Explainer - Deforestation in Africa: Africa
However, it is just as important to acknowledge the role of international trade and finance in medium- and large-scale clearings of forests, as well as the increasing financialization of land and forest resources. These factors cannot be disregarded when examining the root causes of deforestation, as they play a pivotal role in shaping land-use decisions.Deforestation is taking place all over the continent of Africa, wherever dry forests or rainforests exist.
That means that the destruction of highly valuable commercial tree species in dry forest - like those grouped under the common name rosewood - at the rates seen in recent years is absolutely devastating. Once lost, the entire fragile ecosystem is permanently altered and hard to recover. Agriculture is the largest direct cause of forest loss, accounting for approximately 75 per cent of deforestation in Africa. This includes both subsistence farming and industrial agriculture - which includes cocoa and oil palm production - and cattle ranching.
The largest direct cause of deforestation in Africa currently is the clearing of forests to feed a growing population through shifting cultivation. This practice sees areas of primary forest felled and burned, with the land used for farming until the soil is depleted and can no longer be cultivated. The land is used again years later, once the soil has recovered part of its productive potential.
Indirect causes include the socio-economic, environmental and trade conditions created by existing laws, regulations and norms - or their absence. A lack of clear rules on land tenure, weak sustainability provisions in trade agreements, or failure to support or incentivize sustainable agriculture, may for example lead to more destructive forms of forest exploitation, and ultimately to increase deforestation.
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