Five chiefs in Petauke district have been notified to have illegal settlers removed from protected areas.
Petauke Forestry Officer Lottie Katebe says encroachers in protected areas will be reallocated to other designated places in different chiefdoms.
He said this when making a presentation at the roundtable meeting organized by COMACO in Chipata yesterday.
Mr. Katebe says illegal settlers who have settled in national parks, local and national forests and other sensitive areas such as Watersheds will be reallocated.
He says people in Mvuvye National Forest are being sensitized in forest conservation, land protection and consequences of illegal settlements in protected areas.
The sensitization exercise is being carried out by the Forestry Department and Petauke Land Alliance.
Mr. Katebe revealed that four people were arrested in the Nchembwe local forest for illegal production of charcoal and were sentenced to six months imprisonment in the courts of law.