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Zero Hunger pp 197–211Cite as

Deforestation in Africa: Implications on Food and Nutritional Security

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definitions

A widely accepted definition of deforestation as stated by the Global Forest Resources Assessment is “the conversion of forest to other land use or the permanent reduction of the tree canopy cover below the minimum 10% threshold” (FAO 2015). Similarly, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the Marrakech Accords agreement defines deforestation as “the direct human-induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land” (UNFCCC 2002).

Introduction

The rate of forest loss continues at an alarming rate globally, especially within the past decade (Heino et al. 2015). According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (2015), the world’s forests which were 4,128 million hectares in 1990 had reduced to 3,999 million hectares by 2015. This means that between 1990 and 2015, there was a net loss of 129 million hectares, equivalent to the size of South Africa. The same significant rate of forest loss is recorded in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Science Programme, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa

    Paxie W. Chirwa & Opeyemi Adeyemi

  2. Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

    Opeyemi Adeyemi

Authors
  1. Paxie W. Chirwa
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  2. Opeyemi Adeyemi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paxie W. Chirwa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, The University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökçin Özuyar

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Vincent Onguso Oeba

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Chirwa, P.W., Adeyemi, O. (2020). Deforestation in Africa: Implications on Food and Nutritional Security. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Zero Hunger. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95675-6_62

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