Zambia is one of the most forested countries in Africa, with about 50 million out of the 75
million hectares total land area under some form of forest cover. However, the country also
has one of the highest rates of deforestation and degradation in the world, estimated at
250,000-300,000 hectares of forest loss per annum. Reversing/slowing this high deforestation
and degradation trend will require the country to design and implement programs and
strategies that will effectively deal with both the proximate and underlying drivers of
deforestation and degradation. A precondition to designing such programs and strategies is a
clear identification and understanding of the main drivers of deforestation, both proximate
and underlying. Implementing such programs and strategies is important to help the country
contribute to climate change mitigation efforts, and benefit from international climate
mitigation initiatives such as the UN-REDD programme1 inter alia.