Research, Science and Technology Development in Sustainable Forest Management within the Southern Africa Context By

The total forest area of the 14 SADC member countries is estimated at 262.8 million ha, representing about 29 % of the total land area. Annual rates of deforestation in the member states range from 0.75 % to 2.2 % with Angola and Malawi having the lowest and highest rates of deforestation, respectively. While existing statistics on forest resources have to be updated through detailed and nation-wide vegetation mapping and forest inventory exercises, the current statistics nevertheless highlight a serious threa