TIMBER VALUE ADDITION VITAL FOR JOB CREATION - NZOVU
MINISTER of Green Economy and Environment, Collins Nzovu says Zambia is committed to adding value to timber in order to contribute to livelihoods, job creation and economic development.
Government has called upon other countries to create healthy partnerships, especially in value addition of timber.
Mr Nzovu, reiterated Government’s commitment to value addition in Zambia’s timber industry.
The Minister was speaking during a meeting on the sidelines of the One Forest Summit in the Gabonese capital, Libreville.
The meeting was a Coalition of Ministers who met to discuss measures on sustainable use of wood and biogenic materials in the construction sector.
“We need to embrace value addition in order to contribute to livelihoods, job creation and economic development,” Mr Nzovu said.
The Coalition of Ministers noted that the construction industry was one of the major sources of Green House Gas emissions of about 37 percent and contributor to climate change.
The Coalition of Ministers further observed that Africa alone contributes 94 percent of world timber, yet remains poor due to lack of value addition to its raw materials.
The application of wood technology in sustainable construction will reduce the rate of timber extraction and enhance sustainable production of wood products.
Zambia will lead the discussions as the Chair for the Africa Group of Negotiators that will foster the adoption of these outputs at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28.
The outputs of the Coalitions Working Group will feed into COP 28.