A new study reveals that the carbon footprints for African cities are rapidly deteriorating because their population is growing faster than cities elsewhere in the world. Yet the ecological impact of this development is almost completely ignored because it's hardly being documented, according to the study’s author, Joy Clancy, a Dutch scientist. "One of the most important ecological changes in Africa’s history is being over-looked", according to Ms Clancy, who published an abstract of her research in the African Journal of Ecology. She provides a first hand insight in the worst side of the problems, pointing out that demand for fuel wood and charcoal isn't really the biggest cause of deforestation in Africa. A far bigger factor in deforestation is change in land use, according to Ms Clancy. She says the most dramatic change is around cities – the peri-urban areas – where woodlands are cleared for agriculture to feed the new centers of population. Clancy believes that this, in combination with the effect on water demand and waste disposal on aquatic ecosystems, means that the carbon footprint of African cities is bound to be much larger than their current footprint calculations suggest.
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