INTRODUCTION

1. Land degradation, defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, threatens the lives of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), especially those residing in rural areas. The area covers 13.9 million km² or about 46 percent of the continent and can be broadly classified into three zones: (i) humid lands; (ii) sub-humid lands, and (iii) dry lands.

2. Land degradation affects all three zones to differing degrees. Key factors are agricultural expansion, logging, firewood and charcoal production, mining, human settlements, infra-structural and related industrial developments. Overgrazing and uncontrolled fires add to problems, especially in sub-humid and dry lands zones. Poor government policies, inequitable distribution of benefits, market and policy failures, population growth, rural poverty and poor economies exacerbate conditions, particularly when they are combined with natural causes such as drought, fire by lightning, floods, and insects and diseases.

Extent of Land Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa

3. Large areas of SSA have undergone or are experiencing degradation, a process that usually starts with deforestation. For example, the rain forests of West Africa are disappearing at the rate of 5 percent annually with nearly 90 percent of the original moist forests having gone or become fragmented/degraded remnants. Studies within the Miombo woodlands of the sub-humid zone also reveal high rates of deforestation. In the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, for example, it is estimated that about 600,000 ha of indigenous forests are cleared annually for other land uses.

4. A recent assessment by FAO quantified the extent of deforestation in Africa by different land uses. According to that study, 4 percent of forests were deforested through shifting cultivation, 8 percent through intensification of agriculture in already shifting agricultural areas, 60 percent as conversion to small-scale permanent agriculture, 12 percent as conversion to large-scale permanent agriculture and 17 percent for other purposes such as settlements, roads and urbanization. The same study indicated that some countries slightly gained forest cover (e.g., Gambia and Swaziland), mainly through afforestation.

5. Within the dry-lands zone, land degradation that leads to desertification occurs at various levels, depending on land use. For example, it is moderate in irrigated croplands (18 percent) but high in rain-fed croplands (61 percent) and in rangelands (74 percent). The annual rate of desertification is about 10 percent in arid lands, 1 percent in semi-arid lands and 0.1 percent in dry sub-humid lands, giving an average rate of 3.5 percent per year. Overgrazing is the main factor, accounting for more than 62 percent of degradation, followed by agricultural activities (15 percent).

6. However, the extent of land degradation in SSA remains unknown due to lack of reliable data. Highly variable climatic conditions, notably the amount and distribution of rainfall, combined with drought and anthropogenic factors, result in dry land boundaries shifting over time. Such conditions raise the need to address issues, including capacity, related to suitable and harmonized methods for generating data; and frequency of monitoring changes.

Impacts of Land Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa

7. The main consequences of deforestation and land degradation in SSA are well known, including shortage of firewood and other wood products; increased sediment deposits; floods and land slides leading to loss of life, population displacement and reduced food production; sheet and gully erosion making land unproductive; reduced quantity and quality of water from catchments; drying up of springs; siltation of hydro-electric and fish dams; increased incidences of water-borne diseases; loss of biodiversity; and increasing desertification.

8. Rehabilitation may be one of the most viable ways of mitigating the effects of land degradation and initiatives have been ongoing in SSA for some time. Examples of successes and failures exist in rehabilitation, both of which present opportunities to learn. The GFIS Africa project on Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands in Sub-Saharan Africa brought together a number of African scientists working on tropical forests, woodlands and allied natural resources to review and assess available information and discuss the way forward.

LAND REHABILITATION TECHNIQUES

9. The technique or combination of techniques to rehabilitate a specific degraded land area depend on three basic elements: (i) the priorities and management objectives of the land owner; (ii) the costs and benefits associated with alternatives; and (iii) the economic, social, and environmental values of the land in its current and desired future states. This section describes the techniques most often used in SSA, their advantages and ecological domains of application.

Natural Regeneration

10. This technique involves leaving degraded land to fallow in order to allow the natural processes of forest succession to re-establish a healthy and resilient forest ecosystem. It is simple, cheap and easy to implement. However, it is best suited to less populated areas, where encroachment is limited. It is not recommended for severely degraded areas stripped of topsoil with low availability of seeds and poor soil conditions.

Assisted Natural Regeneration

11. This technique calls for some human intervention to assist the natural processes of forest succession. It involves (i) cutting or supressing the weeds around naturally established seedlings, (ii) protecting the area from fires, and (iii) planting with desired species, if necessary. It is simple, cheap to implement and suitable to all ecological zones of SSA. However, its successful implementation requires knowledge about the factors limiting regeneration of trees in the area.

Enrichment Planting

12. This technique involves introducing valuable tree species into degraded forests without eliminating those already present. Enrichment planting is intermediate in intensity, between natural regeneration and plantations. It has the potential to increase total tree volume and the economic value of forests. Therefore, the technique has been recommended for restoring over-exploited primary and secondary forests. It is mostly used in humid moist zone for the production of timber but has the potential to be applied in other ecological zones of SSA. The main constraints include difficulty in selecting appropriate tree species for the area, insufficient over story opening prior to planting, and labor and capital-intensive operations, especially during initial years.

Fire

13. Fire is very much used for the management of miombo and savanna woodlands. The technique involves early burning of patches of grass and undergrowth before the grass gets too dry to avoid more intense and damaging fires later in the season. It improves regeneration, induces new grass for livestock and helps control insect pests. The technique is simple and easy to implement. However, the timing and frequency of early burning need to be appropriately and diligently practiced.

Plantations

14. This technique involves planting trees/shrubs as single or mixed species on degraded lands. Its main benefit is to catalyze forest succession in the under stories, particularly where silvicultural management was neglected, on sites where persistent ecological barriers to succession would otherwise preclude recolonization by native forest species. Evidence is increasing that mixed-species plantations are more suitable for rehabilitating degraded lands than single species due to their high potential to produce biomass, attract animal seed dispersers, and increase soil fertility and soil micro-organisms. It has been further suggested that the inclusion of promising indigenous tree species with exotic species would improve the ecological stability and sustainability of forest plantations. Key challenges of using plantations in rehabilitation include accurate species/site matching; choice of complementary species in mixed species plantations; timing of interventions; and adequate protection against fire and livestock, especially in the savanna and dry lands.

Reclamation Agroforestry

15. Land rehabilitation using agroforestry involves (i) the introduction of mycorhiza/rhizobia tree/shrub species on degraded forestland to check further erosion and restore soil organic matter and fertility; and (ii) the selective removal of forest cover and introduction of farm crops. This technique can be practiced in any of SSA’s ecological zones and has the potential to mitigate deforestation and shortage of fuelwood, provide fodder and building materials, and improve soil fertility and crop yield. As a relatively new technique to rehabilitate land, agroforestry has constraints that are now emerging and tend to be site specific.

Soil and Water Conservation

16. This technique entails the construction of micro-catchments of different types to improve the conservation of water for plant growth. It is more suitable for the dry sub-humid and dry land areas which experience severe moisture deficit and is generally labor intensive.

LESSONS FROM CASE STUDIES

17. Fourteen case studies across SSA were documented, including reasons for their success or failure. Half were carried out in dry lands areas, reflecting the importance attributed to the greater threat of desertification in that zone. Ten case studies were deemed success stories while the other four were less so. Some lessons learned are summarized below.

Full participation of local communities

18. Full participation of all stakeholders, especially local people and communities, in the design and implementation of community-based forestry projects is critical to project success. Given that the livelihoods of local communities in Sub-Saharan Africa depend on forests, they should be at the centre of discussions and decisions. Their involvement from the onset leads to a better assessment of the problems and a more thorough identification of solutions. It also enhances commitment to more effective participation.

Local communities need help in carrying out their new responsibilities

19. With the introduction of collaborative forest management, local people and their communities are being given new responsibilities without adequate preparation. Community organizations and local governance structures can effectively empower local people to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner and to enforce forest protection laws.

Scientific information combined with traditional knowledge is powerful

20. The design and implementation of projects need to consider past research results and take into account indigenous knowledge and experiences.

Land and tree tenure/ownership encourages land rehabilitation

21. Resolving land and tree tenure/ownership issues reduces conflict and provides greater incentive to farmers because they benefit personally from the trees they plant. Without clear land tenure policies and legal backing at district and national levels, community based and individual tree planting initiatives will not be sustainable.

Simple and affordable rehabilitation techniques are desirable

22. Communities are more likely to adopt simple and cost effective rehabilitation techniques than sophisticated technologies. Many studies show natural recovery as an effective technique for rehabilitating degraded lands, especially in areas with less population pressure.

WAY FORWARD

23. On the basis of the case studies and of the underlying causes of land degradation in SSA, participants at the workshop may wish to take into account the following considerations when developing and implementing activities to mitigate land degradation. They may also wish to refer to relevant proposals for action of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) that are summarized and attached to this document (Annex 1).

Policy aspects

• Environmental degradation in SSA is largely related to rural poverty and external debts which push resource users and governments to operate under short-term priorities. Therefore, enhancing livelihoods, environmental functions and industrial development would promote rehabilitation, as would a firm commitment from the international community to lighten external debt.

• Decentralized forest management that involves local communities and other stakeholders increases the chances of successful rehabilitation efforts, as does policies that include provisions for the equitable sharing of costs and benefits.

• A review of land policies would enable families and communities to have secure and clear tenure rights, especially if such a review is based on a well designed national land use plan and takes into account soil and land characteristics as well as the socio-economic characteristics of rural people and communities.

Management aspects

• Baseline data collection of biological and socio-economic conditions must precede rehabilitation efforts and these aspects must be monitored during the process.

• Integrated and holistic approaches, including industrial and other off-farm livelihood opportunities, will reduce pressure on forest and range resources. Agroforestry is a sustainable production system that resource poor farmers can afford. Food security and wood availability is part of the solution, as is tree planting and the regeneration and management of natural forests.

• Sharing experiences enhances rehabilitation efforts especially when countries adapt approaches to local conditions. The capacity of institutions to disseminate knowledge on natural resource management is also important.

• Participatory approaches that incorporate the needs of stakeholders and recognize the importance of using traditional knowledge are essential.

• Individuals and communities require organization, management and accounting skills; the capacity to prepare and implement management plans; the means to diversify income generation; techniques for adding value and increasing shelf life of non-wood forest products; and opportunities to develop markets.

• Planning for the phasing out of rehabilitation projects avoids a lack of follow-up upon termination and prevents land reverting to pre-project condition.

Research and training aspects

Benefits would accrue from further research on

• the impacts of legislation, of sector policies and of macroeconomic policies on deforestation and land degradation

• valuation and socio-economic aspects of rehabilitated areas

• single and mixed tree/shrub species for the rehabilitation of degraded lands.

• training and dissemination of improved technologies to rehabilitate degraded lands are best implemented in partnership with governmental and non-governmental agricultural extension services.

ANNEX 1

SUMMARY OF THE IPF/IFF PROPOSALS FOR ACTION