The Social Dynamics of Illegal Wood Harvesting on Indigenous Woody Vegetation: A Case Study of Chimanimani National Park, Eastern Zimbabwe

Illegal wood harvesting, a factor that threatens conservation efforts, was assessed in Chimanimani National Park (CNP), eastern Zimbabwe, in April 2016. The study identified preferred indigenous woody species, determined the uses and quantities of indigenous wood extracted, and established local people’s knowledge and perceptions on forest resource conservation, institutional framework and management by-laws. Mixed data collection methods, which included questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. For questionnaires, a three-stage sampling design was adopted; that is, purposive sampling, where three Wards (i.e. Chikukwa Ward 11, Chikwakwa Ward 17 and Ngorima Ward 5b) were selected as study areas from a total of seventeen Wards in Chimanimani District. The three selected Wards had a combined total of 15 villages. Stage 2 involved random sampling, where three villages, one from each selected Ward, i.e. Batanai (75 households), Chikukwa (110 households) and Tamuka (46 households), with a total of 231 households, were chosen. Stage 3 was the random selection of households, where 46 questionnaires were administered and collected in the 3 selected villages, representing 20% of the targeted population. The study results highlighted that the preferred woody species included those of Acacia, Bauhinia, Brachystegia, Combretum, Pericopsis and Terminalia genera. The illegally harvested indigenous woody plants were principally for household uses. Quantities collected ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 tons for firewood monthly and 3 to 6 tons mostly for tobacco curing. Most respondents reported that by-laws were not effective in combating illegal wood harvesting. It was concluded that CNP woodlands are under pressure due to illegal wood harvesting. It is recommended that a robust community-based strategy to conserve woody species and natural resource utilisation be developed.