Where the tropical dry forests of the world occur

Source: http://swisher.wikispaces.com/09+Tropical+Dry+Forest

Africa's Forests

Source: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Foundation
California Academy of Science http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/discover/nathistory/climate.htm

HISTORICAL STATE

The first known human ancestors evolved in Africa. The evolution of the bipedal stance (upright and on two feet) freed their hands and allowed them to inhabit both forested and open areas. In this time, 10 to 5 million years ago, the forest was drying up and the savanna was encroaching on these forested areas; thus, the African dry forest has been the longest exploited biome in homo sapien history. There is fossil evidence of homo sapiens inhabiting southern and eastern Africa (dry forest regions) at least 100,000 years ago. Most occupied solely these dry forest regions until about 40,000 when humans began to migrate out and colonize the rest of the planet. There were originally 6.8 million square kilometers of forested land in Africa.  Large blocks of intact natural forest only remain in Central Africa, particularly in Congo Kinshasa, Gabon, and Congo Brazzaville, none of which constitute significant areas of tropical dry forest (most are tropical rain forest.) Tropical dry forests are found  in a band across Africa from Senegal in the west, a loop around the Congo basin, to Ethiopia in the east and South Africa in the south. 

Source: http://www.eatcology.com/worlds-apart-the-soils_souls-of-temperate-and-tropical-forests

Dry forests partly or fully cover present-day Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Near the Zambezi River in southeast Africa,  the earliest societies were stateless, without a centralized government. These peoples used their environment to sustain an economy of farming, cattle herding, and trade which developed over many centuries and required the exploitation of natural resources from the dry forest around them. 

Source: University of Wisconsin; http://search.library.wisc.edu/items/PUPJJY4RITPTK9E

In the southern edge of the savannah, the Yoruba people also clearned areas of forest for farming. Between 9000 and 5000 BCE, Niger-Congo speakers inhabited rainforest and dry forest around the Congo. They domesticated the oil palm, raffia palm, black-eyed peas, voandzei (African groundnuts), kola nuts, and okra. They invented polished stone axes for clearing the forest to farm these crops. During the first millennium BCE, the Bantu people migrated into East Africa and into the dry forest around the Congo River Basin. They practiced subsistence farming and their primary crops were grains, yams, melons, and beans. In the first millennium AD, the Zambezi River area continued to offer rich opportunities for human settlement. Land was often turned into rangeland for grazing cattle. Elephants were hunted extensively, as their tusks provided an easy basis for trade in ivory. There is evidence that gold was mined for in at least four places before 1000 AD.

BENEFITS OF TROPICAL DRY FORESTS

The tropical dry forests have many benefits for the native inhabitants that live there. The forests support larger populations than rain forests. They are also central to food security and supports agriculture. One of the main sources of capital and income in these dry areas is the food that is produced for livestock. In some subregions, habitats exist for wildlife, which supports a large part of the tourist industry in these areas. 

Medicinal plants market near Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya
Source: http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/docs/en/aeo-2/chapters/aeo-2_ch06_FORESTS_AND_WOODLANDS.pdf

This is especially important to those areas in the belt from Kenya that trickle down to South Africa. Rangelands occupy about 90% of agricultural land in Africa and sustain the livelihoods of 25 million people in these areas as well. In tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, maximum yields of pearl millet, sorghum, maize, soybean, Phaseolus bean, and sweet potato are attained in areas with a 150-180 day growing period. This explains why people enjoy living in the tropical dry forest regions of Africa.

CURRENT HUMAN IMPACTS

Because of the local inhabitants and their use of these tropical dry forests, there is about 0.5-0.9% deforestation that has occurred in the area. Forest vegetation is being destroyed, which disrupts the relationships and habitats animals have established in the forests. Encroachment, illegal logging, grazing and poaching of wild animals are just a few of the impacts people have had on these regions. Forestry education has also decreased drastically, which has led to increased amounts of illegal logging. Local forest dwellers in Cameroon have used the forests for timber and non-timber resources for use as construction materials to build shelters. People in these regions also harvest for wood which serves a purpose in the commercial and domestic sectors of life among these forests. 

Forest degradation in the Mau escarpment, Kenya
Source: http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/docs/en/aeo-2/chapters/aeo-2_ch06_FORESTS_AND_WOODLANDS.pdf

Charcoal is also acquired in these areas. People practice subsistence agriculture in these regions. This calls for commercial logging, cattle ranching, and clearing forests for fuelwood and charcoal. As a result of these impacts on the environment, elephant habitat areas are shrinking because of human takeover. Other habitats are being depleted  as well. As a result, the animal diversity is decreasing along with it. In addition, the locals hunt and animals like the tigers and wildcats that once roamed in these areas have now become extinct. Mining for gold has also taken place in these areas, which has caused most of the pollution that exists there. In the African tropics, an estimated 90% of all the harvested wood is used for fuel purposes, where dry forests are predominant. Most tropical dry forests have been exploited for more than just fuelwood. They have been cut, burned, grazed, and recut, many times. Many of the forests are already degraded, and yet much of the land is still needed for food production. The outcome can only be greater stress on the dry forest and woodland that characterize 34% of the tropical and 81% of the subtropical life zones of Africa. Low rates of wood production in dry forests, coupled with high human demand for wood products, is one of the causes of wood shortages in these environments. 

Processing timber in a sawmill
Source:  http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/docs/en/aeo-2/chapters/aeo-2_ch06_FORESTS_AND_WOODLANDS.pdf

Ultimately, if burning in these areas is frequent enough, the abandoned farm patches may be converted to grassland or savanna. Savanna may then invade dry forest areas in these regions of Africa, where the savanna boundary has been extended by 500 km in some areas. The actual transition between forest and savanna is often abrupt, sometimes occurring over a distance of 50 m or less, like in southwestern Nigeria.

Almost 60% of rural Africans live on less than $1 USD per day. In many of the continent’s rural areas, poverty appears entrenched in the context of the huge and devastating impacts of HIV/AIDs. Within the dry forest and woodland regions, low and erratic rainfall, frequent droughts, and generally poor soils render farming activities, particularly those based on arable agriculture, exceptionally risky, contributing further to the hardships rural people face. Non-wood forest products are used as a source of food for subsistence, materials, medicines and equipment to safety nets. Increased poverty and food insecurity are leading many people to turn to wildlife as a source of food. Bushmeat is more important for income than food and hunters often sell their catch to buy cheaper alternative foods. 

Source: http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BGumbo1001.pdf

In terms of subsistence use, NWFPs are critical for health, food, nutrition, shelter and energy. Considering food security and nutrition alone, poor people depend on NWFPs for many regularly utilized foods, for crisis or famine foods, for firewood to cook, for nutrients and vitamins, for grazing, for genetic resources, for inputs into agricultural production, such as implement handles and ploughs, and for the raw material for manufacturing such items as canoes for fishing. Non-wood forest products are used mainly for firewood consumption, wild foods and construction materials. About 320 million people depend on Africa’s dry forests and woodlands to meet many of their basic needs. 

Source: http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/BGumbo1001.pdf

The people that live among the dry forests of Africa procure an array of wild natural resources, or NWFPs, for home consumption and sale. In addition to subsistence use, NWFPs are also sold, in raw or processed form, in local and regional markets, offering an important means for poor individuals and households to generate cash income. In other instances, these products may form the basis of commercial enterprises, with some commodities reaching high-value international markets.

In Madagascar, a lot of the forest has suffered from extensive use of slash-and-burn agriculture to acquire pasture, firewood, or construction materials. As a result, secondary grasslands now cover a majority of the region. The uncontrolled burning of nearby degraded savannas is destroying the remains of forest. The habitat loss impacts local species like the Malagasy giant jumping rat.

Source: http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/species/Hypogeomys_antimena.html

THE FUTURE
Tropical dry forests of Africa are at risk of being cleared for agricultural land and rangeland. Overgrazing and overharvesting of timber places great pressure on the ecosystem. Currently, Africa has one of the highest population growth rate in the world. This increasing population size will have an adverse effect on the tropical dry forests. More humans means the need for more resources to support the population. More dry forests will have to be cleared in order for more crops to be grown, and more timber will have to be collected to support the population. Population growth and poor soil in the surrounding areas has already led to the conversion of vast areas of tropical dry forests into agricultural land.

Source: http://blog.cifor.org/17911/forging-pro-poor-collectives-helps-sustain-africa-tropical-dry-forests#.UpFOqcSkqRM

If Africa’s population continues to grow, then the future prospects for Africa’s tropical dry forests are dim. However, there are growing concerns over protection of these forests, and some positive steps are being taken to prevent their degradation. Presently, 25% of tropical dry forests in Eastern and Southern Africa are protected and 3% in Western and Central Africa. Some goals for these protected areas are to halt poaching, ensure survival of endangered species, and to manage hunting and tourism. Forest management has also improved. Community logging is one technique that has been tried in Mali to minimize timber harvesting and “forest-management-for-fuelwood” systems have been established in Burkina Faso and Niger. 

Source: http://blog.cifor.org/19171/west-africa-adopts-regional-approach-to-manage-forest-ecosystems#.UpFPhcSkqRM

In conclusion, although the growing population of Africa will have negative impacts on the tropical dry forests, if careful management and protection of the forests are undertaken, then the impact can be reduced. However, the best way to minimize human impact on the ecosystem is to control the population growth rate. 

Table 1.1 shows that the dry forest ecosystem areas occupy about 53.2% of the land area and contains 63.8% of the population. A total of 8.2 million ha of deciduous forests are lost annually. There is a correlation between population size and deforestation. 

PROTECTION OF TROPICAL DRY FORESTS

As of right now, there are currently 620,000 km² of tropical dry forests in Eastern and Southern Africa, of which 155,000 km² are protected. In Western and Central Africa, 22,000 out of 632,000 km² of tropical dry forests are under protection. 

Source: The World's Protected Areas: Status, Values and Prospects in the 21st Century

One good way to reduce human impacts on this ecosystem is to place more tropical dry forests under protection, especially in Western and Central Africa and to continue to maintain the areas already under protection. An area that is currently under protection is the Niokolo-Koba National Park. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1981 and added to the UNESCO List of Endangered World Heritage sites in 2007. It is the largest protected area in western Africa. The park is managed by a management administration under the supervision of the State through the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection and the National Parks Directorate. The park is subject to pressures including poaching and bush fires. 

   

Priorities for the protection and management of this park are to halt poaching, improve the park's ecological monitoring program, develop a plan for survival of endangered species, and to minimize the illegal movement of livestock. It is also important to improve cross-border cooperation and measures to protect buffer zones and ecological corridors outside the park. 

The Selous Game Reserve is amongst one of the largest protected areas in Africa and is relatively undisturbed by human impact. It is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa, with relatively undisturbed ecological and biological processes. 

Source: http://www.utalii.com/Southern_Safari/Selous_G.R_Map.htm

Within the reserve, no permanent human habitation or permanent structures are permitted, and all human entry and exit is carefully controlled by the Wildlife Division of the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The Reserve is embedded within a larger 90,000 km² Selous Ecosystem, which helps maintain the integrity of the reserve. The reserve is managed as a game reserve, with a small area (8%) dedicated to photographic tourism while most of the property is managed as a hunting reserve. 

Source: http://www.encompassafrica.com.au/destinations.asp?id=743&t=/tanzania-safari/selous-game-reserve-safari&cid=201

As long as quota are established and controlled, the level of off-take should not impact wildlife populations and generate substantial income needed to maintain the reserve. A detailed tourism strategy needs to be developed. Key management issues for the reserve are to control poaching, ensure sufficient benefits for the local communities through the wildlife management areas, and to improve management of hunting and photographic tourism. 

WHAT CAN BE DONE

Almost 235 million rural people inhabit the African dry forests which cover 43% of the land surface. Forest-based economic activities, like making charcoal and selling forest products, contribute to over 25% of rural household income and reduce the impacts of droughts and hardships. However, as mentioned, overharvesting of timber is a problem. One way to improve human impacts on the ecosystem is to implement sustainable harvesting of African forests. The world's first sustainably harvested African blackwood generates new income for the Tanzanian forest communities. The timber harvest was carried out under the strict supervision of the Forest Stewardship Council, and having registered their land under FSC conditions, the people of the villages will receive 100% of the revenue for the wood sold. These methods may be carried out in the tropical dry forests of Africa to minimize the effects of timber harvesting. They can improve people’s livelihoods while at the same time conserving the forest resources.

Source: http://www.demotix.com/news/227929/worlds-first-sustainably-harvested-african-blackwood#media-227926
http://soundandfair.org/fsc-african-blackwood-harvest-in-kilwa-tanzania

Exercising principles of fair trade and increasing rates of urbanization are creating opportunities for poor rural people to engage in and benefit from forest based markets. Meanwhile, global demand for forest products such as organic honey and Body-Shop type natural products are also increasing (estimated at over US $11 billion). (Achieving the Millennium) Because many of the African dry forests are in countries with very high population growth rates there exists an overwhelming pressure to grow crops to feed the people. Improved education for these populations to promote awareness of the scale of depleting resources happening around them can discourage many unsustainable practices. These includes forest clearing by fire to make space for agricultural fields,chasing out wild animals to bring in domestic animals, and putting up excessive fences which prevent the wildlife from performing seasonal migrations or accessing critical water holes.

USAID is helping South Africa diversify its economy and increase exports of plant and animal products
Source: http://www.usaid.gov/south-africa/agriculture-and-food-security

On a global level, a significant effort from the industrialized world is needed to accommodate poorer African populations into the fuel market. They have been effectively priced out of the market which pressures them to resort to collecting fuelwood for every part of their daily lives that require fuel. Wood collecting leads to deforestation as often the collecting proceeds faster than the trees are able to grow. Many Africans are compensating by planting trees, but they need aid with this as well. For every 28 trees cut down, only 1 is replanted. In Madagascar, the World Wildlife fund is working to create management plans for existing parks in the dry forest, training for park staff, and workshops to teach women to build fuel-efficient stoves that reduce household wood and charcoal consumption by 40%. WWF is also building a network of locally managed tree plantations, and conduct training programs for conservation leaders. 

Tsimanampetasotsa National Park in South-West Madagascar
Source: http://www.grida.no/photolib/detail/tsimanampetsotsa-national-park-dry-forest-south-west-madagascar_9b9b

In order to start to go towards improving the human impacts in the dry forests of Africa, the forest laws and governance must become more regulated by cutting corruption with measures put in place by law. Also, people must share information on trade in illegally harvested forest products to increase awareness. In addition, these areas must participate in international fora and agreements. Plantation forestry can provide an alternative source of wood to satisfy wood production demands because plantation species are selected for greater wood yields of known quality. 

Source: http://soundandfair.org/worlds-first-sustainably-harvested-african-blackwood-generates-new-income-for-tanzanian-forest-communities

Operating as a collective, smallholder producers gained improved access to forest resources, external support, international markets, niche markets, information, training and credit from service providers, one research showed. For example, in Zambia, producer organizations have benefitted from a mobile phone text message service that provides access to potential buyers and prices, promoting informed bargaining. In Ethiopia, producer organizations negotiated with authorities to gain rights to forests where access was previously restricted to private or state-owned companies. In Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, collective action contributes to sustainable forest management through training on sustainable harvesting techniques. Some downsides are that the organizations are likely to face a lack of accountable leadership and transparency in decision-making; underdeveloped infrastructure; lack of information on production potentials and markets; competition for land; and difficulty retaining land tenure, or management, rights, the research showed. However, it is still a step in the right direction.

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