| Chapter Introduction: | Introduction |
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Introduction
This book deals mainly with the open type of woodland in which the Zimbabwean teak Baikiaea plurijuga (or mkusi) is the dominant tree of economic value among thirty existing species. Baikiaea areas, or gusu, in Zimbabwe cover approximately 2 million acres in northwestern Matabeleland, where these trees grow extensively from the Zambezi River southwards on red and white aeolian Kalahari sand. The gusu also appears in confined areas of Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. In the following chapters, the themes of exploitation and conservation are dealt with from the historical, economic, and environmental perspectives. The development of control of concessions for forest management and conservation purposes is traced, which leads to a consideration of the damage to woodland caused by felling, fire, frost, and other agents.
Prior to occupation by the British in 1893, the Baikiaea areas were sparsely settled by about 65,000 Africans of different ethnicities, and there was abundant wild game. The game is considered to have had some effect in decreasing the danger of fire. The increase in occupation by both Africans and Europeans led to a corresponding increase in