Zimbabwe takes a blind eye on deforestation

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Image: screenshot from the Environmental Weekly Newsletter.

It is not surprising to see truckloads of fresh cut wood all over the country as wood smuggling has become a common practice. Mature brachystagia specifomis (musasa) trees mainly fall victim to the criminals involved in wood theft. The Newsletter whose screenshot I attached here also show evidence of how the Mopane trees are been plundered in Matabeleleland province to make charcoal. The country is facing power challenges with frequent power cuts all over the country cheap wood and charcoal is considered a good fuel source to many households. However, this is coming at a huge cost. The area of Matabeleland is one of the driest and drought affected area of the country. We have seen the El Nino constantly disrupting weather patterns for us to notice that climate change is really affecting the environment and livelihoods. What makes the situation horrific is that humans are aiding climate change effects like El Nino in destroying the environment more and more - our lands are slowly turning into deserts. There is no accountability and enforcements of the Forest Act and other laws which protect our forests. Corruption runs deep in Zimbabwe's Agency which enforces environmental protection, EMA. If there is a time Zimbabwe should be jealously guarding its forests is now. Unfortunately, greed and personal gain is leading the massacre of indigenous trees in the country. All the forests in the country play an important in sustaining our ecosystem and preventing climate change and supporting people and animals as well. The government can not be hyped up about carbon trading when it is not doing a great job protecting our forests. It is a crucial time that the government re-evaluates its priorities in environmental management and  prevent further madness from happening.  

#carbontrading #Zimbabwe

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