Zambia is a land locked country, located near the sub-tropics south of the Equator, and is surrounded by eight neighbouring countries, namely, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The country has a relatively large land surface, with a total area of 752,972 km² and lies on the Central African high Plateau with an average altitude of 1 200m above sea level. The Rift Valley formations in the eastern and southern parts of the country have produced escarpment systems and valley troughs. The most famous of the Escarpment systems is the Muchinga Escarpment. Zambia’s physical environment owes its attributes to her sub-

tropical setting, whose features are characteristic of both tropical and semi-arid conditions. The country is divided into three agro-ecological zones of Regions I, II and III. Region I presents semi-arid conditions and Region III experiences tropical conditions while Region II has moderation of the two.

Most of the soils of Zambia particularly those in the northern parts of the country are highly weathered, leached and acidic. This is because of high rainfall in those parts of the country. In the western part of Zambia, the soils are very strongly to strongly acid, coarse to fine sandy soils with more than 90% quartz developed over Kalahari sands. The eastern and south central plateau has moderately leached clayey to loamy soils with medium to strong acidity. These areas are considered to be the best agricultural soils in the Country.

Climate is influenced by three main factors: the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone which influences the rainfall pattern, occurrence of El Nino which is associated mostly with dry spells and Altitude, which in the case of Zambia lies on a relatively high elevation and bestows the country with moderately cool temperatures resulting into a sub-tropical climate which would probably have been harsh. The country experiences three climatic distinct seasons namely; the warm rainy (November – April), the cool dry (May – July) and the hot dry (August – October).

Zambia is well endowed with water resources, both ground and surface water. The major perennial rivers are the Zambezi, Kafue, Luangwa, Kabompo, Luapula and Chambeshi. Other sources of surface water include lakes, swamps and flood areas. The rainfall Zambia receives replenishes these water bodies. Surface water constitutes 20% of the Country’s area.

Biological Resources

Zambia has a variety of ecosystems, which give rise to a rich biodiversity in terms of wildlife, plant, bird and fish species. The Country's vegetation is classified into four major categories, namely, closed forests, open forests, termitaria and grasslands. Zambian forests cover 60% of the Country. Zambia has a flora diversity of over 3,000 species with 40% comprising shrubs and wood plants. Of these, 211 species are endemic to Zambia.

The fauna diversity is estimated at 3,631 and it is distributed as follows: - 2032 invertebrates, 409 fish, 67 amphibians, 150 reptiles, 733 birds, 224 mammals and 16 domesticated animals. In addition, there are about 598 species of microorganisms that have been identified to exist in Zambia. Microorganisms are very important in the maintenance of ecosystems through nutrient cycling.

Social Economic Environment

Zambia’s economic environment is characterised by heavy dependence on copper mining for the country's export earnings, government revenue, source of employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite the potentials of other natural resources, the mining sector, will continue to play a role of driving force in the economic development of the country.

Unfortunately, the world copper prices have fallen drastically over the years. During the first and second republics, Zambia implemented socialist policies. This situation led to the registration of a cash stripped economy. As a result of this, the country has resorted to heavy borrowing, precipitating a high debt crisis.

Zambia is now one of the highly indebted countries in the world. The poor performance of the economy has had negative impacts on the development of nearly all sectors and the living standards of the people have considerably declined. Zambia today, is recorded as one of the countries with the lowest GDP per capita of less than US$ 350.

Poverty is widespread and intense in Zambia. More than 70% of the households live below the poverty datum line. The poverty situation in Zambia intensifies resource overuse and its degradation.

Zambia’s human population is estimated to be 10.2 million and is growing at 3.1 % per annum. The current population is expected to double in the next 23 years. The factors that had contributed to high population growth between 1960 and 1980 prior to the prevalence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic were high fertility and reduced mortality rates. The HIV/AIDs pandemic is threatening the survival of many Zambians. The density of Zambia’s population is estimated at 6 to 10 persons per km². However, the population density is higher in many localised areas due to immigration and urbanisation. Zambia is one of the most urbanised countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The poor social economic framework coupled with high population growth rates have had negative impacts on the status and management of Zambia's natural resources.

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Environmental Problems

The main environmental problems that affect Zambia today include land degradation, air pollution especially in mining areas, water pollution and inadequate sanitation, wildlife depletion and deforestation. These problems when combined lead to biodiversity loss.

The Desertification Problem in Zambia

The problem of land degradation in Zambia has been caused by Natural, Environmental, Social, Economic and Land Tenure, as well as, Institutional, Policy and Legal issues.

Natural, Environmental Factors The location setting of Zambia within the sub-tropics bestows the country with an environment that is somewhat harsh, fragile and susceptible to land degradation. This is in terms of slopes particularly, in escarpments or hilly areas, soils, climate and water availability.

Geomorphological Processes and Soils Due to geomorphological processes that have taken place over a geological time scale, most of Zambia's plateau and some hilly areas have been degraded. Zambian soils are generally susceptible to erosion.

Climatic Conditions The variability of the rain pattern in Zambia is according to a province. The Average annual potential evapo-transpiration ranges from 1 394 to 1 892 while the country average is 1574. This means that some parts of the country are in precipitation deficit. This situation has implications on water availability and calls for sustainable management of the water resources particularly in regions I and II. The following list of episodic climatic events in Zambia illustrates some of the extreme climatic conditions encountered in the country.

Table of Episodic Climatic Events in Zambia

Date Episodic Event

1968, June - Lowest screen and ground minimum temperatures of –7.1oC and –

10.7oC respectively, recorded at Sesheke; rime and hoar frost occurrence on branches of trees there for first time, causing considerable alarm and despondency; citrus fruits adversely affected.

1972/73 - Rainy season for many areas was poorest in 50 years; drought caused substantial drop in crop yields and reduction in groundwater reserves.

1974, July - Maize seriously attacked by cob rots (up to 25% attack in places)

1978, Feb - Flood around Lusaka.

1978, Feb - Heavy rains caused some damage to agricultural crops in many parts of the country.

1979, Jan - Drought reduced maize production by 25-40%.

1980, Feb - Three-week dry spell, from mid January to mid-February caused considerable losses to the 1980 maize crop in Southern Province

1981/82 - Below normal rainfall caused reductions in crop production as well as livestock production. Rainfall deficits ranged from 30 to 50% (Southern & Western Provinces), 10 to 40% (elsewhere). Luano Valley of Central Province experienced famine

1982/83 - Frequent dry spells in January, February, & March led to poor performance of agricultural sector, especially southern half of Zambia.

1983/84 - Drought reduced agricultural yields for the third consecutive season; worst affected areas were Southern, Central and Western Provinces.

1986/87 - Frequent dry spells between February and March led to widespread crop failure in Southern Province and affected the total national maize production.

1989,Jan/Feb - Heavy rains in mid-season caused extensive waterlogging in crop fields; in Chipata district 60% of the total seasonal rainfall was received in January alone! Around Lusaka may people whose houses collapsed were left homeless.

1990, March - Persistent dry spell caused severe moisture stress in the major growing areas of Central, Eastern, Lusaka and Southern Province.

1991, Jan/Feb - Central, Lusaka and Southern Provinces experienced dry weather conditions. Marketed maize was only 46% of annual requirement.

1992,Jan/Feb - Worst drought for many years hit at the most critical crop stage (silking). The President, Mr. F.T.J. Chiluba, declared the whole Southern Province and sections of Central, Eastern and Western Provinces disaster areas. Later in February the President also declared the remaining areas of Zambia disaster areas.

1993/94 - Drought and water scarcity problems in the low and medium rainfall zone.

1994/95 - Continued drought in the low and medium rainfall zone.

1996/97 - High rainfall zone experienced drought, while the low and medium zone received adequate rainfall.

1997/98 - El Nino had two effects on the Zambian weather; excessive rains in the northern half and normal to below normal in the southern half.

(Sources: Government of the Republic of Zambia, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Lusaka, Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Communication and Transport, Lusaka).

Drought The effect of variable climatic factors of El Nino, poor precipitation, high temperatures and excess evapo-transpiration has in a number of years culminated into drought periods.

Water Availability It is noted that Zambia is highly endowed with water resources both ground and surface water. However, some of the areas in the country experience severe water shortages. This is mainly due to human activities, which have tended to induce erosion and sedimentation, in combination with climate variability and variations in hydrogeology from the northern part of the Country to the southern and the valley regions.

Ecosystem Resilience Zambia has a huge diversity of biological resources and ecosystems. Ecosystem complexity is a function of climatic elements including rainfall, temperature, evapo-transpiration, hours of sunshine and total solar radiation.

Social Economic Factors

Poverty, land tenure, property rights, land use practices, encroachment, new settlements and non-usage of indigenous knowledge and technologies have been identified as some of the social economic factors that cause land degradation in Zambia.

Poverty, Land Tenure and Property Rights Poverty is a cause and consequence of land degradation in Zambia. Land tenure and property rights do contribute to environmental degradation, particularly through ill defined property rights and inadequate institutions.

Land Use Practises Agriculture is the mainstay for the majority of households in Zambia. Small-scale (mostly poor) farmers represent 79% of the farming community, while large-scale farmers are estimated at 1% of the total farming population. The emergent/medium scale farmers constitute 20% of the farming population. Unsustainable practices of agriculture lead to land degradation in Zambia. Examples of such practices include shifting cultivation, monoculture cultivation, use of heavy machinery for cultivation, use of inorganic fertilisers, over-grazing, cultivation of wetland areas and cultivation on unstable landscapes.

Wood fuel and charcoal consumption does contribute to deforestation and eventually land degradation. Charcoal production also produces green house gases during carbonisation in the earth kilns.

Indiscriminate late bush fires have been observed to reduce wood annual increment by 50% in miombo woodland. In woodland areas, trees less than 3m high are generally susceptible to destruction when burnt and late fires destroy 84% of the herbage biomass.

Figure 2: AGROECOLOGICAL REGIONS I, IIa, IIb and III

The closed forests are limited in extent, covering only about 6% of the country. The Cryptosepalum evergreen forests are the most extensive and occur in the western part of the country while the Baikiaea forests found in the south west parts of the country are the second most extensive forests characterised by the commercially valuable indigenous tree species known as baikiaea Plurijuga (State of the Environment in Zambia, 2000: pp 58-59).

The open forests or woodlands known as Savannah woodlands are the dominant vegetation type in Zambia covering 66 % of the land. There are four types of these woodlands of which the most extensive being the Miombo woodlands that covers about 42% of the country characterised by the Brachystegia, Julbernadia and Isoberlinia species. This is followed by the Kalahari woodlands, Mopane, Munga and Termitaria (Ibid: pp 59).

Termitaria or anthill vegetation covers about 3.23 % and is present in all regions of the country except in areas of pure sand. This vegetation type is classified according to its association with other vegetation types; hence the classification: Miombo Termitaria, Kalahari Termitaria, Mopane Termitaria, Munga Termitaria, Riparian Termitaria and Glassland Termitaria (Ibid).

Grasslands cover 27% of the land area in Zambia and ranges from pure grasslands to grasslands with scattered trees. They occur in poorly drained dambos, flood plains or swamps (Ibid).

Zambia has an estimated floristic diversity of over 3,774 species, 40% comprising shrubs and woody plants. 211 of these species are endemic to Zambia (MENR,1999).

Zambia’s Economy Zambia’s economy is dependent on copper mining, which earns about 95% of the country's export earnings, contributing 45% of government revenue and is a major source of formal employment and Gross Domestic Product (Imboela, 1996; after DHS 1992).

From independence to 1974, the economic performance was very impressive and experienced a boom in terms of foreign exchange reserves due to good copper prices on the international market.

The Zambian economic environment started deteriorating when the copper prices began to fall as from the mid 1970s, while the prices for oil rose. This entailed high oil import bills. During this period Zambia's exports also declined. This resulted in the depletion of the country's foreign reserves.

From independence to the 1990's, Zambia adopted socialist economic policies that were characterised by public sector domination in which government had overall control.

The economy was built on an extensive administrative control system following commandist socialist policies, which were characterised by nationalisation of most economic activities, import substitution in the industrialisation process and the use of price controls and subsidies. To meet its social obligations, Zambia has had to borrow heavily and is today one of the highly indebted countries in the world.

Economic Reforms In recognition of these problems, Government since the 1980s began to implement a series of structural economic reforms, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other bilateral and multilateral agencies to try to reverse the trend in economic performance.

Currently, the Government is implementing the ambitious New Economic Reform Programme (NERP) under the Structural Adjustment Programme. The programme aims at stabilising the economy in order to lay a foundation for economic sustainable growth and development. This programme focuses on the liberalisation of the economy and the privatisation of commercial undertakings. It also entails reformation of economic institutions and the implementation of the public sector reform programme with a view of improving efficiency and management. Dependence on the state has been reduced through promotion of private initiatives among the people. The programme has removed subsidies and promoted competition and market led activities. The Government has promoted cash budget measures to scale down on expenditure.

Poverty It should be mentioned that the economic pressures facing Zambia puts her as one of the poorest states in the world. Poverty is widespread and intense in Zambia, as illustrated by the CSO's Living Conditions Monitoring Survey Report of 1996 and 1998. Measured in terms of real household incomes, expenditures, asset ownership, nutritional status, disease incidence and access to quality social support service and amenities, the reports show high incidence of poverty. 68% of the households were living below the poverty datum line in 1991 and this rose to 78% in 1996. It slightly declined to 73% in 1998.

The incidence of poverty according to the 1998 survey is higher in Zambia's rural and peri-urban areas (83%) like Western Province, than urban areas 56% (CSO, 1998). In terms of various strata, poverty is more serious among the most disadvantaged groups of society, namely the subsistence farmers, unemployed, women, children and the disabled.

There is a high correlation between poverty and environmental degradation as a result of poor people's dependence on exploitation of the environment for survival (UNDP's Zambia Human Development Report, 1998). The poverty situation in Zambia intensifies resource overuse and its degradation.

Increased unemployment has forced a lot of people to be engaged in informal sector activities as a coping strategy, mainly involving natural resource products in rural urban trade and unregulated or unsustainable forms of exploitation (Mupimpila, et al, 1998).

These informal sector activities include agriculture (semi-shifting cultivation), harvesting of trees for firewood and for charcoal, logging of timber, gathering of plant materials for various uses, illegal commercial hunting and unregulated fishing. These activities if unchecked result into the degradation of the natural resources base.

In dryland areas, which are generally marginal and sensitive, heavy exploitation of natural resources to meet food needs, as a result of food shortages, would induce and enhance land degradation and impairing of the ecosystems.

Composition of the Population Zambia's population has grown rapidly over the years. Zambia's population enumerated at 4.1 million in 1969 grew to 5.7 million in 1980 and 7.4 million in 1990. In 2001, it was estimated to have grown to 10.2 million. The estimated population growth rate was 3.1% which is one of the highest in the world, implying approximately a 23 year doubling time of the population (UNDP, 1998). The structure of the population is characterised by a high proportion of youths 51%, under 16 years old. This indicates high dependency ratio. There are clear indications of considerable momentum for future population growth. This growth of the population is due to mainly high fertility rates, calculated at 6.7 children per woman and reduced mortality rates. These fertility rates are considered as one of the highest in Africa. Fertility rates are even higher in rural areas (7.0 children per woman) as compared to urban areas (6.3 children per woman). This is due to lower levels of literacy and contraceptive use in the former. High fertility rates complimented by lowered mortality rates between the 1960s and 1980s, led to the rapid increase in the Zambian population. The mortality rate has begun to rise in the recent years due to the deterioration in living standards of many Zambians and the prevalence of the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Most of the population is dependent on natural resources for survival. This has serious implications on the country's physical environment. The government capacity to provide adequate services to its people and effectively manage natural resources is hindered by its constrained treasury.

According to 1990 census, the Zambian population is characterised by high proportion of females as compared to males. Out of every 100 females, 96.1 were males. As regards to households, 24% were female headed and 35% of these were in rural areas.

Females have special cultural problems as a result of their gender, for example, limited access to productive resources, poverty and heavily constrained with household chores. This distribution of population entails serious social economic problems with the Zambian female-headed households.

The increasing human population pressure on the resources, coupled with the competitive open access harvesting for day to day subsistence, have resulted into the cumulative demand pressures on the resources arising from commercial activities including those of the poor.

Population Density Zambia's population density was estimated at 13.5 persons per km² in 1998. The density varies considerably between areas and some locations have over 100 persons per km². There are a number of factors that have influenced population distribution and settlement patterns. These include availability of agricultural land. Kay (1971) points out that there is a close relationship between population distribution and soil types. This means that those parts of the country which have good agricultural soils, like Southern, Eastern and Central Provinces have high population concentrations, as people particularly in rural areas depend on agriculture.

Other factors include displacements, for example, construction of the Kariba Dam, which resulted in the displacement of the Gwembe Tonga from the valley to Lusitu area. This resulted in the concentration of people in areas like Lusitu (Siavonga) which are now heavily populated and severely degraded due to high population pressure and overgrazing beyond the area's carrying capacity.

Availability of water is another factor, which affect population distribution. People settle along perennial streams or major rivers, around swamps, lakes or big dambos for water supply, agriculture (including livestock) and fishing. The other factor is tsetsefly distribution. Areas infested with tsetseflies are sparsely inhabited due to the prevalence of trypanosomosis, which affect both livestock and humans.

Migration and urbanisation influences population density or distribution. In Zambia, most rural areas have inadequate employment opportunities and social amenities. These aspects are closely associated with urban areas. Other benefits associated with urban areas are that they serve as service centres, which all factors combined trigger rural-urban migration in Zambia. This makes Zambia one of the most urbanised country in Southern Africa. The outstanding problem resulting from the rural-urban influx has been the uncontrolled growth of squatter compounds in urban areas. The governments, both past and present, have had difficulties in providing housing and social services in these areas, especially given the economic decline Zambia is experiencing.

These social economic factors, coupled with increasing human population growth that exert demand on the declining government revenue base, reinforce the many disadvantages that exist in the Zambian Society. These have implications on land degradation. Its worth noting that overcrowding in some areas of Zambia poses a threat to the environment. The increasing population growth rate and the existence of localised pockets and islands of densely populated areas entails over- exploitation of natural resources. This is evident from the standpoint of over- exploitation and the rates of deforestation, which correlate very closely with population densities. The threat is posed by wood-fuel demand (charcoal) and poor agricultural practices which contribute to deforestation and the problem of solid waste disposal and pollution, which when combined can result into land degradation and biodiversity loss.

The main environmental problems that affect Zambia today include air pollution in mining areas, deforestation, water pollution and inadequate sanitation, wildlife depletion and land degradation which when combined have led to biodiversity loss.

Biodiversity loss The existence of every life form is dependent on the survival of the other forms of life including human life. The activities of over-exploitation appear to alter this balance and an increasing number of species are lost each day on earth, posing a serious threat to the existence of life. In Zambia, depletion of wildlife, fish resources and plant species resulting from illegal hunting, over exploitation and habitat destruction is a serious problem.

Agriculture, Land-use Pressures, Deforestation and the resultant Desertification The majority of the people depend on agriculture, forests and other natural resources for their survival. However, the practices employed to enhance production or extraction are detrimental to the natural resource base, resulting into land degradation. Unless sustainable land management systems are practised, land degradation will continue, posing a threat to biodiversity by causing imbalances in ecological processes and shortage of fresh water. Land degradation also has far-reaching implications like widespread poverty, significant disruptions in social economic systems, migrations and loss in land productivity.

Some Consequences and Costs of Desertification The impacts of desertification at a local scale are very negative. These cause low productivity of the land to support natural veld, livestock and crop. They in turn have social economic consequences.

Other environmental costs at a local scale that are directly or indirectly associated with land degradation are loss of shade, shelter and visual amenities. Any changes in the productivity of the land have consequences on agricultural production in Zambia and in turn on the social economic well being of the people. The increasing spates of drought occurrence and prevalence of land degradation problems have had dramatic impact on agricultural production, especially on small-scale farmers in the severely affected provinces (Agricultural Statistical Bulletin, Policy and Planning Division, MAFF, 1999/2000).

In Zambia, there has been a general decline in total cultivated hectarage from 1, 004, 300 in 1989/90 to 701, 500 hectares in 1997/98, a decline of over 30%. Furthermore, the average maize yield (the main staple food crop in Zambia) per hectare decreased from 1.48 tons in 1989/90 to 1.27 in 1997/98. The 1989/90 yield is three times less than the expected average yield.

Other issues include growing amount of wastes and air pollution. In Zambia, there is increasing use of biomass energy, which increase carbon emissions and eventually contribute to global warming. This in turn has effects on life. Air pollution is as a result of dust pollution from huge mine tailing dumps and sulphur dioxide emissions from mining operations in urban areas. Furthermore, increase in human population exerts pressure on resources and increases generation of waste matter.

Due to relatively high temperatures, the average annual potential evapo-transpiration in Zambia ranges from 1,394mm to 1,892mm while the country average is 1,574mm. Potential evapo-transpiration is larger than precipitation in Zambia. This means that Zambia is in a hydrological condition of precipitation deficit that amounts from 100mm per year to – 1,100mm per year. This situation has implications on water availability and management in Zambia, particularly in agro-ecological Regions I and II.

The problem of desertification and drought occurs throughout the country but it is more severe in the southern half of the Country comprising Regions I and II that cover the Central, Eastern, Lusaka, Southern and Western Provinces (Figure 5).

A summary of problems associated with desertification and drought in the five mentioned provinces as cited in the consultative workshops held in 1998 on the UNCCD-NAP are as follows:

Lusaka Province In Lusaka Province, desertification has caused the following problems: food insecurity, scarce energy resources, inadequate water supplies and adverse climatic conditions. The causes of food insecurity were identified among others as low yields, poor marketing and storage facilities. Scarce energy sources were as a result of deforestation and non-availability of energy alternatives. Droughts, lowered water tables and poor water management caused inadequate water supplies. Adverse climatic conditions were identified as being a result of deforestation and frequent droughts.

Central Province In Central Province, major desertification problems included the following: reduced agricultural yields, reduced rainfall due to prolonged dry spells during the rainy season, reduced plant and animal productivity, low ground water supply, silting of water courses, salinisation of the soils and reduced quality of rangelands. The causes of these problems were listed as follows: poor land management practices, inadequate extension and technical support by relevant extension authorities, deforestation, global weather changes, increase in population, poverty, accelerated soil erosion, drought, overgrazing and uncontrolled bush fires.

Eastern Province In Eastern Province, the following list represents the problems of desertification: poverty, low ground water levels, reduced soil fertility, soil erosion and poor crop and animal productivity. The cause of which included: cultivation along streams and riverbanks, over-grazing, poor farming methods, population growth and rural-urban drift, for example, cultivation on hill slopes in Chipata.

Southern Province In Southern Province, the following form the list of desertification problems that were prevalent: indiscriminate cutting down of trees, soil erosion, inadequate pastoral lands, windy and dusty conditions, siltation, low water level, low yield and poor road infrastructure. The causes of which included the following: high energy demand, land clearing for farming settlements, poor methods of farming, uncontrolled rangeland management, late burning, intensive and rain storms and bare-land.

Western Province Desertification problems in Western Province included the following: soil erosion, deforestation, loss of soil fertility, drought, drying of rivers, aridity, climatic variation, loss of biodiversity, poor rangeland and sedimentation. The causes of desertification were listed as follows: uncontrolled cutting down of trees, overstocking, high localised density population, poor information and communication, poor drainage, poor harvest, over cultivation and poor pasture management.

Institutional, Policy and Legal Issues The Government has since the 1980s instituted a number of important institutional, policy and legal reforms, which could advance effective environmental management. However, some of these are still underway like the decentralisation policy, which should ensure better involvement of the local populations and the civil society in all development activities.

Currently, there is still no consolidated policy and legislation for the environment, though the matter is being addressed through the Environmental Support Programme (ESP).

There exist various Acts, which address issues of environmental management including land. Some of these Acts have efforts that are scattered, sectoral or out of date and often not known by the general public.

Despite Zambia ratifying the UNCCD in 1996, she has not incorporated this Convention in her legislation. Zambia does not also have a specific policy on desertification and drought. It is important to develop such a policy in order to address the problem of land degradation.

Manifestations and Effects of the Desertification Problem Land degradation manifests itself through deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, soil infertility, siltation, sedimentation and flooding. The effects of land degradation are multiple. These include loss of environmental benefits, such as, shelter, shade, visual amenities and productivity of the land to support natural veld, livestock and crop production. The low productivity of the land caused by land degradation causes low crop yields, poor animal productivity and animal diseases. Noting that the human population in Zambia is dependent on agriculture, these factors undermine social economic development and continue to deepen the poverty crisis.

At global level, the land degradation problem has negative implications on the hydrological cycle in particular on flood occurrence, drying-up of streams, poor ground water recharge systems due to high run-off rates and siltation and sedimentation of rivers. Deforestation reduces the carbon dioxide sink and this can lead to the destabilisation of the climate.