(2) This section does not apply to a person who, within the State land, customary area or open area— (a) is in possession of a valid licence or permit authorising the licensee or permit holder to do the act or to manufacture charcoal; (b) has obtained the permission of the owner of the land to do so and is in possession of a valid licence or permit authorising that person to manufacture charcoal and do any such act; or (c) is an authorised officer acting under instructions in performance of that officer’s functions under this Act.

-It was mandatory for the charcoal producers and concession licence holders to obtain express consent from the Chief before such a licence could be issued (The Forest Concession Licence Regulations Statutory Instrument No. 50 of 2016 provided that an applicant needed to obtain the consent from the traditional leaders before such an applicant could be issued with a concession licence)

-The forestry sector as a whole contributes 5.2 to 7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Zambia. This mainly comes from forest-based industries which account for at least 3.7 percent of the GDP while charcoal production and fuel wood collection account for 2.2 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. Commercial logging and non-timber forest products contribute about 0.3 and 0.1 percent to the GDP respectively.