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 deforestation has wreaked havoc on the reserve so much so that other areas will not quickly recover due to indiscriminate cutting of trees.

Headload of firewood

A peddler stacking firewood in Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

Truckload of firewood from Dzalanyama Forest Reserve

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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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