Zambezi River Basin

Between 2000 and 2005, Zambia lost 2.67 million hectares of forest, the second highest total in Africa and the fifth highest in the world (FAO 2005). Expanding agriculture is the principal driver of deforestation, exacerbated by the collection of wood for fuel. Chitemene is a form of shifting cultivation in some parts of Zambia that involves clearing large areas of forest and burning the trees for ash which is then used for fertilising the soil, before moving on to another area and allowing the new growth to resume. With increasing populations and growing pressure on land, this is no longer sustainable but some aspects may be adaptable to woodlands. The consumption of fuelwood is expected to increase by 35 per cent between 2000 and 2020 (FAO 2003) and had already reached a level of 8.8 million cu m per year by 2009 (Figure 4.44). Much of the fuelwood is converted to charcoal for use in urban households or rural industries. Eighty per cent of the population continues to use solid fuels, although this is down from 86 per cent in 1990 (Government of Zambia 2008). Alternative methods need to be applied and indigenous knowledge systems adapted and incorporated into sustainable harvesting.

Change in proportion of land area covered by forests in Zambia

Percentage

75

70

65

60

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Source: FAO 2010

Figure 4.45

The extent of carbon emissions is not a significant factor in environmental sustainability in Zambia at present, and is not well monitored. The estimated figures are still low. Zambia has the highest proportion of protected areas to total surface area among Basin states, at 236 921 sq km, or 31 per cent, as shown in Figure 4.46.

Protected areas share of total land area in Zambia 0

Fuelwood production in Zambia

9 000 Thausands cubic metres

8 800

8 600

31%

8 400

8 200

Source: SADC and SARDC 2008

Figure 4.46

8 000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

The wildlife biodiversity is contained in 19 national parks. The largest parks in Zambia, the South Luangwa and the Kafue National Parks, have seen the stabilization of animal populations, as is the case for North Luangwa and Mosi oa Tunya. In areas not supported by interventions, animal numbers continue to be in serious decline though habitats remain intact. Of the 8 017 different plant and animal species, 316 are endemic (UN 2007), 174 are rare, and 38 are endangered and vulnerable (IUCN 2006). Zambia’s wildlife is threatened by illegal hunting and other exploitation, land-use change, dam development, and other human pressures.

Source: FAO 2010

Figure 4.44

The proportion of land area covered by forests has dropped more than six per cent since 1990, leaving two-thirds of the land under forests as shown in Figure 4.45.

105