Zimbabwe News Update
newzwire
5 min read
stunted growth: allied timbers’ timber plantationswhy are timber prices rising, and why are local hardware suppliers now importing some of their timber to meet rising demand? it’s a classic case of not reaping where you did not sow.twenty years ago, invaders began occupying zimbabwe’s largest timber estates. fires and illegal logging followed, and the invasions stopped timber firms from planting new trees, which take at least 25 years to mature before they can be harvested for timber. now, just when demand for timber from the growing construction sector is rising, the country is running out of trees for timber. the result?
prices are rising, and the country has to import timber.the chairman of the zimbabwe timber federation, darlington duwa, says a combination of veld fires, forestry land being turned into farmland, and over-cutting by companies without replanting enough trees has left the sector in trouble.“we are now seeing companies resorting to imports to keep operations running, which is a clear sign of the severe resource depletion we are facing,” duwa toldthe herald.about 70,000 hectares of forests in manicaland are timber plantations, controlled by state-owned allied timbers, wattle company, border timbers, mutare board and paper mills, and other smaller private players. allied timbers, the country’s largest timber company, has more than 10 estates across manicaland, midlands and matabeleland.
over the years, it has lost forestry land to invaders, from farmers to illegal miners prospecting for gold in protected areas. by 2022, allied timbers said as much as 50% of its unplanted land was under occupation by illegal settlers. this means it cannot plant new trees for the future.another major producer, border timbers, said in its 2023 annual results: “plantation fire damage remains the major business risk, particularly arson. during the year, the company lost 327 hectares (fy2022: 235 hectares) which is higher compared to the previous period.”construction, driven by home builders, is driving demand for timber______________because trees are a long-term investment, not an aggressive replanting campaign today would be enough to end the crisis, which duwa says is going to get a lot worse.
“this long maturation period means that the damage done over the past two decades has locked us into a prolonged period of scarcity, irrespective of our efforts today,” he’s quoted as saying.the decline has been steady. from a peak of 120,000 hectares in the 1999/2000 season, only 90,000 remained by 2011. in 2021, about 1,000 hectares of young plantations were destroyed by fire, mostly caused by illegal settlers.earlier this year, minister of state for manicaland misheck mugadza said new plantings were being outpaced by the decimation of timber plantations. he said: “last year alone, the province lost a significant hectarage of, both timber and non-timber forests to fires and deforestation, including in protected areas, destroying valuable trees and animals.
this loss should be matched with our tree planting efforts.”the timber story is part of a bigger national problem. zimbabwe is losing 330,000 hectares of forest, over 60 million trees, every year. the current planting rate is just 8 million a year, according to government figures. stunted growth: allied timbers’ timber plantations why are timber prices rising, and why are local hardware suppliers now importing some of their timber to meet rising demand? it’s a classic case of not reaping where you did not sow. twenty years ago, invaders began occupying zimbabwe’s largest timber estates. fires and illegal logging followed, and the invasions stopped timber firms from planting new trees, which take at least 25 years to mature before they can be harvested for timber.
now, just when demand for timber from the growing construction sector is rising, the country is running out of trees for timber. the result? prices are rising, and the country has to import timber. the chairman of the zimbabwe timber federation, darlington duwa, says a combination of veld fires, forestry land being turned into farmland, and over-cutting by companies without replanting enough trees has left the sector in trouble. “we are now seeing companies resorting to imports to keep operations running, which is a clear sign of the severe resource depletion we are facing,” duwa toldthe herald.
about 70,000 hectares of forests in manicaland are timber plantations, controlled by state-owned allied timbers, wattle company, border timbers, mutare board and paper mills, and other smaller private players. allied timbers, the country’s largest timber company, has more than 10 estates across manicaland, midlands and matabeleland. over the years, it has lost forestry land to invaders, from farmers to illegal miners prospecting for gold in protected areas. by 2022, allied timbers said as much as 50% of its unplanted land was under occupation by illegal settlers. this means it cannot plant new trees for the future. another major producer, border timbers, said in its 2023 annual results: “plantation fire damage remains the major business risk, particularly arson.
during the year, the company lost 327 hectares (fy2022: 235 hectares) which is higher compared to the previous period.” because trees are a long-term investment, not an aggressive replanting campaign today would be enough to end the crisis, which duwa says is going to get a lot worse. “this long maturation period means that the damage done over the past two decades has locked us into a prolonged period of scarcity, irrespective of our efforts today,” he’s quoted as saying. the decline has been steady. from a peak of 120,000 hectares in the 1999/2000 season, only 90,000 remained by 2011. in 2021, about 1,000 hectares of young plantations were destroyed by fire, mostly caused by illegal settlers.
earlier this year, minister of state for manicaland misheck mugadza said new plantings were being outpaced by the decimation of timber plantations. he said: “last year alone, the province lost a significant hectarage of, both timber and non-timber forests to fires and deforestation, including in protected areas, destroying valuable trees and animals. this loss should be matched with our tree planting efforts.” the timber story is part of a bigger national problem. zimbabwe is losing 330,000 hectares of forest, over 60 million trees, every year. the current planting rate is just 8 million a year, according to government figures. source: newzwire
