118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

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D1b. Reduced Economic Alternatives and Ill-defined Property Rights Lead toUnsustainable Exploitation of Renewable ResourcesAccording to some estimates, unemployment and underemployment affect nearly 50percent of the Angolan population. There are few alternatives for a large proportion ofthe population but to eke a living out of the exploitation of natural resources:producing and selling charcoal; poaching wild animals for subsistence andcommercial purposes; and illegal logging of valuable timber. Uncontrolled use andunclear resource and land tenure regimes, which render wildlife, land, and trees freeaccessresources, compound the situation. Limited economic options available fornearly 50 percent of Angola’s population, and their ability to freely exploit renewablenatural resources is a root cause for the unsustainable exploitation of these resourcesand the demise of the country’s biodiversity, forests, and aquatic resources.D2. Immediate Causes to Specific Environmental ProblemsD2a. Deforestation as a Result of Charcoal Production and FuelwoodExtractionThe primary source of energy for an estimated 80 percent of Angola’s households ischarcoal and fuelwood. This creates a demand for these resources and promoteswidespread deforestation by individuals who sell them to earn a living. Charcoalproduction is generating an ever-widening circle of deforestation around urbancenters, a process that is facilitated by the unclear resource tenure regime thatpredominates in Angola’s rural areas. Hence, the principal direct cause ofdeforestation is charcoal production, which is subtended by a demand for fuel byurban and rural households and a lack of alternative sources of income for urban andrural dwellers. The substitution of natural gas for charcoal in cooking would go a longway toward resolving this problem.D2b. Depletion of Wildlife Populations in Forested Areas as a Result ofCommercial HuntingIn three decades of war, large segments of Angola’s population preyed on wildlife asa source of sustenance. This led to the decimation of wildlife populations in savannahareas. Only residual populations exist from the estimated 200,000 buffalo, 35,000zebras, 70,000 elephants, 15,000 hippopotamus, and 200,000 antelopes that populatedAngola’s protected areas before independence (MINUA 2006c).Whereas Angola’s wildlife populations from savannah areas entered the post-warperiod in a critically depleted state, the large number of freshly killed carcasses forsale along roads in the country’s northern humid forests (Bengo, Uíge) attest to theexistence of healthy populations of small antelopes (duikers, bush buck) and primatesin those areas. The survival of these species in forested ecosystems is threatened bythe heavy hunting pressure that emerged with the advent of peace. Therefore,poaching for commercial purposes threatens populations of primates and smallantelopes in Angola’s northern forest areas. Poaching is a relatively easy source ofcash in a country with limited employment possibilities.36 118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA
D2c. Degradation of Coastal Ecosystems, Particularly Mangroves, Due toDeforestation and Hunting of Keystone SpeciesDuring the war, large numbers of people flocked to coastal areas to escape theviolence and have access to sources of protein. Mangroves, a highly productiveecosystem, were particularly attractive, as displaced people fished and extracted woodfor construction and fuel. Given the ease with which they can be hunted and theamount of meat they yield, the African manatee became a favorite prey. The pressureextended to marine turtles; people raided nests and occasionally butchered adults.Internally displaced people have not returned to their places of origin as expected.Many that settled along coastlines have elected to stay. The team saw evidence thatthe movement of people towards coastal areas continues, albeit at a reduced rate. Thepressure on coastal resources, particularly mangroves, continues unabated. Hence, inthe absence of effective controls, the harvest of wood and the killing of keystonespecies such as the African manatee are degrading mangrove ecosystems. Thesurvival of marine turtles (leatherback, olive, and green) that use Angola’s coastline isin jeopardy due to raiding of nests and killing of adult females.D2d. Absence of Controls Renders Angola’s Protected Areas Vulnerable toPoaching, Deforestation, and EncroachmentAngola’s protected areas are in critical condition. There is practically no effectivegovernment control in any of the six national parks. Where there is somemanagement, it is a result of specific projects catalyzed by the initiative of individualsor national NGOs. This lack of control makes it easy for poachers, charcoalproducers, and livestock herders to practice their trade within park boundaries.Foreign interests, with the acquiescence of local authorities, have plans to establishlarge development projects (shrimp farms, hotels) within some park boundaries. Otherparks have been encroached upon by large farms and small scale agriculturalproducers. In short, the absence of government controls or presence in protected areasrenders these areas vulnerable to a broad spectrum of pressures. Unless the situation isreversed in the short term, many of Angola’s protected areas will become unviable asconservation units.D2e. Lack of Legal and De Facto Protection Renders Angola’s Centers of HighBiodiversity and Endemism Highly VulnerableAngola’s afro-montane forests are not represented in the country’s system ofprotected areas. In 1992 IUCN reported that they were under intensive pressure fromfires and cultivation. These areas are habitats for several species of endemic birds andplants. Furthermore, Angola’s northwestern forested areas, once used as coffee farms,are now areas of high biodiversity. Neither of these ecosystem types are representedin Angola’s protected areas system. Because Angola’s most biodiverse ecosystemsare not represented in the country’s system of protected areas, they are seriouslythreatened. Whereas legal protection does not ensure the conservation of habitats orspecies in Angola, a legally recognized conservation category does offer the hope thatthe practical problems can be solved and conservation achieved.118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA 37
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 and 48: It is important to note that Angola
Page 49 and 50: C3. Coastal and Marine SystemsC3a.
Page 51: indiscriminate hunting. Other negat
Page 54: Common Name Scientific Name StatusW
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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