KEY POINTS
- Africa implements large-scale initiatives like the Great Green Wall to combat deforestation.
- Community-led efforts and traditional practices play a crucial role.
- Technological innovations like AI are reducing illegal logging effectively.
Africa’s forests are under significant threat, losing approximately 3.4 million hectares of forest annually. This staggering figure equates to a 0.8 percent yearly decline, driven by agricultural expansion, logging, and urbanization.
Cambodian forest cover amounts to nearly 100 thousand hectares that disappear yearly revealing the global nature of forest destruction throughout Africa.
Since 1900, tropical Africa has lost about 22 percent of its forest cover, a reduction similar to that of the Amazon rainforest. However, the consequences of this deforestation extend beyond biodiversity loss, severely impacting ecosystems, livelihoods, and climate resilience.
Major initiatives to combat deforestation
Large-scale programs have surfaced to tackle Africa’s tree cover destruction problems. The Great Green Wall, launched by the African Union in 2007, is an ambitious initiative aimed at combating desertification and restoring degraded lands across the Sahel region.
This project aspires to restore 100 million hectares of land by 2030. While progress has been slow, with only 18 million hectares restored as of 2023, the initiative represents a crucial step toward reversing land degradation and protecting vulnerable ecosystems.
The Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) was founded in 2015 to secure the vast tree-covered regions throughout Central Africa specifically targeting the Congo Basin area.
Moreover, by recognizing the ecological and economic value of these forests, CAFI works to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable development in the region.
Through its emphasis on understanding the dual ecological import and economic potential of forest lands, CAFI develops strategies to battle climate change alongside reducing poverty and building sustainable regional development.
Another notable effort is the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), which seeks to restore more than 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. More than 30 African states joined this initiative to synchronize their restoration plans with international measures against forest damage.
Community-led and technological approaches
In addition to large-scale initiatives, grassroots efforts and technological innovations play vital roles in combating deforestation.
Traditional customs and beliefs now function as powerful conservation disciplines throughout Benin. People from local communities regard Voodoo deities including Zangbeto to protect sacred forests and use cultural practices to help communities stabilize and reconstruct their mangrove ecosystems.
Recent technological advancements have brought exclusive approaches to forest protection problems. M-Situ uses artificial intelligence to monitor and combat illegal logging where startup operations operate in Kenya.
The system uses tree-based detection devices to detect threats from fires and chainsaws prompting ranger teams to receive immediate alerts through texting functions. Through its implementation the project, reduced unlawful logging incidents by 47 percent in its test sites indicating how technology can boost forest preservation throughout Africa.
Challenges and the path forward
Several obstacles constrain the fight against deforestation irrespective of recent progress achieved through initiative development and technological breakthroughs.
Many African countries such as Mali are facing economic challenges which make residents heavily depend on firewood to meet their power requirements. Deforestation stays fueled by this dependency regardless of active reforestation project areas. Councils responsible for overseeing forest management need better funding to remain effective.
Experts estimate that an additional $700 billion annually is needed globally to halt biodiversity decline and sustain ecosystems. Initiative scale-up and long-term success depend totally on securing proper financial resources.
Effective intervention against African deforestation requires substantial resources, major infrastructure initiatives, society-wide participation and technological upgrades.
