SUSTAINABLE FOREST

MANAGEMENT IN
ZIMBABWE
PRESENTATION BY
P. TOM & K. J. GWANDE
Beijing-China
24/04-14/05/2008
 ZIMBABWE
• General information
– Land locked country in Southern Africa
– Total land area – 390 580 square kilometres
– Population approximately 15 million
– Mean annual temperature 18 - 23 degrees
Celsius in Low and Highveld respectively.
– Mean annual rainfall ranges from 400mm in
hot low lying areas, 900mm in highveld and
1500mm in Eastern Highlands.
 FORESTRY AND FOREST
RESOURCES
• Forests cover 27 143 square kilometers of
the country about 70% of the total land
areas distributed as follows:
– Natural forests 11600ha (0.03%)
– Exotic plantation 155900(0.40%)
– Woodlands 20 797 400ha (53.2%)
– Bushlands 974 100ha (12.72%)
– Wooded grasslands 120 480ha (3.08%)
DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST RESOURCES
PLANATATIONS
Woodland and Bushlands
Sustainable Forest Resources management Initiatives
 Initiatives Continued
• Forests in Zimbabwe are managed by the
Forestry Commission (FC) a paratastal in the
Min of Environment and Tourism.
• FC was formed by an Act of Parliament, the
Forest Act and is the paramount piece of
legislation in the management of Forest
resources.
• Others pieces of legislation include:
Communal Lands Forest Produce Act
Environment Management act
• FC is the regulatory authority in the Forest and
Timber Industry
 Initiatives Continued
FC has got three Divisions
– Conservation and Extension (CONEX)
– Research and Trainings (R&T)
– Ngamo Safaris
Divisional Mandates
– Conex –managing the country's Forest resources
– R&T – Capacity Building and enhancement
– Ngamo Safaris – Revenue generation through
Consumptive and non consumptive tourism. (Refer to
www.ngamosafaris.co.zw)
 Initiatives Cont
Programs for Sustainable Forest management
• Tree planting and management
– Nursery establishment
– Woodlot establishment e.g. National Tree Planting
Day.
• Sustainable utilization of natural Forests
– Resource sharing
– Concessions
– Non timber forest Produce extraction e.g.
Beekeeping, edible insects and mushroom
 Initiatives Cont
• Forest Awareness and Publicity
– Electronic and print media
– Show and Exhibitions
• Regulation
– Export sales
– Domestic exploitation
– Accreditation
Thank You
Siyabonga
Tatenda