CHARCOAL BURNERS INVADE SIAVONGA BIRD SANCTUARY
CHARCOAL burners have invaded Mutolang’anga Bird Sanctuary in Siavonga which is an annual home for thousands of migratory birds from Europe and other regions in Africa.
Siavonga District Council Chairman James Simataa said the local authority was dismayed at the rampant cutting of trees in the sanctuary for charcoal production.
Mr Simataa who visited the area, said the Mutolang’anga forest was important to the country as it housed unique bird species that were not found in any part of the continent.
He said the extent of charcoal burning was worrying and therefore must be tackled to save the few remaining trees.
Mr Simataa said there was need for all stakeholders to deal with illegal charcoal burning before the district becomes a desert.
‘’There is need for the stakeholders to come together and find a lasting solution to the challenge of cutting trees in the forest reserves,” he said.
The forest reserve is one of the few remaining areas of intact Mopane woodland left in the Zambezi valley and breeding ground of the African Pitta.
It is also a seasonal host of the barred long-tailed cuckoo, thrush nightingale and marsh warbler.
Other birds that travel thousands of kilometres to the area are the Western banded snake eagle, crested Guinea fowl, purple-crested turaco, African broadbill and Livingstone’s flycatcher.
The forest is also important in protecting the Namoomba Elephant Corridor that provides sanctuary for regional Elephant population and other large mammals such as Hippos.