The Dry Forests and Woodlands of Africa: Managing for Products and Services

The dry forests and woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa are major ecosystems, with a broad range of strong economic and cultural incentives for keeping them intact. However, unlike tropical rainforests, few people are aware of their importance, despite their status as home to more than half of their continent's population.

This unique book brings together scientific knowledge on this topic from eastern, western and southern Africa, and describes the relationships between forests, woodlands, people and their livelihoods. The book provides a comparative analysis of management experience from the different geographic regions, emphasizing the need to balance the utilization of dry forests and woodland products between current and future human needs. The book also explores the techniques and strategies that can be deployed to improve the management of African dry forests and woodlands for the benefit of all, but in particular for the communities that live off these vegetation formations. Thus, the book lays a foundation for improving the management of dry forests and woodlands for the wide range of products and services they provide.

Emmanuel Chidumayo is a leading ecologist of African dry forests and woodlands and author of Miombo Ecology and Management (1997). Davison Gumbo is a Senior Scientist with CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) in southern Africa and a former head of the WWF Miombo Ecoregion Programme for southern Africa.

Emmanuel Chidumayo is a leading ecologist of African dry forests and woodlands and author of the Miombo Ecology and Management book published in 1997.

Davison Gumbo is a Senior CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) Scientist in southern Africa and a former head of the WWF miombo ecoregion programme for southern Africa.