DOCSLIB.ORG

The Congo Basin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

'// The Congo Basin Recent Developments and Alternatives for Sustainable Development Journal on Tropical Forests and Forestry for Sustainable Development TTER Volume 16 (3), Number 37, November 1997 The BOS Foundation On December 16th 1981, a group of Dutch tropical foresters founded the Stichting BOS, the Dutch abbreviation for Foundation for Forestry Development Cooperation. Concern for the problems of tropical forests' - and land use led them to formulate the need for a professional response and a commitment to mobilize action and increase international forestry cooperation. Since 1995 the BOS Foundation is known as Organization for International Forestry Cooperation. Key concepts to indicate the Foundation's main endeavours are ecosystem management, sustamability, multifunctionality, social equity and partnership. Objectives of BOS The main objectives of the BOS Foundation are: • to increase attention for and action on behalf of forests, forestry and land use in the tropics within the context of sustainable development; • to improve the quality and enlarge the scale of international forestry cooperation, stimulated from The Netherlands; • to promote and facilitate the exchange of information between tropical foresters, other experts and organizations involved. The BOS Foundation supports field workers and other specialists in the field by combining their forces and promoting their interests. The BOS NiEuWSLETTER The BOS NiEuWSLETTER is the four-monthly journal of the BOS Foundation on tropical forests, forestry and land use within the context of sustainable development and international cooperation. Each issue contains articles, book reviews, announcements of meetings, symposia and courses, all related to tropical forests, forestry and land use. In 1994 Michael Pilarski wrote in his book "Restoration Forestry, an international guide to sustainable forestry practices" about the BOS NiEuWSLETTER: this newsletter is one of the best ways to keep abreast of tropical forestry developments. You are invited to send information on subjects related to tropical forests, forestry and land use. Announcements of meetings, symposia and courses, as well as book reviews, articles and comments/opinions are most welcome. For guidelines for articles and comments/opinions see back cover. Reproduction (partial) or translation is permitted, provided the author(s), publisher and source are acknowledged. The editor would appreciate receipt of a copy. ISSN: 0923-7488 Editor and colour design: Peter Sips Cover design: Roelof A.A. Oldeman Contents Editorial 4. Peter Sips The Congo Basin Recent Developments and Alternatives for Sustainable Development General information, biological and cultural characteristics Congo Basin Regional Profile 5. Arie Verdoes Forest Peoples of the Congo Basin 13. Marcus Colchester & Dorothy Jackson The Flora of the Congo Basin 21. R.H.M.J. Lemmens & M.S.M. Sosef Forest Peoples in the Central African Rain Forest: Focus on the Pygmies 26. S.A. Dembner (Non-)Human Primates in the Congo Basin 35. Ignaas Spruit & Simon K. Bearder Recent developments and threats Short Overview of the Situation of Tropical Moist Forests and Forest Management in Central Africa and Markets for African Timber 42. Dominiek Plouvier BOS NiEuWSLETTER / Vol. 16(3) / No. 37 / November 1997 / 1 About Tropical Hardwood, Chocolate and Gorilla's Conservation of forest fauna in south Cameroon 50. Martha Klein & Mark van der Wal Urban Threats to Biodiversity in the Congo Basin Theodore Trefon La Nuit continue a porter son Ombre Immense sur ce Vaste Continent Cameroon's war against subsistence. A socio-economic and ecological analysis against the background of the Chad-Cameroon oil-pipeline Korinna Horta Alternatives for sustainable development Forestry in Equatorial Guinea 76. Michiel van Bruegel & Marc Parren A Critical Analysis of Different Approaches to Rainforest Conservation in Central Africa based on the Dzanga-Sangha Experience 84. Allard Blom Netherlands Support to Forest Management in the Eastern Congo Basin 90. Alfred C. Smiet Promotion of Sustainable Forest Management and Certification in Timber Producing Countries of West and Central Africa 99. Dominiek Plouvier & Jean-Luc Roux 2 / BOS NiEuWSLETTER / Vol. 16(3) / No. 37 / November 1997 BOS News: Cameroon Conservation Projects 109. Bata, Equatorial Guinea - Congo Basin Conference 109. Short News: Meetings 110. Courses 111. Publications 112. New Forest Project - World Seed Program 115. 116 Advertisements 118. Advertising in the BOS NiEuWSLETTER and BOS Consultancies 119. Changing Personal Circumstances? 120. Netherlands Committee for Publication of this issue of the BOS NiEuWSLETTER and in particular the color pictures was also made possible thanks to a grant from the: IUCN The World Conservation Union BOS NiEuWSLETTER / Vol. 16(3) / No. 37 / November 1997 / 3 Editorial Peter Sips on the tribal richness of the region, its flora and fauna and the way man and nature interact. In the second part focus is Comfortably installed in my hammock I'll be reading on the threats imposed by the international timber trade, O' Hanlon's Congo Journey. While in pursuit of a pygmy- poaching, urban use of forest resources, and the tales inspired prehistoric legend reality reveals itself in construction of an oil-pipeline. Part three offers some seemingly obvious but yet un-experienced encounters. Even relevant initiatives aiming to promote the wise and more overwhelming and confronting is the visualized reality sustainable development of the region. on the 8 o'clock news or in the numerous background documentaries in the last couple of months. In May 1998 the governments of the region and the international donors will be meeting in Bata, Equatorial The Congo Basin has been, and still is the setting for many Guinea. NGOs will hopefully join in a parallel meeting to reports on political and military upheaval, tribal conflicts, be organized by the IUCN. It is hoped that all parties mass murders, international politics and trade, and involved will be in the position to discuss the problems of exploitation of natural resources. Trying to understand the the region as well as alternatives for development. Likewise reason for all these events, I stumble over colonial periods, it is hoped that all involved will be open about their interest fetishism, ancient cultural and tribal rivalry, present days and available means and are willing to see things in political and financial interests, and hypocrisy. perspective. Hopefully the words of a Nigerian museum director, who just recently expressed his feelings about the The Congo Basin's cultural and biological diversity is robbery of African art mainly destined for Europe, United under threat. In this theme issue it is tried to give a first States and Japan, may be of relevance: insight in the biological and cultural characteristics of the region, threats involved, and alternatives offered for a more "taking away the art from its African context, makes the art sustainable development. In the first part the authors focus worthless." 4 / BOS NiEuWSLETTER / Vol. 16(3) / No. 37 / November 1997 Congo Basin regional profile Arie Verdoes1 population pressure is not very high. The rate of forest destruction is not as high as in Brazil but still alarming. At Introduction present there is very little control over forestry exploitation especially where economic revenues from this industry are The Congo Basin comprises the main parts of very important to obtain (imported) food security. Added to Congo-Kinshasa (former Zaire), Congo-Brazzaville, the regional political instability this is a difficult base for Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central the stimulation of both sustainable forest exploitation and an African Republic (CAR). Depending on the definition increase in export of forestry commodities. regions of Angola, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda also are part of the basin. Below, in short country profiles, an Fortunately foreign support is directed at providing a base overview of the general developments in the last 40 years for sustainable use of the forest. Protecting vulnerable areas of the political, economical and environmental situation is in reserves, introduction of improved forest management given. techniques, training of cadres, revision of laws and inventories to upgrade statistical data are all necessary areas The Congo Basin in to Africa what the Amazonia is to of attention in support programs. When also the political South America. The basin is bordered by mountain ranges situation stabilises the very high potential of the Congo in east Congo-Kinshasa, plateaus in south Congo-Kinshasa Basin can both have a long-term protection and can give and south Cameroon and central CAR. The rivers in the increasing revenues. basin are formed by: Table 1: Roundwood removals • the vast Congo river and its tributaries, like the Oubangui (CAR), Sangha (Cong-Brazzaville), Kwilu, Kasai and Tsuapa River; Fuelwood Industrial Export • the Ogooué River (in Gabon) and its tributaries; • the Sanaga river (Cameroon); Cameroon 11,488 2,933 1,000 • the Rio Benito (Equatorial Guinea); Gabon 2,711 1,633 1,715 • and several other rivers that float directly to the Atlantic Ocean. Congo- 40,093 3,150 164 Kinshasa The vegetation of the basin is mainly dense tropical rainforest (over 1.5 million km2), varying from swamp Congo- 2,154 1,331 319 forests to montane forests, but areas with savanna can also Brazzaville be found. Especially coastal areas are heavily exploited. The more inward areas because
Recommended publications
  • Regional Sources of Precipitation in the Ethiopian Highlands Regionala Källor Till Nederbörden I Det Etiopiska Höglandet

    Regional Sources of Precipitation in the Ethiopian Highlands Regionala Källor Till Nederbörden I Det Etiopiska Höglandet

    Independent Project at the Department of Earth Sciences Självständigt arbete vid Institutionen för geovetenskaper 2015: 2 Regional Sources of Precipitation in the Ethiopian Highlands Regionala källor till nederbörden i det Etiopiska höglandet Elnaz Ashkriz DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER Independent Project at the Department of Earth Sciences Självständigt arbete vid Institutionen för geovetenskaper 2015: 2 Regional Sources of Precipitation in the Ethiopian Highlands Regionala källor till nederbörden i det Etiopiska höglandet Elnaz Ashkriz Copyright © Elnaz Ashkriz and the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University Published at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (www.geo.uu.se), Uppsala, 2015 Sammanfattning Regionala källor till nederbörden i det Etiopiska höglandet Elnaz Ashkriz Denna uppsats undersöker ursprunget till den stora mängd nederbörd som faller i det etiopiska höglandet. Med Moisture transport into the Ethiopian Highlands av Ellen Viste och Asgeir Sorteberg (2011) som grund syftar denna uppsats till att jämföra samma data men genom att titta på ett mycket kortare intervall för att se vad som försummas när undersökningar på större skalor utförs. Medan undersökningen av Viste och Sorteberg (2011) fokuserar på de två regnrikaste månaderna, juli och augusti under elva år, 1998-2008, så fokuserar denna uppsats enbart på juli år 2008. Syftet med denna uppsats var att se vart nederbörden till det Etiopiska höglandet kommer ifrån under juli månad 2008. För att undersöka detta så har man valt att titta på parametrar såsom horisontell- och vertikal vindriktning på olika höjder samt fukt- innehållet i dessa vindar. Som grund för undersökningen så har denna uppsats, likt Vistes och Sortebergs, använt ERA-Interim data.
  • EAZA Best Practice Guidelines Bonobo (Pan Paniscus)

    EAZA Best Practice Guidelines Bonobo (Pan Paniscus)

    EAZA Best Practice Guidelines Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Editors: Dr Jeroen Stevens Contact information: Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp – K. Astridplein 26 – B 2018 Antwerp, Belgium Email: [email protected] Name of TAG: Great Ape TAG TAG Chair: Dr. María Teresa Abelló Poveda – Barcelona Zoo [email protected] Edition: First edition - 2020 1 2 EAZA Best Practice Guidelines disclaimer Copyright (February 2020) by EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in hard copy, machine-readable or other forms without advance written permission from the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). Members of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) may copy this information for their own use as needed. The information contained in these EAZA Best Practice Guidelines has been obtained from numerous sources believed to be reliable. EAZA and the EAZA APE TAG make a diligent effort to provide a complete and accurate representation of the data in its reports, publications, and services. However, EAZA does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information. EAZA disclaims all liability for errors or omissions that may exist and shall not be liable for any incidental, consequential, or other damages (whether resulting from negligence or otherwise) including, without limitation, exemplary damages or lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use of this publication. Because the technical information provided in the EAZA Best Practice Guidelines can easily be misread or misinterpreted unless properly analysed, EAZA strongly recommends that users of this information consult with the editors in all matters related to data analysis and interpretation.
  • Bonobo Conservation Assessment

    Bonobo Conservation Assessment

    Bonobo Conservation Assessment November 21-22, 1999 Kyoto University Primate Research Institute Inuyama, Japan Workshop Report Sally Coxe, Norm Rosen, Philip Miller and Ulysses Seal, editors A Contribution of the Workshop Participants and The Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (IUCN / SSC) A contribution of the workshop participants and the IUCN / SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Cover photo ©Frans Lanting Section divider photos: Sections I, V courtesy of Sally Coxe Sections II – IV, VI ©Frans Lanting Coxe, S., N. Rosen, P.S. Miller, and U.S. Seal. 2000. Bonobo Conservation Assessment Workshop Final Report. Apple Valley, MN: Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC/IUCN). Additional copies of the publication can be ordered through the IUCN / SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, MN 55124 USA. Fax: 612-432-2757. Send checks for US$35 (for printing and shipping costs) payable to CBSG; checks must be drawn on a US bank. The CBSG Conservation Council These generous contributors make the work of CBSG possible $50,000 and above Gladys Porter Zoo Ouwehands Dierenpark Hong Kong Zoological and Riverbanks Zoological Park Chicago Zoological Society Botanical Gardens Wellington Zoo -Chairman Sponsor Japanese Association of Zoological Wildlife World Zoo SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Gardens and Aquariums (JAZA) Zoo de Granby Kansas City Zoo Zoo de la Palmyre $20,000 and above Laurie Bingaman Lackey Evenson Design Group Los Angeles Zoo $250 and above Minnesota Zoological Garden Madrid Zoo-Parques
  • Confirmed Soc Reports List 2015-2016

    Confirmed Soc Reports List 2015-2016

    Confirmed State of Conservation Reports for natural and mixed World Heritage sites 2015 - 2016 Nr Region Country Site Natural or Additional information mixed site 1 LAC Argentina Iguazu National Park Natural 2 APA Australia Tasmanian Wilderness Mixed 3 EURNA Belarus / Poland Bialowieza Forest Natural 4 LAC Belize Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System Natural World Heritage in Danger 5 AFR Botswana Okavango Delta Natural 6 LAC Brazil Iguaçu National Park Natural 7 LAC Brazil Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Natural Emas National Parks 8 EURNA Bulgaria Pirin National Park Natural 9 AFR Cameroon Dja Faunal Reserve Natural 10 EURNA Canada Gros Morne National Park Natural 11 AFR Central African Republic Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 12 LAC Costa Rica / Panama Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad Natural National Park 13 AFR Côte d'Ivoire Comoé National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 14 AFR Côte d'Ivoire / Guinea Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve Natural World Heritage in Danger 15 AFR Democratic Republic of the Congo Garamba National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 16 AFR Democratic Republic of the Congo Kahuzi-Biega National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 17 AFR Democratic Republic of the Congo Okapi Wildlife Reserve Natural World Heritage in Danger 18 AFR Democratic Republic of the Congo Salonga National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 19 AFR Democratic Republic of the Congo Virunga National Park Natural World Heritage in Danger 20 AFR Democratic
  • Empty Forests, Empty Stomachs? Bushmeat and Livelihoods in the Congo and Amazon Basins

    Empty Forests, Empty Stomachs? Bushmeat and Livelihoods in the Congo and Amazon Basins

    International Forestry Review Vol.13(3), 2011 355 Empty forests, empty stomachs? Bushmeat and livelihoods in the Congo and Amazon Basins R. NASI1, A. TABER1 and N. VAN VLIET2 1Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Jalan CIFOR, Situ Gede, Sindang Barang, Bogor 16680, Indonesia 2Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, Oster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark Email: [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] SUMMARY Protein from forest wildlife is crucial to rural food security and livelihoods across the tropics. The harvest of animals such as tapir, duikers, deer, pigs, peccaries, primates and larger rodents, birds and reptiles provides benefits to local people worth millions of US$ annually and represents around 6 million tonnes of animals extracted yearly. Vulnerability to hunting varies, with some species sustaining populations in heavily hunted secondary habitats, while others require intact forests with minimal harvesting to maintain healthy populations. Some species or groups have been characterized as ecosystem engineers and ecological keystone species. They affect plant distribution and structure ecosystems, through seed dispersal and predation, grazing, browsing, rooting and other mechanisms. Global attention has been drawn to their loss through debates regarding bushmeat, the “empty forest” syndrome and their ecological importance. However, information on the harvest remains fragmentary, along with understanding of ecological, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions. Here we assess the consequences, both for ecosystems and local livelihoods, of the loss of these species in the Amazon and Congo basins. Keywords: bushmeat, livelihoods, forest, Amazon, Congo Forêts vides, estomacs vides? Viande de brousse et condition de vie dans les bassins du Congo et de l’Amazone.
  • Mission to Democratic Republic of Congo, September 29 – October 21, 2006

    Mission to Democratic Republic of Congo, September 29 – October 21, 2006

    Mission to Democratic Republic of Congo, September 29 – October 21, 2006 Trip Report for International Programs, USDA Forest Service, Washington, D.C. Version: 21 May 2007 Bruce G. Marcot, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, 620 S.W. Main St., Suite 400, Portland, Oregon 97205, 503-808-2010, [email protected] John G. Sidle, USDA Forest Service 125 N. Main St., Chadron, Nebraska 69337, 308-432-0300, [email protected] CONTENTS 1 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 3 2 Introduction and Setting ………………………………………………………….…………… 3 3 Terms of Reference ……………………….…………………...……………………………… 4 4 Team Members and Contacts ………………………………………………….……………… 4 5 Team Schedule and Itinerary …………………………………………..….………...………… 4 6 Main Findings ................................…………………………………………….……....……… 5 7 Discussion and Recommendations ........………………………...…….......................….……... 10 8 Acknowledgments...…………………………………………………………………..….……. 15 Appendices 1. Terms of reference ..…………………………...…………………...………...………. 16 2. Team members and contacts made ..…………………………………...…......……… 19 3. Observations on biodiversity at Salonga National Park and environs ........................... 22 4. Forest Service presentation on planning at Kinshasa workshop ................................... 27 5. Suggested glossary terms for Salonga National Park Management Plan ...................... 31 6. Interviews with various personnel and local officials ................................................... 32 Disclaimer of brand names and Web links The use of trade, firm,
  • France À Fric: the CFA Zone in Africa and Neocolonialism

    France À Fric: the CFA Zone in Africa and Neocolonialism

    France à fric: the CFA zone in Africa and neocolonialism Ian Taylor Date of deposit 18 04 2019 Document version Author’s accepted manuscript Access rights Copyright © Global South Ltd. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. Citation for Taylor, I. C. (2019). France à fric: the CFA Zone in Africa and published version neocolonialism. Third World Quarterly, Latest Articles. Link to published https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1585183 version Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ FRANCE À FRIC: THE CFA ZONE IN AFRICA AND NEOCOLONIALISM Over fifty years after 1960’s “Year of Africa,” most of Francophone Africa continues to be embedded in a set of associations that fit very well with Kwame Nkrumah’s description of neocolonialism, where postcolonial states are de jure independent but in reality constrained through their economic systems so that policy is directed from outside. This article scrutinizes the functioning of the CFA, considering the role the currency has in persistent underdevelopment in most of Francophone Africa. In doing so, the article identifies the CFA as the most blatant example of functioning neocolonialism in Africa today and a critical device that promotes dependency in large parts of the continent. Mainstream analyses of the technical aspects of the CFA have generally focused on the exchange rate and other related matters. However, while important, the real importance of the CFA franc should not be seen as purely economic, but also political.
  • Background Between July 2Nd and September 5Th Simon Lewis and Me (Wannes Hubau) Did a Second Census on 9 Primary Forest Plots Located in Salonga National Park, DRC

    Background Between July 2Nd and September 5Th Simon Lewis and Me (Wannes Hubau) Did a Second Census on 9 Primary Forest Plots Located in Salonga National Park, DRC

    Background Between July 2nd and September 5th Simon Lewis and me (Wannes Hubau) did a second census on 9 primary forest plots located in Salonga National Park, DRC. This mission was supported by the ERC Advanced Grant ‘Tropical Forests in the Changing Earth System’ (T-FORCES) at Leeds University, UK. For those who have heard of “The Salonga”, the park often has a mythical status. It is located in the deep heart of the dark forests of the Congo Basin, it is very hard to access and it contains a number of near-mythical creatures such as the African slender-snouted crocodile, the forest elephant, the bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee) and the Congo peafowl. The latter two are endemic in the Congo Basin. Salonga National Park (1°00'-3°20'S, 20°-22°30'E) is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest national park. It was already proposed as the Tshuapa National Park in 1956 by the Belgians and it gained its present boundaries with a 1970 decree by President Mobutu Sese Seko. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1999. The park has been cleared of any human presence. There are no settlements and no roads. The last remaining residents of the park, the Iyaelima, are under pressure to leave the park by the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). Most of the park is located in the vast Equateur Province of DRC, on roughly 600 km from the capital Mbandaka.
  • The Making of Concessions: Traditional Authorities, Transnational

    The Making of Concessions: Traditional Authorities, Transnational

    The Making of Concessions: Traditional Authorities, Transnational Capital, and Territorialized Identities in Africa By Rebecca Hardin Paper presented to the Environmental Politics Seminar UC Berkeley, April 27 2007 Draft: please do not cite, nor reproduce Note: This paper presents a framework I am developing for a book project tentatively entitled “Concessionary Cultures.” I am currently revising the project for the University of California Press series “Colonialisms.” The opportunity to benefit from the EP seminar discussion is very welcome. In developing this to date I have incurred intellectual debts to the following readers: Arun Agrawal, Susan E. Cook, Jane Guyer, Alain Karsenty, Damani Partridge, John Galaty, Nahomi Ichino, Eduardo Kohn, Nadine Naber, Devra Meuller, Abena Osseo-Assare, Lorraine Paterson, Beth Povinelli, Hugh Raffles, Jesse Ribot, Mary Steedly, Miriam Ticktin, Diana Wylie,and an anonymous reviewer for the University of California Press. The research support of McGill University, the University of Michigan, and the Harvard Academy of International and Area Studies has been crucial, 1 Nestled within the Dzanga Sangha Dense Forest Reserve and Dzanga Ndoki National Park, the small town of Bayanga is the largest settlement in that southernmost triangle of the Central African Republic (CAR) that borders Cameroon and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). The establishment (1988) and subsequent legislation (1991) of the Park and Reserve (which I’ll refer to at the RDS) created one of the last protected areas established in the CAR, and one of only two sizeable forest reserves in that country. Conducting research on the role of tourism and trophy hunting in the management of this protected area found me sitting one evening with a pair of professional trophy hunters over the cocktails they call “sundowners.” During their hunts with clients that week, they complained, they had found abundant evidence of poaching, and they feared that too many of the animal trophies they sought might be marred by scars from wire snares.
  • The Columbian Exchange: a History of Disease, Food, and Ideas

    The Columbian Exchange: a History of Disease, Food, and Ideas

    Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 24, Number 2—Spring 2010—Pages 163–188 The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian hhee CColumbianolumbian ExchangeExchange refersrefers toto thethe exchangeexchange ofof diseases,diseases, ideas,ideas, foodfood ccrops,rops, aandnd populationspopulations betweenbetween thethe NewNew WorldWorld andand thethe OldOld WWorldorld T ffollowingollowing thethe voyagevoyage ttoo tthehe AAmericasmericas bbyy ChristoChristo ppherher CColumbusolumbus inin 1492.1492. TThehe OldOld WWorld—byorld—by wwhichhich wwee mmeanean nnotot jjustust EEurope,urope, bbutut tthehe eentirentire EEasternastern HHemisphere—gainedemisphere—gained fromfrom tthehe CColumbianolumbian EExchangexchange iinn a nnumberumber ooff wways.ays. DDiscov-iscov- eeriesries ooff nnewew ssuppliesupplies ofof metalsmetals areare perhapsperhaps thethe bestbest kknown.nown. BButut thethe OldOld WWorldorld aalsolso ggainedained newnew staplestaple ccrops,rops, ssuchuch asas potatoes,potatoes, sweetsweet potatoes,potatoes, maize,maize, andand cassava.cassava. LessLess ccalorie-intensivealorie-intensive ffoods,oods, suchsuch asas tomatoes,tomatoes, chilichili peppers,peppers, cacao,cacao, peanuts,peanuts, andand pineap-pineap- pplesles wwereere aalsolso iintroduced,ntroduced, andand areare nownow culinaryculinary centerpiecescenterpieces inin manymany OldOld WorldWorld ccountries,ountries, namelynamely IItaly,taly, GGreece,reece, andand otherother MediterraneanMediterranean countriescountries (tomatoes),(tomatoes),
  • Africa's Gulf of Guinea Forests: Biodiversity Patterns and Conservation Priorities

    Africa's Gulf of Guinea Forests: Biodiversity Patterns and Conservation Priorities

    Advances in Applied Biodiversity Science, no. 6 AABSAdvances in Applied Biodiversity Science Number 6 Africa’s Gulf of Guinea Forests: Africa’s Gulf of Guinea Forests:Biodiversity Patterns and Conservation Africa’s Biodiversity Patterns and Conservation Priorities John F. Oates, Richard A. Bergl, and Joshua M. Linder Priorities C Conservation International ONSERVATION 1919 M Street, NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 TEL: 202-912-1000 FAX: 202-912-0772 I NTERNATIONAL ISBN 1-881173-82-8 WEB: www.conservation.org 9 0 0 0 0> www.biodiversityscience.org 9781881173823 About the Authors John F. Oates is a CABS Research Fellow, Professor of Anthropology at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), and a Senior Conservation Advisor to the Africa program of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). He is cur- rently advising WCS on biodiversity conservation projects in eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. Dr. Oates has conducted research on the ecology of forest primates in Africa and Asia since 1966, and has assisted with the development of rainforest protected areas in South India and West Africa. He has published extensively on primate biology and conservation and, as an active member of the IUCN-SSC Primate Specialist Group, has compiled conservation action plans for African primates. He holds a PhD from the University of London. Richard A. Bergl is a doctoral student in anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center, in the graduate training program of the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP). He is currently conducting research into the population and habitat viability of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) in Nigeria and Cameroon.
  • Living Under a Fluctuating Climate and a Drying Congo Basin

    Living Under a Fluctuating Climate and a Drying Congo Basin

    sustainability Article Living under a Fluctuating Climate and a Drying Congo Basin Denis Jean Sonwa 1,* , Mfochivé Oumarou Farikou 2, Gapia Martial 3 and Fiyo Losembe Félix 4 1 Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Yaoundé P. O. Box 2008 Messa, Cameroon 2 Department of Earth Science, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé P. O. Box 812, Cameroon; [email protected] 3 Higher Institute of Rural Development (ISDR of Mbaïki), University of Bangui, Bangui P. O. Box 1450, Central African Republic (CAR); [email protected] 4 Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources Management, University of Kisangani, Kisangani P. O. Box 2012, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 22 December 2019; Accepted: 20 March 2020; Published: 7 April 2020 Abstract: Humid conditions and equatorial forest in the Congo Basin have allowed for the maintenance of significant biodiversity and carbon stock. The ecological services and products of this forest are of high importance, particularly for smallholders living in forest landscapes and watersheds. Unfortunately, in addition to deforestation and forest degradation, climate change/variability are impacting this region, including both forests and populations. We developed three case studies based on field observations in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as information from the literature. Our key findings are: (1) the forest-related water cycle of the Congo Basin is not stable, and is gradually changing; (2) climate change is impacting the water cycle of the basin; and, (3) the slow modification of the water cycle is affecting livelihoods in the Congo Basin.