Watershed Protection and Water Management

		Zambia has one of the highest rates of tree losses in Africa. To reverse this trend the value of trees and watersheds must contribute to rural livelihoods in ways other than converting trees into charcoal, cotton or tobacco. COMACO uses a combination of approaches, including more soil-enriching farming practices such as conservation farming, crop rotation with legumes, and use of compost while linking these practices to improved markets. It is also scaling up its honey production with the use of bar hives and is exploring new forest-based products, such as wild mushrooms and wild fruits (baobab and msau fruits).
Distributing bee hives to new honey producers	Extensive tree loss from tobacco farms just outside Lukusuzi NationalPark

In some cases, COMACO offers higher producer prices for its farmer-based commodities if farmers can demonstrate they have planted tree seedlings and have successfully managed to nurture at least 20 up to a meter in height. To facilitate these efforts, COMACO directs tree seedling nurseries and provides native plant seedlings to cooperating farmers. It expects to plant over 30,000 Acacia albida in this way in 2007.

Increased adoption of conservation farming, which requires a mulching of farm plots to impede rainwater runoff will likely improve retention of rainwater and help recharge aquifers for the Luangwa watershed. Another approach COMACO is supporting is the construction of dams in the plateau region to reduce runoff and hold water for a slower, more continual recharging of the groundwater in areas below the dam. With good management of trees around the dam and increased availability of water, bee keeping as well as fish-farming will be important sources of income for communities who manage these dams. In some cases, COMACO expects to see increases in wildlife as well.