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GUINEA
Guinea Forest Figures
Forest CoverTotal forest area: 6,724,000 ha % of land area: 27.4%
Primary forest cover: 63,000 ha % of land area: 0.3% % total forest area: 0.9%
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005Annual change in forest cover: -36,000 ha Annual deforestation rate: -0.5% Change in defor. rate since '90s: -23.4% Total forest loss since 1990: -684,000 ha Total forest loss since 1990:-9.2%
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 1990:0.0%
Forest ClassificationPublic: n/a Private: n/a Other: n/a Use Production: 1.5% Protection: 7.3% Conservation: 44.7% Social services: n/a Multiple purpose: n/a None or unknown: 46.5
Forest Area BreakdownTotal area: 6,724,000 ha Primary: 63,000 ha Modified natural: 6,568,000 ha Semi-natural: 60,000 ha Production plantation: 30,000 ha Production plantation: 3,000 ha
PlantationsPlantations, 2005: 33,000 ha % of total forest cover: 0.5% Annual change rate (00-05): 2,040,000 ha
Carbon storageAbove-ground biomass: 1,026 M t Below-ground biomass: 246 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: 21
The rainforests of Guinea have been highly impacted by fires and agriculture. Today only scattered fragments of forest remain in a sea of grasslands. Some of these small sections of forest still contain emergent overstory trees, valuable for timber,
which are only slowly exploited due to lack of heavy machinery. As of 2005, less than 1 percent of forest cover in Guinea was primary forest.
In the late 1990s, the government started to push conservation and sustainable development measures, but the effectiveness of these efforts was limited by lack of funds and resources. Guinea's few reserves, which cover just over 4 percent of the country's land mass, are still under-managed and underfunded, and are threatened by mining projects (Guinea has major mineral resources) and subsistence agriculture, which has limited productivity due to severe soil erosion.
From a biological diversity standpoint, of Guinea's 100 or so endemic species, over 40 percent are considered endangered by poaching and loss of habitat. The World Resources Institute says that Guinea has some 3,000 species of plants, 640 birds, 190 mammals, 94 reptiles, and 121 fish.
Goodbye to West Africa's Rainforests
(01/22/2006) West Africa's once verdant and extensive rainforests are now a historical footnote. Gone to build ships and furniture, feed hungry mouths, and supply minerals and gems to the West, the band of tropical forests that once extended from Guinea to Cameroon are virtually gone. The loss of West Africa's rainforests have triggered a number of environmental problems that have contributed to social unrest and exacerbated poverty across the region.
