Incluye bibliografía

Executive summary -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Forests and trees in Sub-Saharan Africa -- 3. Strategic implications -- 4. An integrated approach to forest management: a New Agenda for the World Bank -- Annexes: 1. Bank lending to the forest sector in Sub-Saharan Africa -- 2. Sub-Saharan Africa: forest area and deforestation -- 3. Technical workshops: summary of group recommendations -- Figures -- Boxes -- Map

Wise use of forest resources in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute to sustainable development and benefit many people, especially the poor, who depend on these resources for their livelihoods. The donor community can play an important role in helping African countries to accelerate the transition to sustainable use of forest resources. There are complex sociopolitical and economic factors that create incentives for rapid exploitation of forest resources. In Africa, there are strong interlinkages between rapid population growth, environmental degradation, and poor agricultural performance. The strategy presented in this paper places forest depletion and degradation firmly within this context. It recognizes that many of the root causes contributing to these problems lie outside the forest sector and, thus, the strategy provides African countries with a series of options that encompass actions necessary both within and outside the forest sector. While Bank lending can help the region to improve forest resource management, the final success of any measures adopted will ultimately depend on the commitment and will of the African people. This strategy paper builds on the landmark Conference on Conservation of West and Central African Rainforests, held in Abidjan in November 1990, as well as the seminal paper, " Saving Africa ' s Rainforests, " by Ismail Serageldin.