The Books

A selection of some books by the unit's researchers, or to which they have contributed as editors or principal writers.

Living with the rainforests : a book to rethink the relationship between humans and forests

Living with Tropical Forests is a synthesis of forest research, with 75 years of history and field experience, written by a group of more than fifty scientists from CIRAD's Forests and Societies research unit. Composed of portraits and testimonies of people who live with forests, this book is an invitation to travel that does not spare the current controversies surrounding conservation policies.

Sist P., Doumenge C., Gond V., Tassin J., Trébuchon J.-F. (eds), 2021. Vivre avec les forêts tropicales. Edition Muséo, 216 p.

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7th edition of the State of the Forests report: SOF 2021

The State of the Congo Basin Forests report is published periodically to present the Central Africa forest ecosystems and their management environment.

Eba’a Atyi R, Hiol Hiol F, Lescuyer G, Mayaux P, Defourny P, Bayol N, Saracco F, Pokem D, Sufo Kankeu R and Nasi R., 2022. The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forests 2021. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR.

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For an ecology of the sensitive

As biodiversity dwindles under the impact of global warming and intensive agricultural practices, science offers as a remedy an ecology that is powerless to restore contact between Man and Nature.

Tassin J., 2020. Pour une écologie du sensible. Paris, Odile Jacob, 208 p.

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State of protected areas 2020

The State of Protected Areas 2020 is a publication produced by the Observatoire des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (OFAC), a specialised unit of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). It follows a first edition published in 2015, which has now become the flagship publication on protected areas in the region.

Doumenge C., Palla F. & Itsoua Madzous G.-L.. (Eds.), 2020. State of Protected Areas in Central Africa – State 2020. OFAC-COMIFAC, Yaounde, Cameroon & IUCN, Gland, Switzerland : 400 p..

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Thinking like a tree

In recent years, in the wake of important scientific discoveries related to plant communication, there has been a fundamental trend to take the tree as a model, and even to penetrate the mysteries of its "secret life".

Tassin J., 2018. Penser comme un arbre. Paris, Odile Jacob, 144 p.

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Payments for environmental services in Latin America

Couverture livre

This book was coordinated by Driss Ezzine de Blas (UPR Forests and Societies), Jean-François Le Coq and Alejandro Guevara Sanginés. It is edited by the Universidad Iberoamericana.

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Land tenure security in Africa: towards sustainable management of renewable resources

Le Roy E., Karsenty A., Bertrand A. 2016. Land tenure security in Africa: towards sustainable management of renewable resources. Paris, France : Karthala, 420 p. (Hommes et sociétés).

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What do plants think about?

Is it possible to "put yourself in the shoes" of a plant, to understand what it perceives of its fellow creatures and the outside world?

Tassin J., 2016. À quoi pensent les plantes ? Paris, Odile Jacob, 160 p.

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The Tropical Forester's Handbook

New edition of a book written by more than a hundred authors, including 54 researchers from the UR B&SEF.

Mille G., Louppe D. (Eds), 2015. The Tropical Forester's Handbook. Librairie QUAE, Montpellier, France, 1200 p.

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Presentation of the book by D. Louppe


State of Protected Areas 2015

The State of Protected Areas 2015 is a publication produced by the Observatoire des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (OFAC).

Doumenge C., Palla F., Scholte P., Hiol Hiol F. & Larzillière A. (Eds.), 2015. Aires protégées d’Afrique centrale – État 2015. OFAC, Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo et Yaoundé, Cameroun : 256 p.

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Forests of the Congo Basin - Forests and climate change

The 2015 edition of the State of the Congo Basin Forests is a special edition published for the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris.

de Wasseige C., Tadoum M., Eba’a Atyi R. et Doumenge C. (Eds.), 2015. Les forêts du Bassin du Congo - Forêts et changements climatiques. Weyrich, Belgique. 128 p.

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The great invasion: who is afraid of invasive species?

Invasions of Asian hornets, coypu, sacred ibis, Japanese knotweed... We often hear about these new threats to the environment. Is a tidal wave of species from elsewhere about to invade our cities and countryside?

Tassin J., 2014. La grande invasion : qui a peur des espèces invasives ? Paris, Odile Jacob, 216 p.

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When the city eats the forest - The challenges of wood energy in Central Africa

This book presents the results of the Makala project "Sustainable management of wood energy resources in Central Africa" conducted in the Republic of Congo and the DRC.

Quand la ville mange la forêt. Les défis du bois-énergie en Afrique centrale. Coord. editoriale de J.-N. Marien, É. Dubiez, D. Louppe, A. Larzillière Ed. Quae, 2013


Environment, discourse and power - The political ecology approach

This book aims to disseminate the Political ecology approach to a French speaking academic audience.

Environnement, discours et pouvoir - L’approche Political ecology 
Coord. ed. Denis Gautier, Tor A. Benjaminsen 
Coll. Update Sciences & technologies 
Ed. Quae 
2012


Manual for the construction of allometric equations for the estimation of tree volume and biomass: from field measurement to prediction

This manual is intended for students, researchers or engineers who wish to acquire the methodology necessary to establish cubage, biomass or mineral-mass rates.

Manuel de construction d’équations allométriques pour l’estimation du volume et la biomasse des arbres 
Nicolas Picard, Laurent Saint-André, Matieu Henry 
CIRAD - FAO 2012

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Introduced trees and shrubs in tropical islands

A guide presenting nearly 240 trees and shrubs introduced in the tropical islands, illustrated by more than 500 photographs.

Arbres et arbustes introduits dans les îles tropicales 
Jacques Tassin 
Ed. Orphie 
2012

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Floresta em Pé

The book presents the main results obtained by the Floresta Em Pé project, which focuses on the management of forest resources by rural populations in the Amazon.

Floresta em Pé 
H. Cruz, Ph. Sablayrolles, M. Kanashiro, M. Amaral, P. Sist 
Ed. Ibama - MMA 
2011

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Large-Scale Acquisition of Rights on Forest Lands in Africa

Large-Scale Acquisition of Rights on Forest Lands in Africa

This report seeks to answer whether timber concessions allocated in Central Africa can be considered as part of the large-scale land acquisition (LSLA) process that is currently the subject of international debate, mainly targeting arable lands.

Large-Scale Acquisition of Rights on Forest Lands in Africa 
Alain Karsenty
Edité par le Cirad
2011

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Prise en compte de la biodiversité dans les concessions forestières d'Afrique centrale / Consideration of biodiversity in forest concessions in Central Africa

Prise en compte de la biodiversité dans les concessions forestières d'Afrique centrale (couverture)

A stocktake of experiences of taking account of biodiversity when managing forestry concessions in central Africa.

Prise en compte de la biodiversité dans les concessions forestières d'Afrique centrale
A. Billand, J. Fournier, L. Rieu, O. Souvannavong
Cirad, Montpellier - FAO, Rome
2010

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Gouverner les forêts africaines à l'ère de la mondialisation / Governing Africa's forests in the age of globalization

Gouverner les forêts africaines à l'ère de la mondialisation

A book that analyses the various forces shaping the African forestry sector in a context of a lack of governance and increased commercial pressure on forests.

Gouverner les forêts Africaines à l’ère de la mondialisation   
De L.German, A. Karsenty et A.M. Tiani. 
Édité par le Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) 
2010

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Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches d'Afrique de l'Ouest / Trees, shrubs and lianas of West African drylands

Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches d'Afrique de l'Ouest

The third issue of this reference book on the bushy and forest species of West Africa. This field handbook is the result of over fifteen years’ experience of forestry operations under projects conducted by CIRAD

Arbres, arbustes et lianes des zones sèches d'Afrique de l'Ouest   
Michel Arbonnier 
Coed. MNHN-Quae 
2009

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Manuel de référence pour l’installation de dispositifs permanents en forêt de production dans le bassin du Congo / Reference Manual for the installation of permanent fixtures in production forest in the Congo Basin

Manuel de référence pour l’installation de dispositifs permanents en forêt de production dans le bassin du Congo

This manual provides a scientific and technical repository which refer to set up a permanent monitoring of forest dynamics.

Manuel de référence pour l'installation de dispositifs permanents en forêt de production dans le bassin du Congo 
Nicolas Picard, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury
Ed. Cirad-Comifac
2008

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Faidherbia parks

Couverture les parcs à Faidherbia

Faidherbia albida, symbol of Sahelian agroforestry, spearhead of NGOs, sacred tree of the sultans, taboo of administrations... would be full of defects: Should we dethrone this imposter? Certainly not, because by reading this work you will discover that it is a marvelous tool at the service of agrarian societies, subtle enough to know how to use it wisely.

Faidherbia parks 
Scientific Ed.: Régis Peltier
Cahiers Scientifique du Cirad-Forêt n°12
1996
Available online...


Hardé soils, characterisation and rehabilitation in the Lake Chad basin

Couverture "Les Terres Hardé"

The word Hardé in Fulfulde, the Fulani language used in North Cameroon, refers to soils with poor woody vegetation and little or no seasonal herbaceous cover. These bare spaces are of concern to politicians, who themselves ask scientists to restore them in order to, they say, "stop desertification.
But is their surface as important as it appears to a simple traveler?
Does their presence pose a serious problem to populations?
Are they really the sign of a desertification advancing towards the South, under the combined action of man, livestock and climate change?

Hardé soils, characterisation and rehabilitation in the Lake Chad basin 
Scientific Ed.: Régis Peltier
Cahiers Scientifique du Cirad-Forêt n°11
1993
Available online...