Conservation and management of tropical forests and biological diversity in Zaire

Although demand for fuelwood and charcoal has created halo-shaped areas of deforestation around the country"s urban centers, even worst-case calculations indicate that at least 87.6% of Zaire"s original forest remains, and that the prevailing deforestation rate is a low 0.15%-0.50%. According to the report, slow rural population growth and movement away from agricultural employment can be expected to indirectly slow the loss of biological resources by slowing growth in the number of smallholder farmers primarily responsible for deforestation. Zaire"s biological resources include a wide diversity of flora and endemic taxa, as well as 82 threatened or endangered species, most of which are mammals or birds. The majority of the country"s biotic communities, vegetation types, and endangered species are probably included within its eight national parks, which include the largest tropical forest park in the world and cover 3.6% of the country"s territory; the establishment of two proposed parks will cover another 1% of the land area. Although the Government of Zaire has clearly indicated its commitment to conservation of forests and biological diversity, it faces serious institutional weaknesses, including a lack of economic resources to protect already established conservation areas, a scarcity of trained professionals, and insufficient technical information to establish conservation priorities. A 99-item bibliography is included. (Author abstract, modified)