Deforestation in Zimbabwe

[5] The study, which explores firewood consumption patterns, shines light on the severe shortage of electricity in Zimbabwe.

It blames a weak infrastructure, erratic supply, maintenance issues and the unaffordable cost of electricity in the face of unemployment and low incomes for contributing to increased use of firewood, which, in turn, is driving deforestation in the country.

While the government claims it is doing all it can to fight deforestation, the indigenous timber merchants say that the faltering economy might make it hard for them to stop cutting down trees.

[9] Urban expansion and population growth have also significantly contributed towards deforestation by clearing land for developing houses, roads and public infrastructure.

This leads to deforestation as forests are being cleared to make way for commercial land use to build infrastructure to cater to the growing population.

According to an article published by the Inter Press Service (IPS), forests are being cleared and converted to tobacco fields in some remote areas.

The blame on deforestation is squarely on the growing numbers of tobacco farmers who cut down trees to use to cure the cash crop.

[13]Tobacco farmers are responsible for a fifth of the total annual deforestation in Zimbabwe, cutting down trees to burn in their curing barns.

While the practice is not permitted, enforcement remains lax, and solutions such as establishing woodlots have not proved fast or scalable enough to address the problem.

As huge pits are excavated for clay soil required to mould the bricks, substantial amounts of trees are cut down for firewood needed in their drying process.

Reports by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) now deem farm brick production as one of three major drivers of deforestation in Zimbabwe.

While backfilling can recover farm brick production effect on land, it is the tree population that is affected most by this practice.