As planned out in my environment activity schedule, most of my work this month has been geared towards deforestation and land use. In this report I will examine deforestation in my region digging up and exposing some of the underlining factors that make this one of the most threatening environmental issues in Africa and indeed the world over.

Deforestation can simply be defined as the act of removing all trees in a particular area. Deforestation comes in many forms and scales, from cutting down a few trees for firewood to the devastating burning of a whole village.

In Zimbabwe the national rate of deforestation currently stands at 300 000 hectors per anum as certain human activities continue to destroy vegetation, leaving the soil bare and exposing it to agents of soil erosion.

When growing up one of the first concepts we were taught in our science lessons was the photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which water and carbon dioxide combine to produce oxygen and sugar. But with increasing rates of deforestation and carbon dioxide, there is a risk this process will be altered and shifting its equilibrium position. Oxygen will be sucked away bit by bit.


Other effects include desertification, climate change, changes to ecosystems and altering local rainfall and other parts of the water cycle. There have also been some linkages linking deforestation to the recent Ebola outbreaks in West Africa. Ebola virus carriers (such as bats) are losing their habitat to deforestation, leading to more encounters with people. If this does not scare oxygen thieves, then I don’t know what will.

Over 15% of all deforestation activities in Zimbabwe are attributed towards tobacco production activities. Zimbabwe is one of Africa's biggest exporters of tobacco and has gotten many locals clearing land to grow this crop. And due to China - the main trading partner -buying the tobacco cheaply it means farmers get little return on a large harvest. On top of agricultural expansions to grow crops such as tobacco, mining expansion is another threat to vegetation.

Moreover, for centuries now, if not since the discovery of the Cradle of humankind itself, Africa has relied heavily in firewood as a source of energy. Electricity prices are often high causing residents to opt for the readily available fuel as they slowly skin the earth alive and robing our future grandchildren of oxygen.

This report would not be complete if I did not give mention to one of the most devastating agents of deforestation, fire. Veld fires in most parts of African country have resulted in the loss of lives, property, farm produce and reduction in biodiversity.

SOLUTIONS
Companies, which are in most cases the culprits, also play a leading role in solving this problem. Companies should introduce zero-deforestation policies that require suppliers to produce commodities such as timber in a way that has a minimal impact on natural forests and the climate. Consumers should also put pressure on companies that have bad environmental practices.

Governments should also come up and implement stricter policies that would control those who cut down trees.

Let us not lose sight of what we can learn in these teachable moments: Environmental knowledge should be dished out to each home with power and urgency. Let us not lose sight of the bigger picture - protecting the environment for those who will follow us long after we have gone.