Impact of forest transition on non-timber forest products in Central Africa

The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of deforestation on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) harvest in Central Africa. The most common vegetal NTFPs are fruits, barks and leaves used as complements to the staple food (cassava or plantain). Animal NTFPs such as caterpillars, worms and bush meat represent a major source of animal protein in the villagers’ diet.

We analyzed the evolution of several parameters including NTFPs diversity, distance to the road, changes in land tenure rules, proportion in the alimentary bolus and in the villagers’ incomes. The research is based on field surveys, participatory mapping and geolocation of activities held in 8 villages. Three study sites are located at different stages on Mather’s forest transition curve (Mather, 1992). This curve shows the relationship between forest cover and population density. The sites represent the situations: (i) important cover of intact forest, (ii) forest partially degraded and under pressure of conversion to other land uses and (iii) small surfaces of degraded forest with a trend of plantation of useful trees on deforested land.

Results show a reduction in NTFPs diversity along with the increase of deforestation. The maximum distance of collection sites to the road increases between the first and the second study site, as a consequence of the decrease in the quantity of NTFPs available. This distance decreases significantly in the third study site due to the contraction of villages’ terroir. The diversity of bush meat decreases while the hunting bag evolves from big to small species along with the forest transition. Land tenure rules to access and extract NTFPs become stricter. As a consequence, the proportion of these products reduces in the alimentary bolus and in the family cash income.
This analysis establishes a strong link between Mather’s forest transition curve and the decline of the importance of NTFPs in the village production and livelihoods systems