Low Carbon: Africa's forests disappearing faster than anywhere else

At the current rate, it will take Congo Basin countries 260 years to reach the level of reform achieved in the Amazon.

Action on land tenure could help to halt deforestation, slow climate change and alleviate poverty, says the report, entitled Tropical Forest Tenure Assessment: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities.

The study was presented in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, at a meeting of forest community representatives from Africa, Latin America and Asia.

The authors compared the distribution of land ownership in 39 tropical countries, which represent 96% of global tropical forests.

They found that African citizens have far less control over the forests they inhabit than do the peoples of other tropical regions.

Several countries have introduced or amended laws to strengthen community land rights - including Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Sudan and Tanzania.

However, the report calls for these nations to "quickly scale up" the process.

"Recognising local land rights alone doesn't solve all the problems," said Andy White, coordinator of the Rights and Resources Initiative.

"Governments need to follow up by supporting local management and enterprises.

"There are some countries that have recognised local land rights, but the government still controls the forest, and hands out concessions to industrial loggers - leading to more degradation and corruption."

Failure to ensure land rights for indigenous peoples and particularly women, will impede efforts to stop deforestation and mitigate climate change, say the authors.

Clearing of land for agriculture, logging, and other extractive industries accounts for as much as one third of some countries' total carbon emissions.

Read the full original version by the BBC.