A. Species
Scientific name: Prunus africana
Common name(s): African almond, Kanda stick, African cherry, Red stinkwood, Prunier d'Afrique
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Cameroon
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Cameroon
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1972
End Year: 2015
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Logging and/or Wood Harvesting
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal and Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local government and National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Study involving a literature review, field work and interviews.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Research studies have provided evidence for destructive and unsustainable commercial harvest of P. africana in Cameroon. A matrix population modelling study concluded that continued harvest of bark from large trees was totally unsustainable.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Study involving a literature review, field work and interviews.
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The livelihood benefits and financial returns to local harvesters from wild harvest are extremely low. The authors state that the livelihood benefits from P. africana have been largely exaggerated. Around Mt. Cameroon, harvesting activities benefit only 0.0004% of the local population, while in Tchabal Mbabo, no local communities benefit directly from the commercial bark exploitation.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The author's suggest that what is required to supply the current and future market is to develop seperate, traceable P. africana bark supply chains based o cultivated stocks. This would also benefit thousands of small-scale farmers cultivating P. africana. If wild harvest continues, a 7-8 year minimum rotation is needed.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2016-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2025-05-26