Hostile communities fuelling deforestation

Charcoal burning process discovered on Michiri Forest Reserve in Blantyre last week

* Charcoal producers and transporters organise gangs that threaten lives of forest patrol teams

* They have a deep-rooted mindset that charcoal business is the backbone of their survival — hence resisting to abandon their business

By Salome Gangire, MANA

Unpatriotic citizens are advancing massive deforestation in protected forest areas across the country, who are hostile to forestry patrol officers as well as other community members of goodwill.

This was observed by Neno District Forestry Officer, Eric Mbingwani during a stakeholders meeting that discussed the rate of deforestation and to find solutions to issues on forest and natural resources depletion in the district.

He bemoaned the massive deforestation in the upper Neno and Neno eastern escarpments and other protected forests, saying people that produce and transport charcoal were so hostile such that they organise gangs that fight and threaten lives of forest patrol teams when doing routine law enforcement that include charcoal confiscation and impounding vehicles used to ferry illegal forest produce.

“Communities at Kambale and Chifunga, which are charcoal hot spots, are hostile because they have a deep-rooted mindset that charcoal business is the backbone of their survival — hence resisting to abandon their business,” Mbingwani said.

He called for the meeting to make all stakeholders, including law enforcement agents, understand the extent of environmental degradation in the district and to call for their support to deal with the malpractice.

He asked courts to give stiffer penalties without room for fines to those found guilty on forest offences saying some communities have established charcoal business committees that bail out offenders, forcing the offender to go back into the forests to repay the loan.

South zone law enforcement officer in the Department of Forestry, John Kabiya said they have instituted an institutional integrity committee to look into corruption issues as there were allegations that some forest officers connive with charcoal producers to cross checkpoints with ease.

He disclosed that Department of Forests was engaging drones for forest surveillance to monitor illegal activities such as charcoal production deep into the forests.

Neno District Commissioner, Rosemary Nawasha said there was need for sectoral collaboration, saying this was key to address illegal harvest of forest produce while Neno Police officer-in-charge, Edwin Magalasi asked communities and all stakeholders to work with them by providing information on illegal forest harvest to curb the malpractice.

“We ask for a cordial working relationship with different stakeholders in our district if we really want to break the so-called syndicate,” he said. “We can’t work in isolation so let us devise modern reporting mechanisms.

Tsamba Forest at upper Neno and Neno Eastern Escapement Forest reserve are the worse hit with illegal forest activities in the district that has only 19 forestry officers against nine major forests with a total land mass of over 100,000 hectares.

On the plea for the courts to give stiffer penalties, Ntchisi First Grade Magistrate Court ordered five men last week to pay a total fine of K1.2 million for being found in possession of forest produce and trafficking the same without license or in default serve 18 months and 30 month imprisonment with hard labour.

State prosecutor Sub Inspector James Muyira told the court that the five committed the offence on September 19, 2023 at Kaombe Forest Reserve in the district when they were intercepted carrying forest produce without a license in a Scania 15 tonner truck registration number BY7983.

In court, the five pleaded guilty to two counts of being found in possession of forest produce without license contrary to Section 68, Sub Section 1b, and trafficking of forest produce without a license contrary to Section 12 (3b) of the Forest Amendment Act of 2020.

The State asked the court to give a stiffer sentence to the accused persons, saying such cases are on the increase in the district.

But in her ruling, First Grade Magistrate Dorothy Kalua exercised leniency, saying the five were first offenders and that they had shown remorse by pleading guilty to the counts.

She, however, went on to fine the five K400,000 for the first count, and K800,000 for the second count or in default, serve 18 months and 30 months IHL respectively to teach them a lesson and deter would-be offenders.

The five are, Kondwani Kazikwani, 28 of Mzira Village, Yona Yotamu, 34 of Chinkwiri Village, Yoweri Grecian, 28 of Kachigamba Village in Traditional Authority Chakhadza in Dowa, David Randistasi, 29 of Mbedza Village of T.A. Dzoole in Dowa and Hastings Jawayawa, 23 of T.A. Mwase in Kasungu.

Meanwhile, a 32-year-old man identified as Salabadika Kauma was found dead last week in Namizimu forest around Traditional Authority Katuli in Mangochi District suspected that Kauma died due to smoke from charcoal he was burning in the forest.

Mangochi Police publicist Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi said the deceased family reported of his missing at Katuli police unit, who later initiated a search with the help of members of the community and discovered Kauma’s body on October 22, about is 20km away from the charcoal burning site.

She added that postmortem results conducted by medical personnel at Katuli Health Centre revealed that Kauma succumbed to suffocation.

Police in Mangochi are urging the general public to avoid the malpractice of charcoal burning, saying it is illegal to do so.—Additional reporting in Ntchisi and Mangochi by Maria Tembo & Lyte Ali, MANA