By Charles Mkoka

Degradation inside Dzalanyama Forest Reserve (DFR) is impacting on important key ecosystem services offered to Malawians in the capital Lilongwe. These services include support to agricultural productivity which enhances food security; habitat for both domestic and wildlife populations; and quality and quantity of raw water discharged treated by Lilongwe Water Board to supply to the city’s residents.

“Water is indeed life. Imagine that on a daily basis, Lilongwe residents have to clean their teeth, take a bath and have breakfast.  All this is possible courtesy of the Dzalanyama Forest Reserve where this water comes from,” Leonard Sefu, Chairperson of the Board of Dzalanyama Catchment Conservation Trust (DCCT), explained to members of the private sector, development partners and government officials at Ufulu Gardens in Lilongwe recently.

Sefu spoke when he unveiled the newly registered DCCT, an institution that will develop synergies to save this vast ecosystem that has supported human population for so long.

“For DCCT to attain its mission, there is a need for understanding that conservation activities in DFR require a holistic approach; Department of Forestry, COSMA-DFR and DCCT is appealing to stakeholders to support its many endeavours to save the reserve and its total catchment area,” Sefu explained in an interview.

Government of Malawi through the Department of Forestry and Government of Japan through JICA-funded COSMA-DFR project, found it necessary to establish a Trust to assist the management of DFR and its watershed area.  The reserve has been experiencing enormous challenges that range from deforestation, encroachment and illegal logging to satisfy the rapid human population particularly in Lilongwe’s urban locations.

The idea behind bringing diverse partners was to develop synergies in managing the reserve and its watershed.  The platform was hosted by JICA-funded project for Conservation and Sustainable Management of Dzalanyama Forest Reserve (COSMA-DFR) and the Department of Forestry.

According to Sefu, the Trust’s vision is to promote responsible and sustainable management and conservation of natural environment and biodiversity, which will in turn ensure the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the reserve. The Trust is expected to work hand in hand with the Department of Forestry, stakeholders and local communities to reduce the above stated challenges facing this important reserve that offers a range of ecosystem services.

Taking his turn, Akihito Sakurai, COSMA-DFR Financial Mechanism Expert, noted that about 97 percent of most Malawian households rely on firewood or charcoal as their primary source of cooking and heating energy. With alternative fuel sources under – developed, firewood and charcoal will continue to form a significant part of Malawi’s energy mix for the next few decades. “Even in Lilongwe City, almost 90 percent of the population uses charcoal and firewood for cooking and heating. More than 60 percent of charcoal, consumed in Lilongwe City, comes from Dzalanyama. Illegal charcoal production and firewood collection are main causes of deforestation in the reserve,” explained Sakurai.

Dzalanyama which is 989 square kilometers in size, its restoration will feed into the national landscape restoration plan where Malawi plans to restore 4.5 million hectares of arable land under the Bonn challenge initiative. So far according to Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources, Nancy Tembo who attended the COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland speaking during a new phase for AFR100: Accelerating Africa's Land Restoration Movement held at the Nature Zone pavilion in the COP26 Blue Zone.

Tembo told delegates Malawi has put 1.2 million hectares of forest and landscape under restoration out of 4.5 million hectares to be achieved by 2030. AUDA-NEPAD, World Resources Institute and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Bezos Earth Fund are partners in this continental green restoration initiative.

In Africa annually, nearly 3 million hectares of forests are lost, this has lead to 65% of land in Africato be affected by degradation according to AFR100 online data. In economic terms, 3% of Gross Domestic Product is lost per year from soil and nutrient depletion on cropland. Rural smallholder farmers suffer the most, as they are largely dependent on the stable weather patterns, healthy soils and tree cover and water that degraded land threatens. 

African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), a country-led effort aims to bring 100 million hectares of these deforested and degraded landscapes across the continent into restoration by 2030.

The initiative connects political partners — participating African nations — with technical and financial support to scale up restoration on the ground and capture associated benefits for food security, climate change resilience and poverty alleviation.

A dynamic network of political, technical and financial partners facilitate action towards the 100 million ha restoration target. To date, 32 African nations have signed onto AFR100 and committed a combined 126 million hectares of land to be restored.