BAOBAB
A curated summary of news and perspectives on fulfilling Africa's vibrant potential©
Hello, and a warm welcome to the September 2021 edition of Baobab.
This edition covers a wide range of topics. We are especially pleased to lead with an article by Moctar Sacande, Coordinator of Action Against Desertification, who presents the findings of a ground-breaking new study on trees in Africa obtained via an African-led institutional partnership.
Two other recent studies reported below show that African trees are playing important environmental roles, but some species are at risk of extinction. In Kenya, the forest has enabled tribal women and families to turn their lives around after the diminution of their traditional livelihoods. In Somalia, trees have attained a revered and protected place in the life of some villagers. The Government of Senegal is backing a locally designed scheme that takes a circular approach to land restoration and food security, while consumer profiling of bushmeat consumption in Ghana offers useful insights for natural resource conservation.
Finally, I was intrigued by this 11-year-old observation from an International Fund for Development-Swiss Development Cooperation study that I came across recently:
“… The greatest challenge to development is not access to technology but the willingness of local people to share information …”
Further research threw up some interesting responses to a key question the study posed, “What can information and communication technology do to benefit the world’s poorest rural people?” . If curious, you can read more here.
I am sure you will find something of interest in this edition. My sincere thanks again to Alastair Sarre and Mafa Chipeta for their advice and support. A reminder, as always, about Baobab – we sometimes present original material but, for the most part, we simply draw your attention to items of interest published elsewhere by summarizing and linking to them.
Patricia
News
An unprecedented DEAL for Africa’s trees and landscape restoration
Opinion piece by Moctar Sacande
Implemented on a previously unmatched scale, a two-year, Africa-led science-based survey combining the expertise of African scientists and practitioners, high-resolution land-use imagery and local people’s knowledge has generated the most accurate estimate yet of Africa’s tree resources. The landmark Africa Open DEAL study estimates that the continent supports 43 billion trees, and it identifies vast areas of degraded lands with restoration potential and opportunities, 393 million ha of which lie within the area of the Great Green Wall, a major programme for the restoration of vegetation in drylands of the Sahara and Sahel.
Read the opinion piece by Moctar Sacande: Africa-led survey of continent’s trees reveals huge opportunities for landscape restoration
Sowing circles in Senegal bodes well for food security and land restoration
Viewed from above, the concentric circles springing up in drylands along Senegal’s border with Mauritania seem almost mystical. But as Al Jazeera explains, tolou keur are clever garden arrangements promoted by a government–community initiative to grow edible and medicinal plants, including shrubs and trees, to halt desertification and increase food security. Locally conceived and designed to favour soil health and water retention, the tolou keur are contributing to land restoration as part of the Great Green Wall, enabling villagers to improve their livelihoods, and offering local youth a viable livelihood alternative to migration.
Read more from the source, and see photos of the circular design: Reuters, Senegalese plant circular gardens in Green Wall defence
African tree species among thousands under threat globally
One-third of the world’s 60 000 tree species are threatened, and at least 142 are already extinct in the wild, a major study has revealed. Compiled by 60 partners over five years, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International study reports that, of tropical Africa’s 9 237 species, more than a third – 3 644 – are threatened, with Madagascar among the worst-affected countries. The biggest threats are land clearing for agriculture, overharvesting, and climate change. The new GlobalTree Portal will support work to identify and conserve endangered tree species, measures which, according to the study, Kenya and Tanzania are already adopting.
Read from the source: State of the World’s Trees; Botanic Gardens Conservation International GlobalTree Portal
In Qaamqaam, trees are part of the family
A community living on the banks of Somalia’s river Juba has used “blood-money” fines, banishment and teaching to deter the illegal felling of its drought-resistant acacia trees. Famed for being the heart of Somali’s multimillion-dollar – albeit illegal – black gold charcoal trade, Qaamqaam’s village elders, backed by its 2000 farming families, have sought to halt deforestation through a combination of customary and environmental protection laws. A villager, Cantar, told Al Jazeera, “We cannot live without [the trees], we should appreciate their importance and protect them by any means”.
Read from the source: Qaamqaam: Somali village where chopping trees is banned
African mountain forests surprise researchers
In an article published in Nature, Aida Cuni-Sanchez and co-authors estimated that old-growth mountain forests in Africa contain much more carbon per unit area than previously thought – comparable with lowland African rainforests and considerably more than mountain and lowland forests in South America. The study found that, despite low temperatures and extended cloud cover, large trees are widespread in these mountain forests. The authors call for more measures to halt their destruction – with an estimated 800 000 hectares of the precious resource lost since 2000, releasing about 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Read from the source:High above ground carbon stock of African montane forest;Tropical forests in Africa’s mountains store more carbon than previously thought – but are disappearing fast
Kenyan forest gives tribal women new lease of life
Scarred by land conflicts and cattle disputes exacerbated by drought, a semi-nomadic northern Kenyan tribe with fifteenth-century roots was forced to abandon the drylands that could no longer sustain it. As reported in Yale Environment 360, after taking refuge in Kirisia – a water- and wildlife-rich mountainous forest with rare sandalwood and red cedar – the Samburu people engaged in illegal tree felling to produce and sell charcoal to survive. But a government incentive scheme has transformed the lives of 500 Samburu women, now living outside the forest, by employing them to work as forest stewards and managers of Kirisia’s trees.
Read from the source: Natural Protectors: Kenyan Women Step Up to Save a Forest
Market insights may give Ghana’s natural resources a break
Meat from wild animals – bushmeat – is an important source of protein and nutrition in Ghana and also income, particularly for the rural poor. As described in his article in The Conversation, Richard Kwasi Bannor profiled 400 consumers in three ecological zones to gain insights into bushmeat consumption in this largely unregulated market. Bannor found that bushmeat consumption is soaring in Ghana, particularly among the young; he called for public information campaigns, greater retail regulation and domesticated production as part of sustainable forest management to meet growing demand while conserving Ghana’s natural resources.
Read from the source: Bushmeat in Ghana: consumer profiles may point the way
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, bby diana_robinson
Locally fabricated radio station, Ghana 101.7 FM, by whiteafrican
Restored communities’ plots with biodiverse native species, FAO and Action Against Desertification by Action Against Desertification
Senegal farmers collect seeds by treesftf (illustrative)
Zebras waiting their turn for shade under lone tree by Lake Nakuru by diana_robinson
Belet Weyne situation,Somalia by AMISOM Public Information (illustrative)
Mount Elgon by Rod Waddington
Samburu women’s group by alaina.buzas
Bushmeat market by CIFOR
Baobab tree spirit by Caneles
Copyright © publishers/photographers/authors as indicated
Copyright © BaobabDawn 2021 as indicated.
Disclaimer
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