IMPORTANCE OF FORESTSby Bwalya Bwalya | 20-04-2018 08:12 |
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The word forest refers to a wood/woods in an area with high density of trees. For a forest to support life, it depends on the total conditions of the forest whether healthy or not.This is because life in the forest depend on the other interdependent and interrelated components to survive. Forests are under serious risk of destruction due to anthropogenic activities. Such activities include construction, farming as well as clearing trees for use as fuel for domestic purposes. Most of the time, economic development is put into consideration before the state of the environment. One thing people have no idea of is that, the environment is the most important aspect of the development campus rose as all activities take place on the environment. This simply means that if not properly cared for, all other activities would not operate efficiently. Sadly. However, some take part in deforestation out of ignorance. They do not know the importance nor the consequences of forest destruction. Laws about deforestation in many states are not stiff and therefore, people are not afraid to be caught in the act. This calls for serious community education and formation of strong environmental laws and policies. I would like to focus my attention on the state of affairs at The University Of Zambia.This is because i took some time to do some research about it. The University Of Zambiais the highest learning institution in Zambia and as such sets a pattern for other institutions as well as the general public as a whole. The Goma lakes forest is a small forest at the university of Zambia near the great east road adjacent to the school of education. It was established in the area because of the higher attitude of that forest. It is located at the higher land because there is no flooding, the eucalyptus trees are able to grow without difficulty. The forest is made up of exotic trees mainly Eucalyptus and some few indigenous trees such as Msekese (Piliostigma thronningill)and Guava tree (Psidium guava) but to mention afew. The forest has also some ground vegetation and these include grasses and has some species of living organisms such as grasshoppers, termites and ants. There are many types if forests in the world. The vegetation of Southern Africa is categorized into four main types : Closed Forests, Woodlands or Open Forests, Termitara and Grasslands. There are many tree species diversity and a greater degree of stratifications specifically in this forest. It includes most exotic and indigenous trees which are shrubs and deciduous. Researchers as well as Environmentalists have found interest in growing trees because of the desirable traits such as sources of firewood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning,as a natural insecticide and also has ability to drain swamps and therefore reduce the risks of Malaria.Furthermore, forests have an impact on our daily lives as they play a significantrole in reducing erosion, moderating climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and also providing a habitat for many animal species and plants. The University Of Zambia strives to conserve the environment by encouraging students to make better use of their computers by gathering more soft copy data or material than hard copy ones and also doing their calculations as well as other academic work on computers as opposed to using plain papers or books. It also advises students to submit reports or assignments via email than in person so as to save on the use of paper. And in cases where students are more comfortable submitting hard copy assignments, they are strongly advised to use a back to back printing method. In addition to this, students are urged to use smaller font size as well as use economically friendly printers. As preservative measure, days are set aside for tree planting as well as general cleaning of the school. Furthermore, a radio station has been opened right at the University and environmental programs are part of the numerous education platforms created. |
