O texto a seguir foi apresentado pelo Silvicultor na mesa redonda do workshop do Miombo Network que teve lugar em Maputo no dia 27 de Julho de 2016
Introduction
Taking into
account the objectives of the network, the themes of the current workshop, and
the objective of this session, I suggest discussing the Mozambican forest
context focusing on the underlying drivers of change and the challenges for bridging
the science to policy and to practice of sustainable forest management. In the
past, Miombo Network generated science information and channeled it to shape
policies and regulations. Countries like Mozambique are rich with these
policies, but there is a big gap between policies and practice. This suggests
that scientists should also shift their focus to understand better the reasons
of poor policy implementation and what is needed to improve forest management
practices.
What drives forest cover change?
Our economy
is depleting the forest resources. The way we do agriculture, the way we extract
our forest resources for timber and biomass energy, the way we expand our
residential and infrastructure areas is not sustainable, at the same time we do
not seem to move out of poverty.
It is
estimated that agriculture accounts for about 23% of the GDP. Biomass energy
accounts to about 80% of the household energy, saving more than 700 million
dollars per year. Forests are used as safety nets and have proven to provide
livelihood alternatives in times of crisis such as droughts and floods. They
can be used to generate income to complement the low yields. However, whether
these services contribute to move local communities off the poverty is
debatable.
Population
doubled in the last 40 years, and with it, the demand for food, energy, fiber,
infrastructure, and other resources. In the same period, the productivity did
not increase, meaning that increased production was done by increasing
cultivated areas. In the same period, very little forests were planted, and
access to alternative sources of energy did not increase in the same speed.
What did our research find?
Recent
studies revealed that miombo woodlands in Mozambique are declining, with the
consequent loss of the basis to provide the ecosystem goods and services. In
many regions decrease of forests has been reported resulting in an increased
distance and effort to collect basic goods such as firewood, thatch grass,
poles, ropes, game meet.
Deforestation
leads to loss of biodiversity at all levels including genetic, species, and
ecosystem diversity. While this is a complex, a little understood area, it has
been shown that ecosystem degradation and loss of habitats affects wildlife
diversity. The combination of habitat loss and illegal hunting would jeopardize
the miombo fauna, including keystone species like the African elephant. Recent
study reveals that the number of elephants reduced to almost half (48%) in the
last seven years in the Quirimbas National Park and the Niassa National
Reserves, the areas with the highest elephant density and the most affected by
illegal hunting.
Further
evaluation suggested that the decrease of forest goods and services as well as
limited capacity to get most out of the existing forest resources, results from
poor governance, uncoordinated policies, administrative and economic
instruments, limited technology capacity, social and cultural aspects. My point
in this presentation is that before we can resolve these problems, forests will
continue to decline, with all the consequences of loss of ecosystem services.
In this context, I hypothesize, using the forest-transition curve, that the
loss in forest cover will not contribute to increase in GDP, therefore, leaving
behind poorer communities.
What are the key issues being discussed?
Forest governance – While
Mozambique is commonly quoted as a good example of forest and environmental
policies, it is also quoted as a bad example of application of these policies.
Filling the policy-to-practice gap is a must, to ensure the basis for
sustainable forest management. In 2003, Mozambique signed the Yaounde
Ministerial Declaration on African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance,
committing itself, internationally, to 30 intentions and 42 indicative actions
against illegal logging and hunting, their associated trade and corruption, and
to promote improved forest governance. But today, Mozambique is currently among
the most vulnerable countries in terms of illegal logging, and elephant and
rhino killing.
Forest economics – ecosystem services
valuation has been a challenge. Tapping the adequate revenue from the forest
resources, adding value to forest products would contribute to the process of
valuation of ecosystem services. Initiatives such as the reduction of emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation would serve as incentives to
accelerate the process. Biomass energy consumption is estimated at about 17
million cubic meters, equivalent to about USD700 million per year, but this
amount is not considered in the national accounts. (that is a cost to the environment,
and we keep saying that people live below 1 dollar per day). The EIA
(Environmental Investigation Agency) study revealed loss in the order of USD29
Million in 2012, due to avoided taxes, at the same time, Mozambique was seeking
from international donors, USD1 Million to finance law enforcement system, and
USD11 Million for forest zoning and detailed forest inventory.
Social and Cultural Aspects of forests
– while there are social and cultural impediments that tie people to bad
practices, these will not be overcome in the short term, but need long term
programs of education, training, and demonstration. How people shift from using
charcoal to gas or electricity, is not just a matter of cost; why people do not
plant trees may have deep cultural roots; why there is limited adoption of
alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture technologies may be more complex
than just handing seeds and tools to the people.
Conclusion:
We need to
go a further step and move from just measuring how much is lost, and where it
is lost, and move the focus on influencing the practice of sustainable forest
management of miombo woodlands.
