Mbanza-Kongo — The head of department of the Forest Development Institute (IDF) in the province of Zaire, Ovídio Dala, denounced on Tuesday (07) in the municipality of Mbanza-Kongo the large-scale devastation of flora in the municipalities that share a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaking to ANGOP, the official said that the situation occurs mostly in the municipalities of Soyo, Luvo, Cuimba, and Nóqui, where citizens from this neighbouring country illegally enter national territory and fell considerable quantities of trees for the production of charcoal and timber.
The source expressed concern about the phenomenon, which nowadays is taking on alarming proportions in the region, and appealed for a concerted effort to reverse this trend.
"The situation is worrying, as we know the negative impact that deforestation has on the environment," he noted.
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He added that, in addition to the rampant felling of plant species in these bordering municipalities, large-scale uncontrolled burning of vegetation is also frequently recorded for poaching.
Ovídio Dala stated that the Forest Development Institute in the region is unable to respond adequately to the phenomenon due to a shortage of environmental wardens, currently numbering only 10 specialists.
"We only have 10 environmental wardens, distributed across four of the 11 municipalities that Zaire province has. It is an insignificant number to tackle the devastation of the region's fauna and flora," he stressed.
He mentioned that to minimize the situation, the sector he leads in the region has been carrying out awareness-raising campaigns among the population living in border areas and beyond, encouraging them to cooperate with the authorities by reporting offenders.
DMN/JL/CF/jmc
