Baikiaea plurijuga forests, also known as ‘Kalahari Sand’ forests or ‘Zambezi Teak’ forests are endemic to the Kalahari sand geologic formation in western Zimbabwe. The forests are restricted to deep, loose and well-drained Kalahari sands. The protected forests, comprising over 800 000 ha, are managed by the Forestry Commission for the production of commercial timber and wildlife, the protection of the fragile Kalahari sand system and for biodiversity conservation. Commercial logging of the KS teak forests primarily for B. plurijuga and Pterocarpus angolensis has been described as the greatest threat to their survival. In addition, the hot dry season brings with it widespread destructive forest fires. In the past few decades the subsistence needs of the rural and peri-urban populations are threatening the future survival, functions and development of the forests. Their existence and current status can be attributed to the long history of state protection. However, state protection of the forests has not succeeded in preventing them from destruction and degradation that has resulted in the shift of the forests from climax to secondary formations. The same kind of forests on other land categories, e.g. communal and resettlement areas, have been modified and degraded through over-exploitation, overgrazing and clearing for agriculture.
Since they were gazetted the management approach in these forests has consisted mainly in only allowing formal public use through licences and permits. The management activities include protection from fire, supervision of forest utilisation programmes, veldt management to improve wildlife habitat, research on various aspects of the forests, wildlife management, silviculture, control of forest occupants and anti-poaching activities.
