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Sub-Saharan
Africa has long been one of the poorest regions in
the world,
in spite of its rich biological and
mineral resources.
Due to extreme poverty, the
indigenous people use their forests
for income,
depleting and deforesting large
areas.
People, Poverty, Deforestation
• Nearly 90% of the 1.2 billion
people living in extreme poverty worldwide live in
or around tropical forests and woodlands
• They
depend on their forests for much of their food,
fuel, and income.
• 57% of the world’s forests,
including most tropical forests, are located in
developing countries.
• As forests disappear,
so too its inhabitants. Brazil’s Amazon population
has reduced to 250,000 people from 6 million.
•
Poverty in forests stems from remoteness and a
lack of rights.
• In areas with weak
governments and poorly defined property rights,
powerful interests can seize forest resources and
small-holders can engage in
conflicts. |
