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The Congo Basin represents 70 percent of the African continent's forest cover and constitutes a large portion of Africa's biodiversity. The objective of the two-year exercise was to analyze and get a better grasp of the deforestation dynamics in the Basin. The primary goal of the exercise was to give stakeholders (and particularly policy makers) a thorough understanding of how economic activities (agriculture, transport, mining, energy, and logging) could impact the region's forest cover through an in-depth analysis of the connections between economic developments and forest loss. Historically, the Congo Basin forest has been under comparatively little pressure, but there are signs that this situation is likely to change as pressure on the forest and other ecosystems increases. Until very recently, low population density, unrest and war, and low levels of development hampered conversion of forests into other land uses; however, satellite-based monitoring data now show that the annual rates of gross deforestation in the Basin have doubled since 1990. There is indeed some evidence that the Basin forests may be at a turning point of heading to higher deforestation and forest degradation rates. The forest ecosystems have not yet suffered the damage observed in other tropical regions (Amazonia, Southeast Asia) and are quite well preserved. The low deforestation rates mainly result from a combination of such factors as poor infrastructure, low population densities, and political instability that have led to the so-called passive protection. However, signs that the Congo Basin forests could be under increasing pressure from a variety of forces-both internal and external range from mineral extraction, road development, agribusiness, and biofuels to agriculture expansion for subsistence and population growth. All of these factors could drastically amplify the pressure on natural forests in the coming decades and trigger the transition from the 'high forest/low deforestation' profile into a more intense pace of deforestation.

For the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its partners, the link between research and policy is of paramount importance in their goal to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in developing countries. The nature of the collaboration between researchers and decision-makers, however, is complex, multifaceted and often difficult to implement. Moreover, research is very often designed and carried out without regard for its potential users or beneficiaries. How should research agendas be developed? What is the role of the private sector in developing research? Which actors are involved in knowledge production and utilization? How can the dialogue between researchers and decision-makers be improved? This short and accessible book records the reflections, opinions and recommendations which emerged from six national workshops organised between 2004 and 2007 in West and Central Africa on the synergy between researchers and decision-makers. Abdoulaye Ndiaye is a Senegalese expert and international consultant in development. He edited this book as a member and on behalf of the IDRC Council of Regional Advisors for West and Central Africa which organized the series of workshops throughout the sub-region.

Despite its vast oil wealth, central Africa still struggles to sustain strong, inclusive economic growth or to generate sufficient employment opportunities, particularly for its fast-growing youth population. Drawing on new research, Oil Wealth in Central Africa lays out the macroeconomic and growth challenges facing the region; examines oil wealth management and its implications for poverty reduction; and includes four case studies that exemplify lessons learned.

Despite its vast oil wealth, central Africa still struggles to sustain strong, inclusive economic growth or to generate sufficient employment opportunities, particularly for its fast-growing youth population. Drawing on new research, Oil Wealth in Central Africa lays out the macroeconomic and growth challenges facing the region; examines oil wealth management and its implications for poverty reduction; and includes four case studies that exemplify lessons learned.

C1; C2; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgments; About the Author and Contributors; Abbreviations; Overview; Congo Basin Forests at a Glance; What Will Drive Deforestation in the Congo Basin? A Multisectoral Analysis; Boxes; Box O.1 Hunger in a Land of Plenty; Figures; Figure O.1 Land, Dense Forest, and Logging Areas in the Congo Basin; Tables; Table O.1.1 Key Development Indicators for Congo Basin Countries; Figure O.2 Average Annual Net Deforestation and Net Degradation Rates, Congo Basin, 1990-2000 and 2000-05; Box O.2 An Interactive Modeling and Awareness-Raising Exercise

For the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and its partners, the link between research and policy is of paramount importance in their goal to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in developing countries. The nature of the collaboration between researchers and decision-makers, however, is complex, multifaceted and often difficult to implement. Moreover, research is very often designed and carried out without regard for its potential users or beneficiaries. How should research agendas be developed? What is the role of the private sector in developing research? Which actors are involved in knowledge production and utilization? How can the dialogue between researchers and decision-makers be improved? This short and accessible book records the reflections, opinions and recommendations which emerged from six national workshops organised between 2004 and 2007 in West and Central Africa on the synergy between researchers and decision-makers. Abdoulaye Ndiaye is a Senegalese expert and international consultant in development. He edited this book as a member and on behalf of the IDRC Council of Regional Advisors for West and Central Africa which organized the series of workshops throughout the sub-region.

New horizons are opening for Africa, with a growing number of Chinese andIndian businesses fostering its integration into advanced markets. However,significant imbalances will have to be addressed on both sides of the equation to support long-term growth.

The China-Africa relationship has so far largely been depicted as one in which the Chinese state and Chinese entrepreneurs control the agenda, with Africans and their governments as passive actors exercising little or no agency. This volume examines the African side of the relation, to show how African state and non-state actors increasingly influence the China-Africa partnership and, in so doing, begin to shape their economic and political futures. The influx of public and private sector Chinese actors across the African continent has led to a rise of opportunities and challenges, which the volume sets out to examine. With case studies from Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Zambia, and across the technology, natural resource, manufacturing, and financial sectors, it shows not only how African realities shape Chinese actions, but also how African governments and entrepreneurs are learning to leverage their competitive advantages and to negotiate the growing Chinese presence across the continent.

The subject of food security and land issues in Africa has become one of increased importance and contention over recent years. In particular, the focus has shifted to the role new global South donors – especially India, China and Brazil – are playing in shaping African agriculture through their increased involvement and investment in the continent. Approaching the topic through the framework of South-South co-operation, this highly original volume presents a critical analysis of the ways in which Chinese, Indian and Brazilian engagements in African agriculture are structured and implemented. Do these investments have the potential to create new opportunities to improve local living standards, transfer new technology and knowhow to African producers, and reverse the persistent productivity decline in African agriculture? Or will they simply aggravate the problem of food insecurity by accelerating the process of land alienation and displacement of local people from their land? Topical and comprehensive, Agricultural Development and Food Security in Africa offers fresh insight into a set of relationships that will shape both Africa and the world over the coming decades.

Endowed with natural resources, majestic bodies of fresh water, and a relatively mild climate, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa has also been the site of some of the world's bloodiest atrocities. In Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, decades of colonial subjugation-most infamously under Belgium's Leopold II-were followed by decades of civil warfare that spilled into neighboring countries. When these conflicts lead to horrors such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide, ethnic difference and postcolonial legacies are commonly blamed, but, with so much at stake, such simple explanations cannot take the place of detailed, dispassionate analysis.The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africaprovides a thorough exploration of the contemporary crises in the region. By focusing on the historical and social forces behind the cycles of bloodshed in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, René Lemarchand challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the roots of civil strife in former Belgian Africa. He offers telling insights into the appalling cycle of genocidal violence, ethnic strife, and civil war that has made the Great Lakes region of Central Africa the most violent on the continent, and he sheds new light on the dynamics of conflict in the region. Building on a full career of scholarship and fieldwork, Lemarchand's analysis breaks new ground in our understanding of the complex historical forces that continue to shape the destinies of one of Africa's most important regions.