118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

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countries in Africa, with at least 60 percent of its population living in urban and periurbanareas. The problem results in increasing demand from urban centers forvegetation resources.C2b. Deforestation RatesIn a paper prepared as part of this assessment, Safford (2000) cites estimates fordeforestation rates ranging from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent. He noted that these are notbased on hard data and attempts to provide a more realistic figure based on estimatesof charcoal and firewood demand in Angola.Assuming a demand of slightly more than 9 million m 3 of wood for charcoalproduction to satisfy the energy needs of 80 percent of Angola’s population, andestimates of wood volume extracted from the literature, Safford estimates thatdeforestation rates due to wood extraction for charcoal alone is probably between 0.9percent to 1.0 percent per year. This is concentrated around urban areas in everwidening circles of deforestation. With the rehabilitation of the road network, the areaof extraction is likely to expand unless drastic measures are put in place to replace theprimary source of energy used by Angolan households, from charcoal and firewood tosomething else.In addition to deforestation resulting from charcoal and firewood extraction, Saffordcalls attention to the impact of slash-and-burn cultivation on vegetation cover,especially where soil fertility is limiting. Based on Angola’s rural population density,and the time it takes the soil to recover, Safford arrived at the following conclusions:1. Population growth in Angola is rapid enough that sustainable slash-and-burncultivation cannot supply enough food to feed the rural population.2. Over the short- to medium-term, more people can be supported in rural areaswhen fallow periods are shortened, and/or if the rate of new clearing isincreased.3. As seen in other southern African nations, short-term needs for food willprobably increase current rates of forest-clearing for cultivation to the pointthat soil fertility and forest cover will be negatively impacted in the long-term.Charcoal production is one of themost important forces drivingdeforestation. As the radius ofdeforestation expands out fromurban centers, it threatensprotected areas. This photographwas taken a few kilometers fromthe boundary of CangandalaNational Park, one of the lastrefuges of the giant sable.28 118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA
C3. Coastal and Marine SystemsC3a. GeneralAngola’s mangroves, estuarine systems, and coastal zones in general are under anumber of pressures due their proximity to population centers and irregularsettlements established during the war. These were described by IUCN in 1992; now,peace and rapid economic growth in the absence of effective environmentalgovernance compromise the future of some of the most productive coastal ecosystemsin the country, such as the Kwanza and Longa River mouths, and other estuaries andbays near urban centers.Angola possesses some of themost impressive mangroves inAfrica. These ecosystems, such asthis one in Kissama National Park,are under a number of threatssuch as deforestation and thehunting of keystone species.The discussion below focuses on a few areas along Angola’s extensive coastline. Theexamples illustrate the status and trends affecting coastal ecosystems in the country,but are far from comprehensive.C3b. The Status of Selected Bays, Estuaries, and Coastal StripsCacuaco Bay is 15 km north of Luanda. In 1992 IUCN noted that the bay wasseverely impacted by human wastes from squatter camps, shanty towns, and industrialwastes from Angola’s largest cement factory (CIMANGOL), the SONANGOL oilrefinery, and an asbestos tubing and sheet factory (CIMIANTO), among others. Thesecontinue to operate and pollute.Luanda Bay and Environs is Angola’s principal port and shipyard. Ships using thebay have significant negative impacts as they wash out bilges in or near the bay.Maintenance work on hulls, including the application of molluscicidal paints, isoccurs without controls. Given the increase in Angolan imports and ship traffic, theproblems caused by the shipping industry are likely to have augmented since 1992.Storm water from Luanda discharges directly into the bay carrying with it humanwaste from broken sewage pipes. Luanda Bay is also experiencing pressures along itssouthern shoreline from mega-development projects that include extensive earthfilling.118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA 29
Page 7: ACRONYMSCITESConvention on Internat
Page 10 and 11: The country is divided into 18 prov
Page 12 and 13: A number of sector-specific legal i
Page 14 and 15: The Status and Trends of Tropical F
Page 16 and 17: exploitation of these resources and
Page 18 and 19: environmental consciousness of the
Page 21 and 22: SECTION A. INTRODUCTIONA1. Legal Re
Page 23: He has a master’s degree in envir
Page 26 and 27: stabilizing effect on the lower atm
Page 28 and 29: forests considered to be centers of
Page 30 and 31: A glance at Exhibit 5 reveals two i
Page 32 and 33: Exhibit 7. Simplified potential veg
Page 34 and 35: Exhibit 8. Angola’s population de
Page 36 and 37: Of note is the lack of follow-throu
Page 38 and 39: February 1955). This decree covered
Page 40 and 41: • Angola’s legal environmental
Page 42 and 43: • Angola’s institutional framew
Page 45 and 46: SECTION C. THE STATUS AND ECOLOGICA
Page 47: It is important to note that Angola
Page 51: indiscriminate hunting. Other negat
Page 54: Common Name Scientific Name StatusW
Page 57 and 58: D2c. Degradation of Coastal Ecosyst
Page 59 and 60: SECTION E. ACTIONS NECESSARY TO DEC
Page 61 and 62: areas or conservation, ownership st
Page 63: conservation activities in Angola:
Page 67: APPENDIX A. INDIVIDUALS INTERVIEWED
Page 70 and 71: significant discrepancies among the
Page 72 and 73: . An overview of the social, econom
Page 74 and 75: have knowledge of and be responsibl

118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

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