Katanino Forest Reserve had been heavily degraded for charcoal production, agriculture and timber extraction. By the end of 2023 – five years after our project’s inception – a total of 5830 ha had been placed under conservation or restoration, which represents an estimated total of more than 6 million trees protected and growing within the project’s boundaries.
The 4380 ha forest reserve itself is under restoration by assisted natural regeneration (ANR) or conservation, and is showing great potential to regenerate naturally without any further intervention. 887 ha of farm plots are also under restoration by ANR in the reserve’s 5 km buffer zone, and 377 ha of agroforestry systems have been established, and the project’s many successful livelihoods schemes continue to go from strength to strength.
Some non-restoration-related highlights of the year was the one-day visit to WeForest Zambia by a French delegation – representatives of the Agency Francaise de Development (AFD) and a representative of the French Embassy in Zambia – and our participation in the AFR100 Reloaded launch in Lusaka, where a documentary showcasing our activities in Katanino was shown.
Abbreviations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
ANR | Assisted Natural Regeneration | KFT | Katanino Forest Trust |
CA | Conservation Agriculture | PMP | Permanent monitoring plot |
FMU | Forest management unit | VRMC | Village Resource Management Committee |
HFO | Honorary Forest Officer | WECS | Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia |
JFMC | Joint Forest Management Committee | ||
From 2023 onwards enrichment planting activities are on hold because the project is monitoring and analysing the development of naturally regenerating individuals. It has shown such great regeneration potential that enrichment planting might not be needed at all!
Restoration activities that support natural regeneration include weeding to support wild seedlings to thrive and pruning to encourage regeneration. Ring weeding, weed suppression and fire break clearance were carried out in the enrichment planting sites, the Village Resource Management Committee (VRMC) and Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC) apiaries and the permanent monitoring plots. In the apiaries, this means ring-weeding a 5 metre radius in the area underneath each hive – and the JFMC apiary alone has 318 hives!
As there’s very little planting needed in the forest reserve, the nurseries here produce seedlings for agroforestry and any future planting needed. In September, representatives of the VRMCs and nursery staff received refresher training in nursery management practices and principles, seeding and planting, handling, watering and soil collection, among other topics. This photo from November shows that bittersweet time in Katanino when we say “bye” to the seedlings we have nurtured with so much love and care in the nursery: seedling distribution to our satellite nurseries and eventually to farmers for planting out in agroforestry and pine woodlots starts.
In April, our team carried out a vegetation survey that will contribute to SECO, a research project that aims to generate the first ever estimates of key carbon fluxes across the dry tropics. A total of 20 permanent monitoring plots (PMPs) were surveyed: each plot is a 50m x 20m (0.1ha) rectangle where data on tree species composition and structure is collected, as well as soil sampling and canopy cover measurements. Smaller subplots are allocated to sample saplings and woody seedlings composition and density. The PMPs are pre-selected based on maps, satellite imagery or local knowledge, aiming to represent all variants of the woodland likely to be encountered in nature, from old growth to young regenerating vegetation.
Vegetation map of Katanino Forest Reserve showing the location of sample plots in the 5 forest management units (FMUs) into which it is divided.
What is SECO?
SECO (2021 to 2026) is a research project led by The University of Edinburgh and funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) that aims to resolve the current and future carbon dynamics of the dry tropics. WeForest is a SECO field partner, collecting data on forest growth and soil carbon in Katanino. 100 soil samples from 20 PMPs were collected and processed (sieving, drying, packaging, labelling) and shipped to the UK, where they will be analysed. This will help improve our understanding of carbon sinks and sources at our project and provide us with soil carbon data for the first time.
Fire management is a crucial aspect of assisted natural regeneration. Wildfires are traditionally common in the Katanino landscape, particularly after crops have been harvested.
To moderate the effect of wildfires on the forest reserve, controlled “early burning” is carried out to reduce dry vegetation that can act as fuel for wildfires later in peak fire season, around October. This year, early burning was carried out for three weeks in June and July across 60% of the reserve, with the help of Honorary Forest Officers (HFOs) and the guidance of the Village Resource Management Committee (VRMC).
Before carrying out early burning, fire break clearance and ring weeding was carried out in the reserve’s enrichment planting sites and around the VRMC beehives hanging there. 16.8 km of firebreaks inside the reserve and 32.9 km along the external boundary were maintained during 2023. This photo clearly shows the importance of ring weeding to protect the regenerating trees.
The early burning was preceded by awareness sessions among the community in the 5km buffer zone on fire management both in the buffer zone and the forest reserve. This was done door-to-door, and the community members who are farming near the forest reserve boundary signed consent forms to uphold fire management practices.
A fire assessment exercise after early burning found that the reserve experiences different types of fire (ground, surface or crown fires) across the forest management units: areas with more biomass and tall grass experienced heavier burning, for example. It is also evident that different areas of the forest are drying up at different times, so there is a need to understand these vegetation types and ensure that early burning is timed accordingly. Thirdly, it was seen that the most prone areas to fires are those along the forest reserve boundary where the fires are illegally set by people.
Recommendations from this assessment include starting “patch burning” before June to decrease the fire intensity in grass-dominant areas, and that the different forest management units should be able to start fire management activities when deemed necessary by the Village Resource Management Committees (VRMCs) and the community at large. Finally, during peak fire seasons, foot patrols of HFOs along the forest boundary will be intensified.
In August, a fire watch and fire management training session was held to strengthen the fire management capabilities of those responsible for fire management activities: the Village Resource Management Committees (VRMCs), the HFOs, and the Community Facilitators.
Thanks to all these fire management efforts, the one incidence of late wildfire this year was well contained and had minimal impact.
Making the best use of remote sensing techniques is essential in large scale projects like Katanino. In June, WeForest’s Geospatial Data analyst, Michelle Picolli, went to Zambia to provide training on GIS and Remote Sensing tools, exchange knowledge with local staff, and visit the forests, grasslands, croplands and wetlands that make up our Zambia projects’ landscapes. “What looks like just a forest from a satellite image could be, for example, an evergreen swamp (Mushitu) forest, like the Copperbelt project’s new Imanda restoration area – or a dry evergreen forest (Mateshi forest, pictured) like we have in Katanino,” she says.
The Katanino Forest Trust – made up of the Joint Forest Management Committee, which is responsible for management of the forest reserve and the 5km buffer around it, and the Village Resource Management Committees, which are responsible for the day-to-day running of forest management activities in the project area – is supporting the joint management of the reserve for ten years starting in 2019, after which it will assume all responsibility.
The Forest Management Plan, developed in collaboration with the local communities and the foundation of the long-term work here, is going through the review process, with the second draft due to be shared with stakeholders at the beginning of 2024. Once the finished version is ready, it will be made available to the communities and their institutions through awareness-raising workshops.
The Katanino Forest Trust by-Laws were presented on 30th June to the Council’s Health, Environment and Social Services (HESS) committee. After some rounds of discussions and recommendations – with exceptional attendance by women to these meetings, about 40% – the final edited version was submitted in October and presented to the Full Council in November. Now approved, the by-laws will be published in the first quarter of 2024.
Midway through the year the Katanino Forest Trust (KFT) started developing their Constitution and MoUs between the communities and the Zambian Ministry of Green Economy and Environment. These documents were shared with stakeholders for review and some important adjustments were needed to to make reference to the Forest Act, 2015 and 2006 Statutory Instrument on Joint Forest Management to include a clear conflict Resolution Mechanism, a benefit-sharing mechanism agreeable with the community, and clear committee composition and functions. These suggestions have been included and now they have been shared with the Forestry Department Headquarters and Registrar of Societies office.
Schools Outreach Programme
In 2023 permission was obtained from the Masaiti District Education Board Secretary’s office to engage schools in the project area in tree planting and sustainable agriculture. The six participating schools are Levy Mwanawasa Primary School, Fifungo Primary School, Chilese Primary School, Kashitu Primary School, Lyande Community School and Mushili Secondary School.
Each school will set up an Environmental Conservation Club and identify 0.2 ha for sustainable agriculture and 0.5 ha to establish pine woodlots, and the clubs will carry out planting and maintenance activities. In 2023, 480 Gliricidia sepium seedlings were planted in the sustainable agriculture fields and 1110 Pinus kesiya were planted in the woodlots.
Deforestation has reduced here. Through the patrols that covered more than 5 000 km, only 29 offences were reported in 2023, representing a 43% decrease in comparison to those reported in 2022. Another great news is that in 2023m no charcoal-related offences (ie. kilns) were registered, while in 2022 there were 3 and 8 in 2021. This suggests that law enforcement is becoming more effective over the years.
Nevertheless, it’s important to stay up-to-date, and we held a law enforcement training session with the Forestry Department during 2023. WeForest’s M&E officer and field extensionist led some instruction on monitoring tools (Qgis, GPS logger, SMART, MA GPX) that can be used during law enforcement patrols.
In 2023, the team collaborated with the National Charcoal Task Force, which developed ‘Sustainable Charcoal Production Guidelines.’ As a contribution, our M&E experts drafted a Terms of Reference for a Sustainable Charcoal Production Monitoring Protocol. This protocol has been shared with the District Forest Office. If approved, the intention is to trial both the guidelines and monitoring protocol, with the aim of strengthening law enforcement in the landscape and improving these initiatives.
Elections started in the third quarter of the year to establish the joint forest management structure of the Katanino Joint Forest Management Area. This includes the Village Resource Management Committees (VRMCs) and the Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC), which have substantial representation from the state as well as local community leaders. The elections are very transparent and financed entirely by the cooperatives themselves. The process is being overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture camp officers with support from the VRMCs and the WeForest project team.
Both elections held so far have seens the election of women to key leadership positions. In Serenje, 66 (80.5%) members voted, and women were elected to 4 seats (Chairperson, Treasurer, Vice Secretary and Committee member) out of 10 seats. In Biwa, 70 (98%) members voted and 3 women were elected to the Vice Chairperson, Treasurer and Committee member positions.
Bwengo cooperative’s elections were still being held at the time of writing, and elections in the remaining zones, Oposhi and Biwa, will be held in 2024.
On 21st March WeForest Zambia participated in the AFR100 Reloaded launch, part of the International Day of Forests, in Lusaka. A documentary showcasing our activities in Katanino was shared, and WeForest Zambia also supported the prizes for the winning 3 schools in a quiz on forests and their role in climate change. Watch the documentary here.
During the year the Rules of Engagement underwent some amendments centred on the sustainability aspect of the livelihood programmes, where certain products given to support start-up or production are to be paid back by the recipients to provide funds for the cooperatives to support further farmers to come on board.
The project also initiated a livelihoods review exercise which looked at all the livelihoods being implemented in the context of current and future impact, lessons learnt and value for money invested. The results and conclusions of this review will be available soon.
862 farmers were successfully trained in one or more livelihoods in 2023: 200 in beekeeping, 125 in chicken production, 150 in goat production, 28 in vegetable production, 269 in Conservation Agriculture and 90 in pine production.
Beekeeping
In 2023, the target was to hang 1000 beehives on farm plots and place 100 ha under assisted natural regeneration, representing 200 new farmers enrolled in the programme with 0.5ha each.
So far 990 beehives were delivered and hung for 198 of the new farmers. The pending 10 beehives (for the last 2 farmers) were being hung at the time of writing. 700 beehives from 2022’s allocation – 200 on farm plots in the buffer zone and 500 in the JFMC apiary – were also hung during 2023. The hanging was collaboratively done by the VRMCs, bee mentors, HFOs, community facilitators and cooperatives.
In the June/July honey harvest, 18,618 kg of comb honey was harvested from 956 beehives owned by 319 farmers (36.7% of them women). On average, 3 beehives were harvested per household, producing 19.3 kg of comb honey per harvested hive – that’s a 6.6% increase compared to last year! However, owing to a 9.5% price reduction per kg of honey this year, a gross income per household of $62.35 was generated for 2023 compared to $66.50 in 2022.
272 (53% of them women) farmers attended the training in ANR management in September – some of them existing participants wanting a refresher.
Conservation agriculture
The Conservation Agriculture (CA) programme – where maize is intercropped with legumes and nitrogen fixing species – has 15 lead farmers, who are elected members with the duty of managing the conservation farming programme at the community level. They provide support services to CA adopters. Training was conducted in July on minimum tillage and land preparation and in August on agroforestry and the use of green and compost manure. Women farmers formed the majority of attendees: the 450 in the July training were 54% women, and the 446 in the August training were 56.9% women.
Chickens and goats
All 22 077 kuroiler chickens belonging to the 337 families in the chicken programme have been vaccinated against diseases that normally break out between October and November. The goats are regularly ear-tagged, dewormed, dipped and vaccinated. 150 farmers have 3 female goats each so far, and 56 kids (31 female) have been born. 71% of these 31 are pregnant, meaning a good birth rate of 15.7%.
250 chicken and 300 goat farmers in Bwengo zone each received 25 3-month-old mulberry (Morus alba) cuttings to plant on their farmlands as green forage and as a feed supplement for their chickens and goats. Mulberry is excellent forage for both ruminant and monogastric animals, and can improve the efficiency of the whole diet. When cultivated on smallholder farm lands it provides a perennial source of feed for most of the year. Besides being popular among livestock, mulberries are delicious to humans too!
Pine production
The vegetable production/treadle pump scheme
Before the project started, vegetable gardens were often established near streams: trees were cleared, the soil exposed to runoff, and streams were becoming silted up. The use of pesticides and agro-chemicals led to contamination of the streams, which are the main source of drinkable water for the local communities.
To address this, WeForest brought in its treadle pump loan scheme that enables farmers to set up vegetable gardens away from the water, protecting the riparian forests and water quality. The pumps reduce the labour intensity of drawing water by hand using a bucket or watering can, meaning that more women can embark on vegetable gardening too.
Treadle pumps are given on loan to the farmers, who are trained in vegetable production, compost making, green manuring using agroforestry trees like Gliricidia, biopesticide formulation using species such as Tephrosia vogelii, and vegetable marketing and entrepreneurship. The common vegetables grown by farmers in the vegetable scheme are cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and rape (Brassica napus). The average garden size is 0.25ha, which generates on average a gross income of US$1855 per annum for the farmer. To restore banks that have been deforested as a result of garden establishment, WeForest supports vegetable farmers with tree seedlings such as Syzygium cordatum to plant along streams for forest restoration.
In exchange for the training, seedlings and support, the farmers need to comply with the rules of engagement and repay the cost of their treadle pump, which is US$135.50, within 24 months. Currently, there are 30 participants in the livelihood, of which 47% are women.
The project has also been engaging other vegetable farmers in the project area who are not yet part of the loan scheme, especially those growing tomatoes – as currently tomato farmers source tomato stakes from the miombo woodland to support plants as they grow. Alternative materials such as bamboo are being explored to make tomato production a forest-friendly livelihood.
Every hectare under restoration is mapped with GPS points to generate polygons (areas on a map) that are assigned to sponsors. Permanent monitoring plots are established in our sites and our forestry and science teams conduct surveys to monitor progress of biomass growth, tree density, survival rate and species diversity, among other indicators. Where social impacts are also critical, we measure socio-economic indicators such as the number of individuals or families directly benefiting, people trained, and income generated from forest-friendly livelihood activities.
Please visit our What We Do web page for more information.
Thank you for supporting the Katanino project!
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