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Zambia: Tthe Nation is Losing its Forests at an Alarming Rate of About 850,000 Hectares Annually
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The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
EDITORIAL
26 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Ndola
THERE is a serious problem in Zambia and it should be the concern of every citizen that in this day and age, the nation is losing its forests at an alarming rate of about 850,000 hectares annually.
This trend, if not reversed, will leave a trail of destruction in its wake and at least by now, everyone has an idea about the consequences of such devastation.
With the world fast becoming a global village, the resultant effect of what we do or do not do in this country regarding the environment has a direct effect on our neighbours and beyond.
In Malawi , just beyond the frontier at Mwami , the devastating effects of deforestation due to indiscriminate chopping of woodlands are there for all to see. There is massive soil erosion, crop failure and erratic climate patterns. There is no firewood or charcoal to be used as a cheap source of energy and the social pressures it bears on the poor population are immense. This is all because a problem was left a little bit too late.
Zambia is a little lucky in that she is still endowed with millions of hectares of forestry, which if harnessed properly can act as a green environmental catchment basin for the region.
While this may be easily said than done, the challenges posed by the social pressures of the need for cheaper energy sources for the rural poor, such as charcoal and firewood, leading to careless use of natural resources, interventions such as the provision and development of other sources of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar should be aggressively followed up.
The ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural resources, which also has a host of other challenges in the implementation of life-saving mitigation measures in matters of good management of natural resources, needs to be supported to the hilt by all because not doing so will in a few years leave this nation at a greater risk of desertification
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Not only will this cause an imbalance in the eco-systems of many rivers and render natural wetlands systems impotent, but many species of animals on which the tourism sector relies to attract tourists will also vanish.
It is, therefore, a welcome development that 51 members of the Peace Corps have voluntarily decided to come to Zambia to live and interact with Zambians at the very basic level in the villages to impart some of their experiences and skills to the people.
It is from such rich experiences from friends from the West that Zambians can play their part in contributing to the fight against the Green House effects which have seen the globe warming up slowly and wreaking havoc through freak weather patterns such as flooding, unceasing rainfall and in some cases prolonged droughts.
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