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West African savannas are depicted in the climate change literature as the "burn center" of the planet. This paper suggests that this representation is based on a misunderstanding of burning intensity and the nature of savanna environments. It is argued that burning is not as destructive as perceived and that its effects on vegetation change are more complex than believed. The case study of Katiali examines how farmers and herders use fire as a tool for Sudanian savanna management, and how these practices modify burning regimes and savanna ecosystems over time. The study also investigates the implications of changing burning regimes and vegetation dynamics on greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration of carbon. The theoretical framework of this research builds upon political ecology, which examines the natural resource management practices of ordinary farmers and herders with emphasis on historical-geographical patterns of environmental change, local knowledge, and local specific ecologies. The research was conducted during one dry season from late October 2007 to May 2008 in the Sudanian savanna of northern Côte d'Ivoire. Data were collected through field observations, individual and group interviews, and household surveys. Weather station data were recorded daily. Findings reveal that the Sudanian savanna is a complex environment composed of a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, and crops. This diversity is important to recognize in modeling the impact of savanna burning on greenhouse gas emissions. Results also show that farmers and herders increasingly set fires earlier in the dry season to protect orchards and to promote grass regrowth for grazing. Early dry season burning favors the expansion of trees in the Sudanian savannas. The transition demonstrates a shift to a more wooded vegetation cover that could potentially sequester more carbon dioxide than is presently attributed to the system.

Climate change presents additional challenges to a diverse country like Cameroon that shares the Congo Basin rainforest. Not only is the population vulnerable to the direct effects of climate change, forest-dependent communities are also vulnerable to changing environmental policy that may affect their access to forest resources. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through semi-structured interviews and content analysis of relevant documents, the perception of decision-makers within, and the response of the institutions of the state, the private sector and civil society to the complex challenges of climate change in the Congo Basin forest of Cameroon were analysed. Results indicate that while decision-makers' awareness of climate change is high, a concrete institutional response is at a very early stage. Cameroon has low adaptive capacity that is further constrained by weak linkages among government institutions nationally and between different levels of government and with communities. Civil society institutions play a role in enhancing government capacity to respond, particularly in relation to new international policies on climate change and forests. Adaptive capacity would be further enhanced by facilitating institutional linkages and coordinating multilevel responses across all boundaries of government, private sector and civil society. A collaborative capacity builder could foster the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across the networks, and ultimately build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity in Cameroon.

Many studies have suggested various kinds of forest policies, management planning and practices to help forests adapt to climate change. These recommendations are often generic, based mostly on case studies from temperate countries and rarely from Africa. We argue that policy and management recommendations aimed at integrating adaptation into national forest policies and practices in Africa should start with an inventory and careful examination of existing policies and practices in order to understand the nature and extent of intervention required to influence the adaptation of forest ecosystems to climate change. This paper aims to contribute to closing this gap in knowledge detrimental to decision making through the review and analysis of current forest policies and practices in Burkina Faso and Ghana and highlighting elements that have the potential to influence the adaptation of forest ecosystems to climate change. The analysis revealed that adaptation (and mitigation) are not part of current forest policies in Burkina Faso and Ghana, but instead policies contain elements of risk management practices which are also relevant to the adaptation of forest ecosystems. Some of these elements are found in policies on the management of forest fires, forest genetic resources, non-timber resources, tree regeneration and silvicultural practices. To facilitate and enhance the management of these elements, a number of recommendations are suggested. Their implementation will require experienced and well-trained forestry personnel, financial resources, socio-cultural and political dimensions, and the political will of decision makers to act appropriately by formulating necessary policies and mainstreaming adaptation into forest policy and management planning.

Tropical forests have a central role to play in a new mechanism designed to mitigate climate change, known as REDD+ (Reduced Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Through semistructured interviews and content analysis of relevant documents, the perceptions of the opportunities and challenges of REDD+ of institutions, who may be directly implicated in or affected by its implementation are investigated. Research takes place in three Central African countries, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo, which contain the Congo Basin forest. Perception of opportunities include economic development and poverty reduction, biodiversity conservation, network building, and governance reform. Challenges identified include REDD+'s complexity, lack of technical capacity for implementation, opportunities for participation, benefit sharing, and the traditional system of shifting cultivation. Those involved in designing REDD+ internationally need to understand developing-country perspectives, and institutions at all levels need to work together to develop concrete strategies to improve overall outcomes.

Nowadays, adaptation has become a key focus of the scientific and policy-making communities and is a major area of discussion in the multilateral climate change process. As climate change is projected to hit the poorest the hardest, it is especially important for developing countries to pay particular attention to the management of natural resources and agricultural activities. In most of these countries such as Cameroon, forest can play important role in achieving broader climate change adaptation goals. However, forest generally receives very little attention in national development programme and strategies such as policy dialogues on climate change and poverty reduction strategies. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through content analysis of relevant Cameroon policy documents, the integration of climate change adaptation was explored and the level of attention given to forests for adaptation analysed. Results indicate that, with the exception of the First National Communication to UNFCCC that focused mostly on mitigation and related issues, current policy documents in Cameroon are void of tangible reference to climate change, and hence failing in drawing the relevance of forest in sheltering populations from the many projected impacts of climate change. Policies related to forest rely on a generalized concept of sustainable forest management and do not identify the specific changes that need to be incorporated into management strategies and policies towards achieving adaptation. The strategies and recommendations made in those documents only serve to improve understanding of Cameroon natural resources and add resilience to the natural systems in coping with anthropogenic stresses. The paper draws attention to the need to address the constraints of lack of awareness and poor flow of information on the potentials of forests for climate change adaptation. It highlights the need for integrating forest for adaptation into national development programmes and strategies, and recommends a review of the existing environmental legislations and their implications on poverty reduction strategy and adaptation to climate change

Tropical forests hold several goods and services used by forest-dependent people as safety nets to traverse difficult periods of resource supply. These same goods and services are constantly surrounded by emerging markets linking remote communities with major urban centers nationally and internationally. How these markets affect adaptation remains unclear. This paper examines the roles of markets in non-timber forest products that normally serve as safety nets for forest communities, and the implications for climate change adaptation in the Congo Basin. Following the identification and prioritization of forest-based development sectors for adaptation by stakeholders, the types of markets and trades surrounding the identified sectors were examined in two provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study in order to evaluate revenue flows and their potential contribution to adaptation by local communities. The distribution of the market revenue leaves local people with returns much lower than the worth of the commodity, while wholesalers and retailers reap most of the benefits and profit from the high variability in volume and market earnings for the same commodity across provinces. Markets may increase the value of a commodity as observed in this study, but their contributions to adaptation appear highly limited for local communities following their distribution among the stakeholders in the market chain. This is likely to be worse in free market settings, especially when it diminishes the safety net roles of forest goods and services. Markets should therefore complement rather than substitute forests roles for adaptation to climate change in tropical forest countries. Capturing the benefits of trade for adaptation is crucial but will require policy reforms and further research that addresses the complexity in benefit sharing.

This paper discusses the discourses on climate change adaptation and mitigation that are currently at the forefront in the Congo Basin. On mitigation, the forests have enormous opportunities to contribute to the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) mechanism. But the forest itself and its multiple dependent societies and sectors need to adapt to potential climate risks. Hence, actors are debating the design of climate change policy in the forest sector. Theoretically, we combine the agency-focus of frame analysis and discourse theory to analyze how different agents hold frames on climate change adaptation and mitigation policies in the region. This paper draws upon interviews with 103 different actors from government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, research institutions and private sector in three countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Three discourses were found on policy response to climate change in the forest sector: mitigation policy only, separated policy on adaptation and mitigation, and an integrated policy on adaptation and mitigation. The various frames articulated around each discourse by the coalitions include elements of: costs and benefits, scale of operation, effectiveness, financial resources and implementation mechanisms. Overall, the mitigation discourse, through its mix of actors, resources and interests seems to be stronger than the adaptation discourse. The paper finally outlines a number of implications of the discourses for policy design.

The formulation and implementation of an adaptation strategy is of growing concern to governments. The adaptation policy framework (APF) sets out indicative activities and features of an adaptation strategy. Understanding the extent to which existing practices can support adaptation in societies and ecosystems is an important step towards the solution. This study uses vulnerability, policy and financial analyses to investigate the compatibility of the modified taungya system (MTS) (a reforestation programme) in Ghana with the indicative activities of the APF. The findings indicate that MTS takes into consideration most of the activities of an adaptation strategy, is a profitable venture (BCR > 1) and has a high potential to reduce vulnerability due to short-term food production and long-term plantation establishment. Resource management in MTS is promising in the short term, but challenges remain to meet livelihood and adaptation needs in the medium and long term. Policy instruments related to MTS align with the forestry, climate change and the development goals of Ghana. We conclude that MTS is a potential win–win practice for forestry and adaptation. The legalization of all contractual arrangements coupled with continuous monitoring, evaluation and improvement may drive MTS to become a lasting activity that will support the long-term horizon of an adaptation strategy.