The growing demography of Africa has resulted in the clearing of land in order to accommodate for more houses and areas for cultivation due to the significant dependence of the majority of the population on agriculture. According to UNEP 2003, 60% of the tropical forest areas that were cleared in Africa as a whole between 1990 and 2000 were converted to permanent agricultural smallholdings. The cutting and not replacing of trees contributes to global warming. Worse still is the burning of forests to clear land for grazing or agriculture which also releases carbon dioxide. Desertification is another area of concern for the continent. Over 45% of Africa is affected by desertification, while 55% is at high-to-very-high risk of erosion (UNEP 2003). Desertification is compounded by the other major environmental concern of deforestation. In fact, studies have shown that mortality rate, maternal health, and girl child education in the region are directly linked to environmental changes such as deforestation. In rural areas, households rely on females to fetch firewood, therefore, continued deforestation implies longer walking distances for women and girls. These result in complications in pregnancy, other ailments, as well as less time for girls to do school work. Studies have also shown that women and girls in Africa spend an average of three hours a day fetching water, hence expending more than a third of their daily intake of food (UNDP 2003).
Panayotou further notes the failure to provide evidence that the occurrence of lax environmental standards in emerging economies leads to FDI, on account of the fact that investment decisions by manufacturing plants and other multinationals to invest in countries is based on factors such as political stability, favourable economic policy, labour quality, and infrastructural developments. It is therefore clear that economic development is not without costs. In fact, the much desired economic growth if not carefully balanced with the need to protect the environment may result in permanent adverse effects on the environment for a country and the world. Specific to Africa, the application of these models and research findings lends itself to further caution. With the continental economy still facing numerous problems to the extent that most national economies are yet to provide sufficiently for their nationals, it is unlikely that a point would soon be reached in Africa’s economic growth, at which adequate resources become available for commitment to environmental concerns. In other words, thought needs to be given to the social background against which utilisation of resources from economic growth will depend. The various human and social challenges such as poverty and epidemics confronting the continent may well explain the relatively low emphasis by policy makers on environmental concerns when compared to their western counterparts. That said, however, it must be recognised that in respect to the ecosystem, the globe is one and benefits that accrue to one corner due to environmental preservation, accrue to the entire globe.