adminTakunda Maodza Manicaland Bureau Chief
Timber producers have warned that there could be a shortage of timber because of illegal settlements in their plantations.
They voiced concern over timber poaching, gold panners operating in forests and fire, including arson.
State-owned Allied Timbers has lost 13 000 hectares to illegal settlers.
Addressing a meeting on the Land Policy held in Mutare recently, Timber Producers Federation chief executive Mr Darlington Duwa said if the challenges facing the industry today are not urgently addressed, the country will experience timber shortages by 2025.
He said this does not augur well with Government’s Vision 2030 whose achievement is also anchored on a boom in construction.
Mr Duwa indicated that attainment of Vision 2030 also rested on job creation, and the timber industry currently employees over 17 000 people across the value chain.
“The area under forest has been declining since 1999. One of the major causes is the illegal settlement of people in our plantations.
“Government did not give them any papers to be where they are. There are so many challenges associated with existence of settlements in forests,” said Mr Duwa.
He said when they try to resolve the problem of illegal settlers, some elements resort to arson.
“This is not in line with principles of sustainable forest management. We are likely to face a major challenge to our goal of having a middle income economy by 2030,” said Mr Duwa.
“Obviously they would be a lot of developments in terms of construction but where are we going to get the timber?
“We are already experiencing timber shortages in Zimbabwe and this is manifested by increased illegal activities in terms of timber poaching.
‘‘If this trend continues we going to import timber and this is very sad. We will have a deficit of timber by 2025.”
Allied Timbers chief operation officer Mr Trymore Chivhinge concurred with Mr Duwa that illegalities on timber plantations have threatened the survival of the industry.
“We have more than 13 000 hectares that are occupied by settlers. We have gold panning in our plantations. We have had to rely repeatedly on law enforcement agents,” he said.
Mr Chivhinge said the illegal activities on timber plantations were frustrating efforts by Allied Timbers to court investors.
Manicaland Provinces is the country’s major source of timber owing to its climatic conditions that are favourable to growth of exotic trees.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter