Africa NOW #93

Issued on January 31, 2012 by Africa Japan Forum (AJF)«Contents»
Special Topic: Issues African tropical forest is faced withpp.2-17
In recent decades, the timber business has made African tropical forest a pool of wealth, so now the forest isfacing the danger of clearance, reduction of bio-diversity, decrease of animals, influx of human population and other unprecedented experiences. Nishihara Tomoaki who has been watching and addressing the transfiguration of the forest as a researcher
and is an adviser to the Ndoki Landscape had a series of seminars on the unprecedented transfiguration of African tropicalforests from March to April 2011, in Tokyo. This issue of “Africa NOW” features his reports.
pp.3-8Issues people living in African tropical forest are faced with, by NISHIHARA Tomoaki
The transfiguration of the forest is making an impact on lives of people living in the forest. In the old days they were exploring the forest freely, but nowadays they are forced to settle down to work for the timber business, researchers, tourism
etc. Where will their culture go, how will they hold abilities as people living in the forest, NISHIHARA asks us and himself.

Q&A: On the African tropical forest, answered by NISHIHARA Tomoaki
pp.12-14 A half year with a Chinese oil company in Loango National Park, by NISHIHARA Tomoaki
pp.9-11

From 2006 to 2007, a Chinese oil company Sinopec made oil exploration trials in Gabon’s Loango National park. The firstyear, the company made trials without giving any attention to the National park’s flora and fauna and cut down many trees
and left workers to hunt and eat animals. Informed of the damage by Sinopec’s activities, some NGOs, the World Bankand other International organizations recommended that the government of Gabon should make the company to pay attention to the National park’s environmental condition and the government complied with it. In 2007, requested by thegovernment, NISHIHARA spent a half year with Sinopec’s workers and monitored their activities. His experiences withthem show interesting facts.
pp.15-17 Media coverage
CONGO: Implement anti-discrimination law, urge indigenous peoples
CONGO: De nombreuses femmes autochtones accouchent toujours dans les forêts
pp.18-21
Meet and talk with people with disabilities in Tanzania, by KUWABARA Tomohiro
Last September, KUWABARA and others went to Tanzania with a wheel-chair user TOSHIMITU Toru, a person withcerebral palsy. They met some people with disabilities at a rural village and on a main street of Dar es salaam and had talks
with them. KUWABARA reports from his first contact with TOSHIMITU to his silence when a Tanzanian with disabilities requested to take him to Japan.
pp.22-25
A Kenya tour with a friend with disabilities, by YAMASHITA Naoko
Last October, YAMASHITA, a staff of “Masayoshi Yume Kikin (Masayoshi dream fund)” went to Kenya with NIWA
Masayoshi, a person with disabilities and organizer of the fund, and others. They visited schools, town areas for the poor,rural villages and sight seeing spots. For mobility in some places he was carried by his support staff. YAMASHITA reports
a Kenya tour with a friend with disabilities.
pp.26-27
Thinking from the book “The World According to Monsanto”, by YAMAMOTO Yoshiyuki
The book’s title “The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Corruption, and the Control of the World’s Food Supply”
says enough. YAMAMOTO calls attention to “GMO in international cooperation programs” especially.

Back cover To readers( “Hitotsu no musubime toshite” in Japanese)
To readers and daily information from the secretariat of AJF to readers.

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Africa NOW 93