A 50-year conservation project targeting Namizimu Forest Reserve has come under scrutiny after Senior Chief Chomwe of Mangochi demanded answers about how it will be managed and whether local communities stand to benefit.
The chief raised concerns as Total Landcare asked Mangochi District Council to support a 100-hectare carbon-readiness pilot under a wider 35,000-hectare forest restoration programme.
The chief said efforts to conserve the forest would only succeed if all relevant sectors worked together, including traditional leaders from communities surrounding the reserve.
“This is a very good project, but we need to work together with all stakeholders, including local leaders surrounding the Forest Reserve,” he emphasised.
Total Landcare says the project will restore degraded forests and generate carbon credits over 50 years, with local communities expected to benefit financially from the sale of the credits.
Augustine Kaunda, a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Green Economy Partnership specialist at Total Landcare, said the first phase would focus on scoping the project. He said the team would not seek formal Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) or land commitments from communities at this stage.
Kaunda said the programme has an overall target of 35,000 hectares, beginning with the 100-hectare pilot inside the reserve. In subsequent years, the project will extend to customary land, where it will promote forestry activities and community woodlots.
Fayson Khomeni, assistant forestry officer for Mangochi District, described the condition of Namizimu Forest Reserve as worrying, citing illegal mining and charcoal burning as major causes of degradation.
He also raised concerns over encroachment by people from neighbouring districts.
The pilot is expected to lay the groundwork for a wider programme that has identified 27,980 hectares of potentially eligible land within an 88,976-hectare area of interest.
The initiative also aligns with Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), which targets an annual forest cover loss of 2.8 percent, equivalent to about 45,000 hectares, driven largely by demand for firewood and expansion of farmland.
The chief raised concerns as Total Landcare asked Mangochi District Council to support a 100-hectare carbon-readiness pilot under a wider 35,000-hectare forest restoration programme.
The chief said efforts to conserve the forest would only succeed if all relevant sectors worked together, including traditional leaders from communities surrounding the reserve.
“This is a very good project, but we need to work together with all stakeholders, including local leaders surrounding the Forest Reserve,” he emphasised.
Total Landcare says the project will restore degraded forests and generate carbon credits over 50 years, with local communities expected to benefit financially from the sale of the credits.
Augustine Kaunda, a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Green Economy Partnership specialist at Total Landcare, said the first phase would focus on scoping the project. He said the team would not seek formal Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) or land commitments from communities at this stage.
Kaunda said the programme has an overall target of 35,000 hectares, beginning with the 100-hectare pilot inside the reserve. In subsequent years, the project will extend to customary land, where it will promote forestry activities and community woodlots.
Fayson Khomeni, assistant forestry officer for Mangochi District, described the condition of Namizimu Forest Reserve as worrying, citing illegal mining and charcoal burning as major causes of degradation.
He also raised concerns over encroachment by people from neighbouring districts.
The pilot is expected to lay the groundwork for a wider programme that has identified 27,980 hectares of potentially eligible land within an 88,976-hectare area of interest.
The initiative also aligns with Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), which targets an annual forest cover loss of 2.8 percent, equivalent to about 45,000 hectares, driven largely by demand for firewood and expansion of farmland.
