The ManicaPost
Nyasha Mapasa Post Correspondent
Mutare City Council has teamed up with Forestry Commission and Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to stop rampant deforestation at Mutare’s top tourist attraction, the Christmas Pass.
The rate of deforestation at the aesthetic mountain has escalated to 80 percent throughout the year and this is attributed to increased load shedding.
Speaking to The Manica Post, Council spokesperson, Mr Spren Mutiwi said they have put tight security in the woodlands to monitor people.
“We have been policing people around the Christmas Pass and so far these efforts have yielded a good result. We have recovered 36 tonnes of wood.
“However we are still scaling up our operations to ensure that there is no more environmental devastation because most of the deforestation is now happening during the night when our patrollers are not in the forest,” he added.
Mr Mutiwi also urged citizens to play their part in reducing deforestation.
“We are slowly losing our identity as a people by destroying our environment. This is not council’s role alone, every stakeholder should take a proactive role and play their part to sustain our scenic Christmas Pass,” he said.
In an interview with Manica Post ,the National Tree Ambassador Mr Never Bonde, said he was concerned with the decimation of Christmas Pass vegetation and suggested other measures that could be done.
“I have been to Rwanda recently and they put beehives in such mountains with trees to prevent people from cutting down trees. Our government should take this initiative of using beehives to prevent tree cutters,” he said.
The environmental activist said they have started promoting whistle blowing to avoid further destruction of the woodland.
“We have since started promoting snitching among citizens if a person reports on the act we give them a tip off. We have tried this to ensure the sustainability of the forest.
“We will also continue to raise awareness on the alternatives that can be used and dangers of deforestation. Starting next week we will be having campaigns at household level in all suburbs,” Mr Bonde said.
