Another Five Community Forests trained in Sustainable Forest Management (PART 1)
From mid-March to the beginning of April, the ‘Promoting Sustainable Forest Management in the Kavango-Zambezi-Region in Namibia’ (NSFM) Project was in the field again and trained the members of five Community Forests in Zambezi, Kavango East as well as Kavango West Region on Sustainable Forest Management. The two-day long workshops aimed at equipping members of Community Forests with the necessary skills and knowledge in order to strengthen their capability to apply the concept of Sustainable Forest Management in their daily management of their forests. The five Community Forests that have received training included Katope, Bukalo, George Mukoya and Muduva Nyangana Community Forest as well as Dzoti emerging Community Forest.
After starting day one with the official opening including prayer, welcoming remarks, introduction, participants’ expectations and ground rules, the trainer illustrated the basics of Sustainable Forest Management to form a solid foundation for the subjects to follow. Divided into groups, the participants had to work out the various usages of trees. While discussing the different usages, the trainer directed them to the three pillars of Sustainable Forest Management, namely the environmental, the economic and the social pillar.
The role of Community Forests in Sustainable Forest Management was next on the schedule, as well as the subject of deforestation, forest degradation and climate change. By doing a group work on mapping their Community Forest in the year of its gazettement and of today, the participants realised to what extent their Community Forest has changed regarding cutting trees for building more villages or homesteads, or for getting bigger roads. After the participants presented their maps, they realised to what extent illegal settling, tree cutting or fencing had become a worrisome issue.
The first workshop day ended with the subject of sustainable harvesting methods.
[continue reading with PART 2]
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