By XAVIER MANCHISHI? –

THERE is an overwhelming onslaught on Zambia’s forests, Nyimba District Commissioner George Phiri has said.
Mr Phiri said there was also a high level of deforestation in Zambia which was threatening the existence of forestry resources.
According to the 2008 land use assessment conducted in Zambia, the country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world.
The high levels of deforestation have been attributed to the expansion of small-scale agriculture, wood fuel production and logging for timber.
‘‘It is a well-known issue that deforestation is a growing global problem with far reaching environmental and economic consequences,’’ he said.
He was speaking in Nyimba during the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) editors’ meeting held with support from USAID under the theme ‘‘promoting environmental reporting in Zambia.’’
Mr Phiri challenged the media to prioritise reporting environmental issues such as the negative impact that deforestation has on the environment.?The media has a key role of informing the masses on the importance of safeguarding the environment which affects not only their livelihoods but also lives of future generations.
CIFOR communications coordinator for Africa Joan Baxter called on environmentalists to break the jargon for journalists to pass it on to the media’s wider audiences.
Ms Baxter said environmentalism was not an ideology and that scientists and journalists must agree to make environmental stories comprehensible.
USAID climate and forestry specialist Catherine Tembo inquired, during a plenary session, why the media did not report on environmental issues.
Chief Ndake of the Chewa people said the media should do more to sensitise people against degrading the environment.?The meeting was also attended by chiefs Nyalugwe, Lwembe and chieftainess Mwape.