3 The Forest Sector in 2020

Area under forests, forest cover, growing stock

According to a vegetation mapping exercise done between 1993-1996 by the Directorate of Forestry, in cooperation with the Swedish Government, some information on area of forest cover is now available. The summary results of estimated area of land cover types and user are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Area of land cover types in hectares (covering the wooded northern half of Namibia)

Erkkilä and Löfman (1999) carried out a study in Ohangwena Region, Northern Namibia to determine forest cover change using satellite images and aerial photography. The results showed that there was a clear decrease in forest area between 1981 and 1992, the annual change being 0.5%. This rate gives an indication of annual deforestation in the Ohangwena Region but specifically in the Tree Savanna and Woodland vegetation type. From the above table, the total area of Forest and Savannah is 22,823,387 Ha. If one applies the deforestation rate 0.5% per year to represent the whole of Northern Namibia (albeit an oversimplification) this would imply a loss of about 100,000 ha annually (between 1981-1992) in northern Namibia, from a total land area of 28,430,127 hectares.

Today, the majority of the natural woodlands, which occupy about 20% of the total land area, are neither protected by law as forest ecosystems, nor under sustainable management. Over the last 5 years starting from 1995 efforts have been made to declare areas of community forest reserves, which will be managed in collaboration with community groups who will manage and utilize them in a controlled manner. A number of reserves have been identified as tabulated here:

Uukwaludhi –Uukolonkadhi Community Forest Reserve – 100,000 ha

Okongo Community Forest Reserve – 87,000 ha

Rehoboth Acacia Forest – 12,000 ha

West Tsumkwe Community Forest Reserve –75,000 ha

Bukalo Community Forest Reserve -12,000 ha

Ohepi Community Forest Reserve – 60,000

Hamoye Forest Reserve – 10,000 ha

Kunene (Opuwo) Community Forest Reserve –5,000 ha

The main idea behind the declaration of community forest reserves is, to enable the positive and environmentally responsible interactions between communities and the woodland and forest ecosystems by allowing them rights over forest resources, provided that they maintain them as forest or woodland ecosystems. This way we will realize both practical and physical benefits from forest products as well as the environmental ones, which require the existence of forest or woodland ecosystems.

By 2020, the combined area of community forest reserves will be about 100,000 hectares of which an estimated 400,000 hectares will be under some form of sustainable management, including fire management.

Namibia is also in the process of developing and testing Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forest Management (C and I). By 2005, it would have tested its C and I on a national scale. It is planned, that the testing of C and I will be done every 5 years. Hence by the year 2020, Namibia would have done two major tests of its C and I and made it a routine way of assessing the importance and performance of the forest sector. It is believed that the C and I process will be a useful tool to convince the public and policy makers on the vital contribution of the forest sector to the overall national economy since it will be based on an internationally recognized system for assessment.

Despite Namibia’s aridity, there is increasing political support for afforestation. It is therefore likely that plantation forestry will receive financial support. To date, Namibia has less than 1,000 hectares of plantations.

By the year 2020, Namibia should have no more than 10,000 hectares of plantations and woodlots, providing construction poles and fencing materials and some indigenous fruits.

The yield that can be expected from pole plantations, based on recent inventories of eucalyptus plantations in the Kavango Region, is between 80 to 120 cubic meters per hectare on a 25-year rotation. Higher yields can be expected from the first coppice crops.

Should the value of marula oil increase as expected, it is conceivable that a total of 2,000 to 3,000 hectares Marula Plantations would have been planted by 2020 in the form of farm woodlots, especially in the Oshana and Ohangwena regions of Northern Namibia.

In Namibia the systems of trees outside are mainly trees left standing in converted forest lands, homestead plantings, hedges and live fences, ornamentals and naturally regenerated trees in farm landscapes and various forms of scattered tree savannahs and the lone formations seen in desert landscapes. Of these systems, the most intensively used one is the one in heavily cultivated areas where the trees left standing are often of economic use. This system often takes advantage of any natural regeneration of favoured species which can occur from existing soil seed banks and dispersal from residual stands or individual trees, and also because they will tend to be protected from fire and once a useful species comes up, it will often be protected. In the northern parts of Namibia, marula (S. birrea) and Berchemia (inappropriately named "bird plum"), manketi (S. rautannennii), Acacia erioloba and makalani palms (H. petersiana) left standing among agricultural crops either provide microclimates in the arid environment suitable for cropping, improve soil fertility, or provides fruits and nuts, in what are excellent examples of indigenous agro-forestry systems.

Homestead plantings are mostly of shade and fruit trees, which have high value to warrant their intensive care especially in the years of establishment when scarce water has to be spared for their tending. Farm woodlots of which there are not many is another system that the Directorate of Forestry is promoting among individual farmers and community groups.

Hedgerow inter-cropping as known in contemporary agro-forestry terminology, is not practiced in Namibia. It has to demonstrate its economic worth before it can be adopted. There is however a possibility of such cropping if a riverine semi-irrigated agro-forestry system, which has been proposed by forestry, is taken up and tested in the northern riverine agricultural communities, especially along the Zambezi and Okavango Rivers.

Live fencing exists traditionally but is not as widespread as wooden pickets, palisades and thorn bush types of fences to protect crop fields. However the forestry is vigorously promoting them. Makalani palms (Hypheana spp) also tend to regenerate singly or in groves of trees on pastures and also as isolated pockets of natural vegetation within farmland.

The proportion of these trees outside forests in relation to the whole population of trees in forested areas is not known but it is definitely smaller than trees in areas classified as woodlands, and the wooded savannahs referred earlier. However, their contribution to rural livelihood is appreciated and could be increased. Besides naturally scattered trees, trees outside forests in a semi arid country such as Namibia owe their existence to conversion of forest to cultivated land. The trees left standing often have value such as that of indigenous fruits used as food supplements in dry environments, shade and fodder trees. The recent deliberate attempts by governments, NGO’s and the private sector to promote, and commercialise small scale industries based on domesticated and wild indigenous fruits, are likely to promote the more deliberate management of such trees.

Today, there is a general tendency in Southern Africa (SADC Region) to promote the domestication of indigenous fruits. Recent efforts included a range wide collection of marula germplasm for provenance trials in member countries. In addition, a new project on domestication of indigenous fruits is being prepared to follow up on trials, which were conducted by ICRAF in Malawi.

In Namibia, efforts to promote trees outside forests include:

The current promotion of live fencing to reduce harvesting pressure,

The promotion through extension to encourage farmers to grow trees on farm woodlots

A new research proposal on the selection, improvement, promotion and marketing of indigenous fruit and nut producing trees has been submitted to the FAO for consideration.

Agriculture and Forestry have formed a national task force to promote indigenous fruits on a national scale. The task has been in existence for less than 4 months since its formation.

Trials in the pressing of marula kernels to produce oil for market testing has been done and it has strengthened a women’s group in Northern Namibia to organize collection of raw materials and be involved in oil pressing. It is a good example of a community- based organization being linked to the private sector.

The direct benefits of fruit trees in the issue of food security, is obvious. Marula fruit is quite rich in vital vitamins, its kernel is crushed to make traditional and highly valued cooking oil, rich in unsaturated fatty acids. The same fruit species have commercial value. Marula oil is sold locally, the juice can be sold to the liqueur industry and the oil is currently being promoted in the United Kingdom for use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries mainly because of the stable characteristics of the oil. Already there are women’s groups with a few oil-presses to produce the oil for further testing abroad.

Berchemia discolor also produces a fruit, which is eaten after it is has been sun dried. The fresh fruit can be fermented and distilled to produce a potent local brandy, which can be sold. The dried fruits are quite popular and are just awaiting a proper and concerted campaign for local marketing.

Manketi nut is also used traditionally as a cooking oil and also ground to make a type of porridge. In a year of poor crop yields, it provides a valuable natural food and is relied upon by the hunter-gatherer San People of the Kalahari Desert. This is a real food security issue. Its oil is being tested for possible industrial use.

A rather unusual use of trees and not just those outside forests is that, branches especially thorny or tough ones are used to fence off crops from grazing and browsing livestock. This kind of physical crop protection has immense economic worth in a country where crop yields are erratic in view of persistent short rains and high temperatures hence what grows must be protected.

When Namibia was preparing its strategic plan for development in the forest sector, an attempt was made to estimate the economic value of all forest or woody vegetation resources to national development. These are depicted in Table 1, and the value of trees outside forests is reflected on the value of baskets from makalani palm, food and beverages and some aspects of crop fencing. This figure can be expected to double by 2020 through the rate of conversion of forest to non-forest land, which produces "trees outside forests"

As described in the preceding sub-section, the value trees outside forests will continue to increase and is likely to be double the estimated value in Table 1. This will be to a large extent dependent on the growth in importance of indigenous fruits and nuts, in both local and international markets.

As the forest ecosystems become more intensively used even if managed, and as certain ecosystems such as the mopane woodlands become fragmented, it is conceivable that this may decrease the harvests of mopane worms. As mopane worms become rare they will only be available in the extensive but shorter woodland formations in the Kunene and in the protected areas such as Etosha National Park. This is already the case. As the average per capita earnings will have gone up by 2020, there is going to be an increase in the value and hence prices of mopane worms, way beyond current prices as it becomes a rare delicacy. The same is true of traditional Marula Oil used in cooking which can only be afforded by the relatively well to do in Northern Namibia.

By 2020, technological changes and the current trends toward natural products would have significantly increased the value of products such as Mangeti Nut, Marula Oil, Marula Liqueur, Berchemia and Strychnos fruits. These products will further stimulate the growing of indigenous fruit and nut trees in plantations, groves, hedges or the tending of single trees outside forests.

To date Namibia has a National Biological Diversity Task Force in which the Directorate of Forestry is a key member. The task force is co-ordinated by a Directorate in the same ministry. So far, all the Directorates in charge of parks, wildlife, forestry and environmental affairs and also the National Botanical Research Institute have biological diversity plans of action in their national programmes.

Within the current process of the second National Development Plan (NDP2) all the natural resources sectors formed an inter-sector cluster of institutions deliberately brought together to consider issues of sustainable development in their plans. These were supposed to be reflected in the respective sector chapters in NDP2. Biological diversity is therefore a well-considered issue in our sector plans.

Currently, Namibia has a number of wildlife parks on land, marine parks, nature reserves and Ramsar Wetland Areas. The terrestrial parks in Namibia currently constitute about 8% of the total land area. Through two programmes of the forestry strategic plan of 1996, namely the Community Level Management of Natural Forests and the Environmental Forestry Programmes, the directorate will contribute to the conservation of biological diversity through the establishment of community based forest reserves already mentioned, and the creation of key forest types that are not currently part of the nationally recognized protected area network. This is most likely going to increase the combined size of protected areas to about 10% of the total land area.

& nbsp;

By the year 2020, Namibia will not have a flourishing traditional forest industry based on sawmills and pulp and paper industries. However because of its unique economic, demographic and environmental characteristics the following are likely to obtain:

There will be a modest development of plantations and woodlots which will not exceed 10,000 hectares. Namibia should be able to meet its local demand for treated fencing and construction poles.

With new and improved technology in saw milling and the manufacture of reconstituted wood products, Namibia will have small scale but profitable wood industries based on the current bush encroachment species such as Acacia mellifera which could be used in the manufacture of chipboards and waifer boards. Currently commercially under-utilised species such as Burkea africana (red syringa), Giurbourtia coleosperma and Colophospermum mopane are likely to be used more for high value furniture, specialized wooden implements and crafts and even a potentially lucrative parquet flooring industry. In other countries such as Zimbabwe and Zambia Burkea africana is a valuable wood for flooring.

With the development of mobile saw milling and processing equipment, the costs of extraction can be brought down.

Our current efforts to create a cottage industry on wooden crafts has yielded positive results in the Tsumkwe region in which products have been manufactured purely from dead or dry wood. It has been demonstrated that a niche market can be created out such an industry provided that a cheap and reliable power source is provided and artisans are trained in professional quality finishing using relatively unsophisticated equipment.

Namibia’s economy which is projected to grow at the rate of 5% per annum for the next 5 years will improve her purchasing power and make it viable to start a veneer plant at Walvis Bay using wood imported and transported by water from neighbouring Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Namibia is economically well placed to go into the value added wood industry either on its own, or in partnership with its neighbouring giant South Africa since Namibia has an advantage of proximity to SADC’s major sources of tropical hardwoods.

Namibia will continue to be a net importer of industrial wood and wood products in the foreseeable future. It will continue to meet its domestic needs in fuel wood and will most likely be self sufficient in poles for local domestic construction and treated fencing posts from its own woodlots and plantations.

Wood fuel demand is likely to remain stable if the rate of people becoming more affluent and depending less on wood will remain less than actual growth in the GDP and population growth. However if the projected rate in economic growth is sustained at 5%, there is a likelihood that a large proportion of Namibians will turn to using electricity and natural gas for domestic energy. Already the plans for the exploitation of natural gas and increasing the capacity for the generation of hydro- electric power are under way.

Construction timber will continue to come from imports but by 2020 Namibia will be sourcing its industrial wood from more and therefore more competitive prices than today. The current expensive over-dependence on timber from South Africa is ill advised and is likely to reduce by 2020 as construction in rapidly urbanizing northern Namibia will begin to be more sensitive to material costs. This is likely to be strengthened by railway links to Southern Angola and the construction of a bridge across the Zambezi River, which is already in the early stages of implementation. Table 7 illustrates the likely trends in the consumption of forest based commodities and services.

Table 7. Consumption Trends of Forest Products and Services in Namibia

In 1996 as indicated in Table 1, the Directorate estimated the total economic value of forest resources to be about 1 billion Namibian Dollars which was viewed as a conservative estimate of the direct use benefits from wood and non-wood products and those indirect uses linked to ecosystem value which underpins, Namibia’s wildlife based tourism.

As Namibia is now developing its Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management, the measurement of the socio-economic criterion will require a more robust methodology to estimate the benefits. A conservative estimate is that the value will have tripled to about 3 billion Namibian Dollars, simply because the country would have been more affluent and ecosystem values and those of carbon sequestration will be much higher. In addition, value added products such as art and crafts would fetch higher prices. Furthermore, a more vigorous value added wood-based industry will create more jobs in cottage industry and more mainstream industries such as reconstituted boards and high value flooring materials and charcoal briquettes.

The scarcity value of mopane worms, the development of taste for indigenous fruits and nuts in addition to the industrial use of marula and other nuts would also have added much more value to these types of products.

With Namibia’s climate being what it is, forest ecosystems will still be the bastion of grazing and fodder for an ever-growing livestock industry and will continue to provide valuable thatch grass to an increasingly affluent urban population and the burgeoning tourism industry.

A proper estimate of the contribution will be possible by 2010 when Namibia would do its second national assessment of C and I to assess the performance of the forest sector.

To date Namibia has a National Biological Diversity Task Force in which the Directorate of Forestry is a key member. The task force is co-ordinated by a Directorate in the same ministry. So far, all the Directorates in charge of parks, wildlife, forestry and environmental affairs and also the National Botanical Research Institute have biological diversity plans of action in their national programmes.

Within the current process of the second National Development Plan (NDP2) all the natural resources sectors formed an inter-sector cluster of institutions deliberately brought together to consider issues of sustainable development in their plans. These were supposed to be reflected in the respective sector chapters in NDP2. Biological diversity is therefore a well-considered issue in our sector plans.

Currently, Namibia has a number of wildlife parks on land, marine parks, nature reserves and Ramsar Wetland Areas. The terrestrial parks in Namibia currently constitute about 8% of the total land area. Through two programmes of the forestry strategic plan of 1996, namely the Community Level Management of Natural Forests and the Environmental Forestry Programmes, the directorate will contribute to the conservation of biological diversity through the establishment of community based forest reserves already mentioned, and the creation of key forest types that are not part of the nationally recognized protected area network. This is most likely going to increase the combined size of protected areas to about 10% of the total land area.

It is in the plans of the Directorate of Forestry that by the year 2010, forestry will be recognized in regional land use plans and the result of this is that in all areas of Namibia there will be land set aside for forestry and also for multi-purpose use, provided that it remains under forest cover. It is likely that the current forest area will decline but we will be left with a legally recognized and stable forest estate. However the promotion of agroforestry and other trees outside forests, will maintain a reservoir of carbon and ecosystems valuable for other forms of life and use. Since the current legislation supports the conservation of biological diversity and the forest policy recognizes other global benefits of forests such as climate change, these will be continue to be deliberately planned for and implemented well before 2020. The valuable riverine or gallery forests will continue to be protected under the law for their value in maintaining water quality, protecting courses and serving as valuable habitat and browsing areas for livestock and wild life.

At the moment the structure of forest and wildlife administrations follows a centralized model but de-concentrated through a network of field offices. Despite the network of field offices, planning and policy decisions and development planning is still controlled by one Head Office currently controlled by a Director. However the government has three major policy changes that may very well change this centralist model of natural resource administration:

A new communal land bill has provision for regional land boards and regional land use plans. In addition it recognizes the right of rural people to jointly ask for credit using a communal title as collateral for investment capital.

Both the forest and wildlife laws provide for community forest reserves and wildlife conservancies respectively, to be managed by local institutions having the resource tenure or usufruct rights wholly or in some shared arrangements with central or a regional or local government.

The Namibian Cabinet has approved a policy of decentralization of government, which is currently being implemented in phases by the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing.

The above changes are rapidly leading to decentralized forestry and wildlife administrations and by 2020, Regional and Local Governments will take full control of the planning, the management and the revenues thereof, of forest resources in their localities. The Central Government will set policy, supervise its implementation and the enforcement of legislation and co-ordinate National Level Planning for forestry development.

To date the Directorate of Forestry has not filled its entire technical and professional posts in its structure. In its strategic plan, it is envisaged that by the year 2005, all professional and technical posts would have been filled with appropriately trained Namibians. One limitation is in the resea rch sub-division in which it takes time to train qualified and experienced personnel. However, the current level of professional training for Namibians, if it is upheld, will make it possible to achieve the anticipated staffing situation. This will be further bolstered by the use of the strategic plan, annual objectives and the deliberate management of staff performance as required by the objectives and measurable result areas.

Advising the Minister on Forestry Matters

Policy making and review, including the supervision of implementation of policy and legislation, including relevant regulations at the national level.

Negotiation with Central Government and Donors for regional and national projects.

Promotion and carrying out of strategic and applied research

Monitoring and inventory of forest resources and management planning

Promoting public awareness and education in forestry

Addressing regional and global issues pertaining to forestry

Recruitment and Training of Professional Staff

From the functions listed herein, the Directorate of Forestry in its present form is eventually going to devolve the following functions or sub-functions to Regional Governments.

The preparing of proposals for the development of the necessary infra-structure and the supervision of the implementation.

The definition, initiation and description oft forestry development programmes to be forwarded to Forestry Head Office for compilation and forwarding to funding agencies.

The identification, boundary definition, and consent seeking on Community and Regional Forest Reserves, with the Central Government remaining responsible for the identification and the negotiation over state level forest, nature and other types of reserves.

All afforestation of Regional Sites except badly degraded areas, which may be deemed to require more intensive practices.

The granting of concessions for timber and non-timber products as long as sustainable levels of utilisation are established and supervised by the central Government.

Fire control in community and regional forest reserves, even though, the central Government may still run a national fire management programme.

The Implications of the above proposal is that:

The Regional Governments should take over the running of all forestry offices in the field, except the "Super-Regional Offices" headed by Chief Foresters and stations devoted to Research.

All Research Staff and Seed Centres will remain under the Central Government.

All the Regional Nurseries and their staff will be transferred to the Regional Governments.

The administration of parks and wildlife will follow the trend that has been described for forestry with the one exception that the ministry is already entertaining the notion of a future "wildlife and parks board" which will be able to plough-back revenue generated in parks into conservation which is not possible according to today’s treasury regulations that govern the allocation of funds. Under this arrangement, the Wildlife and Parks Board will be autonomous and it will generate revenue to the exchequer by way of the hospitality industry or tourism services. Despite this, the community or private conservancies will be managed by decentralized government institutions providing technical guidance to local, community-based organizations.

By 2020, the administration and management of parks should have improved significantly since there is currently the political will to train Namibians at the professional level for this purpose. Better trained staff is likely to improve the state of ecosystem and species based management planning, which is not quite well developed currently. With the adoption of community based conservancies linked to trophy hunting tourism, there will be considerable incentives to manage the parks better since they are vital as reservoirs of game for purposes of translocation, biological diversity and mass tourism.

It is also important to add that Namibia’s wildlife administration is already sensitive to global policies and conventions, dealing with conservation of biological diversity, trade in endangered species and the protection of representative ecosystems.