Measuring the Miombo forest in Zambia
Africa's Miombo forest, the world's largest dry woodlands, is shrinking and along with it, its vast biodiversity. Currently, Zambia has the world's second highest rate of deforestation. Rising demand for firewood and new farmland and years of monoculture planting has destroyed existing agricultural land and harvests. In a bid to stop that, industrialized nations such as Germany are using the United Nations' "REDD+" mechanism that is meant to provide funds for developing nations if they can prove that they are preserving their forests. That's why teams of rangers and botanists are currently measuring the height and width of trees and calculating the forest's carbon-storing capacities and documenting biodiversity. In addition, they're helping people in the region earn alternative means of income such as beekeeping - an activity that doesn't involve chopping down trees.
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Information
Length
06:23 Minutes
Date of publication
2014
Project
Global Ideas
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