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forest certification in zambia
535
Forest Certification in Zambia
Felix Njovu*
abstract
Interest in forest certification as a means of promoting sustainable forest
management arrived in Zambia in the early 1990s. Before then, all forest management
was done by the government and users were only required to obtain licenses for the
use of forests. Forests cover over 41 million hectares, more than 55 percent of Zambia’s
surface area. Both local and national events led to development of interest in
certification. Locally the need to earn higher incomes from various forest products,
coupled with an increased awareness and concerns by western consumers, prompted
local companies and organizations to seek forest management and chain of custody
(CoC) certification. The certification efforts have, however, met a number of roadblocks
and challenges arising from uncertainty, the cost of certification and the absence of
tenurial rights by certified companies. The nature of tree and land ownership in
Zambia is the biggest challenge, as all forests are government owned. This makes
private management to meet the certification principles very difficult except in forest
plantations. Presently government, the owner of forests, has no specific policy or
official stand on forest certification.
Zambia’s forest sector is confronted with both ecological and economic challenges.
Deforestation and forest degradation are the main ecological problems, while the low
contribution of forestry to GDP, despite its significant resource endowment, is the key
economic challenge.
The main driving force for forest certification has been the need to gain access to
foreign markets that are large and reliable, rather than better prices. The first
companies to seek certification were involved in rural development and the use of
natural resources as a means to combat poverty. These companies promoted forest
certification for the purpose of harvesting non-timber forest products. Private sector
companies came in as a result of liberalization of the national economy, which saw
both an increase in competition and a decline in economic activity, resulting in a
depressed local market.
* Felix Njovu, M.Sc.
Forest Economist, Copperbelt
University. P.O. Box 21692
Kitwe, Zambia
chinjovu@cbu.ac.zm
yale school of forestry & environmental studies