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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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

Current status of Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

Major obstacles to tree survival in Malawi include indiscriminate forest resource extraction which is largely attributed to heavy woodfuel utilisation for firewood and charcoal production, timber requirement, agricultural industry, infrastructure development and uncontrolled bush fires. Wood and charcoal are the most preferred cooking and heating fuels in Malawi even in the poorer parts of the cities and the demand is huge. It is estimated that charcoal consumption is twice what the nation's woodland can sustain without further deforestation. Indeed loggers illegally clear 250,000 ha of forest each year to meet the demand for charcoal and firewood, a deforestation rate of 2.8%(Forest policy 2016) resulting in further reduction of forest per capita which is already below desired minimum. However expected increase in population and residential construction indicates that wood market may continue to grow. Most of the hills have been shaved of their leafy canopies of trees, leaving

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

The Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

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