Maravi

We and our forests

We and our forests
By The Post
Wed 18 May 2011, 04:00 CAT

THE concerns raised by Danish Ambassador to Zambia Thomas Schjerbeck about Zambia’s forest cover depleting at a fast rate deserve special attention from all our people and our government.

It is true, Zambia’s deforestation rate is one of the highest in the world. And between 1990 and 2010, Zambia lost an average of 166,600 hectares or 0.32 per cent per year of its forest.

In total, between 1990 and 2010, Zambia lost 6.3 per cent of its forest cover, or around 3,332,000 hectares. And 66.5 per cent or about 49,468,000 hectares of our country’s territory is forested. Of this, 0.1 per cent or 62,000 hectares is classified as primary forest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. And we have only 62,000 hectares of planted forest.

But before everyone’s eyes, our country is witnessing a colossal strip-mining of its trees, threatening watersheds and important wildlife habitat. We say this because our country has some 1,234 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation monitoring centre. And of these, 1.5 per cent are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 1.9 per cent are threatened. Our country is home to at least 4,747 species of vascular plants, of which 4.4 per cent are endemic.

The current pace of charcoal burning to supply a growing urban population of our country is fuelling much of this tree or forest destruction. For most of our people, charcoal burning is a solution to poverty for which a ready market provides some relief.

Charcoal is an important energy source in Zambia. It ranks second to firewood in terms of primary energy supply. Charcoal production is mostly a rural-based activity. And it is estimated to provide employment to more than 41,000 people on a full-time basis.

Considering the fact that not all charcoal producers are full-time, charcoal production involves many of our people in rural areas. There are many reasons that cause people to engage in the charcoal business. But whatever these reasons, at the end of the day, this is a very destructive undertaking as far as the environment is concerned.

Although charcoal production is much a rural activity, charcoal utilisation is predominantly in the urban areas. It is estimated that 85 per cent of all charcoal produced in Zambia is utilised in urban areas, with the rural areas accounting for only 15 per cent.

It is estimated that about three million people, that is about 85 per cent of urban households, use charcoal to varying degrees. And with an urbanisation level of about 42 per cent, it means that over a third of our population is dependent on charcoal for cooking, heating water and warmth when it’s cold.

At the household level, charcoal again ranks as the second dominant energy source after fuel wood, meeting about 21 per cent of the energy needs of all the households in the country. The proportional contribution to meeting household energy needs by other fuels is estimated at: fuel wood 76 per cent, electricity two per cent and kerosene one per cent.

Clearly, apart from being an important energy source and a provider of employment to a large number of our people, charcoal is a major business in our economy.

It’s clear that to halt this fast rate of forest destruction, alternative sources of energy to charcoal have to be found and made available to our people as quickly as possible and at affordable rates.

Electricity is certainly the best alternative. And this does not require much disquisition. Not only is it an indigenous energy source that doesn’t need to be imported like kerosene, but also has the advantage of installed capacity being able to meet higher demand. To make this a reality, however, household accessibility to electricity has to be enhanced.

It also requires the necessary electrical appliances to be made affordable to ensure that those who have access to electricity actually use it. In this way, the situation will be avoided where it is estimated that more than 40 per cent of all electrified households do not use it for cooking as they cannot afford electric cooking appliances like stoves. The majority of unelectrified households cannot access electricity on account of high connection and internal house wiring costs.

Unless feasible solutions to these problems are found, charcoal will continue to dominate our urban household energy requirements. The consequence of this is the felling and burning of trees, the destruction of our forests. And at our rate of urbanisation, the destruction of our forests is likely to increase exponentially if nothing is done to halt the current trend.

There is need to tackle this problem. And there is no sensible alternative to stopping this very fast destruction of our forests, but to ensure that all our people or the great majority of our people have access to electricity and use it for cooking and other energy needs.

As Ambassador Schjerbeck has correctly observed, there is need to tackle this challenge in Zambia; “every day, charcoal is being harvested and brought to towns for sale. If this is allowed to go on, there would be problems”. For every bag of charcoal, many trees are cut and burnt with no hope of these trees being replaced in the near future. And some of these trees take many years to grow.

Our forests must be preserved, our trees must not be used wastefully. Our people should be made to realise that through charcoal burning, they are destroying our forests and in turn they will become the victims of this destruction.

The responsibility for our forests extends also to the needs of the future. Individuals and institutions must be made to feel the commitment to protecting the heritage of forests.

A responsible and respectful use of our forests is an urgent duty for all of us today. Therefore, we must collaborate in caring for our forests. The protection of our forests must be a serious concern for our economic wellbeing.

Moreover, it is the poor and the most powerless who will most directly bear the burden of the current careless destruction of our forests. And let’s not forget that the forest is the living space we share with other humans, animals and plants, rocks, rivers and lakes. If we destroy them, we endanger all these other things.

Labels: ENVIRONMENT, FORESTRY

posted by MrK @ 3:52 PM