eBusiness Weekly
Martin Kadzere
Zimbabwe’s commercial and natural forests are under a serious threat due to continued veld fires largely caused by suspected arsonists and illegal activities by settlers and artisanal miners, forests regulator and industry players have warned.
Conflicts between settlers seeking farm land on timber estates and property owners remain a major cause of fires — estimated to have destroyed 2 500 hectares worth nearly $7 million since January this year, Timber Producers Federation (TPA) said.
Illegal invasions by artisanal miners and wood poachers are also worsening the situation amid growing concerns this could lead to timber shortages in the near future.
“During the past two weeks, we lost about 1 000ha and these fires are being caused by arsonists,” Darlington Duwa, the chief executive of TPA told Business Weekly.
TPA is an association of Zimbabwe’s major timber producers including state-owned Allied Timbers and Border Timbers with vast estates in Manicaland Province.
“If we continue like this, the country will run out of timber and we will end up using the valuable foreign currency we need to import. We are also having a challenge of poaching and mining.”
Widening harvesting gaps
Zimbabwe has an estimated utilisable commercial forest land of 110 000ha but the unplanted area resulting from the veld fires ranges between 30 000 ha and 40 000ha, according to Phillip Tom, Manicaland forests officer for the Forestry Commission.
This was creating harvesting gaps of mature trees and companies might soon be forced to stop felling as there would be no adequate resource warranting harvesting. Eucalyptus trees, popularly known as gum trees and pine are the most grown species in Zimbabwe’s commercial forests. They take between 20 and 25 years to mature.
“These tress are sensitive to fires and once they are torched, they will not regenerate,” Tom said.
“If not put under control, we are likely to have forests structured with upper canopy and no middle or lower level.”
He added the natural regeneration of natural forests was slowly dying and a resulting affecting bio-diversity.
Natural indigenous forests provide essential resources critical to survival of human and animals. They are particularly important in developing countries where community livelihoods are often directly dependent upon the use of natural resources in these habitats.
Lack of law enforcement
Some analysts have blamed authorities for being reluctant to enforce laws that deter the setting of fires as well as subsistence and commercial activities in the commercial estates.
In terms of the law, arsonists might be jailed for a maximum of two years for deliberately causing fires or a fine of between $2 000 and $5 000 or both.
In addition, commercial forests are designated as protected areas in terms of the law and this effectively makes it a criminal offence to undertake any commercial activities, including mining without the consent of the property holder.
“Despite the laws being very clear on the protection of the forests, most properties are being invaded by people claiming to have mining claims on the same land,” said Duwa.
“By the time you resolve the dispute, a considerable damage would have already been made.”
Attempting to remove illegal settlers from the commercial area has been the major source of conflict between property owners and invaders who often retaliate by starting fires.
“But proving beyond any reasonable doubt when the accused are brought before the
courts have proved to be a mammoth task,” said Duwa.
“When fire starts at the middle of the estate, this can only show it is deliberate but arraigning some before the courts and provide sufficient evidence is very difficult and that is the biggest challenge.”
