Beyond Trees
“If asked to define a forest, most of us will straightaway think of trees. While it is true that trees dominate - they are the biggest organisms present there, there are many of them, and they don't move about - a forest is in fact a community of not just plants and animals, but of micro-organisms as well.” (The World Wide Fund for Nature).
From the above statement, it is clear that a clearer understanding of the forest eco-system will emerge when we include non-living elements such as soil, climate, water, and the complex interrelationships among the organisms. West Africa is rich in forests, stretching from Guinea and Sierra Leone eastward to include Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. We see rich forest land also in the four islands of the Gulf of Guinea: Bioko and Annobon (both part of Equatorial Guinea), and São Tomé and Príncipe. It is estimated that over 30% of the earth's surface forest land.
Forests are well known for the their trees, but they are one of the most prominent storehouses of diverse smaller biological organism - they house over two-thirds of the known terrestrial species as well as the larger species that are recorded as threatened with extinction (such as?). Admitted, the trees are the most dominant resource available in the forest, but there is a lot more to forests than trees. Other values to be derived from the forest are many and varied.
Timber extracted from the forest is used for construction and paper production. The value of world trade in all timber products is around $120 billion. Charcoal deriving from wood is among the leading source of energy especially for domestic use in the developing world.
Beyond trees, the forests provide aesthetic value to humanity, in terms of the flora (plant life) and its rich components of biodiversity. They also provide sanctuary for many of the endangered species. Forest also are game reserves for the world’s tourists and adventurers, and sanctuaries to wildlife.
Another value of the forest lies in its support to the livelihood of the host communities. In rural areas, forests closely affect the religious beliefs of the forest communities; worship shrines are located in the forests and spirits are said to reside in the forest as well. Additionally, most forest communities depend on the forest for subsistence; they farm the fringes of the forest, take fuelwood, vegetables and edible leaves, palm wine and other palm produce from the forest. Locals also serve as guides to tourists and also labourers in the logging industry –however, the bushmeat industry is perhaps the highest employer of labour in the forest, it provides employment to hunters, middlemen, and cooks as well as support cultural and traditional practices associated with bushmeat. Sadly, the United Nations has warned of an impending 'bushmeat crisis' in many parts of the world – if this is not averted, it would threatens both the food security of forest communities, the survival of the species hunted and the balance of the forest eco-system.
It is in this context that the global campaign for the conservation and rejuvenation of forests should be supported in West Africa. The forest has come to actively shape the landscape and livelihood of West Africa – there is a lot more to lose when we lose the forest; and West Africa cannot afford this.
-Nengak, Daniel