bush fires, illegal logging, urbanization, etc., are strongly and adversely affecting the integrity of forest ecosystems (UNHCR, 2005). SSA’s remnant bloc of the relict species of the tropical forest within the Congo Basin is under intensive exploitation, mainly due to extraction for timber, especially in Cameroon, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Central African Republic and the D.R. Congo and to human activities such as shifting small-scale agriculture.

Today, agriculture and the forest sector are more inextricably linked than ever before and as they face similar challenges in coping with poverty and food insecurity. In SSA, shifting agriculture clears areas of the forest with fire and destroys surrounding non-cleared zones where species such as Chromolaena odorata quickly establish and prevent forest regeneration. The sustainable management of forests and trees, including the use of agroforestry and watershed/ wetland management, is an integral part of the effort to reduce food insecurity, alleviate poverty and improve environmental quality for the rural poor.

Technological innovations and new management methods that increase agricultural/forest yields per hectare can also have a significant positive impact on the world’s forests. For example, a National Geographic Society supported study on Imbongo’s vestigial and gallery forests (D.R. Congo) in 2002 showed that poor rural communities were destroying these forest ecosystems because of poor agricultural markets
and market instability. A 50 kg-bag of cassava (manioc), for example, costs US$3-5 in Imbongo but the same product in Kinshasa is sold for US$40-50 depending on the season. This unbalanced market keeps the producer in permanent social insecurity and poverty and forces the peasant to produce more with inappropriate tools and methods. Of course, this scenario increases the pressure on forests/wetlands, maintains poverty levels and decreases natural regeneration time, resulting in degradation of forest resources. Another reason of agriculture impact on forests relates to export policies, linked to a high demand from Asian countries notably and from some European countries.

In the SSA region, forests are under various physiognomy, from humid tropical jungles of the Congo Basin to woody drylands of West and East Africa including the Miombo forest of Southern Africa. The situation of forest ecosystem health and integrity is worsening due to poor agricultural practices, increased use of biomass for cooking, especially around big cities, abusive bush fires and illegal logging. The integration of AKST in forest management and conservation in the SSA region is much needed and currently diluted.

Agroforestry practices are sparsely introduced and poorly coordinated. The budget allocated to forestry/agroforestry by states is generally less than 1% of the GDP. However, countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, etc., are working hard to improve, while other countries such D.R. Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, etc., are still relying on seasonal gathering of forest products, therefore increasing the poverty among communities.

Agroforestry can help to reduce pressures for clearing through the production of timber, nontimber forestry products (Leakey et al., 2005) and fuelwood from trees on farmland, thereby reducing the need for cutting from natural forests. Agroforestry also promotes the sustainable use of

farmland, thereby reducing the pressure of forests on agricultural production (Van Noordwijk et al., 2004). Agroforestry can be considered as a means to reduce pressure on forest margins, forest reserves and national parks. Indeed, by providing timber, fuelwood and other forest products on farms, the needs for illegal cutting will be reduced. This is true in theory, but in practice, there are still some constraints. One of these constraints is related to the nature of logged versus planted trees. For example, in the D.R. Congo, Eucalyptus and Acacia trees have been promoted for reforestation while Terminalia superba and Milittia excelsa are cut.

The World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi has been at the forefront of research in agroforestry but, as evidenced by the bulk of their publications in English only, seems to be Anglophone-oriented. Therefore the tremendous research annual output and resources generated there are not well disseminated within the SSA region.

2.3.2 Pest and disease management
In the SSA region, deforestation is generating the degradation of habitat and the reduction of biodiversity. Regeneration is disturbed by alien species with adverse impacts on the soil. For example, the bioinvasion of cleared forests by the weed named Chromolaena odorata in the Congo basin is a real threat for gallery forests where shifting agriculture is practiced. Vestigial forests with relict species in the Congo Basin are degrading under the pressure of refugees (UNHCR, 2005).

2.3.3 Quality of produce and productivity
Forests provide various products and raw materials. Most of these resources are renewable. Currently the time to plant maturity is longer than the exploitation rate. This means that when forest resources are over-exploited, regeneration times shorten. This is a key issue to be solved in order to promote the sustainable use of forests. In the SSA region the productivity of forests is low and decreasing annually due to abusive bush fires, shifting agriculture practices and invasive immigration related to conflicts. This picture means that forests are going to be endangered ecosystems in the very near future if poverty is not alleviated. Agroforestry can be part of a solution if researchers and other scientists would work in partnership with communities. A strong constraining factor that does not allow the integration of AKST in forestry management policy relates to information dissemination and local participation. Promotion of a forest industry within the SSA region is also limited.

A recent development is the promotion of agroforestry tree products (AFTPs) (Simons and Leakey, 2004). AFTPs are timber and nontimber products sourced from trees cultivated outside forests. These products include fruits and nuts, pharmaceutical products and industrial products such as gum and pectin. Their quality is variable (Leakey et al., 2005) and they require specific quality control. The World Agroforestry Centre has done considerable research on AFTPs and their marketability (Maghembe et al., 1998; Leakey and Tchoundjeu, 2001; Leakey et al., 2005).

2.3.4 Timing of harvest and postharvest management
Timing of harvest/postharvest management, including processing and the quality of products, value-addition, etc., or