BAOBAB
A curated summary of news and perspectives on fulfilling Africa's vibrant potential©
Hello, and a warm welcome to Baobab 3.
Although Baobab’s mission is to share news and information that inspires and hopefully triggers reflection, it cannot do so in a vacuum. It is impossible to ignore the devastatingly bleak and uncertain future faced by millions of people across Africa and around the world due to famine, drought, locust invasions and other natural and humanmade disasters, including conflict and historical wrongs. For many, the Covid-19 pandemic has added further layers of complexity, uncertainty and severe hardship. Many agencies and organizations are raising the alarm and working to put these situations to right by calling for preventive measures and offering short-term support to those who have lost their jobs, homes, livestock, livelihoods and family ties, having been overwhelmed by the pandemic. We must trust and insist that these early interventions will be followed by longer-term, substantial support to enable these distressed women, men and children to return to their homes and to start rebuilding their lives and a more sustainable and resilient future.
In this edition, we shed light on the baobab tree, the newsletter’s eponymous icon. Mystery surrounds the fate in southern Africa of some of these wondrous trees of famed longevity. Baobab’s life-supporting importance for local people cannot be overstated. Its abundance of nutritious and healthy products and properties is attracting attention on other continents, too, including Europe, principally in the natural cosmetics and health-food markets. But the trees are under threat.
With Madagascar edging towards famine, young people on that biodiversity-rich island are trying to save their forests and avert hunger by combining agriculture and forestry.
Rice is a key staple food in Africa, yet large quantities are imported. Farming it locally in agroforestry settings could help increase food security sustainably.
Also in the west of the continent, local people are the protagonists in conserving remnants of an ancient forest, with a researcher revealing a secret of these sacred places.
In South Africa, proposed new legislation will, if passed, provide greater protection for some of the country’s iconic wildlife.
Last, but not least, the world is called out in a landmark UN report for not doing enough to halt deforestation and increase reforestation as the deadline for UN Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land, approaches and the impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent. But the goal can still be reached, and the ways of doing so are many. With reliable data and information the foundation for action, the release of a multilingual version of a flagship FAO forest assessment platform will play a crucial role.
A reminder about Baobab – it sometimes presents original material but, for the most part, it simply draws your attention to items of common interest published elsewhere by summarizing and linking to them. I hope you find something of interest in this issue. My thanks again to Mafa Chipeta and Alastair Sarre for their assistance.
Patricia
News
Mysterious demise of a noble tree
Revered across Africa and admired around the world, baobab (Adansonia digitata) is a majestic wonder of nature. Often living more than 2,000 years, baobab trees can absorb and store water in the rainy season and flower and bear fruit and moisture in arid times. For local people with a limited range of other resources, baobab’s seeds, seed oil, leaves, roots, flowers, fruit pulp and bark are sources of food, medicines and beauty products; the species also offers food and shelter to wildlife. Tragically, however, old baobab trees have mysteriously been dying, as reported by Patrut et al. in Nature in 2018.
Read from the source: Africa’s majestic baobab trees are mysteriously dying; Scientific abstracts on baobab; The girl in the baobab tree
Trees with rice could make a healthy combo in Africa
Rice is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s staple foods, along with wheat, millet, corn, teff and others. The grain’s consumption – and therefore its role in food security – is set to increase even further on the continent, which could prompt an increase in rice farming, particularly in West Africa. Rice production comes with social and environmental risks, including (in the case of upland rice) those associated with deforestation, but these could be ameliorated through sustainable agroforestry, which, according to a recent meta-analysis of scientific research, is delivering win–wins for ecosystem services and crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa. FAO reports that floods and input constraints may forestall growth in rice production in Africa in 2021, with the continent seeing a resurgence in rice imports.
Read from the source: Rice-based production systems for food security and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa; Agroforestry delivers a win-win solution for ecosystem services in sub-Saharan Africa; Agroforestry in rice-production landscapes in Southeast Asia: a practical manual
Youth “ambassadors” champion sustainable forestry and rice farming
Slash-and-burn rice farming in the forests of eastern Madagascar is exacting a high toll in the number of trees felled and the loss of habitat for species like lemur and pygmy kingfisher. But, as V. Rasolofomboahangy reports in Mongabay, young farmers, inspired and trained by a Madagascan NGO, have become ambassadors for a future of improved food security and prosperity for themselves and other impoverished villagers. This future lies in achieving a balance between sustainable forestry and rice farming that fosters biodiverse habitats in which rare wildlife can also flourish.
Read from the source: Young farmers adopt new methods to help lemurs, forests and themselves
UN report shows limited progress towards forest goals
The UN’s Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 includes six Global Forest Goals and 26 targets to be achieved by 2030. Twenty-two African countries are among 52 worldwide that submitted reports and contributions to this reporting mechanism, leading to the recent publication of the Plan’s first evaluation. The Global Forests Goals Report 2021 summarizes the actions taken by countries to achieve the goals; it concludes that although the world has made progress in some key areas, such as increasing global forest area through afforestation and restoration, such advances are under threat.
Read from the source: Global Forest Goals Report 2021; Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030
New study of Earth’s “second lung”
New continuous maps of six million trees in the world’s second-largest area of dense tropical forest have revealed the varying extent of their vulnerability to climate change. The landmark maps and a new dataset of the floristic and functional composition of biodiversity-rich forests in five Central African countries were compiled by researchers at IRD and CIRAD. Their study, published in Nature, used data and modelling to increase understanding of factors influencing the sustainability of the forests, which are also sources of food, livelihoods and timber and home to many wildlife species.
Read from the source: Central African forests particularly vulnerable to global changes; CIRAD Agricultural Research for Development; IRD; Unveiling African rainforest composition and vulnerability to global change.
South African lions and rhinos set to live free
The farming of lions and rhinos in South Africa for hunting and body parts may soon end after a landmark report concluded that the “unacceptable” treatment of such animals is tarnishing the country’s image. Largely applauded by conservationists, the report is the culmination of a two-year inquiry by a high-level panel of specialists. Adoption of its recommendations, which are yet to be endorsed by the South African Parliament, would help the country become a tourist destination famed more for wildlife conservation than commercial hunting. The report also calls for improved measures for human–wildlife coexistence and benefit-sharing with local communities.
Read from the source:Minister announces new deal for South Africa’s wildlife industry
Natural recycling in a sacred forest is also good for the farm next door
The custodianship of old-growth remnants of the once vast forests of West Africa is being driven by the esteem in which these forests are held by local people. Writing in The Conversation, Michele Francis describes the role in carbon capture and soil health of “sacred forests” – patches of forest conserved over time because of their cultural or religious significance. “Litter processor” microorganisms, unimpeded by pesticides, transform dead leaves and tree remains on the forest floor into nutritious soil. Adding leaf-litter compost to the depleted soils of adjacent farmlands would increase their fertility, along with crop yields and carbon retention. The area of dense forests in West Africa has shrunk by an estimated 80% since 1900, but preserved sacred forests and trees offer hope for restoration.
Read from the source: ‘Sacred forests’ in West Africa capture carbon and keep soil healthy
Multilingual FAO forest data platform now online
FAO’s data platform on forests is now available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. As reported by IISD, the platform, which was launched in English in July 2020, builds on the 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment. The other languages have been added recently, providing a multilingual, open-access resource to support sustainable forest management and action on climate change globally.
Read from the source: IISD news article; Global Forest Resources Assessment
Declaration
B A O B A B comes to you free of charge as I do the research and compile the source material in a voluntary capacity. I have no affiliation with any source of finance or political party. Nor does the inclusion of any externally sourced information in the bulletin imply that I endorse its contents. It is up to you readers to arrive at your own interpretation of the published material.
Acknowledgements
I extend my sincere thanks in particular to Mafa Chipeta and Alastair Sarre, as well as to my family and friends, for their encouragement, advice, feedback and support. I thank Alex Juma for his work in creating Baobab edition one.
Patricia Tendi
baobabdawn@gmail.com
Photo credits and copyright
Baobab tree at sunrise,,Tarangire National Park, United Republic of Tanzania, by Diana Robinson
East Africa food crisis – Somaliland by Oxfam International
Sunset on Baobabs by Rod Waddington
Gambia, rice planting by sheenaboo_99
Portrait of a woman by CIFOR
The Global Forest Goals Report 2021, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
African lion face and mane by Wander_co_CC
The path under the trees by Carsten ten Brink
This is Africa by TIA
INERA technician taking a sample of Afromorsia (Pericopsis elata) during a phenology session, Yambambi, by CIFOR
Baobab tree by Caneles
Disclaimer
Information contained in Baobab has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither Baobab nor its contributing authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein and neither Baobab nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or claims for damages, including exemplary damages, arising out of use, inability to use, or with regard to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in Baobab. The copyright and all intellectual property rights of material (including but not limited to text, video, graphical images), trademarks and logos are the property of the publisher or Baobab as indicated.