By Salima Mvula
Deforestation is known to be one of the largest drivers of land degradation, caused by human activities such as charcoal production, logging, forest fires, wood fuel collection, and shifting agriculture.
In an interview with WeForest Country Director, Fainess Lumbwe, she expressed to WCP Zambia that the alarming rates of deforestation have caused the degradation of the most dominant landscape in Zambia, the Miombo Woodlands.
The Miombo Woodlands form a broad belt across north-central Zambia, covering around 68 percent of the total forest cover. It provides multiple uses for many millions of people: especially the rural poor who are highly dependent on the wood from the forest for construction, charcoal, and medicinal purposes. Miombo is characterized by open woodland, dominated by Brachystegia species, locally known as ‘Muputu’ which are characterized by having hard timber. With rising poverty levels and population growth, there is enormous pressure on the woodlands to meet human development needs and livelihood demands.
According to Ms. Lumbwe, reports indicate that Zambia is losing 250,000 to 300,000 hectares of forest land annually because of these demands. In response to this crisis, WeForest engaged in forest landscape restoration projects in the Miombo Woodlands, focusing particularly on the Copperbelt and Muchinga provinces.
She explained that restoration efforts are achieved through sustainable forestry management using Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) among local farmers who have settled within the Miombo Woodlands. The farmers are provided with knowledge on the use of ANR to protect and nurture native tree seedlings. The farmers are taught to harvest biomass from their portion of woodlands through coppicing, a technique that involves extracting wood from tree stems while leaving the total number of trees intact, making it a sustainable alternative to charcoal production.
“Miombo woodlands have the capacity for natural regeneration. Once a tree is cut it will form a coppice. It is from this coppice that a new tree will be formed,” she said.
Ms Lumbwe added that planting exotic trees in the Miombo Woodlands has been discouraged as they affect nutrients in the soil. Trees in the Miombo woodlands invest most of their growth underground in the root system, which allows for quick regeneration through the tree stumps above ground. In a statement shared by Trees 4 Zambia nursery manager Samson Susu, he discouraged the planting of exotic trees as they can become invasive weeds that destroy ecosystems. Exotic plants are not integrated into local ecology and require a lot of water and maintenance in comparison to indigenous trees increasing the energy inputs needed to keep them alive.
WeForest’s community engagement extends to promoting forest-friendly businesses like beekeeping, which helps local farmers generate sustainable incomes while conserving the trees within Miombo Woodlands. The income gained offers an alternative means to sustain their livelihood, which deters them from engaging in detrimental environmental activities such as charcoal production. This also incentivises sustainable forestry management, encouraging the farmers to participate in the initiative.
“In the short term, it may not give them the same returns as charcoal production. With charcoal production, you will gain a lot of money at once but have nothing afterward because you have cut all the trees. Whereas beekeeping income may not give you as high a return immediately, however, the income will be sustainable over the long term,” Ms Lumbwe noted.
She explained that honey production companies like Wild Hive assist with beehive supply, farmer training, and honey purchasing. This initiative has supported approximately 3,200 farmers, yielding up to 53 tonnes of honey in the last harvesting season.
However, without effective management of fires within the woodland forest, restoration is very difficult. Ms Lumbwe heavily emphasized their organization’s huge focus on fire management, as late-season fires and wildfires spread across the forestry, and cause degradation of the land.
“You cannot eliminate fire. It is part of the Miombo Woodland ecosystem, the farmers are encouraged to engage in early season burning around June-July to reduce intensive fires experienced later in the year,” she explained.
Controlled burning during the cold season reduces the impact of late-season fires – a natural part of the Miombo Woodland ecosystem. It prevents damage to seedlings and the soil, critical for successful restoration.
In summary, forest landscape restoration through sustainable forestry management, supported by initiatives such as assisted natural regeneration and fire management plays a pivotal role in balancing human needs and the conservation of this precious natural resource.
