Already, many documents recording the earliest European activities in central Africa have been ruined. Museum staff complain they are starved of funds, possibly because the government would rather channel the few available funds into preserving the little that's left of indigenous culture. As a result, the museum can't even afford to replace light bulbs, and historical artefacts are left to whither in the tropical heat. Fortunately, the museum's pride and joy, Scottish missionary and explorer Dr Livingstone's letters and journals, are intact. In an attempt to curb illegal squatting and production of timber and charcoal, the Zambian government has established a Forestry Commission.
New laws allow local communities to register protected forest and to oversee their management.
Aero Zambia has been officially banned from operating by the Zambian government, which earlier this month refused the airline s operating license, claiming it had failed to adhere to regulatory safety requirements. A Zambian heritage conservation agency has begun excavation of an archeological site near Victoria Falls ahead of the construction of a large tourist complex. The National Heritage Conservation Commission is gathering prehistoric artefacts dating from stone and iron age settlements in the area as much as 60,000 years old, and the archeologists claim to have already collected a truck-load of artefacts. Early next month, construction on the site of a luxury hotel and villa complex owned by the South African-based Sun International hotel chain will swing into gear. 99 Zambian Airways have announced that from 2 November they will be offering a weekly flight from Lusaka to London.