for river basins. IWRMpromotes the coordinated development andmanagement of water, land, and relatedresources, in order to maximize economicand social welfare in an equitable mannerwithout compromising the sustainability ofvital ecosystems. It is generally agreed thatIWRM principles are prerequisites forenhanced water resource development inAfrica. In principle, all African countries have


56 FAO (2005); WWC/CONAGUA (2006)

57 WWC/CONAGUA (2006)58 Ibid.


agreed to engage in watershed managementand in IWRM — in other words, managewater resources at the basin level rather thanat the politically defined boundary level (seeBoxes 2.5 and 2.6 as well as examplesbelow). Thus, the planning and managementof water-related activities is seen as an all-encompassing activity involving relevantactors and stakeholders.59

Ethiopia and Kenya provide goodexamples of IWRM. In 2001, Ethiopiaengaged stakeholders to provide input forthe development of a sectoral strategic actionplan aimed at achieving its national waterpolicy objectives. The resulting GeneralWater Resource Development Program(2002–2016) was established to address waterquality management as part of an IWRM planfor key river basins. Under this program,institutional bodies and facilities would bestrengthened and new ones established foreffective management and monitoring ofwater quality. These include laboratories at

national and regional levels, river basincommissions, authorities and a nationalwater resource council.60 Similarly, in theEast Africa sub-region, Kenya has madeconsiderable progress in reforming the watersector, especially in relation to water supplyand sanitation. As stated in its 2002 Water Act,the objectives include enhancing theprovision, conservation, control, apportion-ment, and use of water. As a result of thesereforms, Kenya established a Water ResourceManagement Authority, and drafted its firstNational Water Resource ManagementStrategy in 2004 to provide a clear road mapfor managing and developing waterresources in a sustainable manner throughcommunity participation, capacity-building,and a demand-driven approach.61

Water resource management at the trueIWRM (visionary) level is still in its infancy inAfrica. A national-level assessment of 34countries on the continent, conducted by the


59 WWC/CONAGUA (2006); UNEP (2006)

60 UNEP (2006); Bzioui (2005)61 UNEP (2006)

Box 2.5: The Nile River Basin Initiative

The Nile Basin Initiative, created in 1999 at the initiative of the African Council of Ministers on Water(AMCOW) for the countries riparian to the Nile Basin (Nile COM), furthers a first agreement in 1959 betweenEgypt and Sudan on Nile River water usage, and also on commitments for the environmental protection ofthe Nile Basin. Ten countries located in the Nile Basin (Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Eritrea as a ‘prospective member’) are participants. The initiativeaims to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through the use of, and equitable sharing ofbenefits from, water resources in the Nile Basin. Its main objectives are to: (i) develop the Nile River waterresources in an equitable and sustainable manner in order to ensure prosperity, security, and peace for theinhabitants; (ii) guarantee effective water management and optimal resource use; (iii) promote cooperationand combined action between member countries; and, (iv) combat poverty and promote economicintegration.

Source: FAO, AQUASTAT (2005)


AfDB in 2005, revealed that only 14 countrieshad water resources management policiesand strategies, and that only 16 countriesprioritized water in their Poverty ReductionStrategy Policies (PRSPs).62

Public Private Partnerships in waterresources management and water supplyprograms have been gaining popularity in

some African countries. These partnershipsare being used to ensure sustained develop-ment of infrastructure and water supply.Several of such partnerships have recordedsuccesses in providing services to largeurban centres, districts, as well as ruralcommunities.63 At the national level,responses to increased competition overfreshwater resources include revision ofwater resource development policies andgreater involvement of stakeholders —


62 Assessment conducted by AfDB; presented atFourth World Water Forum, Mexico (WWC/CONAGUA, 2006). 63 UNEP (2002)

Box 2.6: The African Water Facility (AWF)

The AWF, an instrument of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), is hosted by the AFDB BankGroup at the request of the AMCOW. Its mission is to improve the enabling policy and institutionalenvironment and to strengthen water resource management in Africa in order to attract the significantinvestments needed to achieve national and regional water objectives. Specifically, the AMCOW mobilizesresources to finance water infrastructure and water investment facilitating activities in Africa. Interventionsunder the AWF focus on achieving the following three main outcomes:1. Improved Integrated Water Resources Management: RMCs have strengthened their capacities to

manage their water resources effectively, based on IWRM principles that create an environment that isconducive to coherent and sustainable investments;

2. Improved Transboundary Water Resources Management (TWRM): Regional organizations managetransboundary water resources under a cooperative framework that fosters investments with sharedbenefits; and

3. Increased Water Sector Investments: RMCs and regional organizations benefit from projects andprograms through increased investments resulting from a sound investment climate, better preparation,and available funding.

By facilitating the very considerable water investments that are needed to provide water security andimprove water resources management in Africa, the AWF offers African countries a great opportunity toaddress the critical problems that they face in water supply. The AWF also identifies information, knowledgemanagement, and monitoring and evaluation as key crosscutting components designed to provide broadsupport for IWRM and TWRM activities. During the 2005–2009 period, the AWF plans to mobilize EUR 500million from bilateral and multilateral donors for these activities. Resources committed to date amount toapproximately EUR 60 million from seven donors: the European Union (EU), Canada, Norway, Sweden,Denmark, Austria, and France.

Source: African Development Bank, Water and Sanitation Department


especially local communities and the privatesector — in water resource managementand in water supply. However, manycountries face implementation challenges.For example, Ethiopia’s Water ResourcePolicy (1999) focuses on providing a cleanand safe water supply, but there are noappropriate directives and regulatoryinstruments to enforce the legislation.64

Some of the areas where vigorousemphasis is being placed in order to achievethe MDG targets (see Box 2.7) include waterresources management, watershed manage-ment, adequate water accessibility andquantity, water quality, adequate institutionalcapacity, and international water rights.Measures implemented so far include, theRural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative(RWSSI), a major water initiative launched by

the AfDB in collaboration with its RMCs andother donors in 2003. The objective of theRWSSI is to mobilize African governmentsand the international donor community toaccelerate Africans’ access to sustainabledrinking water and basic sanitation, so as tomeet critical MDGs (Box 2.8).

Major international programs for waterresource management include the LakeVictoria Environmental ManagementProgram (LVEMP) and the Nile EquatorialLakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP).The LVEMP was established in 1995 byKenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to improvesustainable use of the basin’s naturalresources. It focused primarily on fisheriesmanagement, pollution control, invasivealien species control, and land usemanagement.65 The international community


64 UNEP (2006); Bzioui (2005) 65 UNEP (2006)

Box 2.7: Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Targets (Goal 7, Target 11)

Water is an essential resource for human beings. Safe drinking water, sanitation and good hygiene arefundamental to health, survival, growth and development. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) haveset a common course aimed at pushing back poverty, inequality, hunger, and illness. All eight MDGs are,in one way or another, related to water resources. Indeed, the world has pledged, to reduce by half theproportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation before 2015.This is reinforced with goals and initiatives for the “International decade for Action, Water for Life,2005–2015”.

Although the world has achieved considerable results, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains an area of greatconcern: Even though the percentage of people with access to clean water rose from 49 percent to 56percent over the 1990–2004 period, the absolute number of people without access to drinking water actuallyincreased by 23 percent (taking into account the population growth factor). With slow progress, lowcoverage, and a huge disparity between urban and rural coverage, SSA is unlikely to attain the MDG target(for this specific region: 75 percent coverage by 2015).

Source: WHO/UNICEF (2006), Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target.


has supported these and other efforts inAfrica to cope with the problematic water situation. Several international agree-ments and protocols have been estab-lished, especially in responses to escalatingconflicts over shared watercourses. Examplesof such internationally motivated initiativesinclude the Regional Program for theSustainable Development of the NubianSandstone Aquifer (NSA), the Southern

African Development Community (SADC)Protocol on Shared Water Courses, and the Nile Basin Initiative, described in Box2.5.

Forestry Management in Africa

Several African governments are currentlyshifting emphasis from passive to activeinvolvement in the forestry sector (for


Box 2.8: The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI)

The RWSSI strategy focuses on the following key elements:• Raising awareness about the rural water supply and sanitation situation in Africa;• Mobilizing more funds from donors, RMCs, NGOs, and other stakeholders;• Adopting fast track mechanisms for national RWSS programs;• Adopting a demand-driven programmatic approach, as opposed to a multi-project approach;• Prioritizing sanitation, focusing on hygiene, and on public health education;• Strengthening the capacity of decentralized government institutions, communities, the private sector, and

artisans;• Ensuring beneficiary participation, in the design phase as well (in an IWRM context);• Enhancing sustainability by promoting technology, water innovation, and indigenous knowledge, based

on beneficiary consensus, ease of implementation, cost-recovery schemes, and local knowledge foroperations and maintenance

Until 2002, over 80 percent of Bank Group AfDB financing for water supply and sanitation focused on urbanareas, as did most other donor support. Since over 65 percent of Africans live in rural areas, the Bank Groupmade a strategic decision in 2003 to shift its water supply and sanitation financing to rural areas, which havethe lowest access to basic services and the highest poverty levels. The target of the RWSSI is to increasesafe water and basic sanitation coverage to about 80 percent of the rural population by 2015. If fullysuccessful, the achievement of the RWSSI targets will expand access to potable water supply to 277 millionpeople, and sanitation services to 295 million people by 2015.

While this challenge holds the significant promise of improving sustainable livelihoods as well as ruralwater and sanitation services in Africa, its achievement over the 2000–15 period has huge investmentimplications. The cumulative investment for achieving the targeted 80 percent coverage by 2015 isestimated at USD 14.2 billion over the 15-year period. The Bank is committed to financing 30 percent of thetotal costs from its African Development Fund (ADF) and African Development Bank (ADB) windows. It hascalled on multilateral and bilateral donors to provide 50 percent of the financing, and on RMC governmentsand beneficiary communities to contribute 15 and 5 percent, respectively. Since the launching of the RWSSIin 2003, the Bank has approved 13 RWSSI programs and projects for a total of USD 536 million in financing.

Source: African Development Bank, Water and Sanitation Department


example, Nigeria is conducting acomprehensive inventory and valuation of itsforests and woodlands). Governments arealso introducing mechanisms that willencourage sustainable utilization of forestand woodland resources, including the issu-ance of concessions on standing volumesrather than on harvested volumes.Specifically, governments are putting in placestronger policies and allocating additionalresources to enforce them. This is based onthe recognition that conservation and thesustainable use and management of Africa’sforests and woodlands are the necessaryfoundation for the promotion, development,and growth of other sectors. In its 2006report, “Forests and Woodlands in Africa” theUNEP66 recommends that countries developand implement national biodiversity strategicaction plans, nature reserves, and protected

area systems. Setting actual targets onbiological diversity and continuouslymonitoring progress are particularlyimportant for the well-being and livelihoodneeds of Africans. A recent work under theWorld Bank umbrella67 focuses on theinterrelationships between agricultural landexpansion and deforestation processes asevidenced in Africa, for instance, and pre-sents an appealing approach, where anumber of tools — often in combination —can be applied to achieve ‘win-win’ situations(Box 2.9).

Many issues have to be taken intoconsideration in managing forest resources inAfrica. The first and most fundamental isdetermining which areas can and should bemaintained as protected areas, and whichshould be allowed to be developed forproduction (cropping, forestry, livestock, and


66 Ibid. 67 Chomitz (2006)

Box 2.9: Trade-Off Between Poverty and Deforestation — Win-Win Approaches?

There is a potential dilemma of trade-offs between poverty reduction and environmental protection:deforestation causes environmental damage, but it also increases the supply of farmland and generatesrural income and employment (sometimes sustainable, sometimes not). However, recent comprehensivestudies suggest that poverty reduction and environmental protection are not inherently in opposition (at‘loggerheads’), nor are they automatically aligned. Outcomes depend on the policies adopted and onspecific conditions on the ground. In other words, there are ample options for ‘win-win’ approaches,especially when labor demand can be boosted outside agriculture. Key approaches include:• Tenure, zoning, and land-use regulation – for example, revisiting the ownership and management of

government lands, regulating exploitation of private lands and promoting participatory land management;• Making forest management more attractive to agriculture – for example, by funding markets for

environmental services and removing barriers to sustainable management of forests for timber and otherproducts; and

• Coordinating regional development interventions – such as road networks and agricultural policies toachieve synergies where possible.

Source: Chomitz (2006)


fisheries); i.e. broader land use planning. Inthis context, the criteria for selecting naturalecosystems for preservation and protectioninclude the following: biological importance;productive potential; provision of “environ-mental services” (prevention of soil erosionand flooding, recharge of aquifers,maintenance of river flow); importance of thesurvival of indigenous peoples and theirlivelihood systems; productive potential;current status (whether or not the ecosystemis already degraded); and, likelihood ofsuccessful preservation.

Reducing pressure on forests at the locallevel can be achieved by limiting access tothem in the first place. This has been doneusing local forest guards in countries likeNigeria and Ghana to protect the forest from

unlawful exploitation by local people.Reduced access to forest products however,has a number of serious implicationsincluding increasing shortage of fuelwoodand negative impacts on the income andnutrition status of dependent local people. Insuch circumstances, government action isneeded to address key concerns. Suchactions would include actively engaging theprivate sector and civil society in forestry andwoodland resources management, andreviewing the legal and institutional capa-cities of the public sector institutions respon-sible for forestry resources. Private investorparticipation can be enhanced by carryingout up-to-date forest inventories. One of thechallenges in this regard is that existinginformation on forests and woodlands is


Box 2.10: Integrated Forestry Conservation and Development

Effective resource conservation and management must involve strong local participation. This is fullyintegrated in the concept of integrated conservation and development, which involves the following keyaspects:• Local people retain the rights to continue traditional use of resources inside state-owned protected areas

(to the extent that this is not detrimental to the ecosystem) and are, of course, allowed to continue suchactivities on all land returned outright to them.

• Local communities are allowed to generate income from protected areas through environmentallycompatible activities such as tourism, hunting with traditional weapons, and gathering of non-timber forestproducts. All of these activities are directly dependent on the protected area. Local communities givenexclusive rights to carry out these activities will have an incentive to conserve the forest or wilderness area.

• Commercial logging of protected areas is entirely excluded. Logging can be allowed and carefullymanaged only in those areas specifically identified for logging, but even then, only with techniques andmanagement practices that ensure long-term sustainability.

• Buffer zones are established around core protected areas, and ownership of the land and associatedresources in them is returned to the local people. Buffer zones are meant to provide the local people withsufficient forest and agricultural products to prevent overexploitation of the protected areas. They alsoserve to keep potentially destructive wildlife away from villages, crops, and domestic livestock.

• Agriculture and social development activities can be provided outside protected areas to attract localpeople away from (the forest areas) and as an incentive to avoid encroachment.

Source: Cleaver and Schreiber (1994), Reversing the Spiral (World Bank)


often outdated and incomplete. This is partlybecause most of it is obtained fromsecondary sources.68

Reflecting the recognition that effectiveresource conservation and managementmust involve strong local participation, theconcept of “integrated forestry conservationand development” has been gaining tractionin forestry development in Africa and else-where (Box 2.10). Experience with theimplementation of this concept is stilllimited in Africa. A number of pilot efforts

have been initiated — by the AfricanDevelopment Bank (Box 2.11) — but theseare still in the very early stages. A potentialdanger to watch for is the risk of the“magnet syndrome”: priority provision ofinfrastructure and social services aroundareas to be protected may, in fact, attractpeople to the area if social and infrastructuredevelopment farther away is significantlylagging behind that around the area to beprotected.69


69 Ibid.68 UNEP (2006)

Box 2.11: AfDB Forestry Strategies and Initiatives

The African Development Bank’s engagement in the forestry sector started as far back as 1978. In 1994,the Bank adopted a specific Forestry Policy, under its agricultural operations, to guide its lending to the sub-sector. The policy emphasizes the need for sustainable management of Africa’s forest resources to ensurea critical balance between ensuring the sustainable supply of wood and non-wood products and maintainingthe healthy regeneration capacity of the continent’s forests.

Regional cooperation plays a significant role in the conservation of important forest areas. In light ofthis, the Bank Group continues to work closely with African regional and sub-regional organizations, as wellas with technical institutions to establish protected and classified forest areas; promote intra-African tradein wood and non-wood products; create regional and sub-regional forestry projects; harmonize forestpolicies; set up linkages between forestry sub-regional institutes and forestry faculties of universities; andestablish policy and operational networks for exchange of information.

In 1999, the Bank reviewed its forestry portfolio as well as the policies of other donors. Following thisreview, the Bank shifted the focus of its financing from industrial forestry plantations to social, ruraldevelopment, and environmentally focused forestry projects. The bulk of the Bank’s current forestry portfoliocomprises broad-based projects that incorporate an integrated approach to natural resources management.Since 1978, the Bank has financed 31 forestry projects in 21 countries, for a total commitment value of UA458.47 million. However, a downward trend in the demand for forestry projects has been noted. The projectsare designed as integrated programs with components from other sectors such as agriculture and waterresources. Most of the interventions have diversified the income sources of rural people and increasedemployment opportunities. Furthermore, the projects are multi-sector based, collaborative and participatoryin nature, and designed within the context of sustainable natural resource management and integratedforestry development. Women, who are sometimes marginalized in decision making in Africa, are keystakeholders in the design (and implementation) of most Bank-financed forestry projects.

Source: African Development Bank, Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department


Land Reforms in Africa

Arguments for land reform programs in Africatypically revolve around issues of equity,poverty reduction, economic development,and political stability — but land reforms arealso considered important contributors tohuman freedoms, civil liberties, andsustainable democracies. Access to landremains critical for people’s survival in mostdeveloping countries where “land is theprimary means for generating a livelihood”.During the 20th century, many governmentsdeveloped land reform policies aimed atmeeting these objectives and at dealing in acontrolled way with the demands andtensions around land.70

In some African countries, there hasbeen continuity from colonial to post-colonial land reforms. For example, inKenya, land reforms started by British rulersin the 1950s were pursued with even greatervigour by the first post-independencegovernment. The reasons for this — oftenproblematic — continuity included the weaknature of many post-colonial states, con-stitutions that preserved existing institutionsand laws, the extent and influence of foreigninvestments, and the need to earn foreignexchange.71 In other African countries,independent governments implementedtheir own radical and redistributive landreforms (also see Boxes 2.3 and 2.12). In the1970s, for example, the Marxist regime inEthiopia abolished the feudal system oflandholding, nationalized all land, anddistributed it to those willing to work it. In

Mozambique, the abandonment of farms bythe Portuguese at independence made thenationalization of land relatively easy. Theland was divided into state farms,cooperative farms, and the distribution ofland to individuals was organized through aregistered license process that left the statewith an overriding power.72 Land was alsonationalized through legislation in manyother countries, including: Tanzania,Guinea, Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso,Zaire, Uganda, Somalia, and Zambia.73

Advocates of reforms in land rights andland markets frequently posit two important


70 DLA (1997); Prosterman & Riedinger (1987);World Bank (2003)

71 Okoth-Ogendo (1993)

72 Ibid.73 Bruce (1993)

Box 2.12: Land Reform in Botswana

The commitment of African governments to landreforms can be described by the Botswana landpolicy paper which is aimed at the “review of allland related laws and policies” and sets out “acomprehensive policy which will promoteequitable land distribution and address land useconflicts, land pricing and land rights, as well asstrengthen land management. The new policywill establish a favourable environment for bothdomestic and foreign direct investment, thuscontributing to economic diversification andglobal competitiveness. In addition, a number ofland-related Acts will be reviewed, including:the Town and Country Planning Act, the DeedsRegistry Act, the Tribal Land Act, the State LandAct and the Land Survey Act. These Acts will bealigned with the Land Policy and other relevantpieces of legislation”.

Source: Botswana Minister of Finance, Budget

Speech to Parliament, 5 February 2007


hypotheses: (i) African countries shouldgrant land titles to their citizens becausetitles increase land tenure security andfacilitate access to input, land, and financialmarkets; and, (ii) land markets constitute themost efficient mechanism for allocatingresources and improving access toproductive resources by the poor, especiallywomen and other marginalized groups.Land titling, however, is not a panacea forreforming land tenure systems in Africa.Owing to differences in environmental risks,the level of demand for agricultural land, theperformance of existing tenure systems, thelegacy of colonial and postcolonial reforms,and other socioeconomic factors, the needfor, and impact of, titling will also differ.These diverse conditions have led landrights to evolve along different pathwaysand thus to require different reform options.Because land is an immovable resource, alltransactions really refer to the bundles ofrights associated with a specific piece ofland. Land rights set boundaries foropportunities and constraints regarding thecontrol, management, and use of land,whereas land markets are mechanisms bywhich right holders and non–right holderscan transfer, rent, and acquire differentbundles of rights to land.74

In addition, the importance of customaryland tenure systems varies from country tocountry. In Botswana, Malawi, Mali,Morocco, Niger, and Zambia, customary landrights are the dominant tenure systems.Under these systems, land values aregenerally equal to the discounted net presentvalue of current and future productivity per

hectare. As such, land productivity is used todetermine the terms of land contracts. Theseland rights are generally viewed as animpediment to agricultural growth becausethey entail limited access to formal credit andinput markets. Nonetheless, such rights offermany opportunities to poor householdsbecause: (1) they are easily acquired throughgroup membership and social networking;(2) land contracts are based on risk-sharingstrategies, whereby landowners and tenantsshare input costs and output; and (3) rightholders have informal mechanisms foracquiring credit and avoiding loss of theirlands.75

In Botswana, Swaziland, and Zambia,distorted land policies have favoured theemergence of landowning elites and privateagribusinesses at the expense of smallproducers. In Tunisia, however, titling iswidespread because the government hasreduced titling fees and promoted irrigationand production of high value crops (oliveand nut trees). Registered customary privateland rights are the dominant land rights inNorth Africa and in a few countries in sub-Saharan Africa (such as the Central AfricanRepublic, Kenya, Mali, and Niger).Registration facilitates the recording of alltransactions at the local level, reduces theincidence of conflict, and, transforms thevalue of land. Registration therefore enlargesthe possibilities for right holders to make land transactions in both formal andinformal land markets, and gives them easieraccess to credit in state-managed creditschemes.76


74 Tidiane (2004)

75 Ibid.76 Ibid.


Many countries in Africa are clearlystruggling to implement the laws and policiesthat they have formulated in recent years.These difficulties stem from over-ambition,lack of capacity, scarcity of financialresources, and the assumption that custom-ary law can be swept away with the stroke ofa pen, or women’s land rights protected byanother. Social reality at the local level isgenerally very different from what isimagined in the capital city. Land issues arein fact not new in Africa.77 The land tenuresituation has been evolving in response todemographic and technological changes,wars, conquests, and changes in governance.Moreover, from colonial times to the present,land has been an object of policy inter-vention and every spot of land in Africa hasa history of changing land policies anddifferent forms of land politics. Any newpolicy must therefore take previous policiesand their effects into account in addition tothe socio-economic conditions of land tenurethey aim to alter.

In conclusion, concerning land relationsand policies designed to benefit the poor,there are two competing models ofgovernance and development on offer inand for Africa:78 The first model involvesadopting the agenda of the internationalcommunity and its international financialinstitutions and donors by making landavailable for international investment anddevelopment through free and open landmarkets and homogenized national landlaws, thus reaping the benefits of globali-zation. Such an agenda downplays issues of

security of tenure for the poor, decentralizedland management, and women’s rights toland. The second model involves developingnational agendas to ensure that nationalconsiderations are at the forefront of landmanagement. This is not meant to repelglobalization, as that would be impractical,but to give primacy of place to the landconcerns of the poor, both women and men,who now constitute the majority of landholders in all countries in Africa and arelikely to be for considerable time to come.

Climate Change, RiskManagement and Adaptation inAfrica

Climate Change is emerging as perhaps themost important international developmentchallenge of the 21st Century. The economicand social welfare of societies and, indeed,their long-term sustainability is highlyvulnerable to climate change. The recentlypublished report79 of the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC) unequiv-ocally concludes that there is “very highconfidence” that increased emissions ofGreen House Gases (GHG) like carbondioxide (CO2) is the cause of significantclimate changes. Developing countries arethe most vulnerable and bear the highestrisks on their natural resources as climatechange and climate variability criticallyjeopardize their economic development andability to reduce poverty. In the developingworld, the direct and indirect impacts ofclimate change threaten to reverse decadesof development efforts, particularly inAfrica.


77 Lund et al. (2006)78 IRLI (2007) 79 IPCC (2007a)


Climate change is thus a major threat tosustainable growth and development inAfrica, and to the achievement of theMillennium Development Goals. Africa isparticularly vulnerable to climate changebecause of its overdependence on rain-fedagriculture, compounded by factors such aswidespread poverty and weak capacity.Climate change is already having profoundand irreversible impacts on the Africancontinent. Noticeable impacts, amongothers, include:

(i) increased frequency of natural dis-asters, droughts, floods and otherweather extremes that lead to lossof life, economic disruption, socialunrest and forced migration as wellas major environmental problems;

(ii) sea level rise and flooding thatthreaten agriculture, human health,infrastructure, particularly in coastalcities and islands;

(iii) prolonged drought periods thatcause stress on water resources andreduced food security due todiminished agricultural productivity;

(iv) increase in outbreaks of vector-borne diseases and other healthimpacts; and

(v) various threats to forestry, waterresources, biodiversity, and othernatural resources.

Key sectors such as agriculture, fisheries,forestry, industry, energy and transport arevery sensitive to climate change. Naturaldisasters destroy strategic nationalinvestments in infrastructure, while there isno requisite insurance to cover the losses.Small Island developing countries in Africa

are particularly vulnerable. Climate changealso negatively affect ecosystems, morespecifically coral reefs.

The impacts of climate change areinequitably distributed: poor countries arehardest and earliest hit, while rich countriesare responsible for three quarters of GHGemissions that cause climate change. Even ifgreenhouse gases emissions were curbedimmediately, further warming would still beexpected with its associated negativeimpacts. To address these risks, climatechange issues and response strategies needto be integrated into the overall developmentagenda. It is therefore important to build inclimate risk management and adaptation intocurrent and future development efforts.

Recognizing the importance of incor-porating climate information in the con-tinent’s development agenda, the Heads ofState and the African Union in 2004 reaffir-med their commitments to establishing andstrengthening centers of excellence andnetworks dedicated to agricultural andenvironmental issues, and to creating andenhancing regional early warning systems tocombat natural disasters.

Impacts of Climate Change on Africa’sNatural ResourcesAs stated in the previous section, Africa ishighly vulnerable to climate change, inparticular because of factors such as wide-spread poverty, recurrent droughts, inequit-able land distribution, and overdependenceon rain-fed agriculture. Although adaptationoptions, including traditional copingstrategies, theoretically are available, inpractice the human, infrastructural andeconomic response capacity to carry out



timely response actions are well beyond theregions economic means. With respect tonatural resources, areas of particular concerninclude health, forestry, agriculture, waterresources, coastal zones, and ecosystems andbiodiversity, the hypothesized longer-termimpacts include changing rainfall patternsaffecting agriculture and reducing foodsecurity; worsening water security; shiftingtemperature affecting vector diseases;reduced economic growth prospects; andmore challenging hurdles in reaching theMDGs. According to the recent IPCC report,the cost of adaptation in Africa could be ashigh as 5 to 10 percent of the continent’sGDP. The adverse impact of climate changeon the region’s natural resources isexamined in detail in the following section.

Ecosystems: As elaborated in earliersections water resources, forests, and landareas are under threat from populationpressures and poor land use practices. Theapparent effects of these threats include lossof biodiversity, rapid deterioration in landcover, and depletion of water availabilitythrough destruction of catchments andaquifers. Changes in climate will interactwith these underlying changes in theenvironment, adding further stress to adeteriorating situation.

Water Resources — Half of Africa will face

water stress: Three-quarters of Africancountries are in zones where small reduc-tions in rainfall could cause large declines inriver water. Some climate models show that600,000 square kilometers classified asmoderately water constrained will becomeseverely water limited. By 2020, between

75 and 250 million people are projected tobe exposed to increased water stress due toclimate change.80 Changing climaticconditions are responsible for the melting ofglaciers on the mountains of Kilimanjaroand Kenya. This is likely to result in adecline in the water level of some riversleading to serious water shortages in LakeVictoria. This in turn may affect the flow ofRiver Nile, and may lead to major conflicts inthe countries traversed by the river. Thesame scenario is likely to apply to theZambezi, Niger and all other major rivers inAfrica, since the rivers’ sources are in thehigh rainfall potential areas in the tropicalhighlands of Africa, which are likely tosuffer adverse impacts of climate variabilityand change.

Hydrology: A drop in water level in damsand rivers may adversely affect the quality ofwater by increasing the concentrations ofpollutants in the water, thereby increasingthe potential for the outbreak of diseasesand reducing the quality and quantity offresh water available for domestic use. Itmay also affect the habitats of some species(birds, fish and other aquatic species),which depend on lakes and rivers as ahabitat.

Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security:Agriculture is the economic mainstay and thelead sector in employment, and farming inlarge areas depends entirely on the “perform-ance” of the rainy season — a situation thatmakes the region particularly vulnerable toclimate change. Agricultural production,including access to food, is thus projected to


80 IPCC (2007b)


be severely compromised by climatevariability and change. This would furtheradversely affect food security and exacerbatemalnutrition in the continent.81

Diseases will likely spread: Climate change isalso associated with the occurrence andspread of pest and diseases affecting plantsand livestock.

Marine Environment Zones, Mangroves and

Coastal Ecosystems: Africa’s coastal zonewould be adversely affected by sea-level riseassociated with climate change. Sea-levelrise and climatic variation may reduce thebuffer effect of coral reefs and mangrovesystems along the coast, increasing thepotential for erosion. A sizable proportion ofthe coastline would be lost through acombination of inundation and erosion,with consequent loss of agricultural landand urban areas. This may have severe andgrave effects on many coastal cities.Furthermore, local food supplies areprojected to be negatively affected bydecreasing fisheries resources in large lakesand in the oceans due to rising watertemperatures, which may be exacerbated bycontinued over-fishing.

Mainstreaming Climate RiskManagement and Adaptation inDevelopment

Adaptation measures to address adverseclimate change impacts usually transcenddifferent areas of activities and are often site-

specific, rather than sector-specific. Commonimplementation challenges for adaptationmeasures include the following:

• Adaptation technologies most oftenaddress site-specific issues, and there-fore have to be designed and imple-mented with local considerations inmind. This may hamper replication ona large-scale and retard the impleme-ntation of large-scale programmaticinterventions.

• Adaptation technologies primarily aimat preventing or reducing climateimpacts on different sectors; as such,adaptation is often not considered adevelopment priority.

• There are difficulties in ascertainingnecessary timeframes for adaptationand for overcoming institutionalbarriers.

• Adaptation issues are (despite thesector focus often applied) usuallycross-sectoral and must be dealt withby different ministries in a synergeticmanner through powerful integratedstrategies. The lack of awareness andrecognition of climate threats by policymakers often impede the placement ofadaptation and long-term climate riskplanning in the economic develop-ment agenda.

• Adaptation constraints are com-pounded by the lack of localinstitutional capacity and resources to support community resilience building; and the lack of local financialresources in poor communities.

Africa has the lowest GHG emissions, yetit is likely to be hardest hit by climate


81 Ibid.


change. Adaptation to the unavoidableimpacts of climate change will need strongsupport from the international communityand involve all stakeholders, including theprivate sector. Adaptation to climate changeshould be understood as a continuousprocess which addresses current climatevariability and extremes and future climaterisks. Actions by local communities that aremost directly affected play a very importantrole. Linking climate change adaptation anddisaster risk management thus becomes alogical first step (see Box 2.13). However,there is an urgent need for African govern-ments to recognize that future climaticconditions may be much different frompresent ones — thus the need to anticipaterapid change through improved forecastsand planning and to develop new copingstrategies. Furthermore, climate changeadaptation is complex, often requires site-specific measures, and will seriously chal-lenge the low institutional and technologicalcapacity in Africa.

Many African economies are highlydependent on natural resources. Appropriateadaptation, therefore, must safeguard naturalresources and ecosystems, value the goodsand services that they provide, and ensuretheir environmentally sound and sustainableexploitation. Adaptation approaches basedon better management of natural resources,such as “no regrets” options — that is, thosemeasures that are expected to generatebenefits even without long-term climatechange — are an important avenue topursue. In addition, following a sustainabledevelopment path provides a basis foreconomic diversification, increased levels ofsocial and environmental resilience and

flexibility and human capital formation,which are all crucial components ofadaptation. Indeed, much adaptation is anextension of good development practice andshould therefore be integrated intoenvironmentally sound development policyand planning at every level.

Funding is critical but theimplementation of adaptation by developingcountries will need other types of supportfrom external partners and sub-regionalinitiatives. The second African regionalworkshop on adaptation82, which tookplace in Accra in September 2006, high-lighted the importance of capacity support(for example, in using general circulationmodels at national levels to project possiblefuture climate change), and the transfer oflow-carbon technologies to Africa wherevery limited engagement by the privatesector and continuing concerns aboutintellectual property rights, have severelyrestricted technology transfer. The pro-motion of regional co-operation efforts wasgenerally recognized as highly desirable inthe areas of surveillance and early warningsystems, sharing of experiences, and thedevelopment of transboundary adaptationprojects involving water sharing in Africa’s50 river basins.83

African Governments need to responddecisively to the impacts of climate changeby diversifying supply, building a low-carbon energy mix, and opening up marketsto private sector innovation and investment.Governments need to ensure a transparentand level playing field to create a market for


82 UNFCCC (2006); (2007)83 Ibid.


low-carbon energy. This is crucial to ensurethe long-term security of energy systems andcontinued economic growth in a worldaffected by climate change. The Bank’sfuture action in climate change will focus onpromoting a broader shift towards low-carbon economies by promoting energy

efficiency and renewable energy; support-ing the dissemination of carbon reductiontechnologies, namely improved and modernbiomass technologies; small hydropowerand solar and wind; widening access tocleaner second and third generation fossilfuels; and supporting wider use of efficient


Box 2.13: The African Development Bank and Climate Change Adaptation

To AfDB is engaged in a number of activities aimed at achieving substantive progress in the area ofadaptation. Its lending and non-lending operations in this regard include the following:

(i) Promoting vulnerability assessments, use of risk assessment tools, and of climate adaptationstrategies that address different dimensions and root causes of poverty, including genderinequality;

(ii) Promoting the mainstreaming of climate issues into key national, sub-national, local and sectoraldevelopment planning and decision-making processes, such as PRSPs or national and localstrategies for sustainable development;

(iii) Ensuring that development programmes and projects are designed to minimize climate change andvariability risks;

(iv) Increasing access to good quality information about the risks and impacts of climate change andvariability. Early warning and information distribution systems are essential in this regard;

(v) Empowering communities to participate in climate change vulnerability assessments and feed intheir knowledge to provide useful climate-poverty information;

(vi) Promoting traditional risk-sharing mechanisms, such as asset pooling and kinship, potentiallycomplemented by climate specific insurance schemes, such as, weather index insurance andmicro-insurance approaches;

(vii) Improving infrastructure design and investment, both related to the private and public sector, totake into account the potential impacts of long-term climate change and increased climatevariability.

(viii) Helping RMCs Regional Member Countries (RMCs) improve governance, including an active civilsociety and open, transparent, and accountable policy and decision-making processes;

(ix) Helping RMCs integrate climate issues into economic planning and management at both thenational and regional levels, including high-level inter-ministerial co-ordination at national levels andincreased role for regional economic communities.

The impact of climate change is already being felt in Africa and is posited to continue to be a seriouschallenge in the future. It is therefore vital for African governments to build resiliency into their infrastructure,agriculture, health and education sector developments, to be able to adapt to and combat climate changeimpacts. The AfDB is seeking ways to collaborate with its partners to assist RMCs build climate resiliencybuilding by developing and mainstreaming climate risk assessment and climate information tools at macroand micro levels to influence development plans, policies and project designs.


and clean technologies to avoid high-carbontechnology lock-in.

These responses must take into accountnot only Africa’s acute vulnerability but alsoits legitimate development needs, and thebroader principles of equity and fairness ina global framework aimed at reducingglobal greenhouse gas emissions. Action isneeded at a number of different levels.Faster progress is needed on reducingglobal emissions. Africa faces massivechallenges in adapting to the impact ofclimate change and in managing theincreased levels of climate risk — increasedsupport and financing for this is essential.Africa’s need to develop its energy must berecognized. Current carbon finance mech-anisms are not delivering the resourceswhich Africa needs and should be re-examined. African governments themselvesneed to fully integrate their response toclimate change into economic planning andmanagement at both the national andregional levels.

Summary

Africa is endowed with abundant naturalresources — about 9 percent of globalfreshwater resources or 3,930 km3 /year ofinternal renewable resources. Average annualrainfall on the continent is about 678 mm peryear, but remains highly variable, bothspatially and temporarily, with Central Africaand the Indian Ocean Islands receiving morerainfall than North Africa and parts of theSudano-Sahelian Regions. Most Africancountries (except some in northern Africa)are not currently threatened by physicalwater scarcity. However, the majorityexperience economic water scarcity, implying

that they lack the resources and means todevelop their water resources.

It is projected that 25 African countrieswill experience water scarcity by 2025. Thisunderscores the relatively low levels ofdevelopment and exploitation of Africa’swater resources, precisely at a time when thecontinent is lagging behind in terms of thebasic water-related indicators of the MDGs.The increasing need for water resourcedevelopment also raises the potential forconflicts among riparian states, and amongcompeting uses (domestic, industry, andagriculture). Thus, there is a crucial need forcooperation at all levels — local, regionaland international — to efficiently manageAfrica’s water resources. In particular, thereis a need to invest in water resourcedevelopment, which includes the capture,storage, diversion and distribution of water,and to strengthen dialogue with a view toincreasing cooperation in water resourcemanagement both at the local and inter-national levels. An estimated 300 millionpeople in Africa lack access to adequatewater supply and even more lack adequatesanitation. This underscores the crucial rolethat the state must play in developingpolicies and strategies, and in undertakingand facilitating investments in the watersector.

Africa has a significant share of theworld’s forests (30 percent), which supportthe livelihood of numerous people on thecontinent, especially in rural areas. Althoughforest distribution varies among sub-regions,with the bulk of it occurring in Central Africa,the role of the forestry sub-sector in Africa’soverall economy remains significant. Thisrole has even broadened in recent times, with



recognition of the forests’ importance forenvironmental functions. However, thedemand for land and for forest products isalso increasing and there is growing concernabout the loss of Africa’s forest cover;likewise, for new management initiatives toaddress the challenges. The Report hashighlighted some key aspects of theseinitiatives.

African economies are still dependent onland-based activities such as agriculture,mining, and tourism. Nevertheless, access toland and the ability to trade land rightsremains a challenge, although it is recognisedas a crucial factor for poverty reduction,economic growth, and private sectorinvestment, as well as for empowering thepoor. Access to land issues vary widely across

different parts of the African continent, largelybecause of differing cultural practices andcolonial histories. A common element in allthe variants is that land issues in Africa remainlargely political and the challenge ofaddressing land access is largely embedded inthe challenge of ensuring good governance.

Finally, climate change has emerged as asignificant threat to the management ofAfrica’s natural resources especially in theagriculture sector, where it has very severefood security implications. Therefore,natural resource management policies andstrategies need to adequately incorporateclimate change issues, particularly the needfor adaptation to minimize the continent’svulnerability to the impact of climatechange.



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CHAPTER 2 Africa’s Renewable Natural Resources€¦ · and a discussion on adaptation to climate...

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