What rising demographics means for forests
The greatest loss of forests in recent years has occurred in countries with a high population growth. This demographic trend has led to increases in shifting cultivation (a form of subsistence farming), natural forests being converted into plantations and cash crops contributing to forest loss in the region.1A more serious threat
But there’s a more serious factor affecting the prospects of the Congo River Basin forests: unrelenting timber demand from around the world. China, Europe and the US are importing vast quantities of wood products from the forests of Gabon and Cameroon. These are powerful incentives for the continued extraction of wood from the Congo River Basin forests.
The usual suspects
Activities such as agriculture, logging, bushmeat hunting and mineral and oil extraction have direct impacts on forests and wildlife. Population growth, conflict and disease, governance problems, lack of forest management capacity, a shortage of funding and a lack of awareness are some of the factors that worsen these issues. A growing problem has been road-building by logging companies, which gives bushmeat hunters access to the heart of previously remote forests. This has led to extreme over-hunting of vulnerable species such as the western lowland gorilla, elephant and leopard.
The chimpanzee, recently shown to be the potential source of the HIV 1 virus in humans, is also endangered. Its forest home is being logged and it continues to be hunted and sold as food in and around the Congo River Basin forests.
