Even though it is illegal, individuals are still continuing to erect fences within the boundaries of community forests, especially in the Kavango West Regions.
The Chief Forester for Kavango East and West, Jonas Mwiikinghi, described the illegal fencing as a serious concern.
At the Ncumcara Community Forest in the Ncuncuni Constituency, community forests are areas that empower local communities to manage their own natural resources, among many other reasons.
This is where the locals cut grass, get timber, collect firewood, gather food and even graze their animals but in a sustainable manner.
However, some people are now illegally fencing off areas within these forests, even putting up structures.
"This is a very serious issue that we are dealing with on a daily basis, especially these last three years, and we are talking of mostly the community forest in the Kavango West region. We are talking of Ncumcara, Ncamagoro, Mbeyo, Katope and the Kahenge community forest,” added Mwiikinghi.
Members of the forest management community patrolled the area and discovered that two areas were fenced off.
They then informed the Ministries of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, the Land Board and Traditional Authority (TA).
Before the site visit, the owner of this structure was tracked down and summoned to appear but did not show up.
Authorities also determined the size of the land that was fenced off.
Mwiikinghi said a report will be compiled.
“If the person does not adhere to the summons in removing his fence, the Land Board will take action and he will lose all the materials.”
TA's are the custodians of communal land where community forests are found.
“They have allocation or consent letters from the traditional authority. It happens, and in most cases, we find a number of consent letters issued by the traditional authority. I cannot say whether the traditional authority knows where they are allocating land to people or whether they simply issue the allocations because someone went to the headman’s house without knowing exactly where the person is referring to. Even with a consent letter, the fact that you are located within a community forest means it is simply a no-go.”