Wavell Standa-Gunda and Oliver Braedt 199low (Z$34 per household). An analysis of these changes has suggested that the
actual and even potential revenue that can be earned from wildlife is probably
insufficient to achieve the necessary levels of institutional change for the
management of wildlife and wildlife habitats.
The implications of the collective CAMPFIRE experience are critical in the
assessment of the probability of success of fiscal incentives for woodland
management in southern Zimbabwe. This research has shown that there is
already a significant market for wood and that carvers are buying wood
harvested in areas other than their immediate environments. This suggests
that the main carveable species are already scarce within the communal lands
where the markets are located, and that the creation of common-pool
institutions for the management of woodlands is highly unlikely, solely on the
basis of the financial incentives that can be generated from within the sector.
Important lessons for the woodcarving sector can be learned from Kenya,
where both the scale and the intensity of the problem are far greater. Because
of the scarcity of important carveable species, particularly Brachylaena
huillensis and D. melanoxylon, carvers have substituted them with other
species, most notably Olea europaeae ssp. africana, and Combretum
schumannii. As carvers are aware of the threat of species depletion and the
concomitant threat to their livelihoods, increasingly the exotic species of mango
(Mangifera indica), jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), grevillea (Grevillea
robusta), and neem (Azadirachta indica) are used as alternatives to the slow
growing indigenous species (also referred to as ‘good woods’). However, there
is also a large scale illegal provision of indigenous wood to the carvers from
state land and neighbouring countries such as Tanzania. This suggests that the
government needs to urgently consider developing mechanisms whereby
carvers, or the suppliers of wood to carvers, can legally access carveable
species in the state forests. Without this provision it is likely that the illegal
harvesting of wood will only escalate. In Kenya, another approach that has
been tried is the provision of indigenous seedlings to carvers. However, a
simple cost-benefit analysis of planting for the relatively fast growing B.
huillensis shows that it is not financially viable (Bond et al. unpublished data).
Whilst the provision of seedlings and the establishment of nurseries is
aesthetically attractive, the absence of secure tenure over woodlands, the
demand for land, the high grazing pressure and high interest rate make it
financially unviable.
Under these conditions, it appears that the most viable options for ensuring
the sustainability of the sector at the macrolevel are the following:- First, to encourage the diversification of carvers to ‘good woods’, exotics
such as jacaranda, neem, grevillea, mango and possibly some eucalyptus
species. This can be done through programmes aimed at buyers and
carvers. - Second, the state should implement mechanisms by which carvers and
wood merchants can legally obtain wood at market rates from state
land.
11woodcarving.p65 199 22/12/2004, 11:05