Cameroon savanna plantation forests
Cameroon savanna plantation forests are an integral part of the country’s diverse ecosystems, covering approximately 7.4 million acres in the northern region. These forests coexist with rich biodiversity, including three national parks that shelter over 300 bird species and various large mammals like elephants and giraffes. However, the balance of this ecosystem is under threat from factors such as deforestation linked to commercial logging, intensive agriculture, and the expansion of palm oil plantations. The palm oil industry is particularly influential, driven by both local demand and international markets, resulting in significant land use changes that replace small farms and local forests.
In addition to palm oil, cocoa production has also impacted forest areas, though recent shifts in cultivation practices may offer some hope for conservation. Plantation forestry, which often involves monocultures, can lead to reduced species diversity and disrupt natural habitats, posing risks to local wildlife. Environmental organizations are actively working to address these challenges by promoting better forest management and accountability among forestry companies. The future of Cameroon’s savanna plantation forests remains uncertain, especially in the context of climate change, which is expected to diminish rainfall and exacerbate existing ecological pressures.
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Subject Terms
Cameroon savanna plantation forests
- Category: Forest Biomes.
- Geographic Location: Africa.
- Summary: More than half of the African country of Cameroon is forest, and under serious threat of deforestation from commercial logging and the palm-oil trade.
More than half of the central-west African country of Cameroon is forested. In the south is an equatorial rainforest. The savanna of northern Cameroon covers about 7.4 million acres (three million hectares) and includes three national parks—Benoue, Boumba Ndjida, and Faro—among its protected areas. One of the last large savannas in central Africa, it is home to three hundred species of birds, African wild dogs, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, and many other animals. Intensive agriculture, cattle grazing, and unsustainable methods of fishing and hunting had already put the ecosystem at risk despite the best efforts of environmental groups. The recent adoption of plantation forestry in Cameroon will create yet another source of risk.
Plantation forests are monocultures: forests that are managed to produce a single type of tree as a crop. Monoculture forestry is a method that produces greater yields and more effective commercial growth than diverse or mixed forests. Because the trees are typically planted and harvested at the same time, they lack the diversity of tree sizes of naturally occurring monocultures.
Such forests also deprive the ecosystem of the niches that dead trees and openings can provide, and when the trees are harvested by clear-cutting, the habitats of the forest are deeply affected. Mechanical harvesting compacts soil, destroying much of the understory ecosystem. Opponents of monoculture forestry also claim that the forests are ideal breeding grounds for pests and disease because they no longer include some of the pests' natural predators. Theoretically, however, and depending on the particular monoculture, a plantation forest can benefit from biodiversity by limiting logging activities to that area.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is the cash crop driving the growth of Cameroon's plantation forests. The oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guieensis). Palm oil is a highly saturated vegetable fat. It has long been a common cooking ingredient in Africa, as well as southeast Asia, and has grown in popularity worldwide for its low price and commercial food industry applications.
The deforestation of oil palms by commercial interests has been a serious problem since the 19th century, when the king of Dahomey outlawed the practice. Industrial uses for palm oil have included machinery lubrication; soap products such as the Palmolive brand; the manufacture of napalm; and, most recently, the production of biodiesel. Although methods of producing biodiesel vary by manufacturer, the method of turning palm oil into biodiesel is fairly simple. The profit equation is currently driven by low production, labor, and land costs, along with the increased demand for biofuels.
Environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund have pointed out that when palm oil is produced by clearing existing forests for oil-palm plantations, the environmental consequences of deforestation outweigh—or at the very least diminish—the environmental gains of using biofuel instead of fossil fuels. This consideration is apart from issues of social costs, which should be raised when the developed world adopts a technology dependent on cheap labor from developing nations. Another organization, Global Forest Watch, works with local organizations in Cameroon to collect and distribute information on forest development in order to hold public officials and forestry companies accountable and to foster better management of forest resources. Global Forest Watch Cameroon has published reports providing future plans on forest development and profiles of logging companies, and has explored the potential of employing satellite imagery to detect illegal logging.
Recently oil-palm plantations spread to Cameroon when the government of Indonesia—a major producer—issued a two-year moratorium on new oil-palm plantations in that country. Agribusinesses such as Sime Darby (the largest palm-oil producer in the world) altered its expansion plans, buying up land in Africa so it could continue opening new plantations. In 2011, Sime Darby purchased 741,000 acres (300,000 hectares) in Cameroon.
New York-based Herakles Farms leased an additional 148,260 acres (60,000 hectares) from the Cameroonian government under a 99-year lease. This oil-palm plantation will replace small farms and local forests, and will be placed adjacent to several of Cameroon's nature reserves. As a result, the creation of oil-palm plantations in Cameroon will degrade forests and reshape agricultural land, jeopardizing Cameroon's food sovereignty to plant crops of oil palms. Animal migration routes will be disrupted, along with the lifestyles of the native primates, butterflies, and roaming mammals.
Cocoa
In addition to the oil-palm plantations, Cameroon is home to plantations of cocoa. Initially, forest areas were cleared so cocoa could be planted in the rich soil; as such, Cameroon's cocoa production was then considered to be a major driver of deforestation. However, by the first decade of the 21st century, cocoa production had largely moved to the transitional grassland area between the savannah and the forest, known as the Mbam. The soil in such areas was not previously considered suitable for cocoa growing, but a 2012 study found little difference in commercial yield between grassland and forest cocoa plantations. This has been considered a positive step for forest conservation in the country, though the growing number of palm-oil plantations may offset any gains made by shifting the center of cocoa production.
Sustainability Questions
Research in Cameroon, Ghana, and elsewhere on the reaction and sustainability of ant and termite colonies, as well as beetle populations, in forest areas disrupted by plantation clearance has indicated that there may be methods to mitigate some of the negative effects. For example, the more deliberate, manual clearing of forest areas prior to monoculture planting has been shown to be about half as disruptive in some cases as complete clearance effected by mechanized methods. Nevertheless, the evidence supports the thesis that plantation forests diminish species diversity in a given biome.
Situated in sub-Saharan Africa, the Cameroon savanna is projected to sustain annually reduced rainfall as an effect of climate change. Some scientists and land-use experts predict that this will lead to faster groundwater depletion, as irrigation for food and commercial croplands increases in order to offset the projected loss by 2050 of some 2 inches (50 millimeters) of yearly rainfall due to climate change. Conserving soil structure—which helps retain nutrients and support various habitat niches—will become more of a challenge in lower-moisture scenarios, whether a forest is in pristine condition, is converted to small-scale farming, or is cleared for plantation forestry.
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