Gov ineffective in managing forestry reserves, reveals report
By Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection has not been effective in managing forestry reserves in the country, reveals the latest Auditor General’s report on Sustainable Forest Management.
In the last two years, the country has lost huge amounts of an indigenous Mukula tree through indiscriminate cutting and exportation, chiefly by some government officials in collusion with some Chinese nationals.
The report stated that the situation had resulted in exploitation of forest resources across the country.
It further stated that the Forestry Department under the ministry did not have up to date data on forests.
“According to the National Forest Policy of 2014, forests cover 66 per cent of the total land area of Zambia, translating into approximately 49.97 million hectors of which 4.8 million are gazetted forest reserves. The Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection through the Forestry Department has an important role in ensuring sustainable management of forest resources in the country,” the report stated.
“However, the ministry has not been effective in managing the forests resulting in unsustainable exploitation of forest resources. The Forestry Department does not have up to date forest inventories for the forests under its charge. The lack of up to date forest inventories has hampered the department’s ability to make forest management plans. The absence of these plans negatively impacts the participation of other stakeholders such as the local communities who have important roles to play in the management of forests.”
The report further stated that the Forestry Department did not have adequate capacity to supervise and monitor harvesting operations across the country.
“The [Forestry Department] FD does not adequately carry out control and patrol activities to detect and curb illegal activities. This is evidenced by the number of illegal activities such as charcoal burning, encroachments and illegal logging that have been reported during the period under review,” stated the report.
“There is inadequate coordination between the FD and other government departments resulting in settlements and mining activities in the forests. This has exposed the forests to great risks such as biodiversity and ecosystem loss. The FD’s failure to effectively execute its mandate has led to the depletion of forest resources posing a threat to forest sustainability.”
