China's Rosewood Imports from Africa Harm Environment

 Foreign Policy published on 9 September 2025 an article titled "China's Appetite for Rosewood Is Causing Chaos in Africa" by Caroline Costello and Joshua Eisenman.  

China imported an estimated $2 billion of rosewood from Africa between 2017 and 2022.  Much of the logging for this rare timber is illegal.  Extreme drought and flooding linked to the loss of rosewood trees have had devastating agricultural impacts.

Chinese Companies Engage in Forest Crimes in DRC

 The Environmental Investigation Agency published in October 2024 a report titled "Until the Last Log."

The report indicates that the largest industrial logging companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chinese firms Wan Peng and Booming Green, are engaged in apparent forest crimes and corruption to meet their clients' demand for unprocessed logs. The DRC is at risk of becoming the last safe haven for forest looters in the Congo Basin region. 

Corruption Fuels Illegal Rosewood Smuggling from Ghana to China

 The China Global South project published on 15 January 2024 a study titled "Lack of Political Will in Ghana Fuels Illegal Rosewood Logging, Smuggling to China" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.  

China is the world's largest deforester of other nations.  Corrupt Ghanian officials and corrupt Chinese businessmen contribute to the problem by illegally logging valuable rosewood in Ghana and smuggling it to China.  

Chinese Company Responsible for Illegal Logging in DRC

 Global Witness published in October 2023 a report titled "Puncturing the Second Lung of the World."

An international non-governmental organization with offices in London and Washington, Global Witness has uncovered evidence that shows China-linked timber company Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development is responsible for illegal logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, exporting more than $5 million worth of illicit timber to China between June and December 2022.

Somalia, Food Security, and Climate Change

 The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies published in November 2021 a study titled "Prospects of Food Security in Somalia under Looming Climate Changes" by Abdirashid Elmi.

The report provides an assessment of food security challenges in Somalia in the face of climate extremes.  Somalia has warmed faster than the global average.  Alternating droughts and floods have intensified, causing more households to face the risk of becoming food insecure.  Climate change is predicted to adversely affect agricultural yields in Somalia where crop production relies heavily on environmental factors such as rainfall and temperature.  There is an interdependent relationship between food production and climate change.

Ghana: Chinese-bauxite Mine and Environmental Damage

The South China Morning Post published an article on 13 October 2019 titled "Activists in Ghana Lead Fight against China-backed Bauxite Mine in Pristine Rainforest" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.

The article describes the conflict between those who support the development in a Ghanaian rainforest of a Chinese bauxite mine and environmental activists and local residents who oppose the project because of the environmental damage it causes.

Ethiopia: A Good News Reforestation Story

The World Economic Forum posted on 31 July 2019 an article on reforestation in Ethiopia by Johnny Wood.

Ethiopia planted more than 350 million seedlings in 12 hours, claiming a world record for that period of time. The goal is to plant 4 billion seedlings by October and to reverse deforestation. My question is who is going to water these seedlings during the dry season?

Ghanaian Rosewood Exports to China Threaten Species

Ghanabusiness.com recently posted a detailed account titled "China's Lust for Rosewood Fuels Logging in Ghana's Poorest Region" by Emmanuel K. Dogbevi.

Demand for rosewood in China has grown exponentially over the past 15 years. Ghana is the second largest source, after Nigeria, of rosewood exported to China from West Africa. Ghana has put a ban on cutting down rosewood trees but not on collecting and exporting wood that has fallen on its own. This has not prevented, however, the massive cutting of trees by local Ghanaians who are protected by local politicians. Nearly all of the wood is exported to China by local Chinese companies.

At the current rate of harvesting, it is estimated rosewood will disappear from this part of Ghana in three years. The unrestrained harvesting is having a negative impact on the fragile ecology of the savannah regions of Ghana and other West African countries where it is found.

Loss of Agricultural Land in Africa

The New York Times published on 30 July 2017 a long article titled "Loss of Fertile Land Fuels 'Looming Crisis' across Africa" by Jeffrey Gettleman.

Discussions of global agricultural land usually note that Africa has by far that largest percentage of unused cultivable land. Some suggest that Africa could feed the world in spite of the fact that Africa is a net food importer. This article points out that Africa's unused land is not as productive as often claimed. A recent NASA study explains that the degradation of Africa's agricultural land has resulted in more than 40 million Africans trying to survive on land whose agricultural potential is declining due to overuse and climate change. An expert at Michigan State University commented that the concept of land-abundant Africa is increasingly outdated. Finally, sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing population in the world, putting additional pressure on the land each year.

China's Drive for Global Resources

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies published on 28 March 2017 a commentary titled "The Dark Legacy of China's Drive for Global Resources" by William Laurance, James Cook University in Australia.

The author concludes that China is currently having an overwhelming impact on the earth's environment. China is involved in resource extraction, energy, agricultural, and infrastructure projects--roads, railroads, hydropower dams, mines--that are wreaking unprecedented damage to ecosystems and biodiversity. At the same time, China is engaged in green activities, such as investing heavily in solar and wind energy, cracking down on its notorious air pollution, and replanting millions of acres of its denuded lands. Many of the examples cited by the author are in Africa.

Deforestation in South Sudan

Charlton Doki, writing for Inter Press Service, has done an excellent analysis of growing deforestation in South Sudan. The problem has worsened since the independence of South Sudan and the country's environment minister warned that clearing too much land for mechanized agriculture could do serious harm to the environment. This poses a serious challenge for a country that still has substantial woodland but desperately needs to grow more food to feed its people. Click here to read the analysis.