Central Africa & its Tropical Rain Forest

Geography

MODIS tree cover imagery with the outline of the Congo River basin.

Today, the Congo Basin is the last remaining large tract of dense tropical rainforest in Africa. This area comprises over 1,812,000 km2 extending across six countries on both sides of the equator.  The Atlantic Ocean supplies moisture required for the development of rainforests in the coastal areas of the Basin; further inland, the forests are supported by watersheds of the Congo River and its numerous tributaries.  The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa (4,280 km; the Nile is 6,695 km) and the largest river in terms of water volume.

 

Environment

The vegetation in the Congo Basin is dominated by mixed-species evergreen and deciduous upland forests, but includes a large area of swamps and marshes.This area is remarkable in that it is home to a concentration of large mammals, including forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, and several species of large cats. In addition to the Congo Basin's wealth of wildlife and timber resources, the area is alos rich in mineral deposits, including diamonds, coltan, and petroleum (off-shore).

Countries, rivers, lakes, capitals, and elevation relief

Location map & topographic relief of Central Africa

 

Log yard outside of a sawmill
Forest cleared for agricultural expansion

A log pile (top) and example of forest clearing and degradation.

Historic Land Use & Current Environmental Threats

People have been living in the forests of Central Africa for thousands of years. Traditional land-use practices include hunting-gathering, small-scale shifting agriculture, fishing, and trapping. Large-scale commercial exploitation of forest resources began during the period of African colonialism in the 1880s and continues today. Modern threats to the tropical rainforests of Central Africa include timber extraction, mining, agricultural expansion, and civil unrest and armed conflicts. Poaching of endangered species and inadequately controlled hunting of all wildlife often results from the above activities and further upsets the balance of this fragile ecosystem.

 

People & Culture

The Central African region is highly diverse in its peoples, languages, an dcultures. The population of Central Africa is predominantly Bantu, a language family comprised of many tribal groups and languages. The most widely spoken Bantu languages are Kisawhili (aka Swahili) and Lingala, which serves as the lingua franca in a region of more than 300 languages. As a legacy of colonial rule by Belgium and France from the 1880s to the 1960s, French is the official language in all Central African countries (English is also spoken in Cameroon and Spanish in Equatorial Guinea).

Map of population density

Population density in Africa

Population density is highly variable in modern day Central Africa, ranging from more than 500 people to less than one person per square kilometer. The majority of the population is concentrated in urban areas; for example, roughly half of the people in Gabon lives in its capital city of Libreville. The majority of people living within the forested region of the Congo Basin are Catholic animists, while those living in the savannas are largely Muslims.

If you would like to learn more about the history, peoples, and cultures of Central Africa, a few recommended readings are listed below:

  • The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912, by Thomas Pakenham
  • King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild
  • The Poisonwood Bible, a novel by Barbara Kingsglover
  • Facing the Congo: a Modern-Day Journey into the Heart of Darkness, by Jeffrey Taylor
  • By the Grace of God: A True Story of Love, Family, War and Survival from the Congo, by Suruba Ibumando Goergette Wechsler et. al.

Political Situation

Most ofthe Central African countires gained their independence form colonial rule only in the early 1960s. At this time, the borders of newly independent African nations were defined arbitrarily, based primarly on the relics of colonial territories rather than on any existing ethnic or cultural coherence. What has therefore followed is years of civil wars, dictatorships, or, at best, weak democracies. The prevalence of political instability has led to frequent policy change and a rapid turn-over rate of high-level government personnel; corruption is also commonplace within governments. There is a consequent lack of governance and institutional capacity in managing natural resources and protecting the environment.

The following online resources provide information on current events and news of the region:

Integrated Regional Information Network and ReliefWeb of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Pambazuka News.

 

Economy

Although Central Africa is rich in natural resources, corruption and political instability complicate its economic development and modernization. The economy is dominated by extractive industry, but the majority of profits are often pocketed by various government officials rather than allocated towards nation-building. There islimited foreign investment from the private sector, and most existing investments are short-term in nature. Central African nations also rely heavily on foreign aid; however, associated structural adjustments have not often resulted in positive changes in target countries.

 

Human Health

As with other parts of Africa, Central Africa has been plagued by HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, cholera, ebola, and many other infectious diseases. Malnutrition and lack of adequate health care are also serious problems. The average life expectany is 55 and 58 years for males and females, respectively.