Government in partnership with Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has launched the 1.2 million Euros Forests Landscape Project in Kafue.
Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Chief Research Officer Lishomwa Mulongwe said the five years project that is aimed at restoring the depleted forests will be implemented in Silowana complex of Sioma and Sesheke districts of Western Province.
Mr Mulongwe said the five years project is scheduled to come to an end in the year 2024.Mr Mulongwe said this at the inception meeting of the Forests Landscape Project in Kafue today.
He underscored that the project will help the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in addressing the hash effects of deforestation and climate change.
“This project is part of the regional programme which started in January 2020 and is being implemented in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The program will on regional level aim for a regional exchange of experiences on Forests Landscape restoration among the three countries,” he stressed.
Mr Mulongwe pointed out that deforestation has been caused by agriculture expansion and charcoal burning among others, will also help government to come up with a framework for forests restoration.He underscored that during the scope of the project 1000 small holder farmers in the surrounding districts will benefit through trainings.
And WWF Zambia Acting Country Director Isabel Mukelabai said time has come for the actual value of forests to be achieved.Ms Mukelabai pointed out that the project will help halt the indiscriminate cutting of trees in the country.
She affirmed that her office will ensure close collaboration with the line ministry to achieve the intended purpose of the project.
“Agriculture expansion has rushed the forests to their knees. But some challenges are from weak mechanisms to halt deforestation in the country, now time has come to realize the noble call,” she charged.
The Forest Land Scape Project Inception Meeting was attend by different stakeholders from the forests sector in Zambia.
Wonderful Project
It is GOOD TO REPLENISH FORESTS BUT WITH WHICH TYPE OF TREES?? If you don’t plant INDIGENOUS TREES then we are altering the ecosystem.SO ARE PLANTING MUKWA MUKULA,MIZAULI etc??
After allowing the Chinese to indiscriminately cut down the trees ai?
A good start! Hopefully, the trees being planted are indigenous to Zambia, and the region in particular. But, what is the name or species of the trees?
It’s perplexing how important details such as names/species of trees being planted, are always amiss. We need facts on the trees being planted, not repetitive
waffle about officials.
Do we really need this in Zambia? Tropical trees are resilient. So long u control fires and indiscriminate cutting, they regenerate on their own. Those who live in Lusaka, just take a look at the number of indigenous trees that have grown in the grounds of Beit Cure hospital on the Great North rd in Mandevu and also Leopards Hill Memorial Park cemetery. In both places the trees are growing well. I don’t know this place in Western province but since it’s in the same tropical environment, I hv no reason to believe that native species of trees would not grow on their own. It may be a waste of money.
Involve Chinese and their local suppliers in nationwide tree planting, they should not just reap where they did not sow. They are likely to come back to these areas in 50years to harvest these same trees. Look at the effects of climate change on weather and deforestation is a major causative factor.
Where is this thief of mukula tree? Has she now gone for a real honeymoon overseas? After fooling ba Zambia that she had a cheap wedding and honeymooning at Mfuwe?
It’s like the guys in the picture are planting Pine trees not an indigenous variety but since the uniform they are wearing seems to be that of ZAFFICO it must be the exercise was for an industrial plantation. The observation that wwf and government prioritize indigenous tree varieties must be embraced despite fact that local forests take ages to establish! Indigenous knowledge for propagation of local tree varieties could translate into delegating to locals establishment of nurseries to provide seedlings/saplings for replanting, this would be income generating exercise. Fires raging on the west coast of the USA (California) are of the pine family and those who have passed through ZAFFICO pine plantations must have noticed that nothing significant grows where their leaves have fallen!
If we had a working government our trees would be protected. It is a very sad situation in western province. People especially foreigners are harvesting our trees en masse and the government is just watching, even participating and facilitating. In some countries, if you are given a license to cut one tree, you are given 5 baby trees to plant at the same time.