Government concerned at deforestation

Zambian Environment and Natural Resources Minister William Harrington has said that he was "extremely" concerned at the rate of deforestation in Zambia which had now reached levels of up to 300,000 hectares a year, AIA news reported on Monday. In a dispatch from Lusaka, it said the main cause was tree clearance for commercial farming, wood fuel and late season fires. "Wood fuel accounts for 71 percent of total energy consumption in the country," it said. "Last year, the population of 8 million was spread 40 percent in towns and 60 percent in rural areas. The population growth rate was 3.6 percent, which ultimately led to an increase of 2.6 percent in the consumption of wood fuel." Harrington said the government wanted the public and the business community to come up with a solution to the problem, it said.