Abstract
The tropical forests of Africa are experiencing unprecedented changes as a result of a rapid proliferation of roads and other infrastructure. These projects are dramatically increasing access to relatively unexploited regions, particularly in the greater Congo Basin. We highlight some of the most important new projects and describe in detail an ongoing debate about a particular proposed development, the Cross River Superhighway in Nigeria. The scale and pace of new transportation projects, and the profound environmental changes they could bring, underscore a dire need for proactive land-use planning, capacity building, and environmental assessment in the nations of Equatorial Africa. It is no exaggeration to suggest that, unless carefully managed to ensure sustainability, the spate of planned and ongoing projects could irreparably diminish the forests and wildlife populations of Africa’s most biologically diverse regions.
Highlights
Africa’s tropical forests sustain exceptionally high biodiversity and provide valuable environmental services such as hydrological functioning and carbon storage (Abernethy et al, 2016)
The Cross River Superhighway has drawn concern as it fails to comply with Nigerian environmental laws and does not meet international standards of good practice
Across Africa, major infrastructure projects are expanding at an unprecedented pace. These projects include a large number of industrial mining projects (Edwards et al, 2014); over 53,000 km of proposed “development corridors” that would crisscross much of the continent (Weng et al, 2013; Laurance et al, 2015a); the world’s largest hydropower-dam complex, at Inga Falls on the Congo River; ambitious plans to increase industrial and smallholder agriculture (African Agricultural Development Company Ltd., 2013; Laurance et al, 2014a,b); widespread industrial logging (Laporte et al, 2007; Kleinschroth et al, 2015, 2016a); and a variety of other mining ventures and energy infrastructure with accompanying roads
Summary
Africa’s tropical forests sustain exceptionally high biodiversity and provide valuable environmental services such as hydrological functioning and carbon storage (Abernethy et al, 2016) These forests span the greater Congo Basin as well as a narrower band across the equatorial African forests. Across Africa, major infrastructure projects are expanding at an unprecedented pace These projects include a large number of industrial mining projects (Edwards et al, 2014); over 53,000 km of proposed “development corridors” (see some examples in Figure 1) that would crisscross much of the continent (Weng et al, 2013; Laurance et al, 2015a); the world’s largest hydropower-dam complex, at Inga Falls on the Congo River; ambitious plans to increase industrial and smallholder agriculture (African Agricultural Development Company Ltd., 2013; Laurance et al, 2014a,b); widespread industrial logging (Laporte et al, 2007; Kleinschroth et al, 2015, 2016a); and a variety of other mining ventures and energy infrastructure with accompanying roads
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call