Chapter 18. Africa - small islands

Figure 18-1. Small islands: forest cover map

The countries included in this subregion are the islands of Cape Verde, Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, Sao Tome and Principe and Seychelles (Figure 18-1).[33] The total land area is 1 181 million hectares. Forests cover 21 percent of this area.

The Cape Verde islands originally had extensive dry savannah woodland cover, but most of it was cleared for agriculture and, combined with an arid climate and steep terrain, the result has been widespread soil erosion and desertification. However, the archipelago can be divided into four broad ecological zones (arid, semi-arid, subhumid and humid) according to altitude and average annual rainfall, which ranges from 200 mm in arid coastal zones to over 1 000 mm in humid high zones. Much of the forest cover is relatively immature agroforestry plantations utilizing species such as Prosopis juliflora, Leucaena leucocephala and Jatropha curcas.

The Comoros islands were originally heavily forested but most of the lowland forest has been cleared for agriculture. The upland forests on Mohéli have been the least degraded, with remnant tropical forests on upland slopes and cloud forest above 600 m. Grande Comore is more degraded, with eruptions from the Kartala volcano also affecting the vegetation. Anjouan has remnant rain forest in Forêt de Moya. All three islands have areas of mangroves and strand vegetation. The climate is basically governed by the winds - the Indian monsoon (northeasterly) during the hot wet season and the trade winds (southerly and southeasterly) during the cool dry season.

The forests of Mauritius originally extended across much of the island with lowland moist evergreen forests in the south and east, moist upland forests in the centre of the island, dry palm forests in the north and dry savannah forests in the west. A high proportion of State-owned natural forest is protected. A fairly extensive reforestation programme constitutes the major forestry activity.

Réunion was originally covered with thick tropical forest. Much of it has been converted to agricultural uses. Common species include Cryptomeria spp. and a variety of palms. A high proportion of Réunion's plant species are endemic. This vegetation is fragile and threatened by various human activities: wood production, tourism, secondary forest product collection and invasive exotic species.

Table 18-1. Small islands: forest resources and management

Country/area	Land area	Forest area 2000					Area change 1990-2000 (total forest)		Volume and above-ground biomass (total forest)		Forest under management plan
		Natural forest	Forest plantation	Total forest
	000 ha	000 ha	000 ha	000 ha	%	ha/ capita	000 ha/ year	%	m3/ha	t/ha	000 ha	%
Cape Verde	403	0	85	85	21.1	0.2	5	9.3	83	127	-	-
Comoros	186	6	2	8	4.3	n.s.	n.s.	-4.3	60	65	-	-
Mauritius	202	3	13	16	7.9	n.s.	n.s.	-0.6	88	95	-	-
Réunion	250	68	3	71	28.4	0.1	-1	-0.8	115	160	-	-
Sao Tome and Principe	95	27	-	27	28.3	0.2	n.s.	n.s.	108	116	-	-
Seychelles	45	25	5	30	66.7	0.4	n.s.	n.s.	29	49	-	-
Africa - small islands	1 181	130	107	237	20.1	0.1	4	1.9	88	121	-	-
Total Africa	2 978 394	641 830	8 036	649 866	21.8	0.8	-5 262	-0.8	72	109	-	-
TOTAL WORLD	13 063 900	3 682 722	186 733	3 869 455	29.6	0.6	-9 391	-0.2	100	109	-	-

Source: Appendix 3, Tables 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9.

The main areas of natural forest in the Seychelles are in the uplands of Male and Silhouette islands and in the Vallée du Mai on Praslin Island. The latter is home to the coco-de-mer palm (Lodoicea maldivica), unique to the Seychelles. Relict lowland forests include species such as Calophyllum inophyllum. The upland forests are predominantly secondary forests in inaccessible locations. The larger islands also have areas of dry palm forests unique to the Seychelles. The small coral islands are generally covered by scrub vegetation of species such as Pemphis acidula. Mangroves occur around the coastline of a number of islands. The Seychelles has established a relatively large planted forest estate with Casuarina spp. and Albizia spp. the primary species. The country has a large proportion of its territory in protected areas.

FOREST RESOURCES

The Seychelles has the greatest percentage of forest cover of the islands, while Réunion and Sao Tome and Principe have the largest forest area (Table 18-1). Comoros has the highest deforestation rate. The area of forest plantations is relatively high in Cape Verde and constitutes the only forest cover, providing a net increase in forest cover over the last ten years (Figure 18-2). Forest plantations for industrial purposes are found on other islands of the subregion.

FOREST MANAGEMENT AND USES

In Cape Verde, the Tropical Forest Action Plan gave direction to the integral management of the forest resources in the country. Essential characteristics are the complete involvement of the forest-dependent communities, establishment of a national forest planning exercise and a multisector approach to the implementation of the forest action plan (Cape Verde MPAR 1994). There are currently no formally protected areas.

Forests in the Comoros are important because they support more than 78 percent of the energy needs of the country. Harvesting practices have not been regulated. Most forest areas are State-owned, which then permits access to these lands by private industry. Comoros is moving towards improved forest management and protection techniques. Reform of the forest legislation and forest policies has been proposed in addition to forest inventories, delimitation of use for agriculture and forestry, silvicultural practices, forest reserves, regulation of forest exploitation and use (in both natural forests and plantations), development practices for communities and training to strengthen the forestry sector (Houssen 2000).

In Mauritius, the native forest has almost disappeared with the exception of a few inaccessible areas which have been declared as natural reserves and natural parks. The native forests have been largely converted to agriculture or plantations of fast-growing species. The forests are both State and privately owned, although the State forests have considerably more growing stock (Appanah 2000).

In Sao Tome and Principe, the natural forest cover can be divided into two categories, the ecological reserve and a commercial zone. Secondary forest is mainly a consequence of regeneration of native species on former cacao and coffee plantations. Forests are also utilized for shade in agricultural and pastoral systems. Forest exploitation is based on needs, which vary from timber production to fuelwood consumption. Tree cutting requires permission of the National Direction of Agriculture and Forest (Soto Flandes 1985).

In Seychelles, the forest sector contributes less than 0.4 percent to the national economy and is thus perceived as marginal. Forests are of considerable importance, however, for tourism. The water supply is also highly dependent on the cover provided by forests. Most of the forest area is natural, and around 45 percent has been declared national parks or conservation areas. The main forest management problems include housing encroachment, invasive exotic plant species competing with the endemic and indigenous species and prevention and control of forest fires (Vielle 2000).

CONCLUSIONS

Efforts to promote appropriate forest management are taking place in this subregion. In those countries where there are natural forests, policies and legislation to protect these areas have been developed. Plantations are increasing in all the countries, both for energy and timber supply. Forest management plans and regulation of resource use have been implemented in order to curtail illegal and destructive practices in forested areas. Agroforestry, agrosilvopastoral and protection practices as well as the training of personnel and general strengthening of the forest sector has been promoted in the last ten years.

Figure 18-2. Natural forest and plantation areas 2000 and net area change 1990-2000

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Appanah, P.S. 2000. Mauritius. Rapports nationaux sur le secteur forestier. Collection and analysis for the sustainable management of forest. 15-18 July, Madagascar. Partnership Programme CE-FAO (1998-2000).

Cape Verde. Ministère de pêches, agriculture et animation rurale (MPAR). 1994. Tropical Forest Action Plan Cape Verde, principal document. Praia, Direction générale de l'agriculture, de la sylviculture et l'élevage.

Houssen, M.A. 2000. Comoros. Rapports nationaux sur le secteur forestier. Collection and analysis for the sustainable management of forest. 15-18 July, Madagascar. Partnership Programme CE-FAO (1998-2000).

São Tomé. Ministério da Economia. 2000. Rapport, situation des forêts et de la faune sauvage en Sao Tomé-et-Principe. São Tomé, Direcção das Florestas.

Soto Flandes, M. 1985. Rapport de mission de planification forestière. Sao Tomé-et-Principe. Rome, FAO.

Vielle, M. de Ker. 2000. Seychelles. Rapports nationaux sur le secteur forestier. Collection and analysis for the sustainable management of forest. 15-18 July, Madagascar. Partnership Programme CE-FAO (1998-2000).