Zambia is regarded as one of the highly forested countries whose
forests cover accounts for about 60% of the total land area estimated at 64
million hectares. The total area of indigenous forest in Zambia is estimated at
44.6 million hectares, covering 60 % of the total land area.
However, Zambia’s deforestation rate is alarmingly high. According
to recent data by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Zambia’s
deforestation rate currently stands at between 250 to 300 thousand hectares of
land per year.
In fact, Environmental experts have warned that Zambia’s forests risk
becoming deserts in the next fifteen years going by the current rate of
deforestation.
But why are people cutting trees indiscriminately? In Zambia,
there are several reasons: clearing of land for
farming is one factor, but logging for timber and cutting trees for firewood
and charcoal making rank top on the causes.
A
quick analysis of energy sources in Zambia reveals that about 90 percent of the
population use charcoal related sources of energy, thereby making charcoal burning
a lucrative business venture and major source of livelihood for many people.
A further
analysis reveals that the reverse of the above argument is also true where only
an estimated 25 percent of the country’s population is connected to
electricity. This, compounded by erratic power supply through load shedding,
forces even the most affluent communities to resort to charcoal as a source of
energy.
Surely, the
ground is fertile for a thriving charcoal business. After all, for many rural
households, earning a living from farming and selling firewood and charcoal are
essential to survival.
Jerome Banda, a
farmer in Rufunsa, 150 kilometers east of the capital, Lusaka, has been dealing
in charcoal burning for supplementary income to purchase farming inputs, pay
school fees and other emergencies as they arise. Living miles away from the
city, Banda’s business thrives on demand from the city dwellers who are major
consumers of charcoal.
Banda, a father
of five, recalls how he was forced to get into mass production of charcoal.
“At the beginning,
I used to sell up to five 50 kg bags for a specific problem such as school fees
for children or an emergency medical bill”, explains Banda.
“But one day, I
was approached by a certain businessman from Lusaka, who told me to produce
fifty bags of charcoal for him and the money I earned changed my perspective of
the charcoal business such that I almost stopped farming but for my wife”.
Banda’s sentiments
represent the realities of the problem of deforestation in Zambia. It is a double
edged sword. At one level, Banda clears land for his farming activity while he
needs another chunk of forest for his charcoal burning. For Banda and many others, it is about
livelihood.
Zambia’s
Immediate Past Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection, Wilbur Simuusa lamented this fact during his recent address to the
country’s law making body, the National Assembly.
“Mr.
Speaker, Charcoal production is the major driver of deforestation in our
country. Cognisant of the fact that charcoal is the major source of livelihood
for many of our citizens, and a source of domestic energy for over ninety
percent of our population, we need to address the matter with care”.
From the tone of
the Minister, it is clear that protecting forests/environment on one hand and
facilitating better livelihood for all, represents a serious dilemma for the
Zambian government.
Forest management, charcoal production, transportation, retailing
and consumption are usually identified as the five key components in the
charcoal value chain.
But how involved are the different stakeholders in decision making
processes that affect their sources of livelihood?
“From time in memorial, our fore fathers taught us to defend and
use forests for our benefit”, laments 65 year old Elena Banda of Nyimba
district in Eastern Zambia.
“But our worry is that we see truckloads of timber poles trekking
to the city in the name of government but we don’t see any benefit to us. That is
why we also cut and burn charcoal for survival, after all government does not
care for us”.
Grandma Banda’s blame on government’s alleged sidelining of the
local people and lack of proper social support safety nets represents the
frustrations of the local people on how they are neglected in the management
and usage of local resources.
And the Immediate Past Zambian Minister of Lands acknowledges this
poor interface between government and different actors who depend on forests
for their livelihood and also at various stages of the charcoal value chain.
“We have realised that dealing with this issue only at policy
level is not enough. It is for this reason that the Ministry will in September
this year (2013), convene a national charcoal ‘Indaba’-(conference), to analyse
the charcoal value chains and together, identify the points of intervention”,
says the Minister.
It
is the hope of all stakeholders that the Indaba will adequately address the key
question of protecting forests on one hand, and facilitating for a better
livelihood for all. Key questions
surrounding accessibility of reliable clean energy sources by all would also present
stakeholders a point of reflection.
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