119 / 148
105
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.
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.
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.
Figure 4.44
Figure 4.46
Figure 4.45
Source: SADC and SARDC 2008
Protected areas share of total land area
in Zambia
0
31%
8 000
8 200
8 400
8 600
8 800
9 000
Thausands cubic metres
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Fuelwood production in Zambia
Source: FAO 2010
60
65
70
75
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Change in proportion of land area
covered by forests in Zambia
Source: FAO 2010
Percentage
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.