The latest on West Mvuvye National Forest...

I met with Tom Younger yesterday in order to clarify issues around the West Mvuvye, the M'nyamadzi game ranch and the West Petauke GMA in the southern Luangwa valley. I was assured that the forest was in fact a local forest, that he had made the necessary application - with the agreement of Senior Chief Luembe and the Nyimba District Council, for a 14 year provisionary lease and that this had, after an interview, been personally granted to his Royal Luembe Trust by the State President of Zambia. It would seem clear therefore that at some time since the Luembe Conservancy Trust's application two years ago to the Department of Forestry for a Joint Forest Management Agreement in respect of the Mvuvye (requiring the agreement of Chief's Mwape and Luembe and the Council), this forest was de-gazetted from a national to a local forest - the latter having no protection from alienation other than by the interventon of the President. No one informed myself or our Trust of this. This begs the question as to why Mr Sangalube of the Forestry Department personally assured me and community representatives some two months ago that the alienation of this forest was not allowed as it was a National Forest, and that the portion of the forest alienated on 99 year lease to Mr Z. Patel would be terminated by the Attorney-General as it was illegal. Since that time, Sangalube and the Director of Forestry have refused us an interview.The present chief, Francis Kalunga, faces a court hearing in June concerning his fitness and legitimacy to remain in office. Should he be removed, the new chief and his advisors would have to satisfy themselves as to the legitimacy of the M'nyamadzi lease, and the process whereby the forest was de-gazetted without the community's knowledge.

These issues apart, the Luembe Conservancy Trust was established to provide the necessary guidance in respect of natural resource management for Luembe as a whole, and to attract appropriate investment once projects had been identified through the participatory rural appraisal process and the production of a landuse plan - presently in progress. Although I do not like the way they have gone about obtaining the land, Younger assures me of their good conservation intentions. Their Trust provides a 20% shareholding for the community and an as yet undisclosed shareholding for Senior Chief Luembe. We discussed the issue of the West Petauke Hunting Block concession across the river from the Mvuvye, an area long under a poaching assault, and currently being ravaged by elephant poaching gangs in which some ZAWA members are participants. This concession was obtained by a foreign investor and myself as the first investment made under the Luembe Trust umbrella.

Clearly, in order to bring development to the area under an holistic development plan - bearing in mind that hunting safaris alone do not provide the income necessary to protect the biodiversity or to enable local people to achieve the Millenium Developpment Goals, it will be necessary to form close working relationships with all stakeholders in the West Petauke ecosystem. This we are endeavouring to do with Younger as his investors wish to invest in all or part of the concession as well.

I.P.A. Manning