Skip to main content

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 behind a Rocky bristle of scrub. Agricultural fields are left open except for few scattered trees. In many places the biggest patches of untouched woods are the ones that protect community graveyards. This has exerted pressure on both state and private owned forest areas.
Dzalanyama Forest Reserve has its share of these setbacks. Despite its critical importance for sustaining current and future economic development for the surrounding communities through provision of goods and services, Dzalanyama has been impacted by illegal forest resource extraction. The survey conducted by JICA in 2015 indicates that charcoal production in Dzalanyama assumed alarming proportions. Over 7500 bags of charcoal were produced from Dzalanyama forest reserve daily leaving most of the areas critically bare.
Forest cover just outside Dzalanyama
              
Illegal tree cutting in Dzalanyama
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dzalanyama hydrological system

The Dzalanyama Forest Reserve is the single most important water catchment in the central region of Malawi This critical ecosystem helps secure the provision of water supply to the rural and urban areas of Lilongwe city for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses and supports to the livelihoods of thousands of people living along the rivers and streams that drains from Dzalanyama Range. The area is drained by three major river systems which flow north-eastwards from the Dzalanyama Forest Reserve to Lake Malawi. The Lilongwe River with its tributaries, Likuni, Katete and Chaulongwe, drains the western, central and north- eastern parts of the area; the Namitete River, drains the north- western part and Diamphwi River with its major tributary, the Lifidzi drains the south- eastern segment. Small dambo lie at the source of each tributary stream and rarely dry up as all but smallest streams in Dzalanyama continue to flow throughout the year. The area is therefore humid and cool even ...
Post a Comment
Read more