Tree loss threatens fishing livelihoods in Central African Republic
Boali residents report scarcer catches, while a fishmonger says buyers arriving from other towns are adding to local demand.
Residents of Boali in the Central African Republic say fish are becoming harder to catch as forest clearance threatens stocks in the Mbali River and the livelihoods of communities fishing its waters.
The shortage extends to local markets. Flore Ouagbele, a fishmonger, said customers coming from Bangui and Yaloké are pushing up demand, leaving people in Boali struggling to obtain sufficient supplies.
Local fisherman Jean-Romeo Senguemboli said charcoal production for heating and cooking is driving tree cutting and adding to pressures on fishermen’s earnings. He said fish are getting smaller amid climate change and rising temperatures, and warned that continued tree loss could dry up water and ultimately leave no fish.
According to experts, removing forests can lower water levels, cloud the water and diminish oxygen supplies, hampering fish reproduction and survival. Tree cutting also damages breeding habitats, said Yves Kaengonza, an environmental expert with the Central African Ministry of Water, Forests, Hunting and Fisheries.
The problems reflect pressures across the Congo Basin, which contains the largest tropical rainforest outside the Amazon. In Armenia, a United Nations summit on biodiversity has brought together nearly 200 countries to discuss threats including pollution and deforestation.
