Zambia

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including conservation, forest management and enhanced carbon stocks (REDD+), is an evolving international climate finance mechanism that may provide considerable sustainable development opportunities for developing countries.

THE extreme weather and climatological changes happening around the world are having a profound impact on the population and the ecosystem, says the Zambia Institute of Environmental Management.

ZIEM chief executive officer Morgan Katati said the changes such as floods, heatwaves and droughts presented a vivid image of the direction the world was heading to.

AS the Conference of Parties (Cop 17) to the United Nations (UN) framework convention on climate change progresses in the South-African town of Durban, it is important to note that Zambians too can get involved in climate change programmes at an individual level.

“ZAMBIA has approximately 50 million hectares of forest, with an estimated deforestation rate of 250,000 to 300,000 hectares per year.”

This is according to the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+).

Undoubtedly, deforestation continues to be a big challenge in Zambia. The uncontrolled cutting down of trees for charcoal, timber and other uses for a livelihood has continued to deplete the country’s forests.

LUSAKA (AlertNet) - More of Zambia's forests are likely to be cut down for charcoal after the country's energy watchdog allowed national energy company Zesco to hike electricity prices for domestic consumers by around 40 percent in August.