The Biodiversity of Angola
In June, 2023, my wife Karen, some long-time traveling companions and I took a three-week birding trek through the Republic of Angola. Our principal objective was to see as many of the endemic or near endemic birds as possible, which meant that we had to sample many habitats, ranging from seashore, savannah, broadleaf woodland, montane forest and rainforest. My other objective was to evaluate if only from an anecdotal perspective the biodiversity of Angola and its chances for survival. (The term “biodiversity” here refers to both the uniqueness and species richness of a habitat or entire ecoregion.)
The route we followed is marked on the map below:
Background Facts
Angola is a large country bordering the Atlantic Ocean in southwestern Africa, roughly twice the size of Texas (where my wife and I reside). It is a land of much beauty, as reflected in its many waterfalls and spectacular vistas. It is also one of the most biodiverse countries in Africa. This characterization stems from the fact that it contains more biomes and constituent eco-regions than any other African country. (There is no adopted nomenclature for biogeographic areas in Angola. Several classifications exist.) Many recent studies focus on the importance of its habitats to wildlife and the threats to its status as a great reservoir of biodiversity. (See bibliography below )
Enjoy the power and beauty of Calandula Falls emptying into the Lunda River in the video below:
Angola also is a relatively poor country that is made poorer by the explosive growth of its population in the 21st century. According to United Nations statistics, the current population exceeds 36 million people (up from 16 million in 2000), with a median age of 16. Rural areas are especially poor, explaining in part the migration of young Angolans to the country’s large cities. In rural areas poverty, the lack of gainful economic opportunities, and population growth constitute the primary drivers of the loss of biodiversity countrywide.
It has taken Angola a long time to recover from its 30-year civil war, which broke out among three competing factions in 1975 after its successful war of independence from Portugal. The eastern half of the country is still riddled with land mines, preventing access by much of the population and constituting a major barrier to tourism. Active de-mining is still being carried out in the heavily populated central area of the country by NGOs. The terrible toll on wildlife during the civil war, where all sides slaughtered mammals and birds for food and revenue, rendered much of the country devoid of wildlife, a pattern that is both obvious and depressing to the casual traveler. The pattern continues in the eastern savannas, due to organized criminal traffic in wildlife and by subsistence hunting from the ever-expanding rural population.
Against this backdrop, I report our observations and information provided by reliable local informants below. I first present information on the biological resources that need protection. Second, I examine the corresponding threats to biodiversity and the urgency to counteract trends toward deforestation and habitat degradation. Finally, I discuss possible solutions.
Biodiversity Resources in Angola and Threats to Preservation
Because of its varied geography, Angola supports several kinds of forests that are essential to wildlife preservation. The most important biogeographical feature of the country is the escarpment, running north to south and lying between the relatively narrow littoral zone and the highland plateau that gently slopes toward the east and which occupies a majority of the area of Angola. The escarpment zone contains the great majority of the endemic bird species (many of which are endangered) which we were looking for.
Though we visited other ecosystems, including coastal savanna, gallery forests, parts of the southern escarpment and desert habitats in the south of the country, we focus here on three forest types that constitute the most important habitats for wildlife: (1) miombo woodlands; (2) northern and central escarpment forests; and (3) afro-montane forest remnants. There were two important biomes where we spent little if any time: the Congolese rainforest, intact portions of which are confined to the state of Cabinda (this free-standing province is separated from the rest of the country by the Congo River), and the vast broadleaf savannas of the east (Cuando Cubango province, e.g.), which as noted above are currently off-limits to ecotourists.
Miombo Woodlands
Scattered throughout the escarpment and the central plateau there are stands of broadleaf woodlands with an understory of grasses and some shrubs which we refer to here as miombo woodlands. (There are no miombo trees as such. Rather, the woodlands consist of various species of brachystgia.) This type of woodland occupies the majority of forested land in Angola and sometimes forms closed canopy forests in the east. It contains a unique palette of avifauna, often a mix of species that are widespread in southern and eastern Africa. These woodlands are rapidly disappearing in rural populated areas. As a result, we were able to explore very few such tracts.
Miombo Woodland video highlight
Miombo Woodland birds
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The culprit here is in this region is charcoal production. Miombo woodland trees are ideal for the production of charcoal. Evidence of charcoal production can be seen almost anywhere there is a clearing in miombo woodlands. The ground at the site is typically charred and there are one or two stumps of trees that have been cut and are waiting to be converted to charcoal. While stopped in one miombo patch off a small dirt road, the sounds of an ax chopping yet another tree was heard. According to experienced ecotourism guides, the severity of converting miombo trees to charcoal makes it necessary to find new tracts to explore for birds each year.
Sub-Saharan Africa produces over 60% of the world’s charcoal. It is estimated that 90% of Africans depend on charcoal for heating and cooking needs. Markets are thriving. Angola is a net exporter of charcoal. While some countries like Kenya and Cameroon ban commercial charcoal production, the result is often the creation of criminal black-market operations. The substitution of non-consumptive means of cooking, such as solar ovens, for charcoal is beyond the financial reach of most Africans and in many cases goes contrary to the culture of rural and urban communities alike.
In Angola, the migration of rural families to cities has created a thriving urban market for charcoal production. Along every road in Angola in proximity to broadleaf woodlands, bags of charcoal line the road for pick-up by distributors for sale to urban markets (charcoal of course serves rural communities as well).
Northern escarpment forest
In Angola, more rainfall occurs closer to the equator on the north and less toward the south of the country. Much of the northern escarpment once was covered in primary rainforest. Most of the land in this area was cleared of primary forest by Portuguese farmers, who established large plantations of “shade-grown” coffee. The pattern of clearance for cacao plantations was to cut the forest understory but leave large canopy trees which provided shade, and some habitat for wildlife. The understory, however, was heavily cultivated. When most Portuguese farmers abandoned the plantations during the 1975 revolutionary war, the understory and midstory regenerated in the spaces between coffee plants. Coffee trees are still visible in such areas, often camouflaged with vines.
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The avifauna of northern escarpment forests approximates that of the Congolese rainforests of the DRC and Gabon to the north. We did observe some rainforest species in our brief two-day exploration of these forests. The area we visited was in Uige Province, which abuts the Democratic Republic of Congo on the north. Along major roads, there are no extensive tracts of forest remaining. Readily accessible for cultivation, former forested areas abutting the road now are covered in small banana plantations initially cultivated by local people. In some areas bananas march up from the road to cover adjacent hillsides in extensive stands. Most of these small plantations appear to have been abandoned.
Forest remnants are located around the town of Quitexe (south of the provincial capital city of Uige). We visited two such tracts. The first was accessed by a small dirt road ultimately leading to a former Portuguese coffee plantation. It held one of the endangered endemic bird species we sought, the Braun’s bushshrike, whose habitat is the thick edge of the forest, and which appeared to be doing well. A few species of forest-inhabiting birds were also present but the mix of species was low. Ironically, most observations had to be made from clearings in the forest made by subsistence farmers rather than from tracks inside the forest itself. New clearings had been established in these areas since our guide’s last visit four years prior. The second area was a accessed by a much larger road dominated by “farm bush,” areas of sometimes thick vegetation with some canopy trees, but interlaced with trails cut into the forested area, which lead to agricultural plots or in some cases small constellations of houses (mostly made of locally manufactured brick).
Although we did not observe any logging going on in the areas we visited, one informant reported that organized illegal logging was taking place in more remote areas containing larger forest tracts. Camping in one such area, he observed four men carrying yellow containers of diesel fuel used to power chair saws. On confronting them, they revealed that they were from villages much farther north and had been recruited to cut trees for commercial export (thus circumventing local community interactions). The going price for each cut tree was $.18.
Central escarpment forests
Traveling south from Uige Province to Melange Province we spent the largest portion of our tour in central escarpment forests situated around the town of Conda. (There is no clear demarcation line between the northern and central escarpment. The differing composition in trees species that occurs between these forest types is mostly due to the rainfall gradient.) The objective was Kumbira forest, one of the areas most heralded in scientific literature for being home to nearly all of the endangered bird species of Angola.
Kumbira forest birds and butterflies
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The area is hilly – sometimes steeply sloped. It contains mixed forest types, with a mosaic of grassland and savanna areas interspersed. Much of the forest here also had been cleared by Portuguese settlers to establish coffee plantations, since abandoned and overgrown. Our expectations were fairly high, given the tour description of the area as teeming with birds. However, researchers a decade earlier had warned about the continuing loss of forest due to subsistence agriculture and called for national protection for the forests. Upon entering the area we saw a sign declaring the forest to be protected under law.
The first thing to notice in Kumbira forest is the abundance of villages forming an almost contiguous string along the dirt roads that are carved into most of the landscape. The number of people encountered was truly astonishing, either on foot or on small motorbikes. We stood initially at the edge of a village in s secondary forest in pursuit of a particular endemic bird (the Pulitzer’s longbill), staying perhaps 45 minutes, during which a constant stream of villagers passed us on foot. Often shy but curious, some stopped for closer observation of these foreigners. While we were successful in locating the bird, as we left someone could be heard cutting trees in the longbill’s shrinking habitat.
Kumbira forest
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Our next stop was a more forested tract, which stood out from adjacent farm plots. It did hold some forest birds. We learned, however, that the reason it was more intact was due to its ownership by a Portuguese family who had provided us lodging on their rehabilitated and extensive coffee plantation (distant from the forest). A third area where we located yet another endemic bird species was an abandoned coffee plot whose understory had been completely cleared for a house and gardens. There remained very little habitat for the bird we managed to locate (the Gabela bushshrike), which relies on thick undergrowth adjacent to forest to make its home.
Kumbira forest
Kumbira forest village
Kumbira forest agricultural plot adjacent to Bushshrike habitat
Wall-to-wall villages around Conda town
On a subsequent morning, we tried another dirt road, which carried us through more areas with good tracts of forest and fewer settlements. Upon stopping at a particularly productive-looking spot, we noticed several diesel cans next to some finished planks of wood, usually meant to fuel chainsaws. A little farther on, there was a parked motorbike and the sound of a chainsaw felling trees. We soon encountered the owner in his pickup. He was curious about our presence, but his main focus was the illegal logging operation underway. In fact, he was on his way to the local police, but didn’t expect any enforcement of environmental rules.
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While we had no way of assessing the extent of illegal logging in the central escarpment forests, the threats to biodiversity from subsistence agriculture were omnipresent. Most of the forested land is communally owned. The communities are overpopulated and for the most part poor. To feed themselves, the people will continue to farm small plots that are carved from the forest. It is easy to project that the forests in these areas will die of 1000 cuts and biodiversity along with them.
Afro-montane forests
The term refers to relict forests from a wetter period in Angola, now confined to high mountain ravines and gorges. Afro-montane forest is the most endangered forest type in Africa. In Angola, such forests are surrounded by grasslands, the lower elevations of which have been cultivated extensively by local communities. Afro-montane forests are home to unique species of trees and to some endangered bird species in Angola.
Mt Moco birds
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We spent a day visiting perhaps the most famous of these disappearing forest remnants located on Mount Moco in Haulco province. En route to one of the forest fragments, we traversed burned grassland extending as far as the eye could see, expanding out from the village that guards the entrance to the forest.
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The afro-montane forest patch filled a small ravine, stopping about half-way up the slope of the mountain. It was quiet when we reached it in midday. This area and others like it formerly had been degraded by removal of forest trees for fuel, construction and cooking. By far the biggest threat to such forests however was ignition due to uncontrolled or escaped grassfires set to improve cultivation. This particular tract was surrounded by scorched grassland, constituting firebreaks from the torched grassland below.
Analysis: Possible Solutions to Biodiversity Threats in Angola
The principal threats to biodiversity that we were able to observe were: (1) charcoal production in miombo woodland; (2) subsistence agriculture in the escarpment forests; and (3) risk of grassfires to afro-montane forests. Fortunately, Angolan conservationists have come up with some solutions that offer hope for the future.
Charcoal Production
Several rural communities in Angola recognize the unsustainability of current charcoal production in broadleaf forests. The emerging slogan is to plant a tree for every tree that is cut down. Local nurseries of native trees could be planted in village areas, with the intent that future harvesting of broadleaf trees will be confined to such regrowth. Planting itself could be a source of revenue for some villagers.
This strategy has the potential for widespread application, since it can be implemented village by village. It must be accompanied by an education campaign, resources needed to finance nurseries, and by tying strings to public or private commitments, in order to avoid the “both” syndrome so typical of human reasoning: why not raise twice as much revenue by utilizing both nurseries and native forests for charcoal production.
There is another aspect to this solution that must be considered: timing. How long does it take to grow a “nursery forest” relative to the immediate demand for charcoal? Surprisingly, there is little information in the literature explaining which trees and which sizes are ideal for charcoal production. Lots of Miombo woodlands will be reduced to charcoal if the replacement source takes a long time to grow. This suggests that trees other than native broadleaf forests should be considered as substitutes, such as otherwise invasive gum trees, which already are in production throughout the country. A replacement source does not have to be native to serve the function of preserving native forests. Such trees also may be more easily grown in cleared areas where soils are sub-marginal for the introduction of native trees.
Subsistence Agriculture
Our personal observations, as well as those of researchers with more field experience, indicate that the threats to biodiversity from slash-and-burn forest clearance is perhaps the biggest challenge to sustaining biodiversity in Angola. Subsistence agriculture comes in two forms. The most destructive technique is the clearance of complete tracts of forest – both canopy trees and understory, to make way for modest or in some case extensive farm plots. The loss is incremental over time, with additional farmers joining pioneers, or established plot holders moving to clear adjacent forest once soil fertility decreases. Once larger trees are felled and wood sold, burning detritus and ground cover completes the process of clearance for cultivation.
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The second type of slash and burn, often accompanying the first type, occurs when understory is cleared under canopy trees, such as those contained in former coffee plantations, usually for the purpose of housing and working spaces, but sometimes for agricultural products that can be grown in shade. This practice appears to be widespread in the escarpment forests. It should be noted that the villages where most of the rural population reside typically are not located adjacent to the remaining forested areas.
The prospect for continuing deforestation from subsistence agriculture seems extremely high in Angola. Continuing population growth and accompanying poverty in rural areas, together with low education levels and governmental indifference, would seem to seal the fate of escarpment forests in Angola: the death of a thousand cuts. Biodiversity cannot thrive in areas without healthy habitats.
Currently in the planning are projects to purchase and protect large, privately held farms that contain significant stands of escarpment forest, which would be subject to strict enforcement of environmental laws that prohibit destruction or degradation of forests. This is a good starting point. Subsistence agriculture not only destroys or degrades forest resources: it also fragments them. The unique species that occupy escarpment forests often are dependent on larger tracts to survive. The NGO sponsors of the projects have the support of the national legislature and engaged government officials, a necessary component of conservation success in Angola.
The second component of the projects is to get the buy-in from adjacent communities to protect the designated areas and to initiate the process of changing their practices to engage in sustainable agriculture that is compatible with forest preservation. Properly managed, the forests can regenerate on community land, creating connecting forest segments. If successful, this greatly extends the reach of escarpment forests and the biodiversity they contain. The creation of protective areas and acceptance of sustainable agricultural techniques also creates employment opportunities for members of nearby communities.
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Grassland Fires
The suppression of grassland fires threatening afro-montane forest is perhaps the greatest success story for conservation in Angola. The Mount Moco Foundation has educated and funded training of local villagers (Kanjande village) to create firebreaks around every forest patch on Mount Moco. Nursery forests of native trees also are being grown to expand the forest from its current boundaries. Nearby miombo patches of uniform age also may discourage local use of afro-montane forest to supply fuel for cooking. These practices do not conflict with the lifestyle of native communities. It now appears that such communities have “bought into” conservation strategies, so that villagers feel like protectors of this crucial habitat. Legislation is now underway to create the Mount Moco Special Reserve area.
Attaining Scale
Despite these hopeful signs, projects such as those outlined above must achieve scale in order to assure the preservation of Angola’s biodiversity. The success of the Mount Moco project has achieved a measure of scale, but the protected areas are much smaller in size than escarpment forests and less impacted by population growth. Other projects underway should be regarded as pilot projects that may or may not be exportable to other sites.
The success of a pilot conservation project depends on the coordinated efforts of NGO sponsors, the government and the leadership of local protagonists. The threats to biodiversity discussed here all require the education and cooperation of local communities that own and/or manage forest resources. That cooperation cannot be achieved unless the community is at least as well off with the project as it was before the project was initiated. At a minimum, the community’s food security and economic well-being must be assured. Given rapid population growth and the limited economy available in rural Angola, this will be no easy task. The prospects of success on a larger scale are enhanced, however by the fact that the great majority of forested land in the escarpment is community held. Angola’s local form of governance involves a chieftain (“soba”) who has considerable authority to persuade and to compel compliance with agreed upon goals.
Almost two decades ago conservationists concerned about threats to escarpment forests sought assistance from the government to declare large protection zones where critical habitats would be preserved and prohibition of unsustainable agricultural techniques would be rigorously enforced. Such top-down proclamations may not be compatible with the governance structure and local ownership patterns in the escarpment. However, there appears to be enough knowledge to classify forest tracts within the escarpment according to their capacity to sustain biodiversity. In such areas, laws against illegal logging, such as we witnessed in the central escarpment, can be enforced rigorously by the Angolan government, with the cooperation of local communities. Once such forest tracts have been identified, conservationists should direct efforts to expand pilot projects to encompass them.
Role of Ecotourism
So, what can the casual eco-tourist be expected to do to protect Angola’s biodiversity? Ecotourism is heralded as a force for preservation of natural habitats in many East African countries. The primary draw for numerous safaris is savanna species present in large numbers in national parks. As noted earlier, there is a mismatch in Angola between areas supporting wildlife (mostly in the east) and developed infrastructure. In the immediate future, it seems likely that groups such as ours, who wish to explore avian biodiversity, will constitute the majority of ecotourists.
Angola now has no designated forest reserves in the escarpment zone that are accessible by, much less developed for, the ecotourist. A birding tour now, for example, must access relatively degraded sites by a local road network in order to observe the biodiversity of the escarpment forests. In this context, often the threats to biodiversity are more pronounced than the resources themselves. Interaction with local community leaders is non-existent.
An ideal remedy would be the establishment of several large, protected areas within the escarpment forest zone that are developed for tourist access and local community employment. An intermediate step would be to encourage local communities that still contain relatively rich forest areas to manage forests on their land for the ecotourist. Even partially degraded tracts could be fashioned for wildlife observation. For such a venture to succeed, communities as a whole must benefit from an influx of ecotourists. Ecotourists and the agencies that transport them to Angolan forests should pay for the privilege of experiencing biodiversity that is sustained by local communities. Conversely, the funds so generated must be used by community leaders to offset the costs of sustaining the forest.
I hope you have enjoyed this presentation on Angolan biodiversity. The principal focus of Saving Terra in the future will be the appreciation and protection of biodiversity in tropical countries. In the near future, we will explore forest and savanna habitats in Bolivia. I invite you to join me on my journeys. Consider subscribing to Saving Terra here on Substack and contributing to the dialogue regarding effective conservation programs. Saving Terra, the podcast will be debuting this fall and will include discussions with people from around the world doing their part. You can also join us on adventures via Instagram and Twitter. We look forward to having you along. Next stop? Beautiful Bolivia.
T.D.
Angola Biodiversity Bibliography
Note: for further information on Angola’s Biodiversity and Threats, the following references include much more depth than it was possible to include in this piece, and additional subjects such as the legal framework for conservation in the country are treated in depth.
Carceres, A., Melo, M., Barlow, J., Cardoso, P., Maiato, F. & Mills, M., Threatened Birds of the Angolan Central Escarpment: Distribution and Response to Habitat Change at Kumbira Forest (Cambridge University Press 2014) (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/threatened-birds-of-the-angolan-central-escarpment-distribution-and-response-to-habitat-change-at-kumbira-forest/61AB84D92A111AFEE2E62412EFCA0FAC))
Cáceres, A., Santos, P., Tchalo, F., Mills, M. and Melo, M. 2013. Human use of natural resources and the conservation of the afromontane forest in Mount Moco, Angola. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa. 15.
Doggart, N. & Meshack, C., The Marginalization of Sustainable Charcoal Production in the Policies of a Modernizing African Nation (Front. Environ. Sci., 08 June 2017, Sec. Agroecology)(https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00027/full)
Gonçalves, F., Mills, M., and Cáceres, A., Angola’s Central Scarp Forests: Threatened Bird Habitats and Human Impacts (2011)( https://www.conservationleadershipprogramme.org/media/2014/12/CLP-Final-Report-0109710-Angola_v2.pdf)
Huntley, B.J, Russo, V., Lages, F. & Ferrand, N., eds; “Biodiversity of Angola; Science and Conservation: A Modern Synthesis” (2019)
Mills, M., Restoring Angola’s Threatened Afromontane Forests: An Expanded Approach to Reforestation in Collaboration with the Local Community at Mount Moco, Angola (Rufford Foundation 2020) (https://www.rufford.org/projects/michael-stuart-lyne-mills/protecting-threatened-afromontane-forest-at-mount-moco-from-fire-professional-environmental-fire-management-training-for-the-local-community/
Mills, M.S., Melo, M. and Vaz, A. 2013. The Namba mountains: new hope for Afromontane forest birds in Angola. Bird Conservation International. 23(2).
Mills, M.S., Olmos, F., Melo, M. and Dean, W.R.J. (2011). Mount Moco: its importance to the conservation of Swierstra’s Francolin Pternistis swierstrai and the Afromontane avifauna of Angola. Bird Conservation International. 21(2).
NL Agency, Making Charcoal Production in Sub Sahara Africa Sustainable (2010) (https://english.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2013/12/Report%20Charcoal%20-%20BTG%20-%20NPSB_0.pdf)
USAID, “Angola Biodiversity and Tropical Forests: 118/119 Assessment” (2013) (https://usaidgems.org/Documents/FAA&Regs/FAA118119/Angola2013.pdf)
World Wildlife Fund Inc. and National Geographic Society, “Communities and Biodiversity in Angola” (2018) (https://rris.biopama.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/Angola%20Community%20Report_English%20FINAL%2028%20Feb%202019.pd)
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