Restore the incredible Zambian Miombo forests

This satellite image shows an area of the Katanino Forest Reserve where we planted native tree seedlings back in 2020. The boundaries of these planted ‘polygons’ are marked by the firebreaks that were put in place to protect the seedlings. The darker parts of the images show areas that were damaged by fire. You can see very clearly how the firebreaks protected the planting sites from burning: there are no dark areas inside our polygons!

Before our restoration project started here, the trees in this part of the reserve had been cleared for charcoal production and, because of the presence of the stream (the green part on the right), parts of it had been turned into tomato plots. That’s why our planted polygons are located here: the repeated disturbance of agriculture meant that those particular areas were not ripe for natural regeneration at the time. The areas surrounding our polygons were less degraded, and so more able to flourish under assisted natural regeneration. 

The fire started nearby in a human settlement, which spread into this part of the reserve. “Even though we carry out community sensitization on fire management, make the fire breaks, and carry out controlled burning and follow-up patch burning, it’s impossible to have zero fires when you have people living at the boundary of the reserve,” explains Fainess Lumbwe, WeForest Zambia Country Director. 

Fortunately the fire happened before the new leaf growth in September, so the mature trees in the burnt area developed their new healthy leaves after the burn and will regrow naturally. Resprouts from mature stems are much stronger and more resilient to fire than small planted seedlings, which is why we protect those from fire. As long as fires are not too frequent or intense, naturally regenerating sites like these ones surrounding our polygons will not be badly harmed.

In the picture below, Fainess and Katanino Project Manager Morton Shanzi presented this tray of pine seedlings as a gift to His Royal Highness Chief Nkambo of the Lamba-speaking people during a traditional ceremony at Silangwa cultural grounds, Masaiti District, in August. The ceremony commemorates the journey of the Lamba-speaking people from their ancestral home in Kola (modern-day Angola) through the Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia's Copperbelt, where they are permanently settled. 

Chief Nkambo is a key supporter of the Katanino project, and frequently takes part in the various restoration and conservation activities.

Thank you for helping to make all this possible!