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In many contemporary societies, multiple functions are connected to hunting. Here, we use the concept of multifunctionality to investigate the role of hunting beyond its traditional function of supplying meat. Hunting may contribute, for example, to biodiversity conservation, recreation and the preservation of economies and cultures in rural areas. Our comparative analysis of hunting in eight study sites in Europe and Africa examines the tensions and trade-offs between these ecological, economic and social functions of hunting, and investigates the interplay between the institutions regulating these functions to better understand conflicts over hunting. Based on this analysis, we present institutional arrangements that have developed to address these challenges of multifunctionality, and explore the institutional change brought about by such arrangements. Finally, we discuss the implications of this study for policy and institutional design. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The biodiversity of West African rainforests is globally significant but poorly described, little understood in terms of its functional significance, and under threat from forest loss and degradation. Estimates suggest that about 10 million ha of forest may have been lost in the 20th Century, and around 80% of the original forest area is now an agriculture-forest mosaic. These highly modified forests provide food, fuel, fibre and a range of ecosystem services for over 200 million people. As a consequence, the future of biodiversity in the region is intimately linked with the lives and livelihoods of local people. The available evidence suggests that forest loss and degradation has been caused primarily by agricultural expansion, sometimes facilitated by other human activities such as wood extraction. This expansion is a response to the demand generated by a growing and increasingly urbanised human population, but has been exacerbated by small increases in crop yields over recent decades. We synthesize and review our state of knowledge on the value of human-modified habitats for forest biodiversity in the region. Data on biodiversity are patchy, but we show that across plant, invertebrate and vertebrate groups, there is a significant loss of forest species as tree cover is reduced and vegetation structure simplified. Agricultural expansion clearly causes significant local biodiversity loss. We argue that replicated landscape-scale studies are now needed that describe changes across a range of biodiversity groups (above and below ground) in relation to land-use and landscape context to address knowledge gaps and biases. Such descriptive studies need to be complemented by a deeper understanding of the causes of species turnover patterns, together with work on the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem function and services. Biodiversity conservation in the region is becoming increasingly embedded within a more multi-functional view of agriculture-forest mosaics that attempts to recognise and value the range of services provided by tree cover and other land-uses. This relatively new perspective has the potential, at least in principle, to re-shape the drivers of land-use change because tree cover can generate additional revenue through carbon trading or certification schemes. It will become clearer over the coming decades whether this potential can be realised, but the implications for biodiversity conservation in the region are potentially profound. The socio-economic processes that have driven forest loss and degradation in West Africa are having an increasing impact on the relatively undisturbed rainforest of the Congo Basin. We conclude by pointing out that while West African forest landscapes are a potent reminder of what might happen in Central Africa in the near future, they also provide insights for developing policies and practice that might avoid comparable levels of forest loss and degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Processes of deforestation, known to threaten tropical forest biodiversity, have not yet been studied sufficiently in East Africa. To shed light on the patterns and causes of human influences on protected forest ecosystems, comparisons of different study areas regarding land cover dynamics and potential drivers are needed. We analyze the development of land cover since the early 1970s for three protected East African rainforests and their surrounding farmlands and assess the relationship between the observed changes in the context of the protection status of the forests. Processing of Landsat satellite imagery of eight or seven time steps in regular intervals results in 12 land cover classes for the Kakamega–Nandi forests (Kenya) and Budongo Forest (Uganda) whereas ten are distinguished for Mabira Forest (Uganda). The overall classification accuracy assessed for the year 2001 or 2003 is similarly high for all three study areas (81% to 85%). The time series reveal that, despite their protection status, Kakamega–Nandi forests and Mabira Forest experienced major forest decrease, the first a continuous forest loss of 31% between 1972/1973 and 2001, the latter an abrupt loss of 24% in the late 1970s/early 1980s. For both forests, the temporally dense time series show short-term fluctuations in forest classes (e.g., areas of forest regrowth since the 1980s or exotic secondary bushland species from the 1990s onwards). Although selectively logged, Budongo Forest shows a much more stable forest cover extent. A visual overlay with population distribution for all three regions clearly indicates a relationship between forest loss and areas of high population density, suggesting population pressure as a main driver of deforestation. The revealed forest losses due to local and commercial exploitation further demonstrate that weak management impedes effective forest protection in East Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the "Future of Zimbabwe," summit held on September 17, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa is presented. The summit discussed several topics related to Zimbabwe which included investment environment, brain drain and agriculture and food security. During his keynote speech, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai encouraged investment in the country.

The article focuses on a report from the United Nations' (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) which claims that Africa is at risk of losing its forest cover and biodiversity. The FAO report emphasises the significant role played by forests in the environmental protection and sustainment if livelihoods in the region. It also cites threats to forest biodiversity including climate change, forest fires and natural disasters.