Zambia lifts ban on timber exports

The Post, Zambia
04 May 2013

The Zambian Government should urgently transform the forestry department to ensure proper monitoring and management of forestry resources following the lifting of an export ban on timber, an industry body said yesterday.

Commenting on the lifting of the ban, the Zambian National Forest Conservation Organisation said the management of forestry affairs in the country was still scattered and uncoordinated with limited institutional enforcement and policy support to ensure proper monitoring and management of forestry resources. "In as much as we welcome the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Wylbur Simuusa's lifting of the timber ban with necessary conditions to protect forest resources, we are calling on the government to undertake a Forestry Department transformation process supported by a well-developed forestry policy framework to enable the department to enforce and monitor the new conditions," said Green Siame, National Forest Conservation Organisation executive director. "If the Forestry Department is to monitor and manage the forestry resources effectively, steps must be taken to improve staff levels and motivation, improved office infrastructure, appropriate technology response and provision of reliable transport for patrols and other forest management programmes."

Siame further said the department also needed to improve collaboration with local community members and stipulate clear-cut benefits sharing mechanisms with them. "As a forest conservation organisation, we are more concerned with the alarming rate of deforestation in Zambia than timber merchants trading freely and independently at the cost of poor community participation in sustainable forest management programmes," said Siame.

LCCI further added that the lifting of the timber export ban would create a positive environment for its members who were willing to follow the government's laid down procedures and conditions to do business. The government last year suspended the issuance of timber licences to protect the depleting forests around the country.

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Zambia suspends timber licences to protect forests

Lusaka Times
10 November 2012

Government has, with immediate effect, suspended all timber licences to protect the depleting forests around the country.

Meanwhile, Parliament heard yesterday that over 25 million trees equivalent to 20,000 hectares will be planted during the 2012/2013 tree planting season countrywide to help address depleting forests due to increased deforestation.

Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister, Wylbur Simuusa said the programme would be implemented through the launch of the National Tree Planting Programme (NTPP). Mr Simuusa said the NTPP, once fully rolled out, could create over 200,000 jobs while the first phase of establishing 11 large scale forest nurseries and community ones could create over 6,000 jobs countrywide.

“There is urgent need Mr Speaker, for a serious concerted effort to address this very serious situation and for the first time in 30 years, your Patriotic Front (PF) Government in line with its manifesto has taken a bold step to address the depleting forest resources by funding my ministry with an initial amount of K12 billion,” he said.

Among other tree species to be planted in different parts of the country include, pinus and eucalyptus for timber, poles and resins, faldherbia albida for animal fodder, nitrogen fixing, firewood, moringa oleifera for medicine and oil and fruits trees.

Mr Simuusa said the purpose of funding was to establish 11 large scale tree nurseries in all 10 provinces and one at the Forestry Research Centre in Kitwe. He said the funding would raise 17,500,000 tree seedlings in 11 large scale forest nurseries countrywide by December 15, 2012 and would engage about 5,000 local people during production.

He said the funding would assist in developing an out-grower scheme to produce 8 million seedlings countrywide valued at K 1 billion which would involve chiefs, schools, churches and other stakeholders. At provincial level, he said, the nursery size could be two to three hectares per district, 1,550 tonnes of soil collected for nursery while 452 workers would be engaged in each province and at the Forest Research Centre. Central Province would have 700 hectares, Copperbelt 5,000, Eastern 2,700, Luapula 5,000, Lusaka 4,000, Muchinga 10,000, Northern 5,000, Northwestern 5,000, Southern 3,000, and Western 5, 000.

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Curio carvers, vendors get accreditation

THE Forestry Commission has started accrediting curio carvers and vendors in Victoria Falls, a move aimed at controlling the harvesting of timber in the forestry area.

The curio industry, which employs more than 1 500 people in the area has not been controlled leading to rampant poaching of timber, resulting in deforestation.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, the Forestry Commission co-ordinator for Hwange, Mr David Mandongwe, said they wanted timber harvesting to be done in a controllable manner to ensure sustainability of the forests. He said so far 10 co-operatives at Busy Island, a popular vending area where tourists buy curios in town and at curio stands along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway have been accredited.

 “The Commission has started accrediting curio vendors and carvers in and around the resort town of Victoria Falls. So far 10 co-operatives with about 250 members each have been accredited in line with the new requirements of the Commission,” he said.

Mr Mandongwe said the Commission had already done a stock take to ascertain the number of curio pieces that were in the vendors’ and carvers’ stocks. He said they have also ordered the carvers to stop timber logging until the curio stocks are cleared.

“We have since stopped timber logging. The logging will only commence after the stocks have been finished,” he said.

Mr Mandongwe said the Commission had identified legal sources of timber logging with the hope of controlling the activity. “The natural resources were depleting at an alarming rate because of rampant poaching of timber for curios. So we want to control the Forestry logging so that we leave something for the future generations. We also want to reduce deforestation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mandongwe said it was now illegal for anyone to export curios without a permit. “Anyone wanting to buy curios should first get a permit from the Commission,” he said.