Managing the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa Policies, incentives and options
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3Forest resources in ZambiaZambia’s forest resources – woodlands and dry forests – cover about 42 percent of the total land area (FAO 2005). About 9.0 percent of the forests in Zambia are gazetted as protected forest areas or local forest reserves, although encroachments in forest reserves are a major problem (GRZ 2006b). The rest of the forests are ungazetted, mainly found on traditional or state land and within the municipalities for human settlement, farming and infrastructural development. These ungazetted areas fall under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Lands, Councils or Traditional rulers. The country has about 50,000 hectares of plantation forests that are being managed by ZAFFICO in the Copperbelt Province, as well as about 10,000 hectares of local and regional forest plantations in most provinces, established to meet the local demands for soft wood, timber and other forest products (GRZ 2006b). The country’s vegetation can be classified into three main categories: closed forests in south-western Zambia; dry woodlands of the large valleys; and the extensive miombo woodlands dominated by Brachystegia and Isoberlinia found on the plateaus throughout the rest of the country. The indigenous forests in Zambia are rich in biodiversity and are home to approximately 5,500 species of flowering plants, 88 species of mosses and 146 species of ferns. These forests are not rich in commercial timber species, with the exception of a few hardwoods (i.e. Baikiaea plurijuga, Tectona grandis and Pterocarpus angolensis) at stocking rates of 0.5 to 2.0 tons per hectare (GRZ, 1997). Other forest products, such as woodfuels and foods, however, are abundant and contribute significantly to local livelihoods. Estimates of the rate of deforestation are alarmingly high (851,000 ha/year: FAO, 2001; 900,000 ha/year: GRZ, 2006a). The FAO study concludes that the losses in Zambia amount to almost 50% of the total deforestation in the Southern African region. The Government has acknowledged deforestation to be the country’s major environmental problem, and attributes it mainly to clearing land for agricultural expansion and settlements (GRZ, 2006b). Due to poverty and lack of agricultural inputs, shifting cultivation remains a dominant form of agriculture across the country. The chitemene system (see 4.1.5 below), practiced in Northern, Luapula and Central Provinces, has been labeled as particularly responsible for deforestation (Holden, 1993). The harvest of forest products for domestic use and sale, woodfuels and timber in particular, as well as forest fires, also contribute to deforestation. However, lack of proper management regimes and limited institutional capacity in the Forestry Department have been identified as important factors for the destructive extraction levels (Shitima, 2005; GRZ, 1997). 4Contributions to households4.1Some major forest products
Most forest product harvesting and sale is seasonal, providing cash income at different times of the year, and few households use only one product. Furthermore, within households men and women often harvest and sell different products. We discuss some specific forest products in more detail, drawing on those for which there are significant sources of data. 4.1.1Charcoal and firewoodIn many areas, charcoal production is an important source of cash income. In 1997, the Government estimated that 41,000 rural households were full-time employed in charcoal production and an additional 4500 people involved in transportation, marketing and distribution (GRZ, 1997). Few rural households specialize in one full-time activity and it is therefore likely that the total number of households benefiting financially from the charcoal industry is much higher. Approximately 9000 households, in Chongwe district alone in 2000, were involved in charcoal production, supplying the product to Lusaka (Chidumayo, 2001). Most became charcoal producers during the previous decade, because of low profitability of crop production and lack of capital for farm inputs and machinery. The average per capita income from charcoal production was 4.8 times higher than that from farming (Chidumayo, 2001). 4.1.2HoneyNorthwestern Province is the main beekeeping area in Zambia with an estimated 70 percent of the country’s beekeepers living in this province (ITC/DTCC, 2007). They produce between 90 and 95 percent of locally traded and 100 percent of the exported honey. Nearly all beekeepers are male farmers, who earn approximately US$100 per year per household from this activity (Mickels-Kokwe, 2006). There are two main seasons for harvesting honey in miombo woodlands. The flowering of Brachystegia species contributes to the flow of honey between October and December across the country. This provides farmers with cash at the start of the planting season to pay for agricultural inputs, and school fees. A second honey flow occurs in May-June in areas with plenty of Julbernardia and Marquesia. 4.1.3Wild foodsMushrooms, fruits, leafy vegetables, tubers and insects collected from miombo woodlands are widely consumed by rural households and enrich their starch-based diets with important vitamins and minerals. These foods are often available at the start of the rainy season and thereby serve as an important gap-filler when food stocks are low (Packham, 1993; Chileshe, 2005). Furthermore, for many rural women, trade in forest foods is an important source of cash. More than fifty trees bearing edible fruits are found in the miombo woodlands. Farmers often acknowledge the value of indigenous fruit trees and retain and protect the trees on their fields (Akkinnifesi, 2006). However, wild fruits are less important for income generation due to the distance to markets and their short shelf life. Approximately 25 different edible mushroom species have been documented in Zambia (Pegler and Pearce, 1980). In Chiulukire local forest, Eastern Province, eleven species are commonly collected during the rainy season. Women are responsible for collecting mushrooms and they usually do this when returning from their maize fields. Only a small proportion is consumed fresh. Ninety percent is dried, after which they are wrapped in leaves of Uapaca kirkiana and tied with fiber for later use (Mutale and Haamukwanza, 2000). The trade of mushrooms is visibly substantial, though volumes traded at national level are unknown. Fresh mushrooms are popular during the rainy season with substantial value addition along the market chain: they fetch approximately ZMK10,000/kg in rural areas and three to four times that amount in urban markets (Husselman, pers. obs. 2007). One company in Lusaka packages dried ubowa mushrooms for sale in grocery shops and supermarkets. Roots of various species (including Rychnosia, Eminia and Vigna) are harvested to make munkoyo, a fermented non-alcoholic beverage (Zulu et al., 1997). Munkoyo is a popular local soft drink, in particular amongst women and children, and also used during traditional ceremonies (Malungo, 2001). The roots are sold fresh or dried. A variety of insects is consumed in Zambia and these provide an important source of protein and household income (Illgner and Nel, 2000). More than 60 species of insects in at least 15 families and 6 orders have been reported as food in Zambia (DeFoliart, 1999). Silow (in DeFoliart, 1999) explains termites (Macrotermes species) were considered better than the meat of mammals and birds. Caterpillars were rated second best. The most popular edible insects, in terms of total consumption and trade, are caterpillars of which the majority belongs to the giant silk moth family Saturniidae. The most well known species in the Southern African region is Gonimbrasia belina, locally known as mopane worm. Thirty-one species of edible caterpillars are found in Zambia, of which seven are marketed (DeFoliart, 1999). Mbata et al. (2002) describe the use of caterpillars among the Bisa people in Northern Province. The majority of people in that area prefer Gynanisa maja, locally known as chipumi. It is large, thornless, and tasty, and fetches the highest price on the market. In November and December people collect the caterpillars mostly from regenerating woodlands that had previously been cleared and then left to fallow. The market for these edible insects is very large in all Zambian cities and even extends to Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2000, the farm gate price for one meda (or gallon) was more than US$4 (Mbata et al., 2002). When the bush is rich with caterpillars, a person can collect up to 20 liters a day, and seven days of collecting can earn the equivalent of a month’s salary for a general worker (DeFoliart, 1999). Traders may travel nearly one thousand kilometers to buy caterpillars. In Kasanka National Park, Northern Province, trade in caterpillars has always been a main source of income, and local chiefs receive a handsome share of this income, which encourages them to promote caterpillar breeding. Nevertheless, villagers reported a decrease in availability during the past decades due to a decline in overall tree cover (Eriksen, 2007). Sometimes trees are cut to facilitate the harvesting of caterpillars, but caterpillars may also provide an incentive for people to regulate bush fires, thereby protecting caterpillars and enhancing woodland regeneration (DeFoliart, 1995). A study in 2001 recorded the amounts of wild foods collected and consumed during a period of 12 months in Kamena Village, Northern Province (Chileshe, 2005). Collection of wild vegetables and mushrooms is done by women and coincides with their chitemene tasks of sowing, planting and weeding. Bartering wild foods for staples is common between wealthier households with bigger plots, and poorer households. Some households act as middlemen purchasing caterpillars from fellow households for sale in urban markets. Poor households collect these foods more frequently than wealthier households and as a result the direct-use value of these foods is considerably higher for poorer households. Moreover, whereas collection and trade of other commercialized forest products, such as honey and charcoal, is controlled by men, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables and insects are considered activities for women and children. The value of the caterpillars collected and consumed by individual households was calculated using local market prices (Table 4). 4.1.4
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