Unsustainable eucalyptus logging in Angola’s Benguela region
As first appeared on Radio Ecclesia in Angola, here. Broadcast by Pedro Tchindele.
February 7 2023
Locals say close to one hundred trees are cut down every day
Ganda Forest Centre, in the interior of the Angola province of Benguela. The levels of Eucalyptus felling are visible right at the entrance to the forest.
I
mage by Pedro Tchindele.
The Alto Catumbela Forestry Centre in Angola’s Benguela region is losing its vegetation cover, a consequence of the constant slaughter of trees for commercial logging purposes. Deforestation is worsened by a lack of replanting seedlings in areas where trees have been felled, and further fuelled by demand for wood on the black market. These developments in recent years have raised concern among environmentalists, community leaders and the public administration. Data points to a devastation of more than one thousand square metres per month. For now, the consequences are visible, with eucalyptus being the most felled tree species. According to data from the community soba (leader), on average 100 trees are felled a day.
Speaking to the press at the end of the Council of Ministers, António de Assis defended that, like other countries around the world, Angola must also exploit its forests - rationally - to feed into industry, create jobs for youth and income for families.
Pedro Tchindele visited the forestry centre and spoke to community leaders and conservationists about the dire situation. Listen to his full broadcast, in Portuguese, here.
This article is reproduced here as part of the African Conservation Journalism Programme, funded in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe by USAID’s VukaNow: Activity. Implemented by the international conservation organisation Space for Giants, it aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Written articles from the Mozambican and Angolan cohorts are translated from Portuguese. Broadcast stories remain in the original language.
