There is compelling urgency to devote research funds and efforts to
this subject because there is unanimity among experts from all disciplines
that the forest crisis is escalating and that if deforestation and
species depletion continues at the present rate, the future of our
environment as we know it will be compromised. Efforts must be taken
to understand in more precise terms the socio-economic articulations
and interstices between the forest-city interface. This will contribute
to the effort in slowing down this escalation which so powerfully
influences contemporary African history.
-how forest resources are used by city dwellers and,
-how the forest, its peoples, products, related activities and symbolism are perceived by urban populations.
Understanding the socio-economic factors accounting for why, and for what specific purposes, forest products are consumed in cities needs to be supported by socio-anthropological research. It is crucial to identify how city dwellers perceive the forest in anthropological terms because perceptions are intricately linked with use, which in turn can lead to non-sustainable development and eventual resource depletion. Grasping local perceptions and sensibilities, moreover, will improve working relations with African administrations, organisations and NGOs involved in addressing conservation issues.
Anthropologists, economists, political scientists and other social scientific researchers are called upon to play active roles in interpreting the crux of the forest-city interface. African and European social scientists from these disciplines must work toward conservation by integrating local leaders into the conservation struggle, by stimulating public awareness and by organising educational efforts. It is absolutely necessary to emphasise the cultural, political and economic aspects of urban pressure on the forest environment.
Despite certain common denominators, the nature of the forest-city
interface varies from one country to another depending on political
systems, economic structures, geographical and historical influences,
cultural attachments, demography, etc. A study of this interface must
therefore be country-comparative before being able to assert research
findings. Hence the selection of three very different countries in
central Africa for initial research, i. e. Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire.
(Reasons for this selection stated below in section 5.2.)
It also applies to the masses: millions of people in the swelling cities of central Africa use and rely on, discover and re-discover forest resources to help cope with the exigencies of daily survival which is exacerbated by the current economic crisis: weak economies and recession in general, CFA franc devaluation in Cameroon and Gabon, political and economic deterioration in Zaire.
In times of economic hardship, urban populations exert increasing pressure on forest resources, generally in ways which ignore "sustainable development". Deforestation takes place to provide fuel wood and for the establishment of plantations. Likewise, urban unemployed take to commercial hunting as a means of earning a livelihood. This dramatically reduces wildlife. It also disrupts traditional living habits in the forest environment, changing attitudes and behaviours.
Forest conservation or management (this latter being a difficult and polemic term to define) must take a wide array of social science factors into account to be realistic. The world economy, demographic questions, urbanisation, ethnicity, the psychological lure of the city, etc. are among the subjects which influence the ways and degree forest resources are exploited.
Deforestation and resource depletion by city dwellers goes far beyond the commonly stated reasons of "poverty and ignorance": cultural and traditional attachment to forest products is deep-rooted and enduring.
The forest is perceived by city dwellers in a multiplicity of ways which merits in-depth research attention. Some consider the forest to be a vast reservoir of resources to be consumed and not managed; others are apprehensive, given real and imagined dangers; others feel a deep spiritual attachment to it. The vast majority of city dwellers are indifferent to the forest as defined and defended by Europeans.
Notwithstanding the physical departure from the forest habitat, the forest remains important to urbanites for a variety of reasons. They range from spirituality, ritual, legends and nostalgia to commerce, traditional healthcare and food and fuelwood purveyance.
The fragile nature of African political systems has induced local leaders to address priorities which serve incumbency above all else. These priorities are generally linked to perceived economic requirements or commercial activities which provide revenues at minimal investment costs. With respect to the forest this translates, on the international level, into massive lumbering; sale of live animals for research, zoos or pets; and hunting parties or eco-tourism for the well-to-do. Likewise, policy concerning non-sustainable use of forest products by urban populations, also for reasons of expediency, is characterised by attitudes ranging from indifference to leniency. Short-term political and economic imperatives, in sum, clash with forest conservation which is a long-term enterprise.
A better understanding of the forest-city interface could have an impact on development issues themselves. Transportation networks; urban planning; cultivation, gathering and commercialisation of agricultural and forest products; the vast timber sector; animal husbandry; hunting and fishing; etc. are all development issues but they are also issues intricately linked to the development process.
The way forest conservation evolves in the near future will have a
direct impact on the availability of certain resources in urban areas.
Deterioration of living standards in African cities to even worse
poverty levels will exacerbate the flow of "genuine" and
"economic" refugees from Africa into Europe.