Restoration: Projects in Africa

Addressing forest loss and degradation, and poverty and livelihoods

In Africa, as in many other regions, the average person depends on forests for fuel, food, medicine, raw materials for the house and as a vital source of income. These forests are also critically important for biodiversity conservation.

However these forests are under huge pressure from a range of threats, and the Africa and Madagascar region has one of the highest rates of annual forest loss, estimated at 4.0 million hectares between 2000 and 2005 (FAO, 2005).

Threats abound
While the types of threats may vary depending on the sub-region, in many countries forest cover has been massively reduced, fragmentation is high and the ability of the remaining forests to sustain people and biodiversity is greatly diminished.

In East Africa, key threats include clearance for agriculture, charcoal and fuelwood, as well as illegal logging and human induced fires. The links between forest loss and degradation and poverty and livelihoods are evident and therefore responses such as forest restoration must be planned and implemented with full involvement of local people.

WWF is currently working with local and international partners to develop Forest Landscape Restoration programmes in the East African Coastal Forests and in Madagascar.