SUMMARY

A Brief on the Forestry Outlook Study

Nchemo Maile

Chief Forest Officer

Department of Conservation and Forestry

P.O. Box 774, Maseru 100, Lesotho

Tel: 266-855 375; Fax: 266-31 03 49

[email protected]

Rapid population growth is a major factor in the cycle of cumulative environmental degradation and poverty facing Lesotho. Population growth has resulted in reduced per capita availability of arable land and the use of unsustainable agricultural practices including overgrazing. These factors contribute to reducing the ability of the land to support the population.

Landlessness, a problem partly also attributable to land tenure insecurity, is also on the increase. Lesotho’s land tenure system has been identified as the major constraint to agricultural development, including tree growing. A strong lobby exists which argues that the system requires adjustment and modification to accommodate demographic patterns (increasing landlessness); address the need to raise agricultural productivity and environmental concerns (particularly overgrazing) of a common property resource.

While the livelihood provided by migrant labour is threatened, there is also a declining trend in the largest internal sector (agriculture) which has not been adequately compensated for by the development of other sectors. In the context of increasing population, reduced employment opportunities in the Republic of South Africa and the inability of the domestic non-agricultural sector to absorb labour and provide income, Lesotho’s economic and social development will increasingly depend upon the ability of policy makers to revitalise the agricultural sector. While natural events have certainly contributed to the sector’s decline, the lack of a facilitating and supporting policy environment has played a major role.

Forest issues in Lesotho are many and varied. Some are unique to this country while others are cross-cutting the national boundary. The daunting challenge facing both the remaining indigenous forest patches and the 485 Forest Reserves, is to implement a sustainable ecosystem management plan based on a sound understanding and integration of biological and socio-economic issues. Furthermore, there is an overriding need to assess and quantify the multiple benefits that the Basotho derive from forest resources. This data foundation is essential to establishing communal responsibilities towards sustainable forest management within the context of participatory decision making.