Zimbabwe deforestation concerns mount as oil prices force villages to burn wood for fuel; biofuels seen as solution

In Zimbabwe, concerns are mounting over deforestation resulting from the rise in oil prices and the accompanying use of wood for fuel. The Forestry Company of Zimbabwe projects that the rise in oil prices is causing the loss of 860,000 acres per year. The article mentions the use of wood for curing tobacco and tea, and for export, urbanization and fire as contributing factors.

The article estimates that 600 million Africans use wood for cooking and heating, and that 400,000 Africans die annually of respiratory diseases stemming from indoor air pollution caused by using wood and other traditional fuels.

Zimbabwe has been in the throes of a severe economic and currency crisis with ruinous inflation rates that have dampened opportunities to import foreign energy.

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