From: wsargeant@IGC.APC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Africa, environment destroyed by pe'
Date: 30 Jul 92 17:34:04 GMT

/* Written 12:08 am  Jul 30, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "AFRICA: ENVIRONMENT DESTROYED BY PE" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Agriculture
Title: AFRICA: ENVIRONMENT DESTROYED BY PEOPLE NOT LIVESTOCK


an inter press service feature

by andrew zhakata

kadoma, zimbabwe, jul 27 (ips) -- a dispute is raging between
livestock experts and environmentalists over land degradation
and desertification problems in africa.

in his 1992 briefing in 'africa recovery', robin sharp, the
director of the london-based international institute for
environment and development, charges livestock with the
wholesale devastation of african rangelands, irreversible
destruction of the soils and vegetative resources.

''concentration of big herds of livestock has been
responsible for the destruction of tropical rain forests and
reduction of wildlife resources'', says thomas mpofu, zimbabwe's
director of natural resources board (nrb).

but 40 livestock scientists who recently attended a weeklong
workshop in this western zimbabwean town, 145 km from the
capital, harare, argue that people and poverty are the main
culprits of environmental damage.

focusing on ''the future of livestock industries in
sub-saharan africa'', the workshop was attended by scientists
from botswana, burundi, ethiopia, kenya, lesotho, madagascar,
malawi, mozambique, switzerland, tanzania, zambia and zimbabwe.

''most forest destruction in developing nations is caused by
poor people who, denied access to land, must clear land to eke
out an existence'', says prof. martin kyomo, director of the
southern african centre for cooperation in agricultural research
and training (saccar) based in gaborone, botswana.

prolonged inaccessibility to land will leave land-hungry
people with no alternative but to cut the last tree, adds kyomo.

although areas around human habitations and water points have
been severely damaged, the preponderance of scientific evidence
has failed to show that widespread desertification has occurred,
argues john walsh.

''heavy grazing has changed vegetation cover, but has not
seriously decreased the productivity of the rangelands'',
maintains walsh, director-general of the addis ababa-based
international livestock centre for africa (ilca).

''the greatest threat to this region comes from growing human
populations and expansion of cultivation'', he says, pointing
out that it is arguable whether or not the sahara was extending
southward. (more/ips)


africa: environment (2)

''whatever the case may be, there is no solid evidence
linking livestock to this process,'' walsh told ips.

population growth, leading to the expansion of shifting
cultivation, is the principal cause of destruction of african
tropical rains, according to another ilca expert, pascal osuji.

''livestock are not important components of rain forest
agricultural systems. diseases, climatic conditions and poor
forages make the humid agro-ecological zone unfavourable for
livestock production'', said osuji.

prof. muze mugheni of tanzania's sokoine university of
agriculture contends that african livestock herds ''are a very
minor factor'' compared with other causes of increases in
greenhouse effect.

''through methane production, african livestock contribute
only 0.3 percent of the annual increase in potential global
warming'', he says.

over the past 25 years, major domestic animal species in
sub-saharan africa are estimated to have increased from 112
million livestock units in 1963 to 168 million in 1988.

''livestock play an important role in supporting growing
human populations in the region by generating income and
economic activity. reducing their numbers would mean more
poverty to the already impoverished people'', argues walsh.

for their manure and draught-power, livestock also contribute
substantially to the sustainability of agriculture, the mainstay
of most economies in sub-saharan africa.

in 1988 agriculture contributed around 32 percent of the
region's gross domestic product (gdp) while livestock products
-- meat, milk, eggs, wool, hides and skins -- were worth 11.8
billion dollars.

''animals are a significant source of food, particularly of
high-quality protein, minerals, vitamins and micronutrients for
the majority of the african people'', walsh notes.

meat, milk and eggs provide 17 to 18 percent of dietary
protein in african diets, according to the u.n. food and
agriculture organisation (fao). (end/ips/az/ar/apc/92)