Improving operating standards in sustainable forest management of tropical forests in Africa

Publication date: 31/08/2020
Extent: 24 pages

Contributions by: Paxie W. Chirwa, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Oghenekevwe Arabomen, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Nigeria; Stephen Syampungani, Copperbelt University, Zambia; and Vincent O. Oeba, African Forest Forum, Kenya

Chapter synopsis: Forests in Africa, if managed sustainably, are important for providing livelihood support to millions of people by delivering environmental, economic and social values. However, high deforestation and forest degradation, undefined policies on land and forest tenure, and associated benefit sharing contribute to the unsustainable forest management in Africa. This chapter highlights some of the concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) as a way of presenting opportunities to stakeholders and communities, as well as contributing to sustainability of forest resources. Furthermore, opportunities for using SFM are highlighted using the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) approaches as a case study.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2020.0074.21