The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has said, Anjouan, one of the three main Islands that comprise the Comoros, has been losing its forests at a scary rate.
The UN Environment body with its focus on climate, pollution, naure and more, said, the loss of trees in Anjouan has brought about “soil erosion and collapsing harvests”.
The forests of Anjouan are positioned like “sponges”; they take in rainwater and push them out gradually into Rivers and streams. Their loss has interrupted supply of freshwater for tens of years.
Out of “50” persistent Rivers in Anjouan, “40” no longer exist, they have metamorphosed into “intermittent streams”.
UNEP revealed, these “pressure” have been heightened by Climate change. Rain has become “scarce” and difficult to predict as a result of “shifting rain patterns”, and this change has pushed families into buying water during intense dry seasons.
In addressing these “pressures”, UNEP has taken some action to ensure the restoration of forest cover, and setting up tanks to collect rainwater in “15” villages to make it easy for over “38,000” people to have access to water.
According to unep.org: “Anjouan has been losing its forests at a staggering rate. One of the three main islands that make up the Comoros, it has seen its tree cover shrink by 28 per cent over the past 20 years. The loss has triggered cascading effects: soil erosion, dwindling freshwater supplies and collapsing harvests. It has also accelerated coastal erosion.
“For Anjouan, a densely populated volcanic island of just 400 square kilometres, the disappearance of forests has become a ticking time bomb.
“Anjouan’s forests act like sponges, absorbing rainwater and releasing it slowly into rivers and streams. Their loss has devastated freshwater supplies, and over the past few decades, 40 of Anjouan’s 50 perennial rivers have dried up, becoming intermittent streams.
“Climate change has intensified these pressures. Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns have made rain scarce and unpredictable, forcing families to buy water during peak dry seasons, a huge expense for many.
“Besides restoring forest cover, the GEF and UNEP project installed rainwater-harvesting tanks in 15 villages, making water more accessible to more than 38,000 people.
“Without trees, rain falls on bare soil and rushes downhill, carrying fertile earth away with it. Rapid deforestation has degraded around 65 per cent of agricultural land in Anjouan, which because of its topography had little arable soil to begin with.
“In Comoros, where 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas and depends on farming for food and income, the consequences are enormous.”
Cash crop farming make up almost “90%” of the volcanic archipelago nation’s agricultural exports, and makes it the core of its economy. Cutting trees for firewood in Comoros has also resulted to deforestation.
According to UNEP: “Farming of cash crops like cloves, vanilla and ylang-ylang makes up nearly 90 per cent of Comoros’ agricultural exports and forms the backbone of its economy. For families with few alternatives, it is an economic lifeline.
“Yet clearing forests for farming and cutting trees for firewood — often the only affordable energy source — have also driven deforestation.
“To help break that cycle, communities played a central role in restoring degraded land by replanting trees in forests areas and adopting climate-smart farming methods.”
