Green Colonialism in Zimbabwe, 1890-1980 By Vimbai Kwashirai

reserves such as the Gwai Native Reserve (GNR) and Shangani Native Reserve (SNR) of northwestern Matabeleland suffered in this way. Tobacco and ranching also may have been important to the Matabeleland economy and that of the colony as a whole. Yet this book shows that in incidents where farmers and foresters competed for the best form of land use, the latter often won, especially from the late 1930s onward. In fact, Wanyancha excludes agriculture from the reasons given for the decline in Baikiaea forests, instead naming timber demand, repeated late fires, intensive grazing, and firewood collection.⁵⁷ The main exploiters were not farmers but concessionaires. While agriculture played a less significant role in the destruction of teak woodland, logging was important, especially during the company period.

Logging

Although Africa is less endowed with commercial timbers than Asia, a few important African species have been selectively logged across the continent. According to Glastra, the timber trade is the most important factor in forest degradation, not only because of direct exploitation of trees, but also because logging and mining make forests accessible to farmers and game hunters.⁵⁸ Technological development (chain saws, transport, mechanised milling) had far-reaching consequences in the penetration of forests. Forest products, particularly timber, were part of the raw materials exploited by private investors to benefit the Western capitalist system. Poore notes that since forest management in many countries is exclusively the province of government, timber exploitation is carried out either by state departments or licensed contractors.⁵⁹ In the period 1966–1988, timber production increased internationally and hardwood production rose by 54 percent. Seventeen percent of the world's population in industrialised countries consumed three-quarters of the global traded timber.⁶⁰

Forest depletion in Canada, Australia, and other parts of the developed world was a direct result of intensified demand for wood for pulp,