Why plant trees

We plant trees in order to reduce deforestation. Deforestation can be reduced by reforestation i.e planting trees again.

People need to plant trees in order to curd climate changes which are caused by excessive cutting down of tress.

Forests contribute significantly to national economies through recreation and tourism. For example, 3.5 million people visited Zimbabwe 150 conservation areas between 1991 and 1999, helping fuel a five-fold increase in tourism for the country.

Medicine come from trees therefore people must stop cutting down tree. Zimbabwean forests are home to the greatest plant biodiversity in the world, and are the source of essential pharmaceutical ingredients. Up to 50 percent of pharmaceuticals on the market today have an origin in natural products, and 42 percent of the top 25 selling drugs worldwide are derived from natural products.

Tropical forests cover only 12 percent of the planet but are home to more than one-half of the Earth’s known plants and animal species. At the current rate of deforestation, tropical rain forests will virtually disappear as functioning ecosystems within 100 years. Deforestation also degrades important natural resources, like supplies of clean fresh water. In addition, the massive burning of forests can lead to severe air pollution both locally and thousands of miles away.

Protect trees reduce climate changes

Trees attract tourists: do not cut them down!

Ways of preventing Deforestation

Preventing Deforestation

Trees are absolutely vital to life here on Earth, but they are also being destroyed at an alarming rate.  So many of the choices we make throughout the day when we're shopping, eating, or even driving, are powered by deforestation.  Trees are cut and burned down for a number of reasons. Forests are logged to supply timber for wood and paper products, and to clear land for crops, cattle, and housing. Other causes of deforestation include mining and oil exploitation, urbanization, acid rain and wildfires. And according to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the 33 million acres of forestland that are lost annually around the globe are responsible for 20% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.  Deforestation also contributes to air and water pollution, a loss of biodiversity, erosion, and climatic disruption.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/5-ways-to-stop-deforestation#ixzz3UAN0bnyp

Here are easy ways of preventing Deforestation

1. Plant a tree.
2. Go paperless.
3. Recycle and buy recycled products.
4. Look for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on wood and wood products.
5. Eat vegetarian meals as often as possible.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/5-ways-to-stop-deforestation#ixzz3UANJIgm1

Effects of Deforestation

Effects of deforestation 

 

Soil erosion destruction.

Soils (and the nutrients in them) are exposed to the sun’s heat. Soil moisture is dried up, nutrients evaporate and bacteria that help break down organic matter are affected. Eventually, rain washes down the soil surfaces and erosion takes place. Soils never get their full potential back.

Water Cycle

When forests are destroyed, the atmosphere, water bodies and the water table are all affected. Trees absorb and retain water in their roots. A large part of the water that circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests remains inside the plants. Some of this moisture is transpired into the atmosphere. When this process is broken, the atmosphere and water bodies begin to dry out. The watershed potential is compromised and less water will run through the rivers. Smaller lakes and streams that take water from these larger water bodies dry up.

Loss of Biodiversity

Many wonderful species of plants and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. More than 80% of the world's species remain in the Tropical Rainforest. It is estimated that about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day as a result of destruction of their habitats, and that is a tragedy.

Many beautiful creatures, both plants and animals have vanished from the face of the earth.

Climate Change
Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and uses it to produce food (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up trees). In return, it gives off Oxygen. Destroying the forests mean CO2 will remain in the atmosphere and in addition, destroyed vegetation will give off more CO2 stored in them as they decompose. This will alter the climate of that region. Cool climates may get a lot hotter and hot places may get a lot cooler.

Deforestation annual rate

Shortage of electricity led to deforestation

trees cut for firewood : picture by Chichi

Soil erosion due to deforestation : picture by Chichi

Trees cut down by farmers clearing land to plant their crops : picture by Chitsidzo Muchabayiwa

Forests cleared in Zimbawe

http://www.cpazimbabwe.org.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:hardwood-catastrophe-plunder-a-looting-of-zimbabwes-priceless-forest-who-is-eating-trees




Trees cut for poles

Desperate miners are destroying tress

Zimbabwe’s Desperate Miners Ravage the Land

Hard-pressed by economic straits, illegal panners are tearing up Zimbabwe’s countryside in search of gold and diamonds. They leave behind a trail of destruction: devastated fields and forests, mud-choked rivers, and mercury-tainted water.Zimbabwe's desperate miners ravage the land

Cutting down tress will turn Zimbabwe into a desert

Re-settled citizens are cutting down tress clearing their lands and stands. Since a number had to clear land for their fields, this  found its way into deforestation as people cut trees.People must stop cutting down trees and farmers must plant trees (afforestation and reforestation) in their farms.The long-term sustainability of land, as an ecological asset, will depend on sound measures that should be taken to protect it as national heritage for all Zimbabweans. There IS deforestation of woodlands, stream bank cultivation, squatting on newly acquired land, poor layout of arable lands, creation of foot and cattle paths, destruction of game, overstocking, road destruction, bush encroachment and veld fires (Madanhi, 2010). Deforestation continues and is exacerbated by re-settlement programs in Zimbabwe today. There is fear that desert like conditions like those already existing in the Seke–Chihota communal area may be experienced in more areas if the problem of deforestation is not seriously addressed. The more Environmental  Managemental Agency (EMA) is trying to curb deforestation by planting trees and doing awareness campaigns the more people are continuing to cut down tress. The non-appointment of forestry officers had a negative impact on deforestation (awareness programmes and tree harvesting) as some districts like Zaka, Lupane, Hurungwe and Kariba went for more than 2 years without forestry officers.

Illegal miners are causing deforestation

Illegal miners use various methods interchangeably from open pit, riverbank, to bed panning. The operations are characterized by shallow diggings along the reefs. The open cast mine practice is initially cheap but is not sustainable as mining usually stops at about a depth of 20 m because of hoisting problems and inability to de-water. 

The illegal miners cut down tress first to clear their mining area. 

These small scale or illegal miners are mostly found in Gwanda. People are making a living through mining. They said they are indulging in these illegal mining activities because there are no jobs in Zimbabwe and also they do not afford a license. ZIMRA is demanding more license fees which they do not afford.

Illegal miners in Gwanda         


Illegal miners in Kadoma- Chakari. 
Miners cut down trees in search of gold                        

Veld fires contributing to deforestation in Zimbabwe

Veld fires contributing to deforestation in Zimbabwe

Veld fires, which are turning out to be a persistent problem in the country, have done their fair share of damage to the country’s forests. In spite of the heavy fines put in place, offenders seem to always go undetected. It is still unclear why people start forest fires, although in some parts it is believed to be a hunting mechanism to catch mice and other animals for the pot.

Last year, the Forestry Commission embarked on a vigorous tree re-planting exercise that meant to see a total of 10 million trees planted countrywide. Although the target was met, it is most likely that the bulk of the newly planted trees have since been wiped out by veld fires.
Trees which were destroyed by fire take long to recover and sometimes they will not recover again.

 Trees damaged by veld fires in Masvingo

Zimbabwe is one of the top ten countries facing deforestation in the world.

Tobacco farming also to blame

The most serious threat to what’s left of the country’s forests seems to be the tobacco farming industry, which is (ironically) being hailed as a huge success, following the land reform programme.

The new crop of tobacco farmers, most of whom are still small-scale, insist they cannot yet afford to purchase coal to use in curing their crop.

As a result, they have been cutting down trees to use in the curing process. Furthermore, they mostly target indigenous trees, which burn for longer.

Makoni district in Manicaland  is dominantly a tobacco-farming area, if you visit there you  could see large amounts of indigenous trees piled at almost every farm visited.

In an effort to curb the practice, a statutory instrument was drafted that would require each tobacco farmer to have a personal woodlot on his farm, from which he would collect wood for curing the crop.

But because the policy has not yet been made mandatory, most farmers have evidently chosen to ignore the initiative.

In the meantime, Zimbabwe remains one of the top 10 countries facing deforestation in the world.

 

Trees cut fo firewood

  

There are a number of activities taking place that would help explain why the country continues to lose trees. Because the government has to date still not managed to provide enough electricity to its people, trees continue to be cut to sustain energy needs.

Going around the country’s highways, bundles of firewood (most of it from indigenous trees) can be seen the whole way. The sale of firewood has become big business in Zimbabwe and will continue to be as long as electricity remains a problem.

There are reports that people who recently invaded Save River Conservancy, are seen frequently transporting truck-loads of cut down (indigenous) trees for sale as firewood in Masvingo.

Causes for concern

The Booming Zimbabwe tobacco sector and massive deforestation

Farmers must be blamed for causing deforestation in Zimbabwe

There has been a sharp increase in tobacco production in Zimbabwe over the last four years, mainly from smallholder farmers who were the beneficiaries of the fast-track land reform programme in the early 2000s. This increased production has been happening against the backdrop of massive deforestation in the countryside, which is a cause for concern. Is the country prepared to face the inherent environmental challenges of embracing the mainstreaming of previously disadvantaged people into the tobacco sector?

Smallholder tobacco production in Zimbabwe

 According to  Consultancy Africa Intelligence (CAI) the tobacco sector, previously dominated by the white, large scale commercial farmers, has historically made a critical contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). There has been an increase in the number of new smallholder farmers joining the tobacco-growing sector in Zimbabwe. For instance, in comparison with the 2012 growing season, the number of tobacco growers registered in the 2013 growing season increased by 22,000 to 64,775.(3) More than 80% of these registered tobacco farmers come from the smallholder sector, where each farmer grows an average of 1.3 hectares. The majority of these smallholder tobacco farmers are beneficiaries of the fast-track land reform programme that was initiated in the year 2000, with many women and youths having been empowered in the process.In 2012, Zimbabwe received US$ 771 million from tobacco exports at an average price of US$ 5.94 per kilogram (kg), with smallholder farmers having contributed massively to that production.

Most smallholder farmers are in contract farming arrangements, where they are attracted by convenient farm inputs. In the 2013 growing season, about 77,910 hectares of land were put under tobacco production compared to the 56,377 hectares of land in the 2012 season, showing a 38% increase.Furthermore, in 2013 tobacco production is predicted to be around 170 million kg, in contrast to the 144.5 million kg for the 2012 growing season - far higher than the 49 million kg of the 2008 season. Land Reform Programme

There is a convergence of factors that have contributed to this surge in smallholder tobacco production. The issue of land as a means of production is the most critical. The fast-track land reform programme empowered a number of people who were previously marginalised by giving them access to land. In addition, with the advent of the government of national unity came the use of a multi-currency system, setting aside the local currency from 2009 onwards. This meant that farmers would directly earn hard currency for their produce, and this helped to reduce losses attributed to foreign currency regulations – a situation that prevailed in the preceding hyper-inflation period. The government of Zimbabwe gave land to the people and it did not urge them not to cut down trees. Many farmers are complaining because of climate changes but they are the ones who are causing these climate changes.

Deforestation in Zimbabwe

Deforestation has always been an endemic problem in Zimbabwe, since a larger proportion of its population is rural and dependent on firewood as a sole source of household energy. As far back as 1997, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported that deforestation was a major problem facing Zimbabwe, where between “70,000 to 100,000 ha of forest cover [was] declining at a rate of 1.5% per year.”  As a result, from 1990 to 2005, Zimbabwe endured a decline of about 21% in its forest cover, which amounts to approximately 312,900 hectares.

Back-to-back power outages countrywide have caused people to resort to the use of firewood as an easy alternative source of energy. This has in turn created a market for firewood - particularly in urban areas. This high demand for firewood has driven the rate and scale of deforestation in the countryside, including in newly resettled areas which were inaccessible to the majority before the wave of land reform beginning in 2000.

The most unfortunate part is that indigenous trees take a long time to grow to maturity - between 75 and 150 years – unlike the exotic eucalyptus trees. Thus, when indigenous trees are cut at ground level, as is usually the case, they are lost forever. Tobacco farming and veld fires have also been blamed for driving the process of deforestation. The connection between tobacco farming and deforestation of indigenous forests is explained below.