Zanzibar bans use of chainsaws over rampant deforestation

Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago on Wednesday banned the use of chainsaws, which have continued to cause extensive damage to the environment.

Yussuf Haji, the isles' forestry director said the Zanzibar government's move to ban the usage of the tool was due to their misuse, which had led to rapid and careless cutting down of trees.

He said the move was also aimed at protecting the available species that are found in the forests.

Haji called on citizens who owned chainsaws to surrender themselves to the forestry department to avoid stern measures to be taken against them.

"We have decided to ban the use of chainsaws...however, they can be used in special cases and the license to use will only be provided by executives from the forestry department," he said.

Mwijuma Muhsin Saleh, an official from the Zanzibar's forestry department said that coconut trees have been cut down rapidly due to their usage in manufacturing furniture.

Five years ago, the official said, Zanzibar had about five million coconut trees but the number had already gone down to two million due to rapid and careless tree cutting without following laid procedures.

It is estimated that forests in Zanzibar disappear at a rate of 1,000 hectares per year, due to people's reliance on natural resources, particularly forest products. Endit