Suchergebnisse

The introduction of food production into a specific region is among the most influential transitions in human history. It is frequently connected to other changes such as sedentism and population growth. Though most communities living in the Congo Basin today follow a relatively sedentary lifestyle with a slash-and-burn agri- or horticulture, hunting and fishing still contribute in large part to their subsistence. The lifestyle of historic forager communities and their sedentary neighbours changed significantly through colonialism. When and how food production started in the region is essentially not solved yet.

Studies suggest that the introduction of food production dates back to the 1st millennium BCE. However, empirical data are sparsely available, and Central African research is still marked significantly by its lack of physical evidence. Postcolonial archaeological research started earlier in other parts of Central Africa, while the Congo Basin saw large-scale, systematic research on its prehistory from the late 1970s. Investigations focused predominantly on the chrono-typological sequences, as ceramics are an easily encountered find category in the region. Archaeobotanical samples often underwent no further scrutiny or are still awaiting processing. Political instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1990s and 2000s halted research in the Congo Basin. The western parts of Central Africa are among the better-researched areas. However, even there, only limited evidence of early food production has been uncovered. For a more concise picture, one should nonetheless discuss these two bodies of evidence in conjunction.

The available evidence suggests that during the 1st millennium BCE, pearl millet, originating from West Africa, was used in southern Cameroon and the Congo Basin, but presumably not in quantities that constituted a staple crop. The evidence for the use of cooking bananas is incomplete. Archaeobotanical remains are dominated by charred oil palm or wild Canarium, both equally unsuited as a staple food. Thus, the composition of the subsistence base and the reliance on food production of the ceramic-producing communities living in the Congo Basin during the 1st millennium BCE and the 1st millennium CE remain uncertain.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. The Novelty and Immensity of the Climate Issue and Social Inertia -- 2. International Good Political Intentions: Difficulties to Implement Them in Central Africa -- 3. How Can Central Africa Successfully Play Its Global Political Role in Managing CO2 and Other GHGs? -- 4. Climate Change: Adaptation and Mitigation in Central Africa and DRC -- 5. De-carbonating Developed Economies and the Right to Development -- 6. Biodiversity Erosion, Climate Change and Life's Purpose

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. Developmental and environmental actions in the Congo Basin need to properly consider the slight modification of this water cycle in watersheds that affect products and services from the forest.

Over the last two decades, in the Congo Basin, the implementation of forest policy reforms has focussed on the regulation of large-scale logging concessions, while small-scale logging activities, carried out mostly with chainsaws, and sourcing the domestic or regional market, have been sidelined by official policy. As a consequence, chainsaw milling developed largely as an informal activity, has been poorly researched in recent decades, and its dynamics and impacts on rural livelihoods, as well as its timber production, remain largely unknown to concerned ministries and are not included in national and international statistics. We found that chainsaw milling, albeit largely informal and illegal, contributes about 1.2m cubic meters of processed products to the domestic markets of considered countries, which is equivalent to the production of the formal, large-scale, industrial forestry sector. Also, chainsaw milling has positive economic impacts on the livelihoods options of many thousands of citizens living in rural areas, with annual financial gains larger than ¿40m in Cameroon and Gabon. Nonetheless, because of its informal nature, chainsaw milling not only does not contribute to the formal revenues of the State, but also engender corrupt practices that contribute about ¿10m to the private gains of civil servants. The adoption of legal frameworks adapted to the current needs of the timber domestic market is a necessary (technical) first step towards the professionalisation and formalisation of the sector, but a clear (political) step by concerned governments towards the sanctioning of corrupt practices by civil servants is also badly needed.

The 2015 edition of the State of the Forests of the Congo Basin is a number issued specifically for the 21th Conference of Parties in Paris. Indeed, it is envisaged that during the conference a global climate agreement could be reached by the international community. To support their participation in the Conference, the countries of the COMIFAC had planned several activities during the year 2015. Among these activities, it was decided to publish a special report on forests and climate change in Central Africa. This report comes thus to support for the negotiations in Paris and focuses on the role of the rain forest in mitigating climate change and the impacts of these changes on the adaptation of populations and ecosystems in Central Africa.