Bridging the Gap: linking timber trade with infrastructural ...

Figure 37
Volumes (m 3 ) of Pterocarpus angolensis harvest licences issued for Kilwa and Rufiji Districts
(a) Kilwa District
(b) Rufiji District
3,000
2,880
3,193
1,500
1,302
2,000
1,000
0
1,835
1,449
963
746
541
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1,000
500
0
366 378
231
125
2 76 0
69
0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Sources: Kilwa District timber harvest licence statistics, 1995-2001; Kibiti checkpoint statistics, 1992-2001.
Figure 38
Harvest areas for Pterocarpus angolensis showing major rivers, district and protected areas
(a) Lindi Region
(b) Rufiji District
Rufiji delta
Sources: District timber harvest licence records, 2001; Kibiti checkpoint records, 2001.
Afzelia quanzensis (Pod mahogany, Mbambakofi) - Class II
Afzelia quanzensis is a fairly fast growing semi-deciduous tree species growing to 12-35 m tall in miombo
woodlands, lowland thicket and dry woodland (Mbuya et al., 1994). It is targeted for furniture,
construction and carving (e.g. doors, dhows, canoes). Along with Pterocarpus angolensis, it is another
species that is harvested in relatively high volumes and has witnessed a decline in overall composition in
harvest levels. In Rufiji District, A. quanzensis had traditionally been protected as a kind of holy or taboo
tree, although this stopped in the mid-1990s after outsiders started to target the species (Hamerlynck,
2003). According to government records, the proportion of A. quanzensis in overall trade decreased by
four per cent between 2000 and 2001. Harvest licences show that the species constitutes six per cent of
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