The Sunday News
Limpret Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
MORE than 300 000 hectares of forests are lost each year due to deforestation as more people are using wood for fuel, an official has said.
Speaking during the 37th Anniversary of the National Tree Planting Day in Bulawayo yesterday, Rotary Club of Bulawayo South president Mr Mpumelelo Mkhwananzi said globally, deforestation remains the largest threat.
“In Zimbabwe, the Forestry Commission estimates that over 300 000 hectares of forests are lost each year due to deforestation as more people use wood for fuel. On farms, wood has become a valuable resource to tobacco farmers for curing purposes. “The continued depletion of forests accelerates soil erosion, depletion of water resources and changes microclimates, creating serious environmental problems. Many large rivers in Zimbabwe are heavily silted and no longer supply communities with as much water as they used to.
“Similarly, in many communities, dams have dried up, depriving vulnerable communities of access of water for irrigation, livestock as well as engagement in the fish industry among many other activities,” he said.
He challenged Zimbabweans not to plant trees only, but nurture them towards a sustainable future, so as to save the environment. The District Conservator for Bulawayo, Mr Bekithemba Ngwenya blamed the increase of deforestation to people’s day to day activities.
“Some of these actions include causing veld fires, clearing land for settlement expansion, agriculture and charcoal making. There is a lot of illegal firewood selling along our highways and in towns. If this continues unchecked, it will result in serious deforestation,” he said.
Mr Ngwenya urged communities to bring an end the habit of destroying the natural resources and focus on sustaining their livelihoods using the same resources.
“This message is not that we should not cut trees, but we are saying a big no to wanton cutting down of trees. We need to look after our natural resources. This is the inheritance of our future generations,” Mr Ngwenya said.
The Forestry Commission supplied the club with more than 50 trees which were planted along Matopos Road next to Gifford High School and along Simon Parirenyatwa Street next to ZITF.
The National Tree Planting Day is commemorated annually in the country on the first Saturday of December. The commemorations were under the theme “Fruit trees for security and nutrition.”
