World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Country Director Nachilala Nkombo says Zambia loses between 250 to 300 000 hectares of forest every year.
She said depletion of forest has negative effects that affect humans from having clean air and water.
Speaking during the tree planting ceremony at Chilanga Golf Club Course yesterday, WWF Country Director Nachilala Nkombo disclosed that the aim for the activity was support the replanting of trees in Chilanga in order arrest the crisis of forest loss.
Ms Nkombo stated that the replanting is also meant to educate government and the cooperate world to collectively preserve nature.
“We know that for people in rural areas, losing nature also means losing capability to loss food and economic opportunities,” she noted.
She called on government to ensure that every person who is authorized to cut down a tree should plant ten more trees in order to avoid deforestation.
Ms Nkombo indicated that Zambia is known for its tourism hence the need to nature trees because they act as homes and food for animals.
“If we clear forests then we take away the natural habitant that is a home to the animals that bring so much income and opportunities for our country,” she explained.
Ms Nkombo thanked government and the Chilanga Golf Course for participating in the tree planting exercise.
And Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Forestry Director Ignatius Makumba said welcomed the initiative by Chilanga Golf Club and WWF to replace old trees that are falling off.
Mr Makumba said President Edgar Lungu has been pushing for the Keep Zambia Clean and Green hence everyone should implore the initiative of replanting trees.
He added that government through the Department of Forestry undertakes the tree planting exercise every year in all the districts across the country.
“If every Zambian would plant a tree just for one day, how many millions of trees would we be talking about?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Chilanga District Commissioner Richard Ndoyze said Chilanga Administration pledged to donate 200 more trees to Chilanga Golf Course.
Mr Ndoyze stated that his administration under the Department of Forestry has 4500 trees on the nursery which will be ready for planting by any stakeholders who are willing to participate in the exercise.
He added that the administration wants to raise the number of trees in the nursery to 10, 000 by the end of the rain season.
The DC highlighted that the department is encouraging schools to plant fruit trees in order to create orchards in order to contribute to the food basket.
He thanked WWF for supporting the tree planting exercise at the golf club and urged other stakeholders to emulate the gesture.
MUKULA THIEVES ARE THE CAUSE OF FOREST DESTRUCTION
Why so much make up, besides you work with Wild life.
Wear mask, mulekashikako.
The sad reality ? unfortunately
So she was replanting trees in Chilanga instead of going to forests in rural areas…how can you trust a govt of thieves that have degazetted Lusaka water catchment forests in Lusaka ,,,there you are thanking them.
This was in 2010 currently it is above than
It is good to plan tree as part of reafforestation BUT WHAT TYPE OF TREES ARE YOU PLANTING? We need nurseries for indigenous trees in order to maintain the original ecological balance and like others have observed, it is better to carry out these exercises in rural areas where there is still natural habitat to be protected!! How do you expect exotic trees, Eucalyptus and Pine to attract birds and animals when by their nature they hardly provided enough shed and fruits for birds and wild animals and they are known to negatively affect the acid of soils and water tables? WE NEED A MORE SERIOUS APPROACH TO THIS ISSUE OF DEFORESTATION AND REAFFORESTATION!!
Too bad this..we need to speak again deforestation otherwise the future generations will have no tree
Oh dear…. Deforestation is just bad for the environment….
We’re not going to stop deforestation because we hv brought a money economy to people who lack skills to be competitive in the rest of the economy other than the rural one where they can cut dwn trees to burn charcoal. Wht else can they do to make a living?
Nachilala kale my dearest. I miss those days we used to play pa pologrill. Lots of fun and memories
We need to invest in a study to exactly know the deforestation rate. The quoted rate of 250,000 to 300,000 ha per year has been used for over 20 years.
She is still Ms ? any contacts for her please inbox me
WHAT ABOUT THE WETLANDS BEING DESTROYED BY BUILDING PROJECTS
GOVERNMENT WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE
Nachilala, thanks for the work you are doing. But Zambias democracy is strange, opposition cant mobilise, even in their own party ,the PF, KBF being the only honest guy in the party said the PF Party President has failed. He was expelled for just saying the truth. Just imagine you get expelled for saying the truth, it must be tough
This information has been brought out by WWF which is commendable on many instances but what is government doing about it?
Every year we hear of speeches about planting trees and it just ends there.
Lets be practical otherwise climate change is real.
The other drawback is that ever since this Country did away with game Rangers,our forests are extremely vulnerable and at the mercy of illegal loggers and there is also rampant charcoal burning going on unabated.
Speeches will not address deforestation nor planting the trees,we need serious political will translated into real action.
We need to bring back game rangers otherwise we will be doomed.
We listened to these Brentwood institutions and did away with game Rangers at the time we implemented SAP in late nineties and yet in America they thrive with serious work protecting their forests.
We must also seriously address the need for our vulnerable people in rural areas with alternative sources of energy for their cooking needs. It can be done, but we just talk and in meantime our forests are depleting at a fast pace due to demand for firewood used for source of energy at household levels.
Wake up Zambia.
This rate has been used for several decades, so I think this information may not be representative of what is on the ground. It may be more or less than the stated figures hence the need to carry out fresh inventory. If anything, inventories on our forest cover should be carried out every 10 to 20 years to have representative statistics or data.