By Ferdinand Mbonihankuye
The Hyphaena Petersiana (false palm) species in Rusizi National Park, near the Burundian economic capital Bujumbura, is bearing the brunt of ceaseless felling to make space for a cemetery, among other things.
This part of the park spans more than 10,600 hectares and appears to be the most affected, mainly because of the 300 households that have settled there and cleared around 1,000 hectares to grow crops.
On the road to Cibitoke, the Mpanda cemetery seems to have displaced entirely this unique plant species, called "Urukoko" in the native dialect.
Environmental expert Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze recalls farmer Jean Marie Nduwimana lamenting about the cemetery sounding the death knell for false palm trees.
"We don't have a choice but to widen the forest clearing for more graves," local gravedigger Jean Marie Nduwimana tells TRT Afrika, standing amid Urukoko trunks lying all around.
Back in 2014, the authorities banned large livestock from Rukoko. This measure helped the denuded flora heal before the rapid ingress of human habitation undid most of it.
Board to death
The threat of extinction hangs over the false palm species not just because of settlements intruding on forests. Carpentry, construction and demand for charcoal are as much to blame for dense woods being reduced to patchy forests in what still is among the world's most ecologically essential nations.
A trip to the lumber markets reveals how rampant the depredation has been. Générose Havyarimana, a trader, likens boards made from false palm and other threatened species to pearls.
"Barring Tanzania, these aren't easily available now because of the disappearance of certain species of trees from their origins," he tells TRT Afrika.
Unrestricted agriculture is another bummer in the battle for Rukoko's survival. According to Emmanuel, the expansion of food crops like maize and beans and industrial crops like sugarcane and cotton have been to the detriment of this endemic species.
The sugarcane plantations of Nahum Barankiriza's Tanganyika Business Company now occupy many of the forests shorn of false palm trees.
A jumbo problem
In Burundi, the disappearance of the last elephant a dozen years ago is strangely cited as the trigger for the gradual extinction of the Urukoko. "By feeding on the fruit of the false palm, these animals participated in its multiplication within the reserve, which is still considered today the only home of this endemic species," says Emmanuel.
The elephant diet was based mainly on the Urukoko fruit, which contains seeds they couldn't digest. "These seeds were found in their dung, which gave birth to new trees," explains Emmanuel.
So, when these natural "multipliers" of false palm trees suffered the consequences of various security crises in the country since 1993, the bloody coup that plunged the country into chaos, the plant species became collateral damage.
Despite great diversity, the mountainous regions remain fragile regarding the sustainable conservation of forest resources that are of great value to both local and urban populations.
With the destruction of Rukoko, warns Emmanuel, negative environmental impacts are imminent such as the lack of sequestration of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, land degradation, desertification (absence of other forests and woodlands in this plain of Rusizi) and loss of biodiversity.
Species such as Sinarundinaria Alpina, Entandrophragma Excelsum, and Faurea Saligna are much sought, especially for carpentry and producing art objects.
Some of these species have been exploited so that they are only represented in scattered patches of protected areas such as the Kibira National Park and the Bururi Forest Reserve.
Environmental experts point out that in the Kumoso depressions, four species appear to be priorities for rehabilitation. These are Pericopsis angolensis, Pterocarpus tinctorius, P. angolensis and Julbernardia globiflora, which have entirely disappeared due to heavy exploitation by a population that has done nothing to protect them.
These resources are so scarce that the population goes to Tanzania to look for them, which again constitutes a cross-border threat to these species.
A total of 40 plant species are currently threatened with extinction.
Green shoots
Amid alarm over the rate of deforestation, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. In the Imbo plain, some species are confined to protected areas.
Environmentalists recommend ex-situ conservation in the three ecological zones of the country of the species most sought after by the local population, with particular emphasis on mountain flora.
Three botanical gardens with a scientific and conservation mission would be created, one in the Imbo plain, another on the Congo-Nile ridge and the third in the Kumoso depressions, to rehabilitate national flora in danger of disappearing as a result of unchecked exploitation.
To achieve rational and sustainable exploitation of Burundi's indigenous woody species in the short, medium and long term, it is necessary to disseminate improved stoves (Imbabura) that consume less charcoal, if not alternative energy sources.
Another step is to control felling in public and private woodlands, especially of young trees. Finally, of course, the easiest and best option is to encourage more planting to make up for what has been lost.
