Forests in Africa are being increasingly degraded because of increasing primary wood use and as a consequence of growing industrial activity. The challenges faced by African nations vis à vis natural resource use are many and include the need to work with local communities and to include them in the land tenure system, the need to regulate export of the benefits of natural resources and the need to provide alternative sources of income and energy sources. Meeting these and other challenges will require policies that ensure equitable distribution of benefits and of management rights. This, in turn, requires political stability and democratization.