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Leonard Ncube in Dubai, UAE

SOUTHERN African countries have shown unity with commitment to preserve the Miombo Forest, a vast African dryland forest system stretching across a number of Central and Southern African countries.

Miombo Forest is a biome characterised by a pre-dominance of species on the Zambezi basin and in Southern Africa it covers 190 million hectares.

The basin in under pressure due to illegal and unsustainable exploitation of forests, minerals, fishing and agriculture and in this background, countries met for the Regional Conference on Sustainable and Integrated Management of Miombo Forest in Maputo, Mozambique in August last year where the Maputo Declaration was adopted to mainstream conservation and sustainable use of Miombo forest ecosystem to mitigate climate change.

The countries that adopted the declaration tasked Mozambique to lead the promotion and fundraising for the initiative and coordinate actions at global level.

The commitment made in the Maputo Declaration extends beyond just protecting and restoring the Miombo forest.

The Maputo Declaration encourages collaboration between Governments, local communities and international organizations to develop and implement effective conservation strategies through education and awareness programmes and providing alternative livelihood options to reduce dependence on forest resources.

Some of the countries met at the ongoing 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) at the Dubai Expo City in Dubai, UAE this morning where they reiterated commitment to conservation of the Zambezi Basin.

Minister of Lands and Environment in Mozambique Ivete Maibaze said a year has passed since Mozambique hosted the international conference hence the COP28 is an important platform for member states to take stock of work done and implement the dictates of the Maputo Declaration.

Among those that spoke at the side meeting, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe committed to implementation of the Maputo Declaration and called for unlocking of funding, collaboration and addressing of challenges that affect legislative frameworks in the region.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife Professor Prosper Matondi who represented Zimbabwe at the meeting, said Sadc countries share similar environmental challenges like deforestation primarily driven by agriculture expansion and charcoal production, unsustainable logging practices and frequent devastating cyclones among others which negatively impact on livelihoods and economies.

 “Zimbabwe acknowledges the opportunity to intervene at this meeting of member states on the Miombo Declaration. The Declaration is crucial and urgent to us considering the continued impacts of human activities on the ecosystems and the Miombo forest in particular,” he said.

Prof Matondi said development of policy framework on carbon credit trading and the gazetting of a regulatory instrument the Carbon Credits Trading (General) Regulations, SI 150 of 2023 by Zimbabwe, which among many other issues aims to protect forests and generate innovative climate financing from that intervention, is a testimony of how Government values forests.

He said Zimbabwe and Mozambique partnered to develop a three-year, 5 million euros project financed through Italy.

“For Zimbabwe, this project is earmarked to benefit three districts of Rushinga, Mudzi and Chipinge with the other districts of Nyanga, Mutasa, Mutare and Chimanimani receiving partial support in the form of capacity building.

“I acknowledge that this project is going to help the two sister countries to amongst many other things set up and promote implementation of a system for exchange of information, creation of  mechanism of traceability of forest and non-timber forest products and joint law enforcement as well as strengthen the capacity of all relevant cross-border institutions, through cross-sectorial coordination, harmonisation of policies and capacity building which shall include provision of adequate resources to support forest management at local level, especially for monitoring illegal activities and forest law enforcement,” said Prof Matondi.

He said Government also works with the private sector for provision of alternative and diversified livelihood and income generating activities.

“We believe this alone is going to be a big motivator and reason for communities to protect their forests,” he said.