BAOBAB
A curated summary of news and perspectives on fulfilling Africa's vibrant potential©
Few places on earth have been untouched by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this second edition of Baobab, we share Materne Maetz’s review of the role of agriculture and deforestation in triggering zoonotic pandemics, theories on which Mafa Chipeta expands in his lead opinion piece for Baobab on zoonotic diseases and the agriculture-forestry interface and the potential impacts in Africa.
This edition of Baobab links to several other stories that have attracted my interest. These variously call for strategies to reverse the often unsustainable pressure on the continent’s forests exerted by charcoal, a key source of local incomes and energy in Africa; propose a courageous expansion of large-scale, integrated and sustainable landscape restoration that would both increase climate-beneficial forest and tree cover and provide nutritious foods and local jobs across the continent; and turn a light on scores of stars of
African agriculture – orphan crops and wild plants.
On 21 March, FAO and its partners led the world in celebrating the International Day of Forests (IDF) under this year’s theme of Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being. FAO’s IDF video can be viewed here. As recalled in Food Tank, the Committee on World Food Security High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition calls on “forest sector decision-makers to re-imagine forests, not just as spaces for conservation, protection or production… but also as key to the world’s food systems and diets.”
I hope you find something of interest in this edition of Baobab.
My thanks again to Mafa Chipeta and Alastair Sarre for their advice and support, and to Fabrizio Scafetti for technical support with this edition.
Patricia
Opinion piece – by Mafa Chipeta
As we rush to accept conventional wisdoms on Covid-19, might we overlook potentially big impacts in Africa?
In the global court of public opinion, agriculture, forestry and wildlife have largely been found guilty of being the breeding ground and conveyor to humans of the Covid-19 virus. But in an opinion piece for Baobab, Mafa Chipeta questions the rush towards simple and hasty analyses and conclusions that risk prescribing socially disruptive and unknown changes in food habits and livelihoods. If the world is to prepare itself properly for the future,Chipeta suggests that four current conventional wisdoms on zoonotic pandemics and their interface with agriculture and forestry require greater reflection.
Read more: Baobab opinion piece by Mafa Chipeta
News
Covid-19: is agriculture the main culprit?
In many parts of the world, wildlife and humans are coming into closer proximity as people, companies and industries harvest, hunt and forage for food, fuel and natural medicines in forests – and cut them down. In an article in Hunger Explained, Materne Maetz questions the role of small-scale and industrial agriculture and their intrusion into and destruction of forests, often cited as the root cause of the Covid-19 and other pandemics. He suggests that increased rural–urban and international travel, and trade linked to consumer demand, are other important drivers. If so, are there viable solutions?
Read more: Hunger Explained
Restoring landscapes, transforming lives – accelerating action on the ground
Various pressures are rendering large areas of land unproductive in Africa and elsewhere. Local-people-focused programmes informed by plant science are, however, restoring large swathes into a fertile, productive resource that provides nutritious food and local jobs, while serving as a natural defence to the advance of the desert and to the impacts of climate change. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and GLF Africa 2021 signal greater, inclusive measures to accelerate action. In Africa, Action Against Deforestation has already restored 35 000 ha of drylands, reaching 500 000 people.
Read more: UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration GLF Africa 2021: Accelerating action on the ground Action Against Desertification
African agricultural stars reborn, and lost…
Orphan crops and wild plants – underused indigenous crops and trees – are being rediscovered as routes to sustainability. In Africa Renewal, NEPAD suggested that by widely adopting climate-adapted orphan crops, Africa could greatly reduce malnutrition, including stunting in children. Wild plants for a sustainable future documents many plants that smallholders could use to transform their lives. But in The Conversation, Omotayo and Aremu highlight the risks posed by deforestation and industrial agriculture to 10 such fruit tree species and call for more research and domestication.
Read more: Africa Renewal Wild plants for a sustainable future The Conversation
Incentivize carbon-neutral charcoal to help save Africa’s forests
According to Eric Mensah in The Conversation, sub-Saharan Africa produces 65% of the world’s charcoal, with the sector employing 40 million people in the region. Charcoal plays a key role in meeting the region’s domestic energy demands, but weak regulatory frameworks and largely informal production mean that the sector is a main driver of degradation. Mensah argues that, to help save the continent’s forests, African governments must switch to integrated strategies for carbon-neutral charcoal that meet social needs, address environmental concerns and incentivize sustainable charcoal production.
Read more: The Conversation
Declaration
B A O B A B comes to you free of charge as I compile it 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
by Tatters
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