Conservation of forest resources in Zimbabwe is the responsibility of the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission which was established by an Act of parliament. The Forestry Commission has four technical divisions, namely Research and Development, Indigenous Resources, Commercial and Forestry Extension. These divisions implement the different aspects of two Acts (the Forest Act and the Communal Forest Produce Act). The commercial division is into development and exploitation of man-made plantations of exotic tree species, mainly pines and eucalypts. This division also processes this timber. The research and development division is mandated to conduct research into genetic improvement of the exotic timber plantation species, indigenous tree species, development of appropriate management practices of the species in plantations and natural forests, protection, procurement and distribution of forest seed. The forestry extension division promotes tree planting and woodland management in communal and resettlement areas. The indigenous resources division manages the conservation and utilization of tree resources in the demarcated teak forests of the Kalahari sands.
The Forestry Commission (FC) is a parastatal or quasi-governmental department falling under the Ministry of Mines, Environment and Tourism. Agricultural research is carried by the Department of Research and Species Services (DR&SS) of the Ministry of Agriculture. The FC and DR&SS conduct collaborative research into agroforestry and this is coordinated by the National Agroforestry Steering Committee (NASCO), a loose association of interested parties which include the University of Zimbabwe, the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Department for Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs that are active in forestry and agroforestry include the Southern Alliance For Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE), the Environmental Development Agency (ENDA), Community Technology (COMMTEC) and the Zimbabwe Environmental Organization (ZERO). Besides carrying out their own research, these organizations also actively lobby for development of conducive policies.
There are two pieces of legislation, namely the Forest Act and the Communal Forest Produce Act, which the FC generally uses to enforce management and conservation of forest tree species, woodlands or vegetation types. Some important aspects of these acts are:
- Reservation or restriction on exploitation of certain species that may be considered endangered. These species are listed in appendix 3.
- Reservation and demarcation of woodlands or vegetation types that may be deemed to be under threat or of social or scientific value.
- Banning of trade in indigenous fruits.
The two legislations have often been criticized as being inadequate and being too restrictive. The application of the Forest Act is largely confined to state forests and private land, while the Communal Forest Produce Act is mostly applicable to communal areas.
Briefly, the Forest Act provides the establishment of a forest authority in Zimbabwe, namely the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission. This authority has a dual role of advising the government on forest policy and also performing regulatory functions of management and conservation of the demarcated forests. The Forestry Commission is also mandated to promote the establishment of forest nurseries and plantations of exotic species and processing the harvested timber.
There have been conflicts between the Forestry Commission and local communities in some of the demarcated forests. These forests were originally managed by what others have described as "total exclusion" whereby local communities were totally barred from entering the forest even for collecting such basics as firewood, thatching grass or even grazing their livestock. The introduction of the concept of forest co-management (Forest Commission and communities surrounding the forest) has shown some potential signs of resolving these conflicts. The local communities are now allowed to get firewood from dead trees, collect grass and graze their animals and in return they also help the Forest Commission in protecting the forests. This concept is being implemented in some of the large teak forests of the Kalahari sands.
There are also other problems that have emerged where some of the villagers have invaded some of the forests, settling themselves right in the middle of the demarcated forests. There has been indiscriminate cutting of trees as the settlers clear land for agricultural purposes.
