Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands PDF
Preview Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands
Natasha S. Ribeiro Yemi Katerere Paxie W. Chirwa Isla M. Grundy Editors Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands Natasha S. Ribeiro Yemi Katerere (cid:129) (cid:129) Paxie W. Chirwa Isla M. Grundy (cid:129) Editors Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands 123 Editors Natasha S.Ribeiro YemiKaterere Faculty of Agronomy Manicaland Bioenergy Company andForest Engineering Harare, Zimbabwe UEM Maputo,Mozambique Isla M.Grundy Department ofBiological Sciences PaxieW. Chirwa University of Zimbabwe Department ofPlant andSoil Science, Harare, Zimbabwe Ecology andBiodiversity University of Pretoria Hatfield,SouthAfrica ISBN978-3-030-50103-7 ISBN978-3-030-50104-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50104-4 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Vision for the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa: Aresilient andsustainable miomboecosystemthatprovidesbothtangible andintangiblebenefits toempowered and thriving communities Foreword MostAfricansofmygenerationwereborninruralareas,andtheconnectiontothe forests was not a romantic one. Forests were places of spiritual significance and a source of many life-supporting goods and services such as water, food, medicine, energy, and building materials. I personally experienced the multiple benefits offorests when, as a young per- son,Isleptinahutbuiltcompletelyoutofmaterialscollectedfromtheforests.The conical roof was skillfully constructed out of long sticks cut from branches of selected trees that resisted attacks by borers. Thesebrancheswerecutinasustainablemannersothatthetreesdidnotdryup and die. New branches would grow again. The same was true for the wood poles that supported the roof and the wall built out of straw fixed in an upright position between laths made of thin and flexible sticks known in Mozambique as lakalaka. Allthesecomponentsofthehousewerenicelytiedupwithfibreextractedfromthe bark of trees known as mitsondzo (plural of ntsondzo) in Gaza Province. All the materials were collected from forests that were accessible to anyone. Today, it is very difficult to find them at short walking distances because the growth of the population and the lack of discipline in the process of cutting the materials vii viii Foreword destroyed the forests, particularly the resilient materials. The conical roof where I slept during some years of my childhood is still there with its supporting poles. Whenlefttogrow,otherthanfibre,themitsondzoprovideenoughbarktomake stills to distil cashew wine and also some sort of bee boxes to produce honey. In those forests, during the hot and rainy seasons, we used to harvest large quantities ofdeliciousmushrooms,althoughthedryleavesofthattreewerenottheonlyones responsible for the preparation of the soils for the sprouting of mushrooms. Nowadays, our young people hardly know where mushrooms come from. Intheyardofourcountrysideresidence,wehaveaverybigNtsondzothatIsaw around70yearsagowhenitwasjustaverysmallshrub.Now,itisabove10mtall with a big trunk and a large crown that gives us a very refreshing shade and the feelingofbreathingfreshair.Butthistreehadbeenattackedbyabigborerthathad created such a large and deep hole that no one would believe that the tree would survive. So, about 1988, my father planted a mango tree under the shade of that Ntsondzo so that when it died, the mango tree would provide us a new shade and fruits, of course. I liked so much that old tree that I decided to save it. With a hard long and flat iron bar, I dug deep into the big hole and searched in every direction until I found thebigborerandmadesurethatitwastheonlyonepenetratingthetrunk.Ikilledit to save the tree. The hole closed up completely and the fully recovered tree con- tinues to grow above the mango tree which every year bears many fruits. It is amazingthattodaynoonecanseethattherewassuchabigholeonthetrunk.Like people, the trees can also live better and longer lives if well taken care of and can live in harmony with other species of trees, each one of them giving to humans variedtypesofbenefits.Furthermore,inthatway,thetreescanbepreservedforthe new generations to know and benefit from their usefulness including the fresh air and the stories they can tell. Anotherexampleofmypersonalexperiencewithtreeswasthescarcityofatree thatwasonceabundanteveninthecityofMaputo,Iamreferringtothetreecalled goana in Xironga language (Albizia adianthifolia). In 1994 I learned from two Indian “Vadyas” (Ayurvedic doctors), that the bark of the Albizia adianthifolia trunkorbranchwasgoodforthetreatmentofrespiratorydiseasesincludingasthma, of which my nephew was suffering. IrushedtoMagoanini(theplaceofmagoana),aneighbourhoodofMaputocity saidmanyyearsagotohavebeenalmostaforestofmagoana(pluralofgoana)that gavethenametothatarea.Amazingly,itwasnoteasytofindthosetrees.However, byahappycoincidence,Ifoundafewofthem,threetofourneartheresidenceofa traditional healer. I saw scars on the trunks and some roots excavated and cut. Ifounditprudenttoaskforpermissionfromtheownersofthenearbyresidenceto extract the bark and cut some new sprouts of new trees from the excavated roots. ThereIgotconfirmationfromthehealerthatsheusedthegoanaforthetreatmentof manydiseases.Butthiswasnottheonlyreasonthatledtothedevastationofthose precious trees. The tree was also used to make brooms sticks, bowls, cooking Foreword ix spoons, and sculptures. Due to human pressure and urbanisation, this tree has become scarce in its own habitat at Magoanini. Myencounterwiththediversebenefitsofgoana,besidesbeingabeautifultree, inspired me to plant the two sprouts that I brought from Magoanini at my house where they grew big and even now to benefit the people who may need them. In the case of Mozambique, during the war of liberation, the forests would yet again prove vital for the people who survived thanks to food cooked from wild fruits as well as branches of some climbing plants that in some dry areas provided drinking water. It is clear to me that many rural and urban dwellers in southern Africa are directly and indirectly dependent on the forest for essential services including for the provision of construction materials and timber for furniture. The miombo woodlands, occupying more than a third of the total land area of southern Africa, are a resource central to the economic activities of millions of peopleandmust,therefore,besustainablymanagedfortheresilienceofpeopleand its rich biodiversity. My participation in supporting peace efforts in Africa also shows how conflicts can undermine resource management, including forests and ultimately limit economic development opportunities. It is important to understand that the resilience and sustainable management of the miombo woodlands cannot be achieved by leaving behind people mired in poverty or by destroying nature. A key lesson from these stories is the realisation thatitisnecessarytopreserveforestsandespeciallythespeciesthatbenefitpeople, which are critical for the maintenance of both the climate and microclimate of the regionandtopreservehabitatsforfauna.Today,thecombinationoffaunaandflora isabigpromoterofthetouristindustrythatisbecomingoneofthemostimportant sources of income for both states and citizens. Additionally, people’s traditional knowledge needs to be recognised and incorporated into management decisions in order to take advantage of ancestral practices. From thescientific viewpoint,thefutureofthe miombo regionhastobe shapedandinformedbyananalysisofthetrendsanddriversofchangeandreliable data and information that enlightens the choices we make about development options. Iamthusacutelyawarethatthedevelopment ofthemiomboregioncannotrely solely onrespondingtothechallenges oftheday.Whilsttoday’schallenges might beimportant,we mustalso thinkabout thefuture we want.Forthis tohappen, the regionmustadoptnewtoolsandapproachessuchasscenariosandfuturesthinking that allow us to be proactive about the future Whilst addressing pressing and immediate challenges. In the same vein, we must be prepared to explore new governancemodelsandnewtechnologiesthatarerelevantandspeaktothecontext of the miombo woodlands. This book, Miombo Woodlands in a Changing Environment: Securing the Resilience and Sustainability of People and Woodlands is, therefore, a welcome contributiontoourunderstandingofthevitalimportanceandnatureofthemiombo woodlandsespeciallyinfaceoftheincreasingfrequencyofextremeweatherevents, population growth, urbanisation, changing consumption patterns, and land use change. The reader will gain a wider and deeper appreciation of the complexities x Foreword ofthemiombowoodlandsundertheinfluenceofaglobalisedeconomicmodeland multilateral governance processes. The chapters in this book combine an in-depth analysis of the original distri- bution of the miombo woodlands, the changes that have taken place in the past century, the key drivers, the capacity of the miombo woodlands to recover from disturbances using different management interventions, and a range of policies to govern the use and management of this important resource. Most importantly, the book highlights how the inability to make a strong economic case for the miombo woodlandshascontributedtoitsrapiddeclinewithconsequencesforthosedirectly and indirectly dependent on its goods and services. The chapters should excite thoughtleadersinthemiombocountriestoshapefuturepathwaysforinclusiveand equitable economic growth in the miombo region. I would like to congratulate the Miombo Network, for providing high quality scientific material that will serve as a base for future generations in the decision making process. I also acknowledge the efforts of the authors and editors of this book, who are leading scientists, researchers, and practitioners. They have done a commendable jobtoelevatethesignificance ofthemiombo woodlands using their extensiveknowledge andexperienceinmiombo ecologyand socio-economy.This book builds on previous information about the miombo woodlands and enhances the conversation about how we can make these unique woodlands a central part of the development efforts of southern Africa. Maputo, Mozambique Joaquim Alberto Chissano January 2020 Former President of the Republic of Mozambique Acknowledgements The miombo woodlands of southern Africa represent a complex interaction of interests, values and beliefs. The interaction of these often competing elements results in differentiated perceptions of how the woodlands should be managed and used. Therefore, the opportunity to collaborate with others in writing about the miombo, a woodland type of immense value covering about 2 million square kilometres inseven countries and supportingover 150millionpeople,hasbeenan exciting and challenging mission. In2016,ontheoccasionofcelebrating20yearssincethepublicationofthefirst miombo book by Bruce Campbell, the Miombo Network decided it was time to review the status of the miombo in the light of climate change, a growing popu- lation, globalised trade, land use change and agricultural expansion. The book is a testimonytothetalent,experienceandpassionofmorethan20scientists,managers and practitioners from around the world who have worked as a team, united by a common desire to develop a book that represents a collective contribution towards the conservation and, critically, the increased visibility of this important resource called the miombo. This book “project” was made possible through the valuable contributionofmanyorganisationsandindividualswhotogetherbroughtthevision of a resilient and sustainable miombo ecosystem. Firstandforemost,theeditorswouldliketoacknowledgetheparticipantsofthe 2016 Miombo Network meeting who discussed in depth the first ideas of a new book about the miombo. These inputs were crucial in shaping a book that reflects the region’s concerns about the contribution of the miombo woodlands to regional socio-economicdevelopment.TheeditorsgivespecialacknowledgmenttoDavison Gumbo for his initial thoughts and inputs to the book and a very special appreci- ation to Professor Emmanuel Chidumayo, a key authority in miombo, who has added valuable information and thought to the book. The global change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START) has had a crucial role in the history of the Miombo Network, by supporting meetings (includingthe2016meeting)andexposingthenetworkerstofundingopportunities, both research and otherwise. We are particularly thankful to Cheikh Mbow, START’sExecutiveDirector during theinitial stages ofthebook, who was keyin xi
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