Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
minimal. Nontimber uses of the forest included the collection of leaves, fruits,
fungi, honey, dyes, resins, gums, and medicines. The hunting and gathering of ani-
mals of the forest provided a protein source. Small mammals, snails, and caterpil-
lars were all taken with little to no impact.
As human populations increased, hunting for forest animals increased, but it
was not until the twentieth century that larger impacts began to occur. Increased
forest settlement, clearing the forest for agricultural exports, and timber production
quickly began to limit the forest. Human numbers continued to grow, and further
encroachment into the forest took its toll on native plants and animals. Plantations
to produce oil palms, rubber trees, cacao, and coffee have replaced the rainforest.
Other areas have been cleared for their timber or burned for short-term agriculture.
Most of the tropical rainforests of West Africa have been lost; what remains is
late secondary forest. This is especially true in C
ote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone.
Liberia retains larger forest blocks, and a few national parks protect some areas.
Many forests are held as forest reserves where logging can occur. In West Africa,
increased numbers of people are migrating from nearby regions where excessive
use has turned the land to desert. Not understanding the fragility of the forest, these
immigrants destroy many of the forested areas. Along with the plants, the animals
are endangered. Decreased forested land leads to changes in climate, causing fur-
ther problems at rainforest margins.
Mining for gold, diamonds, and iron ore is also having a major impact on the
forests, particularly in the Congo. Oil exploration and drilling are an increased
threat. The oil companies' unsafe and environmentally degrading processes have
polluted large portions of the forest, especially on the coast and in waterways.
Congo Basin forests are quickly becoming threatened ecosystems. Much of the
rainforest destruction in the Congo is due to conversion for subsistence agriculture
and the collection of fuelwood by poor farmers and villagers. Access to forested
lands follows logging when roads are constructed into the forest. Commercial log-
ging, conversion of forests for agriculture, and widespread civil wars have devas-
tated forests. Illegal hunting continues to increase, causing a sharp decline in many
animal populations. As fighting and civil unrest ceases throughout West and Cen-
tral Africa, governments become more stable, and more areas are opened for log-
ging. Most of the forests not under protection have been allocated to logging
concessions. Concessions have even been illegally given in some protected areas.
Illegal logging is a significant problem, with corrupt bureaucrats opening restricted
areas to cutting in exchange for monetary payments. The sustainability of current
logging practices remains questionable. Although the logging industry is a major
source of employment in Africa and thousands of workers rely on timber compa-
nies for basic health care and other services, cutting timber at the current rate can-
not be expected to continue in the long term.
Large-scale human migrations due to armed conflict, tribal warring, and revo-
lutions have brought hundred of thousands of people to the forest seeking protec-
tion or peace. However, these people, often out of necessity, are damaging the
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