Measuring a stump.

We will look at forest resources which are used by the local people. Local usage of forest resources has always been sustainable. However commercialisation of these resources frequently leads to their unsustainable use. There is increasing pressure to build roads and infrastructure in the region and by looking at local forest usage we can gain some idea of how resources would be affected by this development.

We have a unique opportunity to contribute to ideas around the management of common-pool resources by comparing how Zambezi teak forests are managed in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Differences in community forest ownership exist in the two countries. The forests in Zimbabwe appear to be in better condition and this has implications for how we develop local participation in forest management in Zambia and regionally.

We will establishing a partnership with the Livingstone Museum which has a staff which includes a botanist, an entomologist, an a mammalogist. This will develop expertise in Zambia for biodiversity conservation.

Using software I developed for old Windows Mobile smartphones we will start a long term monitoring programme to monitor basic forest phenology over several years. Villagers will be given a mobile phone on which they are trained to record phenology data. They are paid in airtime for each data point they submit. This type of data is seldom collected over long time periods in Africa and is essential for monitoring forest condition in the long term.