Urban Forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Contributions, and Future Directions for Combating Climate Change and Restoring Forest Landscapes

Since the 1960s, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have been affected by an urban crisis due to the demographic explosion in cities and the resulting land pressure. These issues have resulted in the proliferation of spontaneous housing areas, which call the future of urban vegetation and its degree of inclusion in city planning into question. To analyze the current scientific knowledge on the development of urban landscapes, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a literature review on urban forestry covering the period of 1998–2022 was carried out in order to better guide future research works towards a greater consideration of urban forestry and its contribution to combating the adverse effects of climate change. Out of the 110 scientific papers selected, 50 were considered relevant because of their direct link with urban forestry. Based on the analysis of these papers, a classification of the articles according to five themes was carried out. These themes are the management of green spaces in urban areas, the functions of trees in an urban environment, the development of urban forestry, the characterization of urban tree flora, and the financing of urban forestry. Thus, the “function of trees in an urban environment and the characterization of urban tree flora” are the most addressed issues, being raised in 42% and 28% of articles, respectively. “Financing urban forestry” is practically not addressed (2%). The analysis of the 50 selected articles reveals a significant geographic concentration of urban forestry research. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana are more represented in the literature, while vast regions in Central and Western Africa (e.g., the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Niger) are the object of minimal or no documented research with regard to urban forestry. Future research should address these underrepresented themes, as they are crucial for the long-term sustainability of urban forestry projects. Particularly, research on financing mechanisms is essential to unlocking sustainable funding sources for urban forestry, a critical barrier to its expansion.