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BURUNDI
Burundi Forest Figures
Forest CoverTotal forest area: 152,000 ha % of land area: 5.9%
Primary forest cover: n/a % of land area: 0.0% % total forest area: n/a
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005Annual change in forest cover: -9,200 ha Annual deforestation rate: -5.2% Change in defor. rate since '90s: 47.6% Total forest loss since 1990: -137,000 ha Total forest loss since 1990:-47.4%
Primary or "Old-growth" forests Annual loss of primary forests: n/a Annual deforestation rate: n/a Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990:n/a
Forest ClassificationPublic: n/a Private: n/a Other: n/a Use Production: n/a Protection: n/a Conservation: n/a Social services: n/a Multiple purpose: n/a None or unknown: n/a
Forest Area BreakdownTotal area: 152,000 ha Primary: n/a Modified natural: 67,000 ha Semi-natural: n/a Production plantation: 86,000 ha Production plantation: n/a
PlantationsPlantations, 2005: 86,000 ha % of total forest cover: 56.2% Annual change rate (00-05): n/a
Carbon storageAbove-ground biomass: n/a M t Below-ground biomass: n/a M t
Area annually affected byFire: n/a Insects: n/a Diseases: n/a
Number of tree species in IUCN red listNumber of native tree species: n/a Critically endangered: 0 Endangered: 0 Vulnerable: 1
Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country that depends almost entirely on subsistence agriculture. Uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuelwood coupled with agricultural clearing and grazing lands has resulted in nearly complete deforestation of the country. Massive ethnic civil war and the subsequent collapse of government conservation efforts further reduced forest areas and resulted in increased poaching of wildlife. Before the savage civil war, high population density (450 people per square kilometer) on mountain slopes resulted in heavy soil loss and damage to agriculture.
Due to habitat destruction, gorillas and elephants are extinct in Burundi and virtually all wildlife is threatened.
On paper, just 5.4 percent of Burundi's land mass is under any form of protection. In 2005, the government of Burundi announced a ban on the harvesting of natural Christmas trees in an effort to slow deforestation. Since the Christmas trees are an introduced plantation species, the ban had little effect on the country's biodiversity. Overall, Burundi was once home to 2,500 species of plants, 597 birds, 26 amphibians, 80 mammals, and 116 reptiles.
Rwanda and Burundi agree to protect rare forest area
(09/15/2008) Rwanda and Burundi have agreed to protect a large tract of tropical mountain forest that is home to chimpanzees, rare owl-faced monkeys, and other wildlife.
Deforestation rates jump in Uganda and Burundi, fall in Rwanda
(01/25/2006) Tropical deforestation rates have skyrocketed in Uganda and Burundi, while declining significantly in Rwanda according to mongabay.com's analysis of data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
