Forest Cover & Conservation on Príncipe Island

Príncipe Island, as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, possesses exceptional biological value with forest heritage serving as the fundamental element of ecological integrity. The island, featuring a relatively flat basaltic platform in the north and mountainous region in the south, remains largely forested. Understanding Príncipe's forest cover is crucial for assessing conservation effectiveness for endemic and threatened species, making forest ecology central to the island's conservation narrative.

For visitors, Príncipe's near-complete forest cover creates the immersive wilderness experience distinguishing it from more developed tropical islands. The 95% forest coverage visitors observe represents not pristine primary forest but rather a complex mosaic of native, secondary, and shade plantation forests—each with different ecological value and conservation priorities.

Forest Cover Quantification & Distribution

The forested area in the Autonomous Region of Príncipe (RAP) is extensive, encompassing approximately 95% of total island area—an extraordinarily high proportion rarely encountered globally outside the most remote wilderness regions.

Forest Classification

According to 2016 land use classification, island forest cover divides into four principal classes with distinct ecological characteristics and conservation significance:

Secondary Forest (Capoeira): Resulting from regeneration, primarily following agricultural abandonment after 1975 independence. Comprises 52% of terrestrial cover, with 1,158.86 hectares within PNP buffer zone. These regenerating forests dominate the landscape visitors observe, creating the impression of pristine wilderness while actually representing recovery from intensive plantation agriculture. Secondary forest contains many exotic species alongside native regeneration, creating complex assemblages supporting some endemic species while lacking full primary forest diversity.

Native Forest: Relatively undisturbed areas that were never completely cleared, comprising 27% of terrestrial cover and forming PNP's core. These forest remnants persist where climate and terrain conditions proved too adverse for profitable agriculture—steep slopes, high elevations, and wettest zones. For wildlife observation and botanical exploration, accessing these native forest areas is essential as they support the highest endemic species concentrations and most sensitive conservation-dependent fauna and flora.

Shade Plantations: Agroforestry systems where commercial and food crops are cultivated under large tree canopy, comprising 9% of island area but 43.5% (6,028.76 hectares) in the northern region. These shade systems, predominantly cocoa plantations, maintain tree cover while supporting agriculture, creating intermediate habitat value between cleared land and natural forest. Some endemic species tolerate shade plantations, making them important for landscape connectivity.

Non-Forested Areas: Includes anthropized areas, settlements, and agricultural lands, comprising approximately 12% of island area. Concentrated in the north around Santo António and along accessible coastal zones, these cleared areas represent the primary human footprint on an otherwise heavily forested island.

Vegetation Types & Distribution

Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe (PNP), created in 2006, incorporates all remaining native forest and protects the most representative ecosystems of the southern zone. The park corresponds to approximately 50% of Príncipe Island—an enormous protected area proportion reflecting strong conservation commitment.

Geographic & Climatic Segregation

Forest distribution follows a climatic gradient influenced by topography, creating distinct northern and southern ecological zones with different human use patterns and conservation challenges.

Northern Region: Concentrates most human population and agricultural land. This drier region receives approximately 2,000mm annual precipitation, characterized by semi-humid secondary forest, mostly degraded. Human presence and agricultural history have profoundly modified northern forests, with most areas representing secondary growth rather than primary vegetation. For visitors, the north offers accessible forest experiences near Santo António but lower endemic species diversity compared to southern wilderness.

Southern Region (PNP Core): Encompasses most mountainous terrain. This wetter zone receives annual precipitation exceeding 5,000mm in the southwest—among the highest rainfall totals in Africa. Extreme precipitation maintains lush primary forest supporting the highest endemic species concentrations. The south's inaccessibility to conventional agriculture preserved native forest that now forms PNP's ecological core.

Forest Types

Early vegetation classifications (Exell, 1944) identified coastal formations, lowland forest (0-800m), and mountain forest (800-1,400m), noting absence of cloud forest due to maximum elevation of 948m on Príncipe—too low for persistent cloud immersion that defines true cloud forest ecosystems.

Recent studies identified four principal forest types with distinct species compositions and conservation importance:

Lowland Humid Forest: Corresponds to forests most similar to continental African forests in species composition and structure. Occurs in PNP's core, supporting diverse fauna and flora including many species with African continental affinities that colonized the island during its 31-million-year existence.

Mountain Forest: Characterized by tall trees (30-40m) with dense canopy. High humidity favors great floral diversity including orchids, mosses, and ferns creating spectacular epiphyte communities. Occurs around Pico do Príncipe summit, providing habitat for elevation-restricted endemic species.

Well-Preserved Central Forest (Submontane): A unique, unexplored forest ecosystem around Pico Príncipe (250-650m elevation). At 600m, the forest shows submontane affinity containing many indicator species occurring only there on Príncipe. This intermediate-elevation forest represents high conservation priority due to unique species composition and relatively intact condition.

Historical Modification & Degradation

Príncipe's forest was once completely covered with primary vegetation. However, human activity extensively modified composition and distribution, creating the contemporary landscape of native remnants surrounded by secondary regeneration and shade plantations.

Historical Facts

Primary Destruction: Cocoa and coffee plantations established from mid-19th century led to widespread modification and destruction of primary lowland humid forest. Plantations concentrated on best soils and most accessible terrain, selectively destroying the most productive forest types while leaving steep slopes and high elevations relatively intact.

Sleeping Sickness Campaign: Northern Príncipe forest was severely modified during a sleeping sickness eradication campaign between 1911 and 1916, which involved large-scale forest clearance to eliminate tsetse fly habitat. This public health intervention created lasting ecological impacts visible today in northern forest composition.

Post-1975 Regeneration: Following independence, abandonment of many plantations led to extensive secondary forest (capoeira) regeneration. However, though appearing natural, this forest contains many exotic species and limited indigenous species diversity compared to primary forest. The regeneration demonstrates forest resilience while highlighting that time alone doesn't restore full ecological complexity.

Current Threats & Anthropogenic Pressures

Forest degradation is more evident than deforestation, resulting from growing pressure on secondary forests and remnants. Unlike dramatic clearance creating obvious deforestation, gradual degradation through selective extraction and biomass harvesting creates cumulative impacts less visible to casual observers.

Biomass Energy Use: The principal driver of emissions in the AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) relates to wood use for biomass energy production and consumption (firewood and charcoal). Approximately 72% of the population depends on solid fuels for cooking, creating substantial forest resource pressure.

Firewood serves as the principal source for domestic, commercial, and small industry use (45.6% of families), while charcoal is widely used for cooking (26.5% of families). A significant portion of consumed wood is harvested illegally without adequate oversight, representing a serious threat to forest ecosystem stability that official statistics underestimate.

Firewood collection, charcoal production, and timber extraction occur in areas near communities, including the Azeitona Zone within PNP, with potential to degrade forest through selective extraction of preferred species and removal of dead wood essential for decomposition processes and soil fertility.

Timber Exploitation: Selective logging for construction purposes (approximately 80% of São Tomé and Príncipe houses are wooden) and for furniture and boats represents a principal forest degradation factor. Timber extraction is prohibited outside planned areas and must be monitored and registered, though enforcement capacity remains limited. This selective extraction targets the largest, oldest trees—precisely those providing critical wildlife habitat and seed sources for forest regeneration.

Relevance for Species Conservation

Forest typology and conservation are crucial for endemic and threatened species survival on Príncipe, with forest type serving as the primary determinant of species distributions and population viability.

Native Forest Importance: The Príncipe Thrush (Turdus xanthorhynchus, Critically Endangered) and Obô Giant Snail (Archachatina bicarinata, Endangered) are almost entirely restricted to southern PNP sectors comprising native and mature secondary forests. These species' current distributions represent retreats from formerly broader ranges, with populations contracting to remaining high-quality habitat.

Predictive Variable: Forest type (native, secondary, or shade) is the environmental variable with greatest contribution (49.7%) to Príncipe Thrush distribution models, demonstrating that forest quality determines whether habitat can support viable populations of conservation-dependent species.

Threatened Forest Occurrences: Endemic species occurrences like Anisophyllea cabole in Azeitona Forest face threats from charcoal production and may disappear in the near future due to high human pressure in that PNP section. Other species including the tree fern Alsophila camerooniana var. currorii are threatened by habitat destruction from plantations, demonstrating that even protected areas face internal threats requiring active management.

Legal Framework: The Forest Law (Law No. 5/2001) defines the general framework for forest conservation and exploitation, establishing control and oversight mechanisms for production, exploitation, transport, and consumption of wood. However, enforcement capacity lags behind legal provisions, creating gaps between policy and practice that undermine conservation effectiveness.

For Visitors

Understanding Forest Types

Learning to distinguish native from secondary forest enriches hiking experiences and explains why guides emphasize accessing PNP's southern reaches for wildlife observation. Native forest typically shows greater tree size diversity, more complex canopy structure, abundant epiphytes, and richer understory compared to secondary forest's more uniform structure and exotic species presence.

Supporting Forest Conservation

Every visitor choice affects forest conservation outcomes. Staying at eco-lodges using sustainable fuel sources, purchasing certified sustainable products, and minimizing firewood consumption for campfires reduce pressure on forest resources. Park entrance fees fund ranger patrols that combat illegal logging and charcoal production—making responsible tourism a direct conservation tool.

Appreciating Regeneration

Secondary forest, while ecologically simpler than primary forest, demonstrates remarkable regeneration capacity. The extensive capoeira covering former plantations shows that with protection from harvesting pressure, tropical forest recovers relatively quickly—offering hope that degraded areas can provide increasing conservation value over coming decades as succession proceeds.