JOHN MARÉ: Africa must see the wood for the trees

Increasing attention is being focused on the need to secure a sustainable global green biosphere to  counter climate change and protect biodiversity. In this context the importance of forests has been acknowledged, especially as they sequester carbon, regulate temperatures and support freshwater flows, while harbouring about 80% of earth’s terrestrial biodiversity. They are a source of subsistence for some 350-million people.

This relevance was acknowledged by actions such as the launch at COP27 of the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership to unite action by governments, businesses and community leaders. It is of special relevance for Africa in various ways. Following on from COP27 in November 2022, already in mid-February 2023 the theme of the sixth African Business Forum of the UN Economic Commission for Africa was “Making carbon markets work for Africa”, with forests being an important  focus.

While the interwoven relationship between commercial forestry and natural forests is extremely relevant, unfortunately the full extent of the potential of forestry to drive Africa’s economic growth in the circular economic biosphere is often not appreciated. The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation considers forests to be a key factor in the global transition to a sustainable circular bio-economy, being the main source of renewable bio-materials and bio-energy. Africa has considerable untapped potential to derive more value from its forests by exploring the opportunities being created by the growing importance of the circular bio-economy.

Commercial forestry must be considered a new frontier for the African economy, especially considering the potential of its downstream products taken together with the continent’s expanding industrialisation and the promise of such AU flagship programmes as the African Continental Free Trade Area promoting regional production and value chains. Moreover, forestry is able to contribute substantially towards overall sustainable socio-economic and environmental development goals.

Forestry can be an increasingly important creator of employment in the forest bio-materials value chain, with the use of blockchain technology helping to integrate the SMEs, smallholders and informal sector, which are important components of the sector into the chain. Recently, forest products from the EU (the region’s forest coverage is about 25% of Africa’s) were valued almost 17 times higher than Africa’s — $100bn compared with $6bn. That demands more should be done to create an optimal context for developing the sector in Africa. The current global context provides unprecedented opportunities.

At a recent event at the SA campus of the Henley Business School to discuss the economic importance of Africa’s forests, the relevance of forestry was underlined, along with the enormous potential for the sector in this country and Africa as a whole. The sector presently supports about 652,000 people in SA, compared with about 400,000 in commercial fruit production.  The government’s Masterplan for the Commercial Forestry Sector in SA: 2020—2025 recognises the importance attached to its natural and commercial forests, but dedicated implementation of its strategy for developing the sector should be a priority for all stakeholders.

Of special relevance is the need for strong multi-stakeholder co-operation involving the public and private sectors as well as academia and other civil society, with this being backed by political will. Suitable regulatory frameworks with supportive policy implementation that offer support as well as reliability are other critically important factors and should result from such co-operation. In forestry, the investments are of a long-term nature, needing such assurances and co-operation, yet benefits for the local communities are equally long-term. The relationships between forestry and society, as well as the environments in which it operates, are crucial for all sides. Forestry is capable of bringing benefits on all fronts, but here again contextual conditions and partnerships determine results.

Science, research and innovation are key factors for expanding the beneficial deliverables from forestry. Biotechnology is a key facet of the bio-economy and has opened new opportunities for African forestry with expanded value creation from forest products. In this context SA is an African leader and the opportunities for spin-off benefits in its forestry are easily apparent. The bio-economy is a key aspect of SA’s recent 10-year Innovation Plan, with some other African countries launching similar plans. SA has already achieved much, such as the establishment of a biosecurity hub, and has led the world in being the first to sequence the eucalyptus genome.

Unfortunately, the percentage of the SA’s GDP annually allocated to science and technology has recently dropped from 1.5% to 0.6%, with the loss to the biosciences being greater. This must increase as soon as possible if the considerable potential for SA to use opportunities in taking a great leap forwards in the bio-economy is to be realised. The need for closer co-operation between all stakeholders becomes all the more obvious in this situation, yet the strong role of governmental involvement is a priority.

In developing its forestry sector and bio-economy generally, Africa can benefit from existing relevant experiences drawn from developed countries, and in some cases from a few African countries — Gabon, in particular, is notable. Of special note is the European bio-economy, where the EU’s European Green Deal is a central facet, and is a leader in most aspects of a bio-economy. The Green Deal has placed special emphasis on improving Europe’s global competitiveness in key aspects of a bio-economy, including the forestry and bio-materials value chain, with the EU Forest Strategy being of paramount importance for an African equivalent.

Here again, SA’s strategic partnership with the EU could be better used to help interpret and transmit lessons from the European experience to developing African forestry.

• Dr Maré, a former diplomat, is an adviser on international public affairs and diplomacy.