By Mwenya Mukuka
“These activities have led to large areas of land losing their trees and disruptions in biodiversity. Construction of houses in water recharge areas have affected ground water supply and the clearance of large areas of forests for large scale agriculture has exposed soils to erosion and in some areas reduction in rain fall activities,” he said.
Mr. Kabilia further noted that energy shortages in terms of electricity has triggered increase in charcoal manufacturing thereby adding pressure on trees apart from rampant logging that is going on.
He recommended that in order to reclaim lost forests, communities need to be re-educated and given the power and authority to manage their forests.
“Tree planting is good but it is slow and in most cases does not replace the lost indigenous trees. Zambia should declare a countrywide exercise to manage tree regeneration in all areas. This is a sure way of having our trees back in a space of five years,” he added.
Zambia has since signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change whose overall objective is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change and adapt to the effects while promoting sustainable development.