Some facts about the forest

Dzalanyama Forest Reserve is located within Dzalanyama mountain ranges some 61Km South-Western side of Lilongwe city. The hills are gentle sloped and lies between an altitude of 1100-1650M above the sea level. The reserve falls within tropical savanna woodland climate and has Miombo woodland type of vegetation whose dominant species are the Julbernardia paniculata. The soils are predominantly sandy clay loams. The reserve recieves an average rainfall of about 840-960 mm and has temperatures between 19 and 21 degrees celcius. The total area of the reserve is estimated at 989.094sq Km.

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Deployment of the Malawi Defence Force soldiers into Dzalanyama

The Government of Malawi introduced Malawi Defence Force intervention programme to deal with illegal logging for charcoal and firewood in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. The objectives of the joint operations with the Department of Forestry include the following:- To conduct patrols in the forest reserve particularly the most affected areas To confiscate all the illegal forest products obtained without permit. To impound vehicles, oxcarts, and bicycles used in trafficking illegal forest produce. To confiscate all equipment and tools used in tree felling To destroy by burning all charcoal kilns and erected structures in the reserve. To mount ad hoc spot checks and road blocks in some routes leading to the reserve. To apprehend and hand over to police all suspected offenders for prosecution. The operations have been conducted 24/7 both inside and outside of the reserve(Central Forestry Zone Office Outlook Report 2015). And since the Malawi Defence Force deployment on 7th February ...

Welcome to Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

Hello, my name is Daniel Tomlin Kabichi and I am the Assistant Plantation Manager residing in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve. On this blog I will show all the treasures hidden inside the forest. I will take you on regular walks through the reserve and together we will not only learn more about the plants growing here, but you will also meet some of the amazing animals living inside the forest. I hope that by showing you all these creatures we all better understand why it is so important to continue to protect Dzalanyama Forest as good as we can. Scadoxus multiflorus

Illegal firewood extraction from Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

Firewood is the most commonly used source of energy among the biomass energy in Malawi. It is estimated that firewood consumption alone is currently at 80% of the total domestic energy(Department of Energy Affairs report, 2000). And because of over dependency on fuel wood for energy the forests are constantly shrinking and the availability of fuel wood for domestic energy is getting less and less. There is a formidable gap between demand and supply of fuel wood and in certain parts the main preoccupation is not so much food but fuel wood to cook it. Fuel wood has become as much a necessity of life as food itself. This scarce commodity is now constantly gaining high market value than food grain itself and it is commonly transported by bicycles, trucks, oxcarts to the main markets for heating and lighting, brick burning, tobacco curing and industrial use. Illegal tree cutting for firewood has affected Dzalanyama Forest Reserve over the past two decades and the resultant deforestat...

The Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

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