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Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge

Part of the book series: World Forests ((WFSE,volume 12))

Abstract

The rich body of traditional forest-related knowledge (TFRK) in Africa has been widely acknowledged as important for its contribution to current global efforts towards sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. While many rural communities in Africa continue to observe their age-old traditions in relation to forests to ensure the provision of their livelihoods, other communities have lost their traditions for many reasons, including their forced or voluntary cultural alienation from forests, reduced dependence on forests for rural livelihoods, and extensive urbanization. Nonetheless, many communities throughout Africa are still living in or near the continent’s diverse range of forest ecosystems and continue to depend on these forests for their livelihoods. A documentation of how communities have successfully managed these forests to provide for their needs until the present day can serve many useful purposes, including for evidence-based sharing of experiences or case studies, research adoption and uptake, and knowledge transfer and training in forestry curricula. In this chapter, we provide a general background on traditional forest-related knowledge in Africa; its historical and present contributions to food security and rural livelihoods; the present ­challenges faced by the holders and users of this knowledge; and opportunities for its preservation, enhancement, and application to help solve pressing environmental, economic, and social challenges, including the conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     Forest areas estimated by the UNEP-WCMC (Table 2.1) are somewhat higher—8.12 km2 in 2000. Differences between FAO and UNEP-WCMC forest cover estimates may be attributed to the different definitions of “forest” used in their assessments, with more open woodlands being included the UNEP-WCMC estimates.

  2. 2.

     Prunus africana is listed in Appendix 2 of CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (http://www.cites.org/).

  3. 3.

    http://www.minorityrights.org/

  4. 4.

    http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

    Alfred Oteng-Yeboah

  2. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya

    Doris Mutta

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda

    Dominic Byarugaba

  4. Department of Plant Biology, Yaounde I University, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    William Armand Mala

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  1. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah
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  2. Doris Mutta
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  3. Dominic Byarugaba
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  4. William Armand Mala
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Correspondence to Alfred Oteng-Yeboah .

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  1. , Research & Development Branch, U.S. Forest Service, North Kent Street 1601, Arlington, 22209, Virginia, USA

    John A. Parrotta

  2. , American Indian Studies, The University of Arizona, E. Second Street 1103, Tuscon, 85721, Arizona, USA

    Ronald L. Trosper

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Oteng-Yeboah, A., Mutta, D., Byarugaba, D., Mala, W.A. (2012). Africa. In: Parrotta, J., Trosper, R. (eds) Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge. World Forests, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2144-9_2

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