WITH furtive glances over his shoulder, Samson Muchibo (not his real name), a firewood poacher, creeps through the Burma Valley forest in Mutare South constituency, his worn out axe swinging by his shoulder.
He knows the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Environmental Management Agency and Zimbabwe Forestry Commission authorities are on the lookout for wood poachers, but the allure of a quick buck is too great to resist.
Spotting a sturdy tree, Muchibo swiftly assesses its value, his eyes scanning the trunk for the perfect cut.
With a few swift swings of his axe, the tree crashes to the ground, its branches splintering into the underbrush.
As the sun begins to set, casting long shadows across the forest floor, the firewood poacher gathers his bounty, his arms straining under the weight of the freshly cut wood.
He knows he will sell it on the black market, no questions asked and the money will be good.
But for now, Muchibo must hide, concealing his spoils in a secret cache, waiting for nightfall to make good his escape.
Muchibo is not alone in this firewood hustle.
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Amid the deepening electricity crisis in Zimbabwe, a new wave of environmental destruction is sweeping across the country.
Firewood poachers, driven by the rising demand for alternative energy sources, are cutting down trees at an alarming rate, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
As the power grid struggles to keep up with demand, the once-lush woodlands and forests are being ravaged, threatening the very foundations of the country’s ecosystem.
“I have been doing this ever since the electricity crisis started. I have to provide for my family. I sneak into the forest avoiding the rangers and police. I know the forest like the back of my hand, so I can move quickly and quietly,” Muchibo revealed.
“I cut down the trees, mostly Mopani or Musasa and chop them into manageable pieces. I load them onto my truck and head to the black market. Firewood is on high demand as we speak because of load shedding. It is a lucrative business, but it is risky.”
Elsewhere in Vumba forests, the sound of chainsaws and axes echoes through the woodlands as poachers put the country’s biodiversity at risk, clearing vast swathes of forest to quench the black market demand for firewood.
“But what choice do I have? The economy is tough and this is the only way I can make a living. I have seen others doing it too. We are just trying to survive,” said another firewood poacher in Vumba.
“I know it is not sustainable and it is harming the environment. but what can I do? I need to feed my family. Maybe one day things will get better and we will have enough electricity for everyone. Until then, I will keep doing what I have to do.”
Police and other stakeholders have been hard on the poachers.
Theirs has been a cat and mouse relationship, as the authorities fight to bust the firewood poachers.
ZRP Mutare Member-in-Charge (Operations) Inspector Givemore Mushangwe said police had been doing joint operations with stakeholders to stop the poaching of firewood.
“As police, we have been doing intensive joint operations with our stakeholders to stop the poaching of firewood,” he said.
“We are deploying officers and doing patrols in the areas where deforestation is taking place. We will then do investigations and arrest those found on the wrong side of the law.”
Added Mushangwe: “We are also engaging with the community by doing campaigns and awareness programmes on environmental crimes.”
Manicaland Provincial Forestry Commission extension manager Phillip Tom said the commission had come up with deterrent fines for firewood poachers.
“With the economic crisis, people are trying to eke out a living by poaching firewood. But, as the Forestry Commission, we are saying no to this because forests are part of our environment. While some people want to make money, there is a great need to protect the environment,” he said.
“We have imposed deterrent fines on the poachers. The fines range from US$2 000 up to US$3 000 depending on the scale or quantity of the firewood.
“As we talk, we have confiscated trucks and loads of firewood. We will bring perpetrators to justice, imposing hefty fines and even prison sentences on those caught in the act.
“We do not tolerate firewood poaching and we are encouraging Zimbabweans to do afforestation to preserve and protect our environment.”
Zimbabwe is grappling with a serious electricity outage that has seen householdss enduring at least 17 hours of load shedding.
The country’s power generation capacity is insufficient to meet consumer demand, resulting in frequent power outages.
The ageing infrastructure and equipment breakdowns, among others, have also exacerbated the electricity crisis.
As the authorities step up patrols and surveillance, the battle is far from over.
Only time will tell if the warning will be enough to stem the tide of destruction and protect Zimbabwe’s precious natural heritage.
Meanwhile, Muchibo’s sharp axe continues to inflict more damage to the Burma Valley forest, with several others in the trade doing the same across Zimbabwe.
