Illegal logging up in Zimbabwe

Illegal logging for wood to cure leaf tobacco doubled to 98,100 hectares from 49,500 hectares a year over the past two years, reports The Herald, quoting data from the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe.

The Sustainable Afforestation Association (SAA), formed by the industry in 2013, aims to plant at least 4,000 hectares of gum trees each year for the next seven years to create a future energy source for leaf curing, but SAA’s first harvest is not expected until around 2021, meaning that the environmental sustainability of tobacco production in Zimbabwe still needs to be addressed.