President Hichilema’s plan to allow forest exploitation would cause environmental disaster – Mundubile

Zambia’s leader of the opposition in Parliament Brian Mundubile has said the government should shelve plans of degazetting some forests in the country.

Mundubile, who is   Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate, said that degazetting forests was a backtrack on President Hakainde Hichilema’s environmental protection commitment.

He said the Zambian leader was among global leaders in November,2021 that signed the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests to stop deforestation by 2030.

Mundubile said Zambia signed and ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on October 15,1994 and September19,1996 respectively.

He said in a statement by his media team on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 that the UPND Government created the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment which gave people false hope that they would work vigorously to protect the environment.

Mundubile said the PF government, even without the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, invested heavily in tree planting.

Mundubile cited forest projects left by the PF Government as those in Shiwang’andu District,Kawambwa and Northern Province.

“All these efforts were done in a bid to replant trees especially that the areas in question were affected by deforestation,” he said.

Mundubile was concerned that the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment gave citizens an impression that the UPND would step up efforts in areas of regeneration.

“When you have the same Government de-gazetting the same forests that is a sign of policy inconsistencies. We insist that they should rethink their position going forward,” he said.